Sermon Snippet – Some People That You Should Know
INTRODUCTION – If you are a songwriter, let me suggest a title: “The Sunday That the Bricks Fell through the Ceiling and Floored the Preacher.” Please make sure that the last verse includes the words “pearly gates,” for I am that preacher! Years ago, when the chimney was repaired, the workers left the old bricks right above the pulpit. I have since removed them. However, their looming presence for years reminded me of Mark 2:1-12. This familiar story should hit us like the proverbial ton of bricks.
1. WE CAN HELP
Verses 1 and 2 reveal an exciting scene. The new disciples were eager; many were curious; and others were seeking healing (in part because of the former leper’s testimony, as we studied last week from Mark 1:40-45). Like Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Jesus, there was no room! Verse 3 introduces a paralyzed man in desperate need of healing, so desperate that his faithful friends carried him up the external stairs, opened up the roof, and lowered him in. Anyone who attended Sunday school as a child can remember the flannelgraph presentation, possibly the best one ever (verse 4). The task of roof removal was involved: the standard roof in Israel included timbers, crosswise sticks, reeds and other such items, and about a foot of packed clay. All in all the average roof was about two feet thick. Verse 5 commends “their faith.” They were persistent, certainly. Furthermore, they were creative and found a way to express their love and faith. Moreover, they were willing to sacrifice, for they either would have to compensate the homeowner or buy supplies and do the repair work themselves. Of course, as the rest of the passage reveals, they would have had a fifth helper!
2. WE CAN HINDER
In verse 6, we find the sniffing, superior religious leaders “sitting.” It was standing room only (and even then not enough room), but these powerful and pompous elites did nothing to help – “there is no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9b). In fact, they hindered the development of faith with their continued carping criticism (verse 7) – the faith of others and their own faith. Still, Jesus engages with them and explains Himself to them. He spoke the truth to them (verses 8-11) and showed them the outworkings of that truth (verse 12). What more could Jesus do at that time?
CONCLUSION – Who was it that was paralyzed? Really, it was the so-called religious leaders, hardened by hatred and calloused by complacency. Like all of us, they needed to be saved from their sins. Once we are certain of our eternal relationship with the Savior, Jesus Christ, may we become the people who help others come to Him – and may we never hinder them.