Jesus Heals the Man Lowered Through the Roof

The Roof Opens

Jesus came back to Capernaum, and word got around that he was in the house. Right away, so many people gathered that there was no more room, not even around the door. Jesus was talking to them all.

Four men came carrying a man who could not walk. He was lying on a mat, and they wanted to bring him to Jesus. But they could not get near him at all. The crowd was packed too tight, all the way out the door.

So what do you do when you cannot get in the door?

They went up on the roof.

They made a hole in the roof above where Jesus was. Then they lowered the mat, with the man lying on it, right down in front of Jesus.

What do you think it looked and sounded like when they opened the roof and lowered the man down?

Imagine the room. Everywhere you look, people. The door is blocked. And now a hole appears in the ceiling, and down comes a man on a mat, let down by the men who carried him.

What do you think it was like to be in that room? What would you have watched first?

Turn the page.

Jesus saw their faith. And he said to the man on the mat, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."

That was not what anyone expected him to say first. The man had come to be healed. Jesus looked at him and said something else entirely.

But some of the teachers of the law were sitting there, and they thought to themselves, "Why does this man speak, to God this way? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Jesus knew what they were thinking. And he asked them a question back:

"Which is easier, to tell the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your mat, and walk’?"

Both are impossible for an ordinary person. One of them is invisible. The other one everybody can see.

Then Jesus said, "But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," and he said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, arise, take up your mat, and go to your house."

And the man arose, immediately took up the mat, and went out in front of them all.

Everyone was amazed. They glorified God and said, "We never saw anything like this!"

How to Talk About This Story With Your Child

This story is built for a child’s eyes: a crowd, four men, a hole in the roof, a man coming down on a mat. Let the picture do the work before any explanation.

The hardest moment for a child is probably the same one that puzzled the teachers: Jesus forgave the man’s sins before he healed him. You do not need to build a theology lesson out of it. The plain happening is that Jesus spoke to both the invisible need and the visible one, and he could do both.

Notice too what the men did: they did not have a plan except to get the man to Jesus, and when the door was blocked, they found another way. The story does not praise them or explain them. It just shows them.

That is enough.

Pray Together

You do not have to use these exact words. You can tell God what you think about the story in your own words. Or you can pray this together:

Thank You, Jesus, for the story of the man lowered through the roof. Thank You that You see us even before we can reach You, and thank You for the people who do not give up on someone they care about. Help us carry the people we love to You, and help us find a way when the door is blocked. Amen.

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