Scripture

And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” This story is found in Mark 2:1−5, in a crowded home in Capernaum. Jesus gained popularity after teaching and healing people throughout Galilee (and in Capernaum), as found in Mark 1. Crowds started following Him wherever He went, and in the story, Jesus is teaching in a crowded home, and four men were dedicated to getting their paralysed friend to Jesus. Pushing through a crowd is difficult enough on its own, but imagine having to carry a paralysed person, on a mat, through a crowd. And it is not carrying him to the front door; they had to get on the roof, dig through it, and lower him through the hole to get him to Jesus. All of this is a wonderful display of both dedication and the support of the people in your life, those who are willing to carry your ‘mat’ so you can reach Jesus.