Today's Reading: Mark 2: 1-12
**For a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.
Please click this link to read Mark 2: 1-12
Bible Study
It's more than healing in this incident, more than what we learn from the other healing in the last chapter. There are three things we need to know:
- The Band of Brothers' love: If not for the love of that four friends, the paralytic did not have a chance at all. The love is somewhat like the WWII movie "Band of Brothers", they fought in total unity for their own lives and the glory of their nation. The love of the paralytic's friends pushed every possible opportunity to the limit as they took off the roof to seek help for their friend. How can we learn from this wonderful example that we are under the total support of this Band of Brothers' love?
- Jesus roof being ruined - Most commentators say the house should belong to Peter and Andrew. But N.T. Wright in his "Mark for Everybody" says, "Most people don't realize that this was probably Jesus' own house. He had moved to Capernaum from Nazareth; the point of the first two verses is that when Jesus returned from his short preaching trip around the neighbouring villages, he found crowds pressing around the door as though he were a movie star or well-known footballer. jesus himself was the unlucky householder who had his roof ruined that day. This opens up quite a new possibility for understanding what Jesus said to the paralysed man. How would you feel if someone made a big hole in your roof? But Jesus looks down and says, with a rueful smile: 'All right - I forgive you!' Something in his voice, though, made them all realize this was different. This forgiveness went deeper than mere domestic disputes. Jesus was speaking with a quiet authority which went down into the paralysed man's innermost being."
- Healing and forgiveness goes together - Jesus was committing a theological crime because he was not a priest, and even a priest can not forgive someone's sin, only God can. Here, Jesus declared Himself as the Son of Man and as in Daniel 7:13 pointing to the representative of God's true people - the Messiah. Miraculous healing and the forgiveness of God goes together and Jesus is the one who forgives and heals.
Jesus said, "Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or the say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all.
Mark 2: 9-12
Have you experienced Jesus power and authority of healing and forgiving? How can you join in group of three to four people to bring more people to be healed and forgiven by Jesus?
Have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to God as you listen to him, while listening to "Chariots of Fire"
My Spiritual Journal
What I heard from Jesus today is: The Band of Brothers' love!
Jesus reminds me very strongly on how important the Band of Brothers love can be. The reason for most people to switch to another church or do not go to church anymore is that they can not find even two to three good friends in their own church. Let's be one of that four people or find two to three more using our newly designed Evangelist123 card to start the process to bring more people to Jesus in a fervent way!
Dear Lord Jesus,
Chinese praise song - 祢讓我生命改變 You Transform My Life
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