A Sermon Delivered On Sunday Morning, March 19, 1871, By C. H. Spurgeon, At The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.
And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and
prayed. And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was
teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the
law sitting by, who were come out of every town of
Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the
Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought
in a bed a man who was taken with a palsy: and they
sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.
And when they could not find by what way they might
bring him in because of the multitude, they went up onto
the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with
his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw
their faith, he said to him, “Man, your sins are
forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began
to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies?
Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” But when Jesus
perceived their thoughts, he answering said to them,
“What do you reason in your hearts? Whether it is
easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you’; or to
say,‘ Rise up and walk?’ But so that you may know that
the Son of man has power upon earth to forgive sins (he
said to the sick of the palsy), I say to you, ‘Arise,
and take up your couch, and go into your house.’ ” And
immediately he rose up before them, and took up that on
which he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying
God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God,
and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange
things today.” (Luke
5:16-26)
For other sermons on this text:
(See Spurgeon_SermonTexts "Lu 5:17")
(See Spurgeon_SermonTexts "Lu 5:18")
(See Spurgeon_SermonTexts "Lu 5:19")
(See Spurgeon_SermonTexts "Lu 5:20")
(See Spurgeon_SermonTexts "Lu 5:26")
1. You have this same narrative in the ninth chapter of Matthew, and in the second chapter of Mark. What is three times recorded by inspired pens must be regarded as triply important, and well worthy of our earnest consideration. Observe the instructive fact, that our Saviour retired and spent a special time in prayer when he saw unusual crowds assembling. He withdrew into the wilderness to hold communion with his Father, and, as a consequence, to come out clothed with an abundance of healing and saving power. As God he always had that power without measure; but for our sakes he did it, so that we might learn that the power of God will only rest upon us in proportion as we draw near to God. Neglect of private prayer is the locust which devours the strength of the church.
2. When our Lord left his retirement he found the crowd around him exceedingly large, and it was as motley as it was large; for while there were many sincere believers here, there were still more sceptical observers; some were anxious to receive his healing power, others equally desirous to find an occasion against him. So in all congregations, however the preacher may be clothed with his Master’s spirit and his Master’s might, there will be a mixed gathering; there will come together your Pharisees and doctors of the law, your sharp critics ready to pick holes, your cold blooded quibblers searching for faults; at the same time, chosen by God and drawn by his grace, there will be present some devout believers who rejoice in the power that is revealed among men, and earnest seekers who wish to feel in themselves the healing energy. It seems to have been a rule with our Saviour to supply each hearer with spiritual food according to his nature. The Pharisees soon found the matters to complain about for which they were looking; the Saviour so worded his expressions that they caught at them eagerly, and charged him with blasphemy; so the enmity of their hearts was thrown out upon the surface that the Lord might have an opportunity of rebuking it; and had they been only willing, the power of the Lord was present to heal even them. Meanwhile, those poor tremblers who were praying for healing were not disappointed; the Good Physician did not pass by a single case, and at the same time his disciples who were looking for opportunities for praising him anew, were also fully gratified, for with glad eyes they saw the paralytic restored, and heard of sins forgiven.
3. The case which the narrative brings before us, is that of a man stricken down with paralysis. This sad disease may have been of long continuance. There is a paralysis which gradually kills the body, binding it more and more surely in utter helplessness. The nerve power is almost destroyed; the power of motion is entirely suspended; and yet the faculties of the mind remain, though greatly weakened, and some of them almost extinguished. Some have thought that this man may have been stricken with what is called the universal paralysis, which very speedily brings on death, which may account for the extreme haste of the four bearers to bring him close to the Saviour. We do not know the details of his case, but it is certain that he was paralysed; and, as I look at the case, and study the three records, I think I perceive with equal clarity that this paralysis was in some way or other, at least in the man’s own judgment, connected with his sin. He was evidently penitent, as well as paralytic. His mind was as much oppressed as his bodily frame. I do not know that he could be altogether called a believer, but it is most probable that being burdened with a sense of sin he had a feeble hope in divine mercy, which, like a spark in smoking flax, had hard work to exist, but yet was truly there. The affliction for which his friends pitied him was in his body, but he himself felt a far more severe trouble in his soul, and probably it was not so much with the view of being healed bodily, as in the hope of spiritual blessing, that he was willing to be subjected to any process by which he might come under the Saviour’s eye. I gather that from the fact that our Saviour addressed him in these words, “Be of good cheer”; intimating that he was desponding, that his spirit sunk within him, and, therefore, instead of saying to him at once, “Rise, take up your bed,” our tender hearted Lord said, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” He gave him at the outset a blessing for which the patient’s friends had not asked for, but which the man, though speechless, was seeking for in the silence of his soul. He was a “son,” though an afflicted one; he was ready to obey the Lord’s bidding when power was given, though as yet he could neither lift hand nor foot. He was longing for the pardon of sin, yet could not stretch out his hand to lay hold upon the Saviour.
4. I intend to use this narrative for practical purposes; may the Holy Spirit make it really useful. Our first remark will be this:
5. I. THERE ARE CASES WHICH WILL NEED THE AID OF A LITTLE BAND OF WORKERS BEFORE THEY WILL BE FULLY SAVED.
6. This man must needs be borne by four, so the evangelist, Mark, tells us; there must be a bearer at each corner of the couch on which he lay. The great majority of people who are brought into the kingdom of Christ are converted through the general prayers of the church by the means of her ministry. Probably three out of four of the members of any church will owe their conversion to the church’s regular teaching in some form or other; her Sunday School, her pulpit, her press have been the nets in which they were taken. Private personal prayer has, of course, in many instances been mingled with all this; but still the most cases could not be so distinctly traced mainly to individual prayers or exertions. This is the rule, I think, that the Lord will have the many brought to himself by the sounding of the great trumpet of jubilee in the age of the gospel by his ministers. There are some, again, who are led to Jesus by the individual efforts of one person; just as Andrew found his own brother Simon, so one believer by his private communication of the truth to another person becomes instrumental, by the power of God’s Spirit, in his conversion. One convert will bring another, and that other a third. But this narrative seems to show that there are cases which will neither be brought by the general preaching of the word, nor yet by the instrumentality of one; they require that there should be two, or three, or four in holy combination, who, with one consent, feeling one common agony of soul, shall resolve to band themselves together as a company for this one purpose, and never to cease from their holy confederation until this purpose is achieved and their friend is saved. This man could not be brought to Christ by one, he must have four to lend their strength for his carrying, or he cannot reach the place of healing. Let us apply the principle. There is a householder as yet unsaved: his wife has long prayed for him; her prayers are yet unanswered. Good wife, God has blessed you with a son who with you rejoices in the fear of God. Have you not two Christian daughters also? Oh you four, each take a corner of this sick man’s coach and bring your husband, bring your father, to the Saviour. A husband and a wife are here, both happily brought to Christ; you are praying for your children; never cease from that supplication; pray on. Perhaps one of your beloved family is unusually stubborn. Extra help is needed. Well, to you the Sunday School teacher will make a third; he will take one corner of the bed; and I shall be happy if I may join the blessed quaternion, and make the fourth. Perhaps, when home discipline, the Sunday School’s teaching, and the minister’s preaching shall go together, the Lord will look down in love and save your child. Dear brother, you are thinking of one whom you have long prayed for; you have spoken to him also, and used all proper means, but as yet without effect. Perhaps you speak too comfortingly to him: it may be you have not brought that precise truth to bear upon him which his conscience requires. Seek still more help. It may possibly be that a second brother will speak instructively, where you have only spoken consolingly; perhaps the instruction may be the means of grace. Yet may it possibly happen that even instruction will not suffice any more than consolation, and it may be needful for you to call in a third, who perhaps will speak impressively with exhortation, and with warning, which may possibly be the great prerequisite. You two, already in the field, may balance his exhortation, which might have been too pungent by itself, and might have raised prejudice in the person’s mind if it had come alone. All three of you together may prove to be the useful instruments in the Lord’s hand. Yet when you three have happily combined, it may be the poor paralysed one is not yet affected savingly; a fourth may be needed, who, with deeper affection than all three of you, and perhaps with an experience more suited to the case than yours, may come in, and working with you, the result may be secured. The four fellow helpers together may accomplish, by the power of the Spirit, what neither one, nor two, nor three were competent to have done. It may sometimes happen that a man has heard Paul preach, but his clear doctrine, though it has enlightened his intellect, has not yet convicted his conscience. He has heard Apollos, and the glow of the orator’s eloquent appeals has warmed his heart, but not humbled his pride. Later still he has listened to Cephas, whose rough cutting sentences have hewn him down, and convicted him of sin; but before he can find joy and peace in believing, he will require to hear the sweet affectionate words of John. Only when the fourth shall grasp the bed and give a hearty lift will the paralysed person he laid in mercy’s path. I anxiously desire to see in this church little bands of men and women bound to each other by zealous love for souls. I would have you say to one another, “This is a case in which we feel a common interest: we will pledge each other to pray for this person; we will unitedly seek his salvation.” It may be that one of our seat holders, after listening to my voice these ten or fifteen years, is not impressed; it may be that another has left the Sunday School unsaved. Let brotherly quaternions look after these by God’s help. Moved by one impulse, form a square around these people, surround them behind and before, and let them not say, “No man cares for my soul.” Meet together in prayer with the definite purpose before you, and then seek that purpose by the most likely ways. I do not know, my brethren, how much of blessing might come to us through this, but I feel certain that until we have tried it we cannot pronounce a verdict upon it; nor can we be quite sure that we are free from all responsibility for men’s souls until we have tested every possible and probable method for doing them good.
7. I am afraid that there are not many, even in a large church, who will become sick bearers. Many will say the plan is admirable, but they will leave it to others to carry it out. Remember that the four people who join in such a labour of love all of them ought to be filled with intense affection for the people whose salvation they seek. They must be men who will not shrink because of difficulty; who will exert their whole strength to shoulder the beloved burden, and will persevere until they succeed. They need to be strong, for the burden is heavy; they need to be resolute, for the work will try their faith; they need to be prayerful, for otherwise they labour in vain; they must be believing, or they will be utterly useless, — Jesus saw their faith, and therefore accepted their service; but without faith it is impossible to please him. Where shall we find quartets such as these? May the Lord find them, and may he send them to some of you poor dying sinners who lie paralysed here today.
8. II. We now pass on to the second observation, that SOME CASES THUS TAKEN UP WILL NEED MUCH THOUGHT BEFORE THE INTENT IS ACCOMPLISHED.
9. The essential means by which a soul is saved is clear enough. The four bearers had no question with each other concerning what was the way to achieve this man’s cure: they were unanimous in this — that they must bring him to Jesus; by some means or other, by hook or by crook, they must place him in the Saviour’s way. That was undoubted fact. The question was, how to do this? There is an old worldly proverb, that “where there is a will there is a way”; and that proverb, I believe, may be safely imported into spiritual things, almost without a caution or grain of salt. “Where there is a will there is a way”; and if men be called by God’s grace to a deep anxiety for any particular soul, there is a way by which that soul may be brought to Jesus; but that way may not suggest itself until after much consideration. In some cases the way to impress the heart may be an out of the way way, an extraordinary way — a way which ordinarily should not be used and would not be successful. I dare say the four bearers in the narrative thought early in the morning, “We will carry this poor paralytic to the Saviour, passing into the house by the ordinary door”; but when they attempted to do so the multitudes so blocked up the road that they could not even reach the threshold. “Make way; make way for the sick! Stand aside there, and make room for a poor paralysed man. For mercy’s sake, make a little space, and let the sick man reach the healing prophet!” In vain were their entreaties and commands. Here and there a few compassionate people back out of the crowd, but the many neither can nor will move; besides, many of them are engaged upon a similar business, and have equal reasons for pressing in. “See,” cries one of the four, “I will make way”; and he pushes and elbows himself a little distance into the doorway. “Come on you three!” he cries: “follow up, and fight for it, inch by inch.” But they cannot do it; it is impossible; the poor patient is ready to die for fear; the bed is tossed about by the throng like a cockleshell boat on the sea waves, the patient’s alarm increases, the bearers are distressed, and they are quite glad to get outside again and consider. It is evidently quite impossible by ordinary means to get him in. What then? “We cannot burrow under the ground: can we not go over the heads of the people, and let the man down from above? Where is the staircase?” Frequently there is an external staircase to the top of an eastern house; we cannot be sure that there was one in this case; but if not, the next door house may have had such a convenience, and so the resolute bearers reached the top and passed from one roof to another. Where we have no definite information much may be left to conjecture; but this much is clear: by some means they elevated their unhappy burden to the housetop, and provided themselves with the necessary ropes with which to let him down. The Saviour was probably preaching in one of the upper rooms, unless the house was a poor one without an upper storey. Perhaps the room was open to the courtyard, which was crowded. At any rate, the Lord Jesus was under cover of a roof, and a substantial roof too. No one who carefully reads the original will fail to see that there was real roofing to be broken through. It has been suggested as a difficulty, that the breaking up of a roof might involve danger to those below, and would probably make a great amount of dust; and to avoid this, there have been various suppositions — such as that the Saviour was standing under an awning, and the men rolled up the canvas; or that our Lord stood under a verandah with a very light covering, which the men could readily uncover; others have even invented a trap door for the occasion. But with all due deference to eminent travellers, the words of the evangelists cannot be so readily disposed of. According to our text, the man was let down through “tiling,” not canvas, or any light material; whatever kind of tiling it was, it was certainly made of baked clay, for that enters into the essence of the word. Moreover, according to Mark, after they had uncovered the roof, which, I suppose, means the removal of the “tiling,” they broke it up, which looks exceedingly like breaking through a ceiling. The Greek word used by Mark, which is interpreted “breaking up,” is a very emphatic word, and means digging through, or scooping up, which evidently conveys the idea of considerable labour for the removal of material. We are told that the roofs of oriental houses are often made of big stones; that may be true as a general rule, but not in this case, for the house was covered with tiles; and concerning the dust and falling rubbish, that may or may not be a necessary conclusion; but as clear as noonday that it is a substantial housetop, which required untiling and digging through, had a hole made in it, and through the aperture the man in his bed was let down. Perhaps there was dust, and possibly there was danger too, but the bearers were prepared to accomplish their purpose at all costs. They must get the sick man in some way. There is no need, however, to suppose either, for no doubt the four men would be careful not to inconvenience the Saviour or his hearers. The tiles or plaster might be removed to another part of the flat roof, and the boards likewise, as they were broken up; and as for the rafters, they might be sufficiently wide to admit the narrow couch of the sick man without moving any of them from their places. Mr. Hartley, in his Travels, says: “When I lived at Aegina I used to look up not infrequently at the roof above my head, and contemplate how easily the whole transaction of the paralytic might take place. The roof was made in the following manner: — A layer of reeds, of a large species, was placed upon the rafters, on these a quantity of heather was scattered; on the heather earth was deposited, and beaten down into a solid mass. Now, what difficulty would there be in removing first the earth, next the heather, and then the reeds? Nor would the difficulty be increased, if the earth had a surface of tiling laid upon it. No inconvenience could result to the people in the house, from the removal of the tiles and earth; for the heather and reeds would stop anything that might otherwise fall down, and would be removed last of all.” To let a man down through the roof was a device most strange and striking, but it only gives support for the remark which we have now to make here. 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 suffers violence. We must make up our minds to this: “Smash or crash, everything shall go to pieces which stands between the soul and its God: it does not matter what tiles are to be taken off, what plaster is to be dug up, or what boards are to be torn away, or what labour, or trouble, or expense we may incur; the soul is too precious for us to stand upon niceties. If by any means we may save some, is our policy. Skin for skin, yes, all that we have is nothing comparable to a man’s soul.” When four true hearts are set upon the spiritual good of a sinner, their holy hunger will break through stone walls or house roofs.
10. I have no doubt it was a difficult task to carry the paralysed man upstairs; the breaking up of the roof, the removing of the tiling with all due care, must have been a laborious task, and have required much skill, but the work was done, and the purpose was achieved. We must never stop at difficulties; however stern the task, it must always be more difficult for us to let a soul perish than to labour in the most self-denying form for its deliverance.
11. It was a very exceptional action which the bearers performed. Who would have thought of breaking up a roof? No one except those who loved much, and much desired to benefit the sick. Oh that God would make us attempt exceptional things to save souls. May a holy ingenuity be aroused in the church; a sacred inventiveness set at work for winning men’s hearts. It appeared to his generation an exceptional thing when John Wesley stood on his father’s tombstone and preached at Epworth. Glory be to God that he had the courage to preach in the open air. It seemed an extraordinary thing when certain ministers delivered sermons in the theatres; but it is a matter of joy that sinners have been reached by such irregularities who might have escaped all other means. Let us only feel our hearts full of zeal for God, and love for souls, and we shall soon be led to adopt means which others may criticise, but which Jesus Christ will accept.
12. After all, the method which the four friends followed was one most suitable for their abilities. They were, I suppose, four strong fellows, to whom the load was no great weight, and the work of digging was comparatively easy. The method suited their capacity exactly. And what did they do when they had let the sick man down? Look at the scene and admire! I do not read that they said a single word, yet what they did was enough: abilities for lifting and carrying did the required work. Some of you say, “Ah, we cannot be of any use; we wish we could preach.” These men could not preach: they did not need to preach. They lowered the paralytic, and their work was done. They could not preach, but they could hold a rope. We need in the Christian church not only preachers, but soul winners, who can bear souls on their hearts, and feel the solemn burden; men who, it may be, cannot talk, but who can weep; men who cannot break other men’s hearts with their language, but who break their own hearts with their compassion. In the case before us there was no need to plead “Jesus, son of David, look up, for a man is coming down who needs you.” There was no need to urge that the patient had been sick for so many years. We do not know that the man himself uttered a word. Helpless and paralysed, he did not have the vigour to become a supplicant. They placed his almost lifeless form before the Saviour’s eye, and that was appeal enough; his sad condition was more eloquent than words. Oh hearts that love sinners lay their lost estate before Jesus; bring their cases as they are before the Saviour; if your tongues stammer, your hearts will prevail; if you cannot speak even to Christ himself, as you would desire, because you do not have the gift of prayer, yet if your strong desires spring from the spirit of prayer you cannot fail. May God help us to make use of such means as are within our power, and not to sit down idly to regret the powers we do not possess. Perhaps it would be dangerous for us to possess the abilities we covet; it is always safe to consecrate those we have.
13. III. Now we must pass on to an important truth. We may safely gather from the narrative that THE ROOT OF SPIRITUAL PARALYSIS GENERALLY LIES IN UNPARDONED SIN.
14. Jesus intended to heal the
paralysed man, but he did so by first of all saying,
“Your sins are forgiven you.” There are some in this
house of prayer this morning who are spiritually
paralysed; they have eyes and they see the gospel; they
have ears and they have heard it, and heard it
attentively too; but they are so paralysed that they
will tell you, and honestly tell you, that they cannot
lay hold upon the promise of God; they cannot believe in
Jesus to the saving of their souls. If you urge them to
pray, they say: “We try to pray, but it is not
acceptable prayer.” If you ask them to have confidence,
they will tell you, though not in so many words perhaps,
that they are given up to despair. Their mournful ditty
is: —
I would, but cannot sing;
I would, but cannot pray
For Satan meets me when I try,
And frights my soul away.
I would, but can’t repeat,
Though I endeavour oft;
This stony heart can ne’er relent
Till Jesus makes it soft.
I would, but cannot love,
Though woo’d by love divine;
No arguments have power to move
A soul so base as mine.
Oh could I but believe!
Then all would easy be;
I would, but cannot — Lord, relieve:
My help must come from thee.
The reason for this paralysis is sin upon the conscience, working death in them. They are aware of their guilt, but powerless to believe that the crimson fountain can remove it: they are alive only to sorrow, despondency, and agony. Sin paralyses them with despair. I grant you that into this despair there enters largely the element of unbelief, which is sinful; but I hope there is also in it a measure of sincere repentance, which bears in it the hope of something better. Our poor, awakened paralytics sometimes hope that they may be forgiven, but they cannot believe it; they cannot rejoice; they cannot cast themselves on Jesus; they are utterly without strength. Now, the reason for it, I say again, lies in unpardoned sin, and I earnestly entreat you who love the Saviour to be earnest in seeking the pardon of these paralysed people. You tell me that I should be earnest; so I should; and so I desire to be: but, brethren, their cases appear to be beyond the minister’s sphere of action; the Holy Spirit determines to use other agencies in their salvation. They have heard the public word; they now need private consolation and aid, and that from three or four. Lend us your help, you earnest brethren; form your groups of four; grasp the couches of these who wish to be saved, but who feel they cannot believe. May the Lord, the Holy Spirit, make you the means of leading them into forgiveness and eternal salvation. They have been lying a long time waiting; their sin, however, still keeps them where they are; their guilt prevents their laying hold on Christ; there is the point, and it is for such cases that I earnestly invoke my brethren’s aid.
15. IV. Let us proceed to notice, fourthly, that JESUS CAN REMOVE BOTH THE SIN AND THE PARALYSIS IN A SINGLE MOMENT.
16. It was the business of the four bearers to bring the man to Christ; but their power ended there. It is our part to bring the guilty sinner to the Saviour: there our power ends. Thank God, when we end, Christ begins, and works very gloriously. Observe that he began by saying: “Your sins are forgiven you.” He laid the axe at the root; he did not desire that the man’s sins might be forgiven, or express a good wish in that direction, but he pronounced an absolution by virtue of that authority with which he was clothed as the Saviour. The poor man’s sins ceased to be then and there, and he was justified in the sight of God. Do you believe this, my hearer, that Christ did this for the paralytic man? Then I charge you to believe something more, that if on earth Christ had power to forgive sins before he had offered an atonement, how much more does he have the power to do this, now that he has poured out his blood, and has said, “It is finished,” and has gone into his glory, and is at the right hand of the Father. He is exalted on high, to give repentance and remission of sin. Should he send his Spirit into your soul to reveal himself in you, you would in an instant be entirely absolved. Does blasphemy blacken you? Does a long life of infidelity pollute you? Have you been licentious? Have you been abominably wicked? A word can absolve you — a word from those dear lips which said, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” I charge you to ask for that absolving word. No earthly priest can give it to you; but the great High Priest, the Lord Jesus, can say it at once. You twos and fours who are seeking the salvation of men, here is encouragement for you. Pray for them now, while the gospel is being preached in their hearing; pray for them day and night, and bring the glad tidings constantly before them, for Jesus is still able “to save to the uttermost those who come to God by him.”
17. After our blessed Lord had taken away the root of the evil, you observe he then took away the paralysis itself. It was gone in a single moment. Every limb in the man’s body was restored to a healthy state; he could stand, could walk, could lift his bed, both nerve and muscle were restored to vigour. One moment will suffice, if Jesus speaks, to make the despairing happy, and the unbelieving full of confidence. What we cannot do with our reasonings, persuadings, and entreaties, nor even with the letter of God’s promise, Christ can do in a single instant by his Holy Spirit, and it has been our joy to see it done. This is the standing miracle of the church, performed by Christ today even as previously. Paralysed souls who could neither do nor will, have been able to do valiantly, and to will with solemn resolution. The Lord has poured power into the faint, and to those who had no might he has increased strength. He can still do it. I say again to loving spirits who are seeking the good of others, let this encourage you. You may not have to wait long for the conversions you desire; it may be before another Sunday ends, the person you pray for may be brought to Jesus; or if you have to wait a little, the waiting shall well repay you, and meanwhile remember he has never spoken in secret in the dark places of the earth; he has not said to the seed of Jacob, “Seek my face in vain.”
18. V. Passing on, and drawing to a conclusion: WHEREVER OUR LORD WORKS THE DOUBLE MIRACLE, IT WILL BE APPARENT.
19. He forgave the man’s sin and took away his disease at the same time. How was this apparent? I have no doubt the pardon for the man’s sin was best known to himself; but possibly those who saw that gleaming countenance which had been so sad before, might have noticed that the word of absolution sunk into his soul as the rain into the thirsty earth. “Your sins are forgiven you,” fell on him as a dew from heaven; he believed the sacred declaration, and his eyes sparkled. He might almost have felt indifferent whether he remained paralysed or not, it was such joy to be forgiven, forgiven by the Lord himself. That was enough, quite enough for him; but it was not enough for the Saviour, and therefore he asked him to take up his bed and walk, for he had given him strength to do so. The man’s healing was proven by his obedience. Openly to all onlookers an active obedience became indisputable proof of the poor creature’s restoration. Notice, our Lord asked him to rise — he rose; he had no power to do so except that power which comes with divine commands. He rose, for Christ said “Rise.” Then he folded up that miserable mattress — the Greek word used shows us that it was a very poor, cheap, miserable affair — he rolled it up as the Saviour asked him to, he shouldered it, and went to his home. His first impulse must have been to throw himself down at the Saviour’s feet, and say, “Blessed be your name”; but the Master said, “Go to your house”; and I do not find that he stayed to make one grateful obeisance, but elbowing the crowd, jostling the throng with his load on his back, he proceeded to his house just as he was told, and that without deliberation, or questioning. He did his Lord’s bidding, and he did it accurately, in detail, at once, and most cheerfully. Oh! how cheerfully; no one can tell except those restored in a similar way. So the true sign of pardoned sin and of paralysis removed from the heart is obedience. If you are really saved you will do what Jesus asks you; your request will be, “Lord, what will you have me to do?” and once that is ascertained, you will be sure to do it. You tell me Christ has forgiven you, and yet you live in rebellion to his commands; how can I believe you? You say you are a saved man, and yet you wilfully set up your own will against Christ’s will; what evidence do I have of what you say? Have I not, rather, clear evidence that you do not speak the truth? Open, careful, prompt, cheerful obedience to Christ, becomes the test of the wonderful work which Jesus works in the soul.
20. VI. Lastly, ALL THIS TENDS TO GLORIFY GOD.
21. Those four men had been the indirect means of bringing much honour to God and much glory to Jesus, and they, I do not doubt, glorified God in their very hearts on the housetop. Happy men to have been of so much service to their bedridden friend! Who else united in glorifying God? Why, first the man who was restored. Did not every part of his body glorify God? I think I see him! He sets one foot down to God’s glory, he plants the other to the same note, he walks to God’s glory, he carries his bed to God’s glory, he moves his whole body to the glory of God, he speaks, he shouts, he sings, he leaps to the glory of God. When a man is saved his whole manhood glorifies God; he becomes infused with a newborn life which glows in every part of him, spirit, soul and body. As an heir of heaven, he brings glory to the Great Father who has adopted him into the family, he breathes and eats and drinks to God’s praise. When a sinner is brought into the church of God we are all glad, but none of us is so joyous and thankful as he; we would all praise God, but he must praise him the loudest, and he will.
22. But who glorified God next? The text does not say so, but we feel sure that his family did, for he went to his own house. We will suppose that he had a wife. That morning when the four friends came and put him on the bed, and carried him out, it may be she shook her head in loving anxiety, and I dare say she said, “I am half afraid to trust him with you. Poor, poor creature, I dread his encountering the throng. I am afraid it is madness to hope for success. I wish you Godspeed in it, but I tremble. Hold the bed well; be sure you do not let him fall. If you do let him down through the roof hold the ropes firmly, be careful that no accident occurs to my poor bedridden husband; he is bad enough as he is, do not cause him more misery.” But when she saw him coming home, walking with the bed on his back, can you picture her delight? How she would begin to sing, and praise and bless the Lord Jehovah-Rophi, who had healed her beloved one. If there were little children around, playing in front of the house, how they would shout for glee, “Here is father; here is father walking again, and come home with the bed on his back; he is made whole again, as he used to be when we were very little.” What a glad house! They would gather around him, all of them, wife and children, and friends and neighbours, and they would begin to sing, “Bless the Lord, oh my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and do not forget all his benefits: who forgives all your iniquities: who heals all your diseases.” How the man would sing those verses, rejoicing in the forgiveness first, and the healing next, and wondering how it was that David knew so much about it, and had put his case into such fitting words.
23. Well, but it did not end there. A wife and family utter only a part of the glad chorus of praise, though a very melodious part. There are other adoring hearts who unite in glorifying the healing Lord. The disciples who were around the Saviour, glorified God, too. They rejoiced, and said one to another, “We have seen strange things today.” The whole Christian church is full of sacred praise when a sinner is saved; even heaven itself is glad.
24. But there was glory brought to God, even by the common people who stood around. They had not yet entered into that sympathy with Christ which the disciples felt, but they were struck by the sight of this great wonder, and they, too, could not help saying that God had performed great marvels. I pray that onlookers, strangers from the commonwealth of Israel, when they see the desponding comforted, and lost ones brought in, may be compelled to bear their witness to the power of divine grace, and be led themselves to be partakers in it. There is “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men,” when a paralysed soul is filled with gracious strength.
25. Now, shall I need to stand
here, and entreat for the four to carry poor souls to
Jesus? Shall I need to appeal to my brethren who love
their Lord, and say, band yourselves together to win
souls? Your humanity to the paralytic soul claims it,
but your desire to bring glory to God compels it. If you
are indeed what you profess to be, to glorify God must
be the fondest wish and the loftiest ambition of your
souls. Unless you are traitors to my Lord as well as
inhuman towards your fellow men, you will catch the
practical thought which I have tried to bring before
you, and you will seek out some fellow Christians, and
say, “Come, let us pray together, for such a one,” and
if you know a desperate case you will make up a sacred
quaternion, to resolve upon its salvation. May the power
of the Highest reside on you, and who knows what glory
the Lord may gain through you? Never forget this strange
story of the bed which carried the man, and the man who
carried his bed.
[Portion Of Scripture Read Before Sermon —
Luke 5:1-26]
(See Spurgeon_Sermons “Publications” 3566 @@ "The
Royal Wedding")