Take Your Bed and Walk

In Mark 2:1-12, Jesus was at Capernaum and when people heard He was in town, a large crowd gathered to see and listen to Him teach. The room was filled with people and there was an overflow outside. Four men brought their paralyzed friend to see Jesus and because they couldn’t get through the door, they made an opening in the roof and lowered the bed their paralyzed friend was lying on into the room. These four men were desperate to get their paralyzed friend through to Jesus. They may not have understood the foundation or source of his problem, but they knew contact with Jesus would bring a solution. It is not preposterous to assume they most likely sought a solution for their friend elsewhere, all to no avail. Their actions portrayed that they absolutely believed in the healing power of Jesus, no wonder their faith was visible and clear to Jesus (Mark 2:5).  Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

This man was paralyzed and lying on a bed, why was Jesus talking about forgiving his sins? I can imagine his friends thinking to themselves, “how can the roof of the building be taken off because of our friend only for Jesus to talk about forgiving sins?”. What this man needed to the physical eye was healing but Jesus saw that his soul needed something much more than physical healing. The teachers of the law began questioning the authority of Jesus to forgive sins in their hearts. Jesus could read their minds and he asked them a rhetorical question, “Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Get up, take your bed and walk’?” (Mark 2:8-9). The ability to forgive sins which is an invisible action (difficult to verify by mortal man) and the act of healing which is a visible action (verifiable by mortal man) are without doubt both easy for Jesus. However, Jesus was trying to make a point that He has the power to forgive sins (an invisible action; difficult to verify by mortal man), and then He goes ahead to prove it with a visible action (verifiable by mortal man) and says to the man, “Get up, take your bed and walk” (Mark 2:11-12).

In John 5, Jesus heals the man at the pool of Bethesda who was sick for thirty-eight years. He said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk” (John 5:8, NKJV) and the man was healed. Much later, Jesus found this man at the temple and said to him “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you” (John 5:14, NIV). In both the story of the man at Capernaum and the man at the pool of Bethesda, Jesus was not just interested in their physical wellbeing only. He was equally concerned about their soul, and somehow their sickness was linked to sin.

It was a widely held belief in those days that sickness was a result of sin. Recall when the disciples asked Jesus in John 9:2, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?”. In this case, the man’s blindness wasn’t a result of sin. However, we see from 1 Corinthians 11:27–31 that sickness could be a result of sin. Based on what we know about the creation and fall of man, the introduction of sickness and death into the world is a result of the fall of man. It is equally important to note that not all sickness today is a direct result of sin.

In both stories, Jesus went for the most damaging influence in their life and soul, which was sin. He said to both of them “take up your bed and walk”.  Many of us are still comfortably lying on the bed of sin. We are relaxed, taking naps and long nights of sleep on a bed covered with sin. Sin weighs you down and puts your spirit man to sleep. Many Christians are still weighed down by the sins they committed in the past. Some are still tip-toeing around the pit of sin. Sometimes we aren’t committing sin but we encourage others around us to continue in sin by our actions or inactions. Some of us know and believe that Christ died for our sins but we have refused to embrace and apply the truth of His forgiveness into our lives. We still carry with us the weight of guilt, self-condemnation, and shame. We can’t seem to shake off the influence of the sinful life we lived. We are still living in the reality or consequence of the sinful choices we made in the past. It doesn’t matter how grievous your sins were/is, God is saying to you “take your bed and walk” because I have forgiven you.

Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. – Hebrews 12:1

Some are still paralyzed and strapped to their bed of sin, the only reason they haven’t been destroyed yet is because they have friends, family, and loved ones interceding and praying for their salvation like the four men who desperately took their paralyzed friend to Jesus. At some point, the faith of friends won’t be enough, you will have to take your bed and walk by yourself. The intercessory prayers of loved ones for your sins will only take you as far as the feet of Jesus, the decision to take your bed and walk remains with you. You will have to take up the responsibility of living a life that reflects the life of Christ. Every time Jesus commanded the sick to take their bed and walk, He gave them new strength to overcome the weight of their bed. We do not have to bear the burden anymore, he bore the weight of sin for us. It is only in Jesus that we have the strength to overcome sin. Many have taken up their beds but are still unable to walk because they are afraid they’ll fall. Some have backslidden and forgotten how to walk because they have been sleeping on the bed of sin. Regardless of what category you fall under, the strength of Christ to help you take your bed, and the strength to walk has been made available to you. Are you ready to accept the gift of Christ to overcome sin?

Every time Jesus commanded the sick to take their bed and walk, He gave them new strength to overcome the weight of their bed.

Just like Jesus restored the health of the paralyzed man in Capernaum and the man at the pool of Bethesda, Christ is ready to restore you back to God. Your sins are not too much for God to forgive. Are you tired of lying down with the pain and heavy burden of sin? Have you laid on the bed of sin for so long that you are already having bedsores? Will you be honest enough to admit that you are paralyzed or sick and that you need the healing touch of Jesus? Jesus is saying to you today, “take your bed and walk”. Accept His invitation, His strength is enough for you and His strength will give you the grace to live a life of victory over sin.