Mark 2:1-12 Faith is in the Air

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 2:1-12 Faith is in the Air

Capernaum is one of the neighboring towns, a fishing village. Jesus travels there to teach and minister, and, not surprisingly, he draws a crowd. Meeting in a house, some men, desperate to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus, carry him on a cot. Finding their access to Jesus blocked by the crowds, they go to the roof and remove the roofing materials so that they can lower their friend to Jesus.

Mark 2:3–5 “And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.””

This, of course, is totally inappropriate. I don’t know who the house belonged to, but if it was your house, how would you have felt about it being dismantled? And I cannot think of a kind of building material that, if you start taking it apart above, it fail to rain down all manner of dust, chunks, debris, etc. It had to make a mess of Jesus’ teaching session. Who did these people think they were? It seems rude and impertinent.

But Jesus called it faith. This subject of faith unsettles me. I wish I could define it better. I wish it made better sense to me. It’s not that faith is unreasonable or nonsensical - but it doesn’t fit well in one of my mental boxes. 

We emphasize personal faith. In this instanced the paralyzed man was healed due to the faith of his friends: “And Jesus seeing their faith ..” Now “their” could include all 5 members of the group, but it was the 4 who did the dirty work, getting the man to Jesus. But we say, “you cannot be saved by your parents’ faith,” etc., - it requires personal faith. But Jesus forgives the sins of the paralytic because of the faith of the friends, or the faith of the group.

And so the title, “Faith is in the Air.” Faith may not fit in a box, but it seems as though Jesus is delighted to work when “faith is in the air.” I do not want to say that, in the face of unbelief, Jesus’ hands are tied. Some could argue that. But God has so ordered that He is pleased to move in conjunction with faith, and is not so pleased to work in salvation and healing in its absence.

As you can read in this story, “faith” is not all that is the air. There is also stubbornness and resistance. The scribes were “reasoning in their hearts,” judging Jesus and finding fault with His words and His works. Their reasonings were not full of faith, but rather of unbelief. Jesus said, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” They might allow Jesus to heal his body. Just don’t speak to his soul. But Jesus is Lord of both.

So does my “reasoning” overrule my “faith”? Does my penchant for making sure people follow rules keep me from faith-ful ventures that would be called daring and risky, or rude and impertinent - in order to get close to Jesus, to invite His interference and engagement in my life. 

Do you think, at the end of the day, those men regretted acting in faith? And do you think you may regret it, as your days grow old, that you did not?