Friends Who Let You Down

Have you ever been disappointed by one of your friends?

Not only have friends disappointed me, but I have no doubt that I’ve been the one who disappointed my friends, too.

Since we never know exactly what anyone else is going through, sometimes we let our precious friends down. Of course we don’t do it on purpose. And we feel horrible when we realize we did it. So, that’s what we have to remember when our friends let us down.

They’re only human, too.

Four friends

Today’s New Testament miracle is found in Luke 5:18-25, Matt. 9:2-8, and Mark 2:3-12. Here we see how friends of a lame man helped him meet Jesus. Jesus was teaching inside a home. A crowd gathered around – inside and out. So many that there was no room left, even outside the door, as they listened to His teaching. Four friends carried a paralyzed man there. Unable to get inside, they made a hole in the roof about Jesus and lowered their friend through it.

And Jesus saw their faith in His ability to heal the man. So He said to the lame man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Was the lame man asking for forgiveness? No. Is that why the four friends brought him to Jesus? No. Was their faith in Jesus’ ability to FORGIVE SINS what He recognized in them? No.

Jesus saw their faith in His healing ability. He’d been doing other healing miracles, and the friends wanted that relief for their man. So they found Jesus, overcame several obstacles (the crowd, the roof, and the distance to the floor), and very literally LET THEIR FRIEND DOWN to Jesus.

The unexpected answer

”Son, your sins are forgiven.”

To a man who just joined the crowded room through a fresh hole in the roof, Jesus sees the great faith of the four still outside.

Then He deals with the man’s SPIRITUAL condition first. Sometimes I think we forget this about God and His Son’s mission. Yes, Jesus healed many He encountered. But He was on a SPIRITUAL MISSION. Our true healing comes in our freedom from sin.

Jesus speaks these words because several Jewish leaders were present. All 3 accounts include the fact that Jesus knew their thoughts: [that He was blaspheming with this statement, claiming to be God.] And He called them out on it. And says, “I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Luke 5:24, Mark 2:10, Matt. 9:6

This enraged the Jewish leaders, because they knew God alone can forgive sins, and they don’t want to acknowledge Jesus’ true identity.

Here’s your proof

”Which is easier to say, ‘your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘get up and walk’?”

Jesus knew there is no VISIBLE evidence that the lam man’s sins are now forgiven. So saying they are is easy. But telling the man to walk would lead to very visible results.

Jesus gained followers by all the signs and miracles He did. But those signs and miracles are not why He came. They were validation of His true mission – to save the man, his friends, and US from sin. And here, the results are dramatic and undeniable: the man walked away.

What it means for me

I need to be prepared when my friends are in need. Recently, I asked 2 friends for support during a time period I knew was going to be stressful. I rarely ask for help, but I knew I would need it. I haven’t really heard from them since. I must be a better friend when I am asked to help
I want bold faith. I want the “tear a hole in the roof’ faith to approach Jesus with my friends and their needs. There is no limit to what He can do – other than my own failure to ask.
True healing. Ultimately, I know my faith in Jesus saved me from SPIRITUAL death. His mission was a success for me. Who have I been telling?
Rely on Jesus. Human friends may disappoint, but Jesus never will.