I'll Carry You

“Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you."

Matthew 9:2


I love the imagery surrounding this scene in Matthew 9:2. We have Jesus doing a home bible study you could say, with standing room only as the people pressed in to hear this one who can at His spoken word cause the wind and the waves to be still. The crowds already understand there was something different about Jesus. He taught as one with authority, He didn’t quote other Rabbi’s as much as He would without hesitation say, “But I say to you” as if He Himself was the final authority. Little did His listeners know, He is!

The paralytic in this story had good friends, the kind who as Jesus would say, “go the extra mile”. He couldn’t make it to Jesus on his own so they carried him. That in and of itself is a great picture of friendship. They are aware Jesus is in the house but due to the size of the crowd gathered both in and around the house they can’t get close to the Lord which means their friend would have no chance to be healed.

So, like any good friend would do, they find a way where there seems to be no way. They exemplified the kind of faith that made Jesus sit up and take notice. I can easily imagine the smile on Jesus face as He heard the commotion as the paralytic’s friends began removing the roof above and then lowering their friend down to where Jesus was seated. They exercised God honoring faith and they believed Jesus could heal their friend even when their friend did not.

We know that from reading Matthew’s account it was the paralytics friends faith that Jesus saw. That should be encouraging to all of us knowing when our friends are too weak to pray, too tired to believe for themselves we can be strong for them and carry them to Jesus. Isn’t that what Solomon was reminding us in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 when he said, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up.”

You want some really good news today, loved one? You and I don’t have to look far to realize that God Himself promises to be there for us when we fall, and to pick us up again. Jesus Himself, who is our High Priest prays for us when we are too weak to pray for ourselves. He is there to give us strength so that we don’t stumble to begin with. Jude 1:24 reminds us, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,” Oh what a friend we have in Jesus! Some people believe that it is their faith that makes them well when in reality its not their faith that makes them well, its the object of their faith that does the healing, and that object being Jesus!

Oh what a friend we have in Jesus! When humanities faith was tired and many were giving up hope, the book of Galatians tells us that at just the perfect moment in time Jesus was born into this world. The friend of sinners gave Himself on Calvary’s Cross to carry us back to God. Our true friend who continually and without ceasing prays for you and me even today! Jesus didn’t cut a hole in the roof so we could find our healing. He did much more than that. He allowed His own body to be pierced through, He gave His very life, He died so that we could live. What was impossible to do on our own, Jesus did for us. When we couldn’t walk, when we lacked the faith to believe, when we were too tired to pray, Jesus carried us, He is still carrying us. Oh what a friend we have in Jesus!


“A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.”

Proverbs 17:17  


I LOVE YOU!