But, I have to wonder about those 4 men. Who were they, and what was their compulsion to make this happen? Perhaps most of all, I wonder about what happened to them after the deed was done, and the man got up and walked home?
Mark seems to tell this story for several reasons. First there is the healing by Jesus, showing His power to both forgive sin and to heal the body of the man. Then there is the indignation of the religious leaders, and the actions of the 4 men.
No doubt the 4 Jewish men had heard their rabbis and Pharisee leaders read Scripture about care of your fellow man. They had listened to the Old Testament (their only Bible) stories, heard the Psalms and the Proverbs and knew that God wanted His people to be a kind and generous nation. They could have sat and listened to these exhortations all day long and felt satisfied that they knew what to do when the time came. They knew the way to live out their lives.
But knowing, as good as it is and as important, was not the end all for this quartet. They acted and took the man, who could not take himself, put him in a place where a miracle could take place, and then saw the result of their labors.
They acted out what they knew to be right.
In my mind and putting myself into that scene, I know I would have been one of the four. My mind makes me one of the heroes, but then the question comes; would I really have gone out on this limb?
Hearing what is right, even knowing what is the right thing to do for someone, is not the end. It is the carrying over into action that which needs to be done.
Loving your neighbor as you love yourself is not just a pithy saying, it is a call to action.
God, help me to see and to care.
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