The Roof Rippers!! Pt. 3 of 3

Catchin’ Jesus Attention.
I was just going to do 2 installments on “the Roof Rippers!!” but I can’t skip this major point. Before we move forward we better read the story again. In Roof Rippers pt.1 I went with Luke’s account. In Roof Rippers pt. 2 I covered Mark’s story. It’s time to go with Matt’s record.

Matt 9:2 Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." 3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!" 4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7 And the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

When I was in youth, I remember hearing messages about “For the eyes of the LORD roam throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” That statement is pulled from the first half of 2nd Chronicles 16:9. It’s funny that I don’t remember hearing the 2nd part of that verse in youth group. It states: “You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war." Looking back it may have done me better to hear the 2nd part more than the 1st part of 2nd Chron 16:9. But the point of the messages I heard in my youth was to spark something within me, to make me rise up and be noticed by God. Here in Matthew chapter 9 we see Jesus taking notice of some individuals. Look at Matt 9:2 “Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’” All the translations that are my go-to’s pretty much translate the statement “Jesus saw their faith” the same; but the Message did give this scripture a good twist. The Messages Bible states the phrase in Matt 9:2 this way: “Jesus, impressed by their bold belief”. This is actually pretty close to what the original Greek stated. The Greek word used in Matt 9:2 for “saw” is “eidon.” It does mean to literally see, but in Matt 9:2 is has more of a metaphorical meaning as in: spoken of the mind meaning to perceive by the senses, to be aware of, to remark. The same Greek word “eidon” is used in Romans 11:22 when it says “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God.” Eidon is translated to the word “consider.” Back to Matt 9:2, Jesus saw/considered their faith. Something caught Jesus eyes; something caught His attention. What was it that caught Jesus attention? Was it the faulty roof that just opened above Him? Was it the dust and rubble from the roof that was falling all over Him as He taught? Was it a dude being lowered down to His feet? No, it wasn’t any of those distractions. What made Jesus take notice was the 4+ friends’ faith. Matt 9:2 states “when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic…” It was their faith that made Creature/Savior of the world stop mid-sentence of what I am sure of was an earth shattering message and take notice. I really never thought of this before, but do you realize that these 4+ friends committed a crime in trying to get their friend to Jesus? Think about it, this is truly breaking and entering. They broke somebody’s roof. I am positive that the house Jesus was speaking in was not one of theirs. If the house was one of theirs then that person would have spoken up and said: “hey, stop breaking the roof. It’s my house; we can just kick everyone out and talk to Jesus.” I wonder what the owner of the house was thinking as he watched his ceiling open up. I’m sure it was some serious damage. This could not have been a weak roof. It had to support at least 5 people. James 2:17 famously says “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” These guys did not have dead faith! It took work to bust through that ceiling. On top of that, they really had to trust the roof because by busting a hole in it they compromised the integrity of that roof. Roof Busting Faith: that will catch Jesus attention every time. I want some Roof Busting Faith, don’t you? The truth is I/we have it, if we call on Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Jesus, as recorded in Luke 17:6* and Matt 17:20*, said that just a small amount of faith can move some serious stuff. Romans 12:3 says: “in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” From Romans 12:3 some theologians debate whether God gives some Christians more faith than others or if He gives all the same measure. Really, it doesn’t matter because according to Jesus’ teaching we just need a small amount to do great things. These 4+ guys moved something. They moved a roof to get their buddy healed. I think it is time for today’s church to practice its’ Roof Rippin’ skills. It’s time to move some thangs. Yep, I used the word thangs.

This healing miracle is the last of Jesus first year of ministry. Or you can say this is the last of His first Passover year. WOW! What a 1st year! From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. The highest would be people flocking to Him for his teaching and healing touch. The lowest would be His own home town trying to kill Him. Jesus 2nd year of ministry promises to be even more exciting.

Stay blessed y’all, it’s your choice.
jimmy

*Luke 17:6 He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
*Matthew 17:20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."