Jesus loved people.

 Mark 2:1-12. Time and again in the gospels we can read that He healed someone, performed a miracle, preached, taught or in some way or another was involved with people. He didn’t go where He wasn’t wanted or if the place didn’t accept Him. The events in this passage of Scripture happened early in Jesus’ ministry. According to Mark 1, He already had called Andrew, Peter, James and John to be disciples and begun to minister to the people of Capernaum in various ways. Now we’re going to see one of the more unusual episodes in the gospels. Jesus has returned to Capernaum. He had gone to a number of places”. I’m sure the people of Capernaum remembered how Jesus had not only taught with power, but had also cast out a demon from a man who somehow was in the synagogue! Further, there were probably some who remembered how Jesus had healed Simon Peter’s mother-in-law from a fever.

Here in this account there is a hunger and thirst for the Word of God. It’s true there were synagogues, where the Law and the Prophets were expounded, but nothing like the teaching ministry of Jesus. Again we can refer back to Mark 1:22 where he records that Jesus spoke with authority, and not as the scribes. All we know for certain is that Jesus was in that house, and He was preaching the Word to all the people who came there. Mark also tells us that people were standing near the door to hear Jesus preach and no more people could get in. Some of the people who couldn’t get to Jesus were the four men, with their sick friend, who wanted their sick friend to be healed. This sickness, by the way, was serious, it was palsy. These men, all five of them, wanted the sick man to be healed.  Where did they receive their faith? How did they know or how could they know or how could Jesus heal their friend? We may not know the answers to these questions, but we do know this: They took action, putting their faith into action, believing Jesus could heal their friend. They found the way blocked by people standing too close to the door! Was there another way to get this man to Jesus? All we know is that they somehow dug a hole in the roof and got their friend to Jesus, and that was all that mattered.

He took a look at the man, and said, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. Jesus had the power to forgive sins. He did, and He does, from those days to these days. The episode closes with Jesus telling the man to rise up, and “go thy way” back to his house. Mark closes this story by saying the sick man rose up, took up his bed, and walked off! Now, he’s healed! He could rise up from the floor, he could pick up his bed, and he could walk out of this house. The crowd said, “We never saw anything like this before!”

So how does “go thy way” apply to us? We all have friends who are sick, we need to get them to the doctor fast. We have an advantage today in medical care, but still, some illnesses won’t be healed unless the Lord intervenes.

The main point is when Jesus told the man, “go thy way”, the man obeyed Jesus! He rose up, picked up his bed, and went home! We can “go our way” and share this good news, this great news, about Jesus and what He did and does for us through The Holy Spirit..