And they came unto Him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
The charities of the poor
“Borne of four.” The charities of the rich are published far and wide, and all men talk of them. Let us turn from them to think for a little of the charities of the poor. But how do we know that the paralytic in this story belonged to the poor? From St. Mark. When he says (Mar_2:4) “They let down the bed,” he employs a different word for bed from St. Matthew, viz., the Greek form of the Latin grabatus, the pallet or camp bed used by the poor (Cf. Joh_5:8; Act_5:15; Act_9:33). This is one of those graphic touches by which he so often gives additional interest and pictorial vividness to his narrative. (Cf. in the context, “Capernaum,” verse 1, “about the door,” verse 2, “broken it up,” verse 4, “son,” verse 5, and text, “borne of four.”) The story suggests as to the charities of the poor-
I. That they generally spring from neighbourhood-“Four.” Who were they, friends or kinsfolk? Most probably neighbours. There is something sacred in neighbourhood. It is an ordinance of God, and the source of countless kindnesses and sweet humanities.
II. That they are often nameless-“Four.” The deed of love is chronicled, but nothing is said to identify the doers. So of thousands. Their simple, unostentatious charities are unnamed and unhonoured. But their record is on high.
III. That they are called forth in cases of great distress-“Palsy,” Type of many. No place exempt from trouble. Multitudes of the poor suffer grievously.
IV. That they are characterized by much disinterestedness and generosity. Of the charities of the poor it may be said, as Spenser says of the angels, that they are “all for love and nothing for reward.”
V. That they are personally exercised. Most of the rich act by proxy. How different with the poor. They act for themselves.
VI. That they reach their highest form when they are the means of bringing souls to Christ.
VII. That they shall have a great reward. Happy day for this poor man and his friends. (W. Forsyth, M. A.)
Mutual help
“Two,” says Solomon, “are better than one; for if one fall he can help the other, but woe unto him that is alone when he falleth!” The cobbler could not paint the picture, but he could tell Apelles that the shoe latchet was not quite right, and the painter thought it well to take his hint. Two neighbours, one blind and the other lame, were called to a place at a great distance. What was to be done? The blind man could not see, and the lame man could not walk! Why, the blind man carried the lame one; the former assisted by his legs, the other by his eyes. Say to no one, then, “I can do without you;” but be ready to help those who ask your aid, and then, when it is needed, you may ask theirs. (Smith.)
A man with a palsy
Learn:
I. The blessedness of faithful friends.
II. The power of sin.
III. The result of perseverance.
IV. The philosophy of religion-“Seek ye first,” etc. (Anon.)
The sick man let down through the roof to Christ
I.Those who would be healed by Christ must come to him. Though in exceptional cases our Lord did cure sick people who were at a distance (e.g. Luk_7:1-10)
, His general rule was to heal by look, word, and touch-by the giving out of “virtue” from His living presence (Mar_5:30). Thus in the case before us the man was not cured till he reached Christ.
1. It is not enough to hear much of Christ. It is not enough to hear of a surgeon; a cure can be effected only by personal treatment.
2. It is not enough to seek help of those who are near to Christ. The crowd about the door could not heal the sick man.
II. There are those who will never reach Christ unless they are brought to him by others. The sick man was “borne of four,” and could not have reached Jesus without this help. It is the mission of the Church to bring to Christ those who are too helpless in spiritual indifference to seek Him of their own accord (Luk_14:21-23). Note-
1. The Church cannot cure the world of its sin.
2. Those who cannot do more, may be able to bring others under “the sound of the word,” by inducing them to attend places of worship, etc.
III. The selfishness of some who are enjoying Christian privileges is one of the greatest impediments to the spread of the blessings of the gospel among those who are as yet without them. The selfish crowd would not give place for the sick man.
IV. Earnest perseverance in seeking Christ will overcome the greatest difficulties. The readiness to give up before difficulties is a sure proof of half-heartedness. It is the sluggard who says, “There is a lion in the path.” Christ is always accessible, though not always with ease.
V. Though the way of coming to Christ may be irregular, His healing blessing will be certainly given when once He is truly found. There are cases in which the regular methods of the Church fail, and irregular methods seem to succeed. (W. F. Adeney, M. A.)
Healing the paralytic
I.Forgiveness is the chief blessing.
II. Adoption-“Son.”
III. Gladness-“Be of good cheer.”
IV. Faith-“When He saw their faith.” (D. Brotchie.)
Christ’s way of dealing with sin
I.The malady presented to Christ. The malady, apparently, was nothing more than palsy. But not as such did Christ treat it. As with their faith, so it was here. He went deeper than perseverance or ingenuity. He goes deeper than the outward evil; down to the evil, the root of all evil, properly the only evil-sin. Now sin has a twofold set of consequences.
1. The natural. By the natural, we mean those results which come inevitably in the train of wrong-doing, by what we call the laws of nature visiting themselves on the outward condition of a sinner, by which sin and suffering are linked together. Here, apparently, palsy had been the natural result of sin; for otherwise the address of Christ was meaningless. These natural consequences are often invisible as well as inevitable. Probably not one of the four friends, or even the physician, suspected such a connection. But the conscience of the palsied man and the all-seeing eye of Christ traced the connection. Such an experience is true much oftener than we imagine. The irritable temperament, the lost memory, are connected with sins done long ago. For nothing here stands alone and causeless. The Saviour saw in this palsied man the miserable wreck of an ill-spent life.
2. Now quite distinct from these are the moral consequences of guilt: by which I mean those which tell upon the character and inward being of the man who sins. In one sense, no doubt, it is a natural result, inasmuch as it is by a law, regular and unalterable, a man becomes by sin deteriorated in character, or miserable. Now these are twofold, negative and positive-the loss of some blessing: or the accruing of some evil to the heart. Loss-as when by sinning we lose the capacity for all higher enjoyments; for none can sin without blunting his sensibilities. He has lost the zest of a pure life, the freshness and the flood of happiness which come to every soul when it is delicate, and pure, and natural. This is no light loss. If anyone here congratulates himself that sin has brought to him no positive misery, my brother, I pray you to remember that God’s worst curse was pronounced upon the serpent tempter. Apparently it was far less than that pronounced on the woman, but really it was far more terrible. Not pain, not shame-no, these are remedial, and may bring penitence at last-but to sink the angel in the animal-the spirit in the flesh; to be a reptile, and to eat the dust of degradation as if it were natural food. Eternity has no damnation deeper than that. Then, again, a positive result-the dark and dreadful loneliness that comes from doing wrong-a conscious unrest which plunges into business, or pleasure, or society, not for the love of these things, but to hide itself from itself as Adam did in the trees of the garden, because it dare not hear the voice of God, nor believe in His presence.
II. Christ’s treatment of that malady. By the declaration of God’s forgiveness. The forgiveness of God acts upon the moral consequences of sin directly. Remorse passes into penitence and love. There is no more loneliness, for God has token up His abode there. No more self-contempt, for he whom God has forgiven learns to forgive himself. There is no more unrest, for “being justified by faith, we have peace with God.” Upon the natural consequences, not directly, but indirectly and mediately. The forgiveness of Christ did not remove the palsy, that was the result of a separate act of Christ. It is quite conceivable that it might not have been removed at all. Consider too, that without a miracle, they must have remained in this man’s case. It is so in everyday life. If the intemperate man repents he will receive forgiveness, but will that penitence give him back the steady hand of youth? Or if the suicide between the moment of draining the poisoned cup and that of death repent of his deed, will that arrest the operation of the poison? A strong constitution or the physician may possibly save life; but penitence has nothing to do with it. Say that the natural penal consequence of crime is the scaffold:-Did the pardon given to the dying thief unnail his hands? Did Christ’s forgiveness interfere with the natural consequences of his guilt? And thus, we are brought to a very solemn and awful consideration, awful because of its truth and simplicity. The consequences of past deeds remain. They have become part of the chain of the universe-effects which now are causes, and will work and interweave themselves with the history of the world forever. You cannot undo your acts. If you have depraved another’s will, and injured another’s soul, it may be in the grace of God that hereafter you will be personally accepted and the consequences of your guilt inwardly done away, but your penitence cannot undo the evil you have done, and God’s worst punishment may be that you may have to gaze half frantic on the ruin you have caused, on the evil you have done. And yet even here the grace of God’s forgiveness is not in vain; it may transform the natural consequences of sin into blessings. It would give meekness, patience, and change even the character of death itself. A changed heart will change all things around us.
III. The true aim and meaning of miracles. It is the outward manifestation of the power of God, in order that we may believe in the power of God in things that are invisible. Miracles were no concession to that infidel spirit which taints our modern Christianity, and which cannot believe in God’s presence, except it can see Him in the supernatural. Rather, they were to make us feel that all is marvellous, all wonderful, all pervaded with a Divine presence, and that the simplest occurrences of life are miracles. In conclusion. Let me address those who, like this sufferer, are in any degree conscious either of the natural or moral results of sin, working in them. My Christian brethren, if the crowd of difficulties which stand between your soul and God succeed in keeping you away, all is lost. Right into His presence you must force your way, with no concealment. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Body and soul cured
I. Pardon, as such, is not a progressive thing. There is no such thing as half a pardon. There are no processes of forgiveness-“Thy sins are forgiven thee.” The sense of pardon will progress with growing holiness; but not the pardon.
II. We may notice further that the forgiveness of sins took the initiative of all the blessings. It was the first act of grace which led on to all the rest. Remember, we do not work up to our pardon, but from it. We receive it in the free, undeserved, sovereign grace of God.
III. And further, we gather from the story, that any temporal blessings that we receive may, to a devout mind, give evidence of god’s love to the soul and of his tower to bestow further spiritual gifts.
IV. It is strengthening and assuring also to see by what tenures we hold our pardon-“The Son of man,” etc.(J. Vaughan, M. A.)
The paralytic let down through the roof
Thescribes were right in their instinctive reflection; that none can forgive sins but God. As an illustration of the whole covenant of our redemption from guilt, and its penal consequences, Christ first forgives the sins of the paralytic, and then throws health into every fibre of his body. Does it not intimate “that all judgment hath been committed unto the Son.” Does it not cast a new light upon those passages of Holy Writ, in which the prerogative of giving life is attributed to Jesus, as though He were the original source of vitality. Let us regard this as an instance of Divine faith; it will help us to a view of faith as contrasted with reason, and of faith exercised in its proper department; also an example of the moral necessity of faith to the obtaining of blessings from heaven.
I. The consideration of the text will help us to a right view of faith as contrasted with reason. It was clearly faith which brought the men to the city where our Lord was; whereas reason might have kept them at home. Let it be assumed that faith and reason are independent processes of the mind, as being exercised on different things; faith “cometh by hearing,” and simply accepting testimony; reason, on the other hand, looks rather to the lessons of experience. The four friends of the palsied man having heard of the cures wrought by Jesus, determined at all hazards to carry their friend to Him. Now we call the moral temper which so influenced them-it may be in the twinkling of an eye-faith. They accepted the statements of those who had been at Capernaum. They did not argue concerning the supernatural power of our Lord, or inquire whether it was consonant with the usual course of nature; such would have been the exercise of reason. Reason would have contended that no force of words could restore palsied limbs to health. Faith, so far contrasted with reason, was ready to make the journey. To put the contrast in another view. There are many who would contend, that our last remark goes to depreciate faith, and to say that it is a moral quality, lower than reason; dependent, after all, upon it, and content to make its decisions and pursue its conduct upon a less precise and more vague amount of evidence. Nay, more, that it may be confused with reason, and is but a certain form or process of reason. This is practically the view of all those modern thinkers, who, wanting to get rid of the motive powers of the gospel, seek first to depreciate the very principles of which they are constituted. But it may be replied, that reason is not the origin and source of faith, because it sometimes comes in to test and verify its discoveries, any more than the judge at your tribunals is the origin of the innocence of those whom he righteously acquits; or the critic who decides about the structure and the plot of an epic, is to be confounded with the poet, from the depths of whose abounding genius its rich thoughts have welled forth. From what we have said it may be presumed that we claim for faith something not unlike a separate identity in the breast. We think that we hardly disparage conscience-itself not far apart from reason, as exercised in a high and holy manner, and yet, though near, distinct-if we seat faith by her side, in the banquet of the soul’s uppermost chamber: if we claim for faith the prerogatives of a separate instinct and power-a moral temper and standing, apart in the breast; and coming in its brighter forms not merely of ourselves, not as a natural evolution of any ordinary inward powers, but as the special gift of God. Nor is this to confound it with that superstition of fanaticism by which the pretended votaries of faith are sometimes led away, and which renders it so obnoxious to men of the world. But not to continue longer this desultory contrast of faith and reason than the necessity of the times requires, and leaving its development rather to your private meditations, we shall only dwell on one more point, as displayed in the case of the earnest friends of the paralytic. This conduct forms a strong illustration of the truth that faith is a principle of action, as reason of minute investigations. We may, if we will, think that such investigations are of high value; though, in truth, they have a tendency to blunt the practical energy of the mind while they improve its scientific exactness. This remark brings us to the gist of our whole argument. We are surrounded by men who would persuade us that the world is to be regenerated, and all its paralytic prostrations healed, by the careful balancing of certain philosophical truths, by courses of speculative inquiry, by the exercise of the reason alone. Of the height of faith in its higher forms they know nothing. We venture to tell them that whether for the rescue of a pauper or a world their plans and principles are powerless. While reason is speculating and balancing things, and doubts which way to proceed, faith moves rapidly and majestically forward, and sheds blessings at every footstep. While reason inquires whether the waters can possess any healing power, faith steps in, and is made whole. If, then, reason and faith are to stand opposed, let us stand, with the just, by faith. Reason, set up in denial of faith-in morals, gave men the fictions of Rousseau-in religion, of Thomas Paine-in politics, of the French Revolution. Irreverence, captiousness, the spirit of division, the denial of the divinity of our blessed Lord and all sacramental mysteries, the sneers at prayer-these are the genuine products of reason, attired as a harlot, carried as an idol, and set in antagonism to faith. Of extremes, that of the rationalist is the worst. I had rather be superstitions than sceptical. Wherever I am, oh Jesus Christ, give me the spirit of simplicity, learning, and loving; lest Thou shouldest be near, and I knew it not-lest others should be pressing to hear Thy words and seek Thy face, taking, with holy “violence, the kingdom of heaven by force,” and I should linger apart from Thee; lest my soul should be left with its leprous taint of sin uncured, while others came from Thy presence, with souls like that of a little child; lest my spiritual powers should be palsied still, while others, “borne” by the faith of “four,” had their sins forgiven, their maladies healed, and took up their bed, and departed to their house.
II. Without apologising for the length of the discussion just closed-because it seems necessary to meet the rationalist and utilitarian direction of this iron age-we turn with minds relieved and rejoicing to a few practical reflections immediately suggested by the text. It furnishes, first, an example of earnest industry on the part of the friends and attendants of the poor paralytic, such as we shall do well to imitate as well as admire. Brethren, beloved in the Lord, is your substantiation of things hoped for simple and uncompromising like this? Believing, as we trust you do, in the Lord Jesus Christ, do ye use contrivance as earnest, and labour as hard, in fulfilling that best office of friendship, which places the diseased in the presence of their Saviour? Do you send up their case to the house of God, that it may be borne, as it were, not of “four,” but of many, to the throne of heavenly grace? If there be in your families any paralyzed by sin and wickedness, men whose moral principles are deadened, and sensibilities benumbed, by the poison of licentiousness, or infidelity, or worldliness, do you try by importunate application, and kind but constant entreaty, to bring them to the living fountain, open for sin and uncleanness? Christ is in His Church; do you try and persuade them to join you in its holy services? Do you ply them with every kind and tender office, bearing them, as it were, in your arms, that your importunity may be successful? Do you take as much pains for their soul’s health, as they who carried the palsied cripple, and let him down through the roof of the house? And you cannot but remark the reward which our blessed Lord vouchsafes to their exertions. His omniscient eye followed them as they toiled up the staircase to the roof; He perceived their confidence. It is not, we trust, irreverent to suppose that His spirit rejoiced within Him, and felt serene satisfaction at the flow of faith in the hearts of these people. Mysteriously restrained or free, rapid or slow, plenteous, or frugal, in the disbursal of His miraculous blessings, according to the faith of those around Him, grieved as He often was at the hardness of men’s hearts, doing hero and there “not many mighty works, because of their unbelief;” we may suppose the joyous contrast of emotion, as He perceived the paralytic let down in His presence. Similar, beloved brethren, shall be your reward; if you, with the same quiet constancy and steadfastness, seek to bring souls to Him, who is the good Physician. It may be, that your toil will long appear mere unprofitable waste. You will long wonder at the little result which ensues on your earnest effort. The deeper laws of God’s eternal kingdom, the manner in which He subdues minds to Himself, will be entirely hidden from your most searching investigation. Still, with faith, toil on; toil on. Carry your wicked and morally paralysed friends, on the arms of prayer, to Christ; persuade them, if possible, to seek the sacred scenes where the shadows of Christ’s mysterious presence fall; “in due time ye shall reap, if ye faint not.” (T. Jackson.)
