ROPES, LESSON 2: JESUS HEALS THE PARALYTIC

Jesus Heals the Paralytic – Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:17-26

These three Bible stories were selected because of their “rope connection” to ropes course activities planned for 8-14 year olds at a weekend retreat. These lessons can also be adapted to suit younger classes. Please note the craft and activities ideas located at the end of the third lesson.

Although there is no mention of ropes in this account, there is an assumption by many that some kind of ropes or straps were used to lower the man into the room.

Jesus was very popular among the common people, not only because they were interested in what He had to say, but also because He had gained a reputation for healing people. His compassion for the “lost sheep of Israel” compelled Him to heal the sick, raise the dead, and feed the hungry. On this particular occasion, Jesus was in a house in Capernaum, preaching to the people who had come from all over to hear him. The house was so crowded, there was no more room for another person to sit or stand, not even outside the door!

Meanwhile, four men who had heard that Jesus was in their town decided this was the chance they had been hoping for: to help their paralyzed friend (or relative) get healed! Picking him up by the four corners of his mat, they hurried to the house where Jesus was preaching.

When the men arrived with their friend, they were disappointed to discover there was no way they were going to get their friend into the house to see Jesus. Even the doorway was blocked! But the men were not discouraged. Talking it over, they came up with a clever plan. Why not lower their friend through the roof! Hurrying up the outside stairs to the flat roof, they laid their paralyzed friend down and began to tear up the clay tiles that made up the roof. They worked hard in the hot sun, digging up enough dried mud and tiles to fit a man lying on a mat through the hole. Imagine the commotion below as pieces of mud and dust fell on the crowd and a hole in the ceiling above them began to grow larger. Perhaps Jesus became silent as the noise above them distracted everyone.

A strange sight appeared as the bottom of a mat filled the space in the broken roof. Slowly, slowly, the mat, most likely secured by a rope on each corner, was lowered down into the crowd – directly in front of Jesus! On the mat lay a man, unable to move. Perhaps there was silence for a moment as the stunned audience stared at the man.

Then Jesus spoke. Noting the faith of those who had brought the paralyzed man, He simply said to the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” What an odd thing to say! You might think the first thing He would tell the man would be “Get up! You are healed!” But He didn’t – for a reason we’ll find out in a minute.

The Pharisees and lawyers who were there didn’t understand this either.  Their first reaction to this statement was one of surprise and anger. “How dare he say such a thing! Does he think he is God who can forgive sins?!?” But they didn’t say their thoughts out loud, possibly because they didn’t want the crowd to get upset with them. But Jesus didn’t need for them to verbalize their thoughts. He knew what they were thinking! This might be a good time to remind the students that God knows what all of us are thinking. We can’t hide our thoughts from Him! Remind them, too, that God can and will forgive us of all our sins if we come to Him in repentance, both for salvation initially, and whenever we confess them to Him.

Now Jesus explains why He said what He did. He first asks the Pharisees and lawyers why they were thinking such wrong thoughts. Then He asks them which is easier: telling the paralyzed man his sins were forgiven, or telling him to get up and walk. Let the kids discuss this.  Then He answers His own question. He explains that He forgave the paralyzed man his sins first so that the crowd would realize He must have authority to forgive sins (which is a miracle that only God can do) when He does a second miracle. Now He turns to the paralyzed man and tells him to get up, take his mat, and go home! The man does exactly that. He gets up, picks up his mat, and walks out the door praising God! The second miracle! I imagine his friends hurried down from the roof and were there to meet him, praising God too.

Of course, everyone was amazed. They began praising God and saying things like “We have seen amazing things today!”and “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”

Teachers of both the older and younger classes: this might be a good opportunity to remind the students of how they had to help each other during either the ropes course or the younger team building activities (if you did them). The stronger, bigger kids were able to help the smaller, younger ones. And everyone, at various times, had to work together to devise a plan and help each other to perform various elements of the course. And all could give words of encouragement while someone was doing a specific task.