Through the Roof

The Story

Word got around Capernaum that Jesus was back in town, and so many people crowded into the house where He was staying that there was no room left, not even outside the door.

Four men showed up carrying a friend on a mat. He was paralyzed and couldn’t walk. They had come to bring him to Jesus, but they couldn’t get anywhere near the door.

Most people would have turned around. These four climbed onto the roof instead. Roofs in those days were flat, made of beams covered with branches and packed clay. They dug through it, opened a hole right above Jesus, and lowered their friend down on his mat into the middle of the room.

Imagine the dust falling, the crowd looking up, the owner of the house watching his roof come apart.

Jesus looked up too, and He saw their faith. He said to the man, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” Some religious teachers sitting there were offended. Only God could forgive sins. So Jesus showed them who He was. He told the man, “Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.”

The man stood up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of everyone. The whole crowd was amazed. “We never saw it on this fashion,” they said.

Reflection