“Get up. Pick up your stretcher and go home.” ~~Jesus to the paraplegic

The man believed Jesus could heal him. His friends believed it so much that when they couldn’t get in the front entrance, they removed part of the roof and lowered the paraplegic on his stretcher. Now that got Jesus attention. Jesus still, after all this, has one more thing he wants the man to do. He allows the man an opportunity to demonstrate his faith. And he does. And he walks out of there. And those who doubted Jesus rubbed their eyes. They found it hard to believe.

“Get up. Pick up your stretcher and go home.” And the man did it—got up, grabbed his stretcher, and walked out, with everyone there watching him. They rubbed their eyes, incredulous—and then praised God, saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”