The Story of a Man Let Down Through the Roof (Luke 5:17-26)

There are some sad things and some happy things in today’s Bible Story. First, this story is about a man that had a handicap. He was paralyzed and couldn’t move. I’m sure you would call that a sad thing, but a happy thing for this man was that he had some very good friends. I think when they were around the man may have forgot about his handicap. One day something happened that made all of them very happy and gave them hope. They learned that Jesus had come to their town, and he had been making some sick people well again. So the man’s friends decided to take him to Jesus. There were four of them, but it was not easy because they had to carry him all the way while he was lying on his bed. Now here’s a sad thing. When they got to the house where Jesus was teaching, there were so many people gathered to see and hear Jesus that they could not get in the door. They were so close, yet they could not get their friend to Jesus. Would they give up and go home? No, they would not give up, and one of the friends had a bright idea. They would go up on the roof of the house, and cut a hole in the roof. They then could let their friend down through the hole with ropes tied to his bed. That took a lot of courage, but they were able to do it because the house probably had a flat roof and stairs that went up to the top. Can you imagine the looks on the faces of the people in the house when they saw the handicapped man, bed and all, being lowered down to the feet of Jesus? The Bible says when Jesus saw their faith, he told the man his sins were forgiven him which was the most important part of this miracle. Jesus then told the man to get up, take his bed, and go on home. It was a happy, happy day for the man that was healed, for his four friends, and for everyone in the house.