In the Gospel of Mark, one of Jesus’ earliest miracles involves a man who is paralyzed. He no longer has the use of his arms and legs; but he does have four determined friends, who are willing to serve as his arms and legs, and carry him to meet Jesus. Unfortunately, when they arrive, what they discover is that the place is packed. It’s a standing-room-only crowd, which means that they will barely be able to hear Jesus, let alone have the chance to see him.

Now, less persistent friends might have shrugged their shoulders and said, “Well, at least we tried.” But these are not the sort of friends who are going to quit that easily. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” they say to themselves. And climbing up onto the roof, they remove a portion of it, and lower the paralyzed man down to Jesus.

It’s a risky strategy, to be sure. Most home owners do not appreciate having their roofs disassembled. Who’s going to pay to fix that? Most paraplegics do not appreciate a one-way bungee drop through a narrow cavity in the ceiling. And most preachers do not appreciate the distraction of a public spectacle right in the middle of their sermon.

Mark never mentions the reaction of the home owner or the man on the stretcher. But we do know how Jesus reacted. He takes one look at the man and says, “Son, your sins are forgiven!”

But pause here for a moment. Are those really the words this man needs to hear? If I was this man, would I be hoping to hear something different? “Take courage, son. Your legs are healed,” or “Your paralysis is now gone,” or “Feel free to resume a normal life.” Why is Jesus giving him mercy, when the man’s problem is mobility?

However, keep in mind that, in Jesus’ day, people saw a direct connection between one’s health and one’s relationship with God. If you were blind, or had leprosy, or were paralyzed, there was a very simple explanation—you had done something to displease God, and God was now punishing you. Thus, before Jesus can heal the man’s body (which he eventually will), Jesus must first heal the man’s relationship with God. If the man gets the use of his legs back, but continues to believe that God is angry at him, then the man has not been fully healed.

The bottom line here is that when Jesus heals us, he wants that healing to be complete and all encompassing. He doesn’t want us just to be pain free; he wants us to be guilt free too. He doesn’t want to heal our bodies, without also healing that gaping wound in our hearts. And in the case of this man, Jesus is not interested in merely seeing him walk again. What Jesus is after is convincing the man that he can walk again with God!