An Easy Yoke

Luke 5: 17-26 Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man,“Young man, your sins are forgiven.” But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”
How It Feels To Carry A Friend

These were the verses for our Sunday Sermon, “Jesus Heals Us.” It was a discussion of divine healing – what it is and what it isn’t. However, like most things, I saw something different in these verses. I saw friends with the tenacity, heart and willingness to carry their friend to the only HOPE he had. Friends with enough faith to carry their friend to Jesus for forgiveness and healing when he couldn’t do it for himself. And I wondered, “when was the last time I carried a friend to Jesus with such audaciousness?” “When was the last time I tore down ceilings (or anything else) in order to bring my friends to their only HOPE?” Don’t get me wrong, I pray, I pray a lot…but as I reflect, I see a prayer life that needs more dependence and audaciousness…more of the Holy Spirit and less of Heidi.

When we pray, our prayers…my prayers, need to reflect the heart of God for those whom I am interceding – the ones I am carrying to Jesus. When Jesus saw the faith of this man’s FRIENDS, he declared the man’s sins forgiven. He healed the man’s lifelong affliction not only because of the faith of friends but also because of the cynicism of those too “religious” to trust Him. In the book of James, God says “the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (James 5:16, NLT). That is a lot of pressure – I know my thoughts and life – it doesn’t live up to “righteous” most of the time. Our faith seems to be able to move mountains and overcome the doubt our spiritual enemies place before us.

Thankfully, God also gave us a way to exchange our unrighteousness and boost the power of our prayers. Colossians 1:22 (NLT) states – “Yet now He has reconciled you to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result, He has brought you into His own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault”. I am fully aware of my MANY faults, yet, as I pray for forgiveness, turn from those things in my life that do not line up with God’s word and holiness, He reconciles and exchanges my sins for His blamelessness and that MY friends is how OUR prayers produce wonderful results and have great power. He exchanges our heavy burdens and the burdens of our friends and family for His light and easy yoke. He broke through the walls of hell and death to reveal why He has the power to forgive and heal. His “light and easy” yoke was earned by Him suffering great loss, revealing great power and declaring great love for His children – an exchange any great parent would do. So He offers us the yoke of interceding, many times waiting and watching Holy Spirit do the work we can’t do for us or our friends. Like His death revealed, as we carry our friends to Him, He accepts His children with open arms.

So I pray first and foremost: Father God, forgive my sin of cynicism and restore to me Your faith and righteousness…not just for myself but for my loved ones – Your loved ones.

Matthew 11:30 (NLT)
For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Psalm 103:12 (NLT)
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.