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Luke 5:17-26
17 One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.
18 Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.
19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?
23 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?
24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . ." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home."
25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.
26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."
1. If you had been the paralytic when your friends decided to take you up on the roof, remove the tiles, and lower you into the room, how would you have felt?
Reluctant. You’re going to embarrass me / Scare: You’re going to drop me Dubious. You guys are crazy / Grateful. I appreciate your concern.
Apprehensive They are going to throw us out / Mixed I don’t think it is going to work, but I’m willing to trust you guys
2. What would it have taken for you to lower your paralytic friend down through the roof?
Courage / A good sense of humour / Physical strength / Good timing / Desperation / The right equipment
3. When the crowd heard all of the commotion on the roof and saw the paralytic being lowered into the room, how do you think the bystanders felt?
Annoyed: Don’t these guys have any respect? / Amuse: This is the best show in town / Angry. Throw them out. / Sympathy. These guys are really concerned for their friend
4. When Jesus said to the paralytic, “Friend, your sins are forgiven,” what do you think the Pharisees and teachers of the law were thinking?
Who does this guy think he is?
You have no right to assume his paralysis is caused by sin / This Jesus ought to be sued for malpractice / Wait a minute: This guy has not sinned: He’s just sick Jesus is trying to say that spiritual and physical illness are interrelated
5. If something like this ever happened in your church, what would the people say?
This is the best excitement we’ve seen in years / Who is going to pay for the roof? / Whatever it takes to get someone healed is fine with us / We’re used to these things. Let’s see this never happens again.
MIND feeling no stress/no pain
Go around and let each person in your group finish this sentence:
The way in which you could help me most is....”
Courage and faith / A good sense of humor / Physical strength / Faithfulness in prayer / Desperation / The right equipment.
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