What Would You Have Noticed?
Many who read this will probably be very familiar with the account of a miracle found in Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, and Luke 5:17-26. If so, you will remember that some friends of a man who was paralyzed carried him to a house where Jesus was. The obvious supposition is that this was done in the hopes that something could be done about the man’s condition.
As you may remember, the hopes were realized much beyond their expectations. Not only did Jesus make it possible for this man to walk, He did something far greater. He told the man that his sins were forgiven. In fact he did this before healing the man.
If you are familiar with this account, you will remember that when the men carrying their friend got to where Jesus was, they discovered that the house was crowded with people who were listening to Him as He taught. Because of the size of the crowd, the paralyzed man and his friends could not enter the house (at least as people ordinarily enter a house). Their solution was to go to the top of the house, remove a portion of the roof, and let their friend down to where Jesus was.
As I’ve been thinking about that incident in the earthly ministry of Jesus, I’ve been asking myself what I would have focused on if I had been there. I wonder what I would have noticed.
If I had been the owner of the house, I wonder if my focus would have been on the damage done to the roof and maybe the mess on the floor caused by removing part of the roof. Could that have been more important to me than the physical condition of another person? Could the condition of the house have been more important than a soul?
If I was one of the friends trying to get the man to Jesus or the man himself, would I have only seen the other people as obstacles? Would I have resented them for being at least physically closer to Him than I was?
If I happened to be among the people in the house, I wonder if I might have only focused on the interruption. I might have traveled some distance to listen to what Jesus had to say. Whether I was really interested, merely curious, or trying to find fault, I might have resented the interruption.
But, what if I was the one doing the teaching? Would I have joined with those who might have been bothered by the interruption? Would I have scolded those in the crowd for making it difficult for somebody to get close to me?
Would it be possible that I could be so focused on the house, the crowd, the time, or any number of other things that I would not even notice one person who had a real need? What if I had a way to help, but didn’t or couldn’t because my focus was on the wrong thing(s)?
I suppose that we could go on and on for quite a while with various possibilities, but the text tells us what Jesus saw. The Bible informs us about what Jesus saw in two words – “their faith.”
I pray that I’m not adding too much to the text by adding the following suggestion. I believe that, even in the midst of a very busy schedule and while He was doing something very important, our Lord saw one person who desperately needed Him and what only He could do to help. If I am right about that, I hope that I will do a much better job of trying to follow His example and the example of the unnamed men who brought a friend to Jesus.
There are things much more important than crowds, schedules, possessions, etc. There may be one person who is trying to get my (or our) attention because of the belief that I (or we) can help.
Have we noticed?
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
