Have you ever seen something very unusual that you had never seen before, and it totally amazes you?

As our story begins today, Jesus has just been on His first tour through Galilee, preaching in the synagogues. He has dynamically brought forth forceful preaching and miraculous healings, as well as powerfully casting out demons!

After the first few days of His preaching ministry, Jesus returns to His adopted home, in the village of Capernaum, probably to Simon Peter’s house by the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd gathers at the house, and Jesus preaches the Word to them.  His message is consistent, as He preaches about 1) the nearness of the Kingdom of God, 2) the necessity of a personal faith, and 3) the need for genuine repentance!

While Jesus is preaching to the crowds at the house where He is staying, Four Men carry a paralytic (a paralyzed person) on a mat, or pallet, to see Jesus. They have faith and confidence in the compassion and ability of Jesus, to heal their friend.

The crowd is pushing forward, trying to see and hear Jesus and the Four Friends cannot get through to take their friend to Jesus. So, while Jesus is preaching, dust begins to come down from the ceiling; crumbles of thatch and clay begin to fall to the floor; and, suddenly, a large hole appears in the roof!  The paralytic’s resourceful friends have cut a hole in the roof of the house and are letting the paralytic down through the hole in the ceiling, just in front of Jesus!

The persistent faith of the Four Friends, who are carrying the paralytic, and perhaps the paralytic’s faith, as well, moves Jesus, first, to forgive the paralytic’s sins, and then, also, to completely heal him!