Let Him Down Through The Roof

Jesus told the man to get up take your bed and go to your house.

Let him down through the roof.

The account of the healing of the paralyzed man in mark 2 1 12 contains a number of lessons for growing christians. And when they had broken it up they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. So they tore a hole in this man s roof and lowered him down to jesus. 5 when jesus saw their faith he said unto the sick of the palsy son thy sins be forgiven thee.

4 and when they could not come nigh unto him for the press they uncovered the roof where he was. So they went up on the top of the house and let him down through the roof on his bed into the middle in front of jesus. As far as they were concerned jesus may not ever pass that way again and they wanted to make sure this paralytic man had to chance to see him. And because of the mass of people there was no way to get him in.

The tiles were plates of burnt clay suitable for roofing rather than for building walls or parapets. When jesus saw their faith he told the man that his sins were forgiven. When they had broken a space big enough in the roof the four men let their friend down through the roof right in front of jesus. If we want to have souls saved we must not be too squeamish and delicate about conventionalities rules and proprieties for the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence.

Holman christian standard bible. Basic english bible. To help us understand these lessons however let s consider the background for this miracle. But instead of giving healing the first thing jesus said was son thy sins be forgiven thee.

When they couldn t get near jesus they decided to go to the flat roof. Holman christian standard bible since they could not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd they went up on the roof and lowered him on the mat through the roof tiles into the middle of the crowd before jesus. Since they were not able to bring him to jesus because of the crowd they removed the roof above where he was. They lowered their friend down to the place where jesus was.

And when they had broken through they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying. The man is literally let down through the roof under the careful control of his concerned friends and into a situation controlled by the lord jesus christ. When they had made an opening they let the man down lying on his mat. An awning is not a roof and it is rolled up not broken up moreover the man was let down through the tiles which seems to indicate that the remaining tiles encased an opening through which he was lowered.

When the man s friends carried him to the house where jesus was staying they found the house to be packed with people wanting to hear jesus and be healed by him. The friends climbed up an outside staircase and dug a hole through the roof.