Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.
And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
Mark 2:3-5
Imagine yourself and your three friends; you have carried your paralyzed buddy for however far to get him to Jesus; you even have to remove part of the roof and let him down through the roof so that Jesus can see him; and Jesus says to him, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” What would you think? Would you think, “We didn’t carry him all this way so that Jesus could forgive his sins; we brought him here so that he could walk again!”
Why do you suppose Jesus first forgave his sins? Was it to prove a point to the Scribes or could it be that He dealt with the man’s greater need first? Remember, one can go into heaven with sicknesses, diseases, and infirmities but one cannot go into heaven with sin in one’s heart.
Do you remember what Jesus said in Matthew 18:8,
“It is better for you to enter into life (heaven) halt or maimed.”
So, Jesus dealt with the man’s eternal need which was the greater and then He dealt with the man’s earthly need, which was the lesser, by saying to Him, “Arise, and take up your bed, and go your way into own house.”
What is your greater need? Since only you and the Lord know what that is, you will need to take it to the Lord yourself. When you do, you will find that many of the lesser needs will begin to seem insignificant and they will begin to fade away. Ask the Lord to take care of the greater need and then trust Him to take care of your other needs? You will find that you will be freer than you ever imagined possible because he/she whom the Son sets free, is free indeed. Amen, amen and amen.
