community group discussion guide
introduction
Over nine weeks, we’ve considered from various angles what the shalom, or the holistic flourishing, of God looks like in the world. As we close out the series this week, we see the story of a person whose life was radically and holistically healed by Jesus in both body and soul. But he would not have experienced healing from Jesus if it were not for his friends who brought him to Jesus. Because this man’s friends brought him to Jesus, his life was forever changed. We want to be a church where people meet Jesus and experience his holistic healing, his shalom.
opening question
What first drew you to Jesus? If you are not a Christian, what is it about him that intrigues and interests you?
read Mark 2:1-12 (NIV)
1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Take a few moments to reflect on the Scripture. Share some insights, questions, or points that strike you. Then read what follows.
our deepest need
In this story, we see a paralyzed man who is brought to Jesus by four of his friends to be physically healed. The paralytic’s desperate physical need is plain for all to see, but while Jesus has the power to do something about it, his first response is to declare that the man’s sins are forgiven. This may seem quite strange, to focus on the man’s spiritual need while ignoring his pressing physical need. Some may think that Jesus’ sense of what was most important and urgent was not only off but irresponsible.
This story is teaching us that our spiritual need of being forgiven and restored to God is deeper and more important than our most dire physical needs. This is not to say that what happens in the physical and material world doesn’t matter. Jesus eventually does heal the man, and the Bible elsewhere teaches that God not only created us as both body and soul but will ultimately renew the material creation. Yet as important as that dimension of our existence is, our need to be forgiven of what alienates us from God is even greater.
Most people are first drawn to Jesus because they have some kind of pressing need or problem, and we want him to deal with that issue. But Jesus is here saying that there’s something far more urgent and pressing than what we consider our presenting problem. Even if we get our presenting problems fixed, our souls and desires will still be disordered. Even if our current physical needs get addressed, the next time something bad happens to us we still won’t be able to handle the problems of life. Unless we are restored to God, the discontent of our hearts will never be quieted. Tim Keller said, “we don’t need someone who can just grant our wishes. We need someone who can go deeper than that. Someone who will use his claws, lovingly and carefully, to pierce our self-centeredness and remove the sin that enslaves us and distorts even our beautiful longings. In short, we need to be forgiven.”
“The presence of the kingdom of God, which Jesus has been speaking about, must usher in the forgiveness of sins.”
— David Garland
- What do you think about the idea that our greatest need is spiritual rather than physical or material?
- What do you consider your greatest need in life today? How does this passage challenge or confirm your sense of need?
- How has your understanding of your deepest need evolved as you have matured through the years? If you are a Christian, how has the experience of being forgiven by God and restored to a full relationship with him healed some of the deepest disorders of your soul?
great lengths of faith
The four friends go to great lengths — pushing through crowds, removing a mud-thatched roof, and disrupting a large gathering — in order to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus. How greatly they must have loved their friend to press through all these challenges for him. Also, how confident they must have been in the power and goodness and grace of Jesus: they knew that if they could just get their friend into Jesus’ presence, Jesus would act. Indeed, at the very moment when Jesus saw their faith, he could not help but respond with his healing and restoring grace.
The radical and active faith of the four friends stands in sharp contrast to the scribes, who analyze Jesus with a kind of skeptical judgmentalism. While the friends carry and climb and dig through a roof, the scribes are “sitting there, thinking to themselves” (v. 6). While their postures are utterly contrasting, Jesus responds to both groups in his unfailing kindness. The friends get to experience a demonstration of Jesus’ healing power and forgiving grace; the scribes, even in their hard-heartedness, receive a gracious but challenging engagement from Jesus.
Now, the scribes were not wrong in their theology: God alone can forgive sins, and their accusing Jesus of blasphemy shows that they understood Jesus’ implicit claim here to be God. As Jesus engages him, he acknowledges that in one sense it is easier to say “your sins are forgiven” because that can’t be easily verified. So to demonstrate his authority and divine prerogative to do so, he heals and empowers the paralytic to get up and walk. But in another sense, it is infinitely harder to say “your sins are forgiven” because it meant dying. In order to forgive all our sins, Jesus had to die on the cross. Through this story, we see Jesus’ willingness and power to restore us physically and spiritually, and the infinite lengths to which he went in order to do so.
“This story is a picture of prayer. Don’t stay on the edge of the crowd. Dig through God’s roof and find yourself in his presence. You will get more than you bargained for.”
— N.T. Wright
- What does it look like to exercise our faith, and what does the opposite look like? How have you been exercising an active faith lately, and how have you seen Jesus respond?
- How does Jesus’ immediate and alert responsiveness to the faith of the friends and the paralytic encourage you today, whatever state your faith might be in?
- The four friends went to great lengths to bring their friend to Jesus because they loved their friend and were confident in Jesus’ power and goodness. How active are you in praying and seeking to bring your friends to Jesus?
group application
Spend some time praying for your friends to experience the holistic shalom of Jesus. Over the next few weeks, look out for opportunities to see how Jesus might be responding.
announcements
- Wednesday, March 5 | Ash Wednesday Service, 7-8:30 pm
We will observe the Lenten season together with a special worship service. - Sunday, March 9 | Gotham Fellowship Info Session, 1:30-3 pm
Learn more about Gotham Fellowship, a 9-month discipleship experience designed to deepen your faith and integrate it with your work. - Sunday, March 30 | Sunday Prayer Walk, 1:15-2:45 pm
Come on your own or sign up with friends – join us for a light stroll around the neighborhood and let’s intercede in prayer for our neighbors and neighborhood establishments together.
© 2025 Redeemer Presbyterian Church West Side
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. Th
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