The Paralysed Man  (Mark chp 2)

When Jesus was in Capernaum, many people gathered around him in order to hear him speak.  Four men brought a paralysed man to Jesus, but they were unable to get near to him because of the size of the crowd.  So they climbed onto the roof, made an opening, and let the paralysed man down through this, on his stretcher.  Jesus was so impressed by their faith that he told the paralysed man that his sins were forgiven.  But some teachers of the law questioned how Jesus was able to do this, as only God could forgive sins.  So in order to prove his power on earth, Jesus commanded the paralysed man to stand up, pick up his stretcher and walk.  When he did so, everyone was amazed by the miracle which they had witnessed, and said that they had never seen anything like it.

Themes

• Great crowd - many people wanted to hear Jesus teach.
• Illness - people in Jesus' day believed that illness was caused by sin, and so they would have perceived the paralysed man not only as a cripple, but also as a sinner.  Most would have refused to associate with him at all.
• Faith - it was because of the strong faith held by the man and his friends that Jesus forgave the paralytic's sins.
  
• Miracle - when the people wouldn't believe his authority to forgive sins, Jesus performed a miraculous deed, by commanding the paralysed man to stand up, pick up his stretcher, and walk.  They could hardly doubt him then!
  
  

Contemporary Issues

• Forgiveness.
  
• Faith.
• Forgiveness through faith?

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Jesus heals a crippled woman on the Sabbath  (Luke chp 13)

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath day, and there was a woman there who had been crippled for eighteen years.  But Jesus laid his hands on her, and removed her infirmity.  The official of the Synagogue criticised Jesus for having performed this deed on the Sabbath day, as Jewish law prohibited people from doing any work on this day.  But Jesus replied that the woman had been suffering under the hand of the devil for eighteen years, and just as a Jew would think nothing of untying his ox or donkey on the Sabbath day in order to give it water, then why should the woman not be untied from her bond with the devil on the Sabbath day?

Themes

• Miracle - this is another miracle story, showing Jesus' power to perform miraculous deeds for the good of others.
• Synagogue - Sabbath - Woman - Jesus heals a woman in the Synagogue, and on the Sabbath day - he is breaking with both social and Jewish custom.  But Jesus is showing that he will overcome the old rules with new ideas.
• Dare to be different - Jesus is dismissing the old laws, and asking the Jews to question their own traditions.  Are they actually worthwhile?
  
  

Contemporary Issues

• Rules (in school and society) - is it ever right to break them?
  
• Miraculous healings - do they still happen?
• Sabbath day - importance?

Revision