July 5th, 2026
by Pastor Albert Cross
by Pastor Albert Cross
The Unstoppable Power of Getting Someone to Jesus
There's a story tucked away in Mark chapter 2 that reveals one of the most profound truths about faith, friendship, and the heart of the gospel. It's the account of four ordinary people who refused to accept "no" as an answer when it came to getting their paralyzed friend to Jesus.
When the Door Is Blocked
Picture the scene: Capernaum, a bustling border town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Word has spread like wildfire that Jesus is back in town, teaching at someone's home. The crowd is so thick that people are pressed against every wall, filling the doorway, spilling into the street. There's no room left—not even near the entrance.
Into this impossible situation come four people carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They've made the journey. They've navigated the streets. They've arrived at their destination. But now they face an insurmountable obstacle: a wall of humanity standing between their friend and the one person who can help him.
This is where most stories would end. "We tried our best. We got him as far as we could. Maybe tomorrow will be better."
But not these four.
The Anatomy of Unstoppable Faith
What made these four people different? What drove them to do something so audacious, so unconventional, so seemingly outrageous that it would become one of the most memorable moments in Jesus's ministry?
First, they had compassion. This wasn't casual concern or polite interest. This was the kind of love that refuses to watch someone suffer when you know there's hope available. Compassion isn't pity felt from a safe distance—it's a feeling strong enough to make you get up and do something, no matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable.
Second, they had cooperation. It takes four people to carry a stretcher. The two in front must match the pace of the two in back. All four must agree on the direction. Someone has to call out the next step through the crowd. This wasn't a solo mission; it was a coordinated effort. Unity of purpose created strength none of them possessed alone.
Third, they had commitment. When the door was blocked, they didn't shrug and go home. They found another way. And that way required something drastic—tearing a hole in someone's roof. Imagine the scene: debris falling on the crowd below, dust filling the air, people staring upward in shock as daylight breaks through the ceiling. These four were so committed to their mission that they were willing to destroy obstacles—literally—to accomplish it.
Finally, they had conviction. They believed with absolute certainty that if they could just get their friend in front of Jesus, something would change. Their faith wasn't invisible or theoretical. It looked exactly like four people tearing through a roof and lowering someone down because he couldn't get there himself.
The Deeper Healing
What happened next reveals something profound about what Jesus came to do. When the paralyzed man was lowered through the roof and placed right in front of Him, Jesus didn't immediately say, "Rise and walk." He didn't touch the man's legs first.
Instead, He looked at this paralyzed man and said, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
The religious leaders in the room were scandalized. "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" they muttered among themselves. They were theologically correct—only God can forgive sins. They were just wrong about who was standing in front of them.
Jesus knew their thoughts. He perceived their questions before they voiced them. And He used this moment to demonstrate that He had authority not just to heal bodies, but to forgive sins—to address the deepest problem humanity faces.
The man's body would eventually grow old and fail again someday, no matter what happened that afternoon. But his soul was the emergency. Physical healing was temporary; spiritual forgiveness was eternal.
To prove His authority, Jesus then said to the paralytic, "I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home." And the man who had been carried in walked out under his own strength—forgiven and healed in the same breath, by the same word, from the same person.
The Paralysis We All Share
Here's the uncomfortable truth this story reveals: every person who has ever come to Christ arrived at the foot of the cross the same way—carried by someone else, unable to get there on their own power.
The paralyzed man in this story is a picture of every person before they encounter Jesus. It's not that unbelievers are lazy or unintelligent. Some of the kindest, sharpest, most capable people you know cannot get themselves to God. It has nothing to do with effort. Scripture describes this condition as being "without strength"—not weak, but strengthless. Nothing left to offer.
This is the spiritual paralysis every one of us is born with. We cannot make ourselves right with God through our own effort. That's not an insult; it's simply the truth about what sin has done to all of us.
The Simple Path to Life
The beauty of this story—and the gospel itself—is its stunning simplicity. Jesus didn't interrogate the paralyzed man about how he got into his condition. He didn't ask what the man was willing to do to earn healing. He didn't require a performance or a promise.
He simply saw faith and responded with grace.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." No color restrictions. No height requirements. No religious background necessary. Just believe.
People often think they need to clean up their lives before they can come to Jesus. They compile mental lists of sins they need to stop committing, habits they need to break, changes they need to make. But Jesus forgave the man's sins before He ever touched his physical problem.
You don't have to have your life in order before you come to Jesus. The man in Mark didn't walk in on his own strength. He was lowered through a hole in the roof on a mat, and Jesus met him exactly there, in that condition, with no requirements attached.
Your Mission Today
The four people who carried their friend to Jesus remind us of something crucial: someone cared enough to get you to this moment. Maybe it was a parent, a friend, a coworker, or a stranger whose words wouldn't leave you alone. Someone got you here.
Now the question becomes: who are you carrying?
The people around us cannot get themselves to Jesus. We've gotten far too comfortable just watching them try. What obstacles are we willing to overcome to make sure someone gets to Jesus? What excuses are we allowing to keep us from sharing the simple truth that has changed our lives?
The time we have is limited. The night is coming. But for now, while it's day, we have the freedom and the responsibility to be about the Father's business—just like Jesus was, just like those four ordinary people were.
Getting someone to Jesus isn't complicated. It just requires compassion, cooperation, commitment, and conviction. And the promise waiting on the other side is as simple and profound as it's ever been: "He that believeth on me hath everlasting life."
Not one day. Not maybe. Not if you work hard enough.
Right now. Already done. Just believe on the one who died and rose again.
Full Sermon: https://tri-citybaptistchurch.subspla.sh/mykct53
There's a story tucked away in Mark chapter 2 that reveals one of the most profound truths about faith, friendship, and the heart of the gospel. It's the account of four ordinary people who refused to accept "no" as an answer when it came to getting their paralyzed friend to Jesus.
When the Door Is Blocked
Picture the scene: Capernaum, a bustling border town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Word has spread like wildfire that Jesus is back in town, teaching at someone's home. The crowd is so thick that people are pressed against every wall, filling the doorway, spilling into the street. There's no room left—not even near the entrance.
Into this impossible situation come four people carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They've made the journey. They've navigated the streets. They've arrived at their destination. But now they face an insurmountable obstacle: a wall of humanity standing between their friend and the one person who can help him.
This is where most stories would end. "We tried our best. We got him as far as we could. Maybe tomorrow will be better."
But not these four.
The Anatomy of Unstoppable Faith
What made these four people different? What drove them to do something so audacious, so unconventional, so seemingly outrageous that it would become one of the most memorable moments in Jesus's ministry?
First, they had compassion. This wasn't casual concern or polite interest. This was the kind of love that refuses to watch someone suffer when you know there's hope available. Compassion isn't pity felt from a safe distance—it's a feeling strong enough to make you get up and do something, no matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable.
Second, they had cooperation. It takes four people to carry a stretcher. The two in front must match the pace of the two in back. All four must agree on the direction. Someone has to call out the next step through the crowd. This wasn't a solo mission; it was a coordinated effort. Unity of purpose created strength none of them possessed alone.
Third, they had commitment. When the door was blocked, they didn't shrug and go home. They found another way. And that way required something drastic—tearing a hole in someone's roof. Imagine the scene: debris falling on the crowd below, dust filling the air, people staring upward in shock as daylight breaks through the ceiling. These four were so committed to their mission that they were willing to destroy obstacles—literally—to accomplish it.
Finally, they had conviction. They believed with absolute certainty that if they could just get their friend in front of Jesus, something would change. Their faith wasn't invisible or theoretical. It looked exactly like four people tearing through a roof and lowering someone down because he couldn't get there himself.
The Deeper Healing
What happened next reveals something profound about what Jesus came to do. When the paralyzed man was lowered through the roof and placed right in front of Him, Jesus didn't immediately say, "Rise and walk." He didn't touch the man's legs first.
Instead, He looked at this paralyzed man and said, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
The religious leaders in the room were scandalized. "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" they muttered among themselves. They were theologically correct—only God can forgive sins. They were just wrong about who was standing in front of them.
Jesus knew their thoughts. He perceived their questions before they voiced them. And He used this moment to demonstrate that He had authority not just to heal bodies, but to forgive sins—to address the deepest problem humanity faces.
The man's body would eventually grow old and fail again someday, no matter what happened that afternoon. But his soul was the emergency. Physical healing was temporary; spiritual forgiveness was eternal.
To prove His authority, Jesus then said to the paralytic, "I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home." And the man who had been carried in walked out under his own strength—forgiven and healed in the same breath, by the same word, from the same person.
The Paralysis We All Share
Here's the uncomfortable truth this story reveals: every person who has ever come to Christ arrived at the foot of the cross the same way—carried by someone else, unable to get there on their own power.
The paralyzed man in this story is a picture of every person before they encounter Jesus. It's not that unbelievers are lazy or unintelligent. Some of the kindest, sharpest, most capable people you know cannot get themselves to God. It has nothing to do with effort. Scripture describes this condition as being "without strength"—not weak, but strengthless. Nothing left to offer.
This is the spiritual paralysis every one of us is born with. We cannot make ourselves right with God through our own effort. That's not an insult; it's simply the truth about what sin has done to all of us.
The Simple Path to Life
The beauty of this story—and the gospel itself—is its stunning simplicity. Jesus didn't interrogate the paralyzed man about how he got into his condition. He didn't ask what the man was willing to do to earn healing. He didn't require a performance or a promise.
He simply saw faith and responded with grace.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." No color restrictions. No height requirements. No religious background necessary. Just believe.
People often think they need to clean up their lives before they can come to Jesus. They compile mental lists of sins they need to stop committing, habits they need to break, changes they need to make. But Jesus forgave the man's sins before He ever touched his physical problem.
You don't have to have your life in order before you come to Jesus. The man in Mark didn't walk in on his own strength. He was lowered through a hole in the roof on a mat, and Jesus met him exactly there, in that condition, with no requirements attached.
Your Mission Today
The four people who carried their friend to Jesus remind us of something crucial: someone cared enough to get you to this moment. Maybe it was a parent, a friend, a coworker, or a stranger whose words wouldn't leave you alone. Someone got you here.
Now the question becomes: who are you carrying?
The people around us cannot get themselves to Jesus. We've gotten far too comfortable just watching them try. What obstacles are we willing to overcome to make sure someone gets to Jesus? What excuses are we allowing to keep us from sharing the simple truth that has changed our lives?
The time we have is limited. The night is coming. But for now, while it's day, we have the freedom and the responsibility to be about the Father's business—just like Jesus was, just like those four ordinary people were.
Getting someone to Jesus isn't complicated. It just requires compassion, cooperation, commitment, and conviction. And the promise waiting on the other side is as simple and profound as it's ever been: "He that believeth on me hath everlasting life."
Not one day. Not maybe. Not if you work hard enough.
Right now. Already done. Just believe on the one who died and rose again.
Full Sermon: https://tri-citybaptistchurch.subspla.sh/mykct53
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