Jesus had become a major focus in the region of Galilee.  Although He had made clear that He had come to announce God’s kingdom (Luke 4:42-44), He was also full of compassion and often responded to the needs of broken people (Psalm 116:5).   The religious leaders were feeling under threat from this Man whose healing was miraculous and teaching was the breath of God, and they searched through all the good He said and did to find something that would discredit Him.  

Local rabbis and synagogue rulers in the Galilee region descended on the town.  Word had even spread to the capital, Jerusalem, and theological lawyers travelled north to find some fault with what Jesus was saying and doing.  However, the sick and demonised knew they had found someone who truly cared about them, and had God’s power to heal.

Imagine the scene: religious critics were sitting there sifting Jesus' teaching for any deviation from their orthodoxy, but a paralysed man could not get in.  But the sick man and his friends were insistent.  The man was taken up the outside steps onto the roof by friends who stripped away a section of roofing.  They made a hole large enough to lower the man by ropes attached to his stretcher - right in front of Jesus.  They knew that only Jesus could heal, and they were not going to be put off.  Meanwhile, the Pharisees saw an opportunity to build a case against Jesus.

These two attitudes remain in today's marketplace.  Some are desperate for Jesus, or at least hungry to find the truth about Him. They know that nobody else can heal their brokenness.  Others are cynics or sceptics who have already made up their minds that, at best, Jesus is an irrelevance; at worst He is dangerous.  The fact remains, those who seek Him, find Him to be all that He claims to be (Isaiah 55:6-7).  Those who are determined to ask in faith, get answers (Matthew 7:7-8).  Meanwhile those who ridicule Jesus and His people remain encased in their darkness and cannot see the Light of the world (2 Corinthians 4:4).  In your community and workplace, do not be discouraged by the cynics - pray for them.  But do encourage the seekers to explore God's Word - they may find www.crosscheck.org.uk helpful.  And for yourself, never forget that the Lord does meet with those who seek Him with all of their heart (Jeremiah 29:13).