The Unheard Story - Luke 5.17-26

by Hephzibah (15 yrs, República Dominicana)

Story Outline

Who? Jesus, four friends, paralytic man, and scribes.

What? Healed a paralytic man that was lowered through a roof by his friends.

Where? In a house in Capernaum.

When? When Jesus returned to Capernaum after having traveled in Galilee.

How was the miracle performed? He said the word and the man was healed.

Why? He wanted to let the Scribes know that He was the Son of Man and He had the ability to heal people and forgive their sins.

Context and Difficult Words in the Text

Context: Jesus had just come from Galilee. He was becoming famous among the cities, because when people heard He was coming a large crowd came out to see Him. So many people came that the house overflowed.

Blasphemy: a contemptuous or profane act against God

Paralytic: person that has a sickness that inhibits their movement.

Uncovering the Roof/ Digging a Hole in the Roof: not sure what was the exact action of the four friends, but they found a way of lowering their friend down the roof. The size of the rooms was limited by the fact that rooms could only be as wide as the beams that supported the roof. Beams, usually wooden and roughly shaped, reached from one wall to the other, and were covered with a mixture of woven branches and clay, which was smoothed with a stoneroller. They must’ve lasted about an hour or so in order to make a hole in the roof in which their friend could completely fit horizontally. For the lowering him part, the must’ve lasted about half an hour to prepare a mat that they could lower from the top and that would not let their friend fall. About two hours they spent just making a way for their friend to reach Jesus.

Summary of the Story in My Words

Jesus had just returned to Capernaum and came to a house, when the people that had heard that He was coming they came out to see Him. The house where He was got so packed that the people had to wait outside. Then four men brought their paralytic friend to Jesus, but the house was so full that they went to the roof and dug a hole and lowered their friend right in front of Jesus. As soon as the man was lowered and Jesus saw their faith He said, “Your sins have been forgiven.”

When the Scribes saw this they thought to themselves that Jesus was blaspheming because only God could forgive sins. Jesus knew what was in their hearts so he asked them, “Why do you question this? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins have been forgiven’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then He turned to the paralytic man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat and go home!

So the man jumped up and went home. People praised saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”

Conclusion and Application

Normally people take this story to talk about how Jesus forgave the sins and healed the man and how He stood up to the Scribes by telling them that He was the Son of Man. But I have taken it from a very different perspective and have painted an unseen context of this story.

I have rather focused on the invisible story or the untold parts of it. The four friend’s love, faith and perseverance have completely made me fall in love with this particular miracle.

This is how I think the invisible story went…”Jesus is coming!” Everyone was excited and prepared to visit Him. The four friends hear this and the first thing that must’ve come to mind is, “This Jesus is a healer… I have a paralytic friend, maybe if I get my friend to Jesus, He’ll be able to heal Him.” I can almost see them running to their friend’s house and telling him the awesome news. They get to the house where Jesus is and its like all their dreams crush as they see the multitude of people waiting to see Jesus. People so absorbed in their own problems that won’t even make a way for a paralytic man. Suddenly one of them comes up with the idea of making a hole in the roof and lowering their friend so he can get to Jesus. They put their hands to work and after a long time of working and cutting and digging, they finally get to lower their friend through the roof. And the first thing Jesus says is that their friend’s sins were forgiven because of their faith and after a few more words Jesus turns to their friend and says, “Stand up, and go home!” What great joy they felt that moment. After all these years of seeing their friend in a helpless position- unable to walk, to run, to chase after a dog- he jumps up from the mat and walks home.

The faith of these men saved their friend. This is the kind of friend God wants us to be, those that fight and persevere for the wellbeing of their friends. Being the friends that are compassionate and put others problems before his own, this is the kind of friends we must aspire to be.