This morning’s reading from Luke 5:17–26 reminds us of the power of faithful friendship and the deeper healing Jesus offers. A paralyzed man is brought to Jesus by friends so determined they tear through a roof to reach him. Jesus, seeing their faith, forgives the man’s sins—causing a stir among religious leaders—and then heals his body to show His divine authority. This story is about more than just a miracle; it reveals Jesus as God and calls us to be like those friends: carrying others to Jesus with love and persistence. May we be bold in friendship, honest about brokenness, and open to God doing “strange things” in our midst.

Shameless plug: here’s a link to Method(ist) to the Madness, our

Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he’ll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God’s Word.

Click here if you’d like to join our GroupMe and receive this each morning at 7:00 a.m. CST.

Click on the image above or this link to watch today’s video.

You can read today’s passage here.

You can podcast this reflection here. You can subscribe through Spotify or Apple Podcasts as well.

Or, if you’d like to read the transcript of the video, keep reading!

Good morning. It’s good to be with you on this Friday as we continue our time together in Luke’s Gospel.

Just a quick housekeeping reminder: as I’ve mentioned before, I’ll be out of town next week, Monday through Friday, preaching at a camp meeting in Oxford, Mississippi. If you’re in the Northeast Mississippi area—Tupelo, Oxford, New Albany, Ripley, Pontotoc—anywhere in the old New Albany District of the conference, I’d love to see you. I’ll be preaching every day at 11 a.m. and again in the evening, I believe at 6 or 7 p.m. If you’ve never been to a camp meeting, they’re a lot of fun. Message me if you want directions—this is my first time preaching at this one, and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve preached at several others—Shiloh, New Prospect, Salem on the Coast—and I think I’m just a camp or two away from full-on camp meeting bingo.

If you usually stream Rooted, we’ll be back in the regular rhythm starting Monday the 28th.

Today, we’re reading from Luke 5:17–26:

One day while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting nearby. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.
Just then some men came, carrying a paralyzed man on a bed. They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus.
When he saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”
Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, “Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’?
But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the one who was paralyzed—“I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home.”
Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God.
Amazement seized all of them, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen strange things today.”

That last verse is one of my favorites: “We have seen strange things today.” Wouldn’t that be a great way to end church? That’s my prayer for this upcoming camp meeting—that we would be so open to the Holy Spirit, so full of faith, that we walk away saying, “We’ve seen strange things today.”

I love this story, especially verse 20: “When he saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you.’” It reminds me of that Beatles song, “With a Little Help from My Friends.” Maybe it’s odd for Scripture to bring up the Beatles, but I can’t help it—that line always comes to mind.

This man is healed because of the faith of his friends. We’ve all heard that sermon before, haven’t we? It’s the friends who go to great lengths—tearing through a roof—to get this man to Jesus. That’s a powerful picture of Christian community. Our job is to work for the healing of our friends. In Scripture, the word for “salvation” can also be translated as “healing” or “wholeness.” That’s what we’re after—wholeness. Everyone we know has brokenness of some kind. As one of my favorite books on pastoral care puts it, “Everybody is normal until you get to know them.”

On the surface, people seem fine. But look a little deeper, and what do you find? Pain. Grief. Addiction. Broken relationships. Can you think of a single family untouched by addiction? Or one that hasn’t dealt with some kind of hurt? I can’t. We’ve all got something.

That’s why it’s our job to be friends with broken people. Too often, Christians stay in our own little holy huddles—friends with people who go to our church or others just like it. Don’t get me wrong, Christian friendships are a gift, and I’m thankful for mine. But how can we bring people to Jesus if we don’t actually know anyone who needs him? And we must love people—not as projects, but as people. Jesus deeply loves those who don’t yet know him. Do we?

Back to the story. Notice how Jesus heals. He starts by saying, “Your sins are forgiven.” That’s what stirs up the religious leaders. Not the healing itself—that’ll offend them later—but his claim to forgive sins. They rightly understand: only God can forgive sin. And that’s exactly Jesus’ point. He’s revealing his identity as the Son of God.

To prove it, he says, “So that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” and then he turns to the paralyzed man and says, “Get up, take your bed, and go home.” The healing is about more than restoring one man—it’s about revealing who Jesus is. The physical miracle confirms the spiritual truth: Jesus is God.

This story also reminds us that our spiritual life and our physical life are intertwined. Jesus forgives sins and heals bodies. We are not just souls in shells—we are embodied beings. Our bodies matter. That’s part of what the incarnation tells us: Jesus, fully God, took on flesh. So take care of your soul—and take care of your body too. That’s rich coming from someone who lives on caffeine and grease, I know. But it’s still true.

So what do we do with this?

Let’s be people who carry others to Jesus. Let’s be real friends to the broken. Let’s build relationships not just within the church, but outside it. And let’s be people who live with enough faith—and enough love—that one day, someone might say of our church or our community, “We’ve seen strange things today.”

Thanks for being with us. I may try to send something out during camp meeting next week, but no promises—it’ll depend on how the schedule goes. More likely than not, we’ll be back Monday the 28th. When we return, we’ll look at another great story—Jesus’ call of Levi.

Have a great day.