I'm just wondering: Questions I have about Jesus healing the lame man in Mark 2.

It looks a lot cleaner than I imagine it

 “When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them,  four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” Mark 2:1-5, NLT

My Bible reading is in the Gospel of Mark these days and a few weeks ago I read this passage. It's a story that captures the imagination and – as far as I know – the only one of its kind in all the Gospels. It's a story of property destruction in the name of getting a needy guy to Jesus. But re-reading it that morning raised a few questions that I had never thought of before. Such as,

Why dig a hole in the roof? Aren't there better ways to get Jesus' attention? 

According to one source, 

The typical Syrian roof was constructed of timbers laid parallel to each other about two or three feet apart. Then crosswise over the timbers, sticks were laid close to each other, thus forming the basic roof. Upon this was laid reeds, branches of trees, and thistles. The whole thing was overlaid with about a foot of earth, which was then packed down to resist water. All told, the roof was about two feet thick. During the spring, grass flourished on these primitive roofs. (from Swindoll's Living Insights on Mark, 2016)

Now it looks like they had access to 
power tools

If I read this right, the minute these guys started digging whatever was happening in the room below came to an abrupt stop. With all that debris coming down it would have been impossible to carry on. I would think even Mary (Martha's sister) would have been aroused from her reverie at Jesus' feet had she been there. Which begs a few other questions.

There are many scholars who believe that this episode took place in Peter's home in Capernaum which became Jesus' base of operations during his ministry in Galilee. Packed as it was to the gills, though not named I'm assuming he was present when all of this was going down. If that's the case, 

Where is Peter in all this? And more importantly, where is Peter'swife? 

Now it looks like he's
crowd-surfing

As crowded as the house was wouldn't he had made a beeline to the exterior stairs to find out what the heck was going on up on the roof? And if he didn't get a move on, I can't believe any wife from any century would sit blithely by as her living room was destroyed. In Swindoll's account of the incident he describes the onlookers as “murmuring to one another” as the stretcher is lowered slowly into the room. Murmuring? For real? I don't buy it. How 'bout a few inappropriate expletives being let loose by some of the folk while tempers rise for getting their clothes full of dirt and debris? If Peter's wife is not hollering at the hole in the roof she's definitely raising holy hell with her husband to get a move on before the whole house falls down on them. No, I don't think there was 'murmuring' going on as the man is lowered through the roof into the room where they were seated.

Which brings me back to my first question, 

Why? Why go to such extreme measures to get this guy to Jesus? Was he dying?

I mean the meeting was going to break up eventually, why not just cool their heels until then? Or why not do what “blind Bartimaeus” would do a year or so later when Jesus was traveling through Jericho? When learning that Jesus the healer was passing by he began to shout at the top of his lungs.

Bartimaeus gets Jesus' attention

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

“Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him.

But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.” (Mark 10:47-49, NLT)

I think it looked more like this

This was a man who would not be shushed try as they might. Couldn't these four faithful friends of the paralyzed guy have done something like this instead of engaging in wholesale property destruction? Make yourself a nuisance, why don't you? The squeaky wheel gets the oil, right? Surely if all four of them were shouting lustfully like high school football players on Friday night Jesus would have stepped outside and accomplished the same thing without ruining the house. 

Don't drop him! (from The Chosen)

It's an amazing moment all the same. A paralyzed man, bereft of
hope or faith, is given his life back in an instant (more shouting!) because of the words of Jesus. He doesn't just “stand up” from the make-shift stretcher. He jumps up (another indicator that something miraculous has just occurred that allows muscles that would have atrophied to become as elastic as a youth's) and strides home. Imagine how that scene played out when he walked through his front door for the first time in a very long time. No doubt there was more shouting at that house.

I have a few other thoughts about this story; more questions, really, that this scene provokes me asking such as:

If the hole was big enough to lower a grown man through it did he and his faithful companions drop by the next day if only to offer to help repair Peter's roof?  

I mean, it was only fair, right? And what better way to spend the first day of the rest of his life by helping the man whose house they had damaged while on his way to a miracle?

If the guy didn't come back (after all in the story of the 10 Lepers [Luke 17:11-19]) only 1 of the 10 returned to Jesus to say 'thank you') did Jesus pat Peter on the back, roll up his sleeves and help him repair the damage the next day? I mean, if he's sleeping in this house too it would be advantageous to get it fixed before the next rain came. It makes you think. 

Nobody at Lambeau thinks these guys are weird

I'm from the Midwest. The only places we tend to roar lustfully at is at football and basketball games. As a rule, we tend to not get too excited about Jesus. Our churches are rarely packed and all the newer places of worship have handicap accessibility (with handicap parking spaces in our lots outside.) Park in one of those and you might get a ticket. Yeah, our tribe don't usually “do” radical. 

Four guys who are so insistent and determined to get their needy friend to Jesus that they'll metaphorically dig to China to do so speaks to how desperate their friend's need truly was. Consequences be damned. If the healer works his “magic” and their friend is cured it'll be worth it. It also speaks about their shared belief in what the touch of Jesus could do. After all, when the dust settles and the paralyzed man is being slowly lowered through the roof, the way Mark tells it,  “Impressed by their bold belief, Jesus said to the paraplegic, 'Son, I forgive your sins'” (Msg). It also speaks of their love for him. I am ashamed to say I'm not sure I would have done the same for any of the important people in my life. I would have taken a number and waited all day if need be but fall short of breaking windows or kicking in doors to get my best friend to Jesus.

Those were some friends that guy had

There were other questions raised that day. Mark says as much for after Jesus' declaration of absolving this guy of his sins the religious leaders present query

 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (NIV).  

Of course, Jesus has an answer for that. But first he replies with another question:

Carried in, walking out

“Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? (NLT) 

These are rhetorical questions, of course, the answers which are given convincingly as the formerly lame man makes his egress from that crowded room leaving at least a few of the onlookers speechless. But I'd still like to know after the dust settled and all the people had gone home how they fixed that hole in Peter's roof.