One of the most powerful stories in the New Testament is the account of Jesus healing the man with palsy. This account is found in Luke 5. In the text, we find Jesus teaching in a house presumably near the sea of Galilee. Fame of his ability has filled the religious leaders with curiosity and jealousy. From all over the region they have come to listen to him teach and answer questions.
Outside in the large crowd of common folk, a small group of friends have gathered, seeking to get their friend to Jesus. Because the crowd is so big and individuals selfish, they are not able to get their friend to Jesus, at least in a conventional way.
Not stopped by the unfavourable circumstances, they cut a large hole in the roof enough to let their friend down to Jesus. Instead of reprimanding them, Jesus is moved by their faith. Seeing that man is repentant in heart, he forgives his sins. This causes outrage in the hearts of the unbelieving Pharisees, who see this rightly as Jesus exercising divine authority. Not at all rattled by the anger of the Pharisees, Jesus goes a step further, showing that he is indeed God, healing the man of his Palsy with a simple command. It is truly a remarkable story.
One of the things that is overlooked in the story is the powerful example of the friends who brought their sick friend to Jesus. There are three key lessons that can be learned from their tenacious faith.
Be Driven by Compassion
In order for any endeavor to be a success, there must be a strong motivation behind it. Although they could have been motivated by a corrupt, self-serving love, it is safe to assume that the motivation of these friends was deep compassion for their friend. They loved their friend, saw his deep need and did what was necessary to make sure that he got to Jesus.
What is it that motivates you? Is your ministry motivated by a deep compassion? Or are you fuelled by self-serving self-promotion? Only you known the truth.
Overcome Obstacles with Tenacious, Faith-Filled Creativity
Instead of being stopped by the many obstacles before them, these tenacious friends thought outside of the box and got their friend to Jesus, no matter the cost. They didn’t let a crowd, a roof, or a room full of arrogant pharisees stop them. Nothing could keep them from getting their sick friend to Jesus.
The world of ministry is full of obstacles. Your lazy flesh does not like to serve God or others and will rebel at the very thought. Evil people do not you serving God and others. The devil does not like you serving God and others and will attempt to derail your ministry at every turn.
A Christian whose ministry is motivated by compassionate faith will not be stopped by the obstacles that are thrown in his way. By accessing God’s enabling power, he will persevere, trusting God to overcome his personal weakness. He will push through hard times, the broken dreams, the criticism, the misunderstandings. He will wage spiritual warfare and preserve with creativity seeing the end goal beyond the momentary obstacles. He will overcome with faith filled, grace enabled, tenacious creativity.
What does it take for you to be stopped in your ministry to others? Do you retreat at the first sign of criticism, anger, or spiritual resistance or do you persevere, understanding that you are engaged in a battle with the highest stakes and the greatest prize, that of souls snatched from the fires of hell and reconciled with Jesus Christ?
Just Get them to Jesus
The most important aspect of this story is the person of Christ. Without him, there would be no story. These friends knew one thing: They needed to get their friend to Jesus. No doubt they had tried everything, and it hadn’t worked. They knew the one thing: Jesus could heal their friend. Not only that, but they believed that Jesus would heal their friend. They gave it their all and got their friend to Jesus.
In ministry, you don’t actually have anything to offer. You don’t have the ability to forgive sins, to heal wounds, to patch up broken relationships, to reconcile warring factions in a family. You have no ability to do miracles. Only Jesus can do that. Like these good friends, you need to have one driving goal in mind in your personal ministry: you must get them to Jesus! If you can get them to Jesus, he will do the saving, healing and transforming. Don’t try to be a savior. Let Jesus do that. He is the only one that can anyway!
Will Esayenko is an evangelist from Alberta, Canada. He was trained at Baptist College of Ministry in Menomonee Falls, WI. He traveled twice with Bobby Bosler as a team captain doing youth evangelistic work during his college years. It is his goal to see a new church planting movement established in Western Canada.
