You go up on the roof, make a hole in the ceiling, and lower your friend down to Jesus! If you want your friend to get to Jesus, and you can’t get to him through a door, you just come back later. These friends obviously didn’t care about that. They were all about how things were “supposed” to be done. Say: These religious leaders obviously didn’t get the point. 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!”Īnd immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. “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!” That was not how things are supposed to be done.Īnd there were some people who were upset…not about the roof, but about the rules. However, even in Jesus’ day, it wasn’t normal for someone to make a hole in your house so they can get to see the guest of honor. There was probably a stairway leading up to the roof. Now, to be fair, people in Jesus’ day often used their roof like we use a porch. These four friends were so intent on helping their friend get to Jesus that they went up on the roof of the house, tore a hole in the roof, and then figured out a way to lower their friend down right in front of Jesus! Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. (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. “One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. I want you to see what these friends did and see what we can learn from them. There’s an extreme example of friends helping a friend out in Jesus’ day. Or maybe it was you who needed help last year and your friends or family were there for you. Or maybe your Mom or Dad is a single parent and you help them out by doing some of the chores around the house. Or maybe you have a friend who is having a tough time at home and you were there to listen to them. You might have a friend who really struggles in school and you were able to help them with their studying. Or were there times when you were the one doing the carrying? When you think back over last year, were there times when friends or family “carried” you this way? It usually means that a friend helped them out in a significant way in a time of need. When you hear someone say they were “carried” by someone else, it usually doesn’t mean literally. Hopefully, you know that’s also a metaphor for friendship. Say: In that experience, you were literally being carried by two of your friends. You can find diagrams and details here on three different options for two people to carry a third person. The point is for one friend to be carried by two friends. You can make this a race or you can just allow everyone to give this a try. – Nick Diliberto, Junior High Ministry JUNIOR HIGH MINISTRY LESSON ON FRIENDSHIPSīottom Line: Friends help friends follow Jesus. Use this lesson to help students be encouraged and also challenged with what could be ahead for them when it comes friendships. With junior high students, so much is changing in their lives.įriendships are one of those things that is constantly changing.
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