EXTRACT FOR
Living In The Shadow Of The Cross
(Author Unknown)

  He had sat in a small house, with a crowd of people outside, including Pharisees, teachers, scribes and others who came to test His knowledge against their teachings, trying to trip Him in knowledge of the Judaic Law.  (They never did succeed in that.)  Raphael had seen a small procession coming, four men carrying a bed on which lay a critically sick man. He pointed them out to me and I saw the possibility for a little fun and a lesson, as I said.

  For there was no way the procession would be able to get through the crowd, it was too tightly packed and no one would give way for something as large as a bed. As I said earlier, people are selfish and they were there for their own gratification, their own healing, their own answers to questions.

  Ensuring He had enough guardians at that time, I slipped out of the crowd and approached the group in the guise of one of the disciples.

  "You won't get through the crowd," I told them. They looked miserable, downcast and desperate.  The man on the bed just looked at me weakly, not saying a word. "But I have an idea."  I admired their determination and loyalty to carry the man to see Him and was also interested to see what these 'stuffed full of importance' bodies would make of the demonstration.

  And so I told them of my idea which lit up their faces and they gained a huge burst of energy. They found a ladder and climbed to the roof of the house, pulling the man up to the roof on his bed and then took the tiles off, one by one, laying them to one side. Then, when they had a sufficiently big hole, they lowered the bed down right in front of Him.

  By this time I was back by His side, waiting for His reaction. He roared with laughter which was infectious, of course, and most of those gathered there also rocked with laughter. Only the strait-laced Pharisees and teachers stood stony faced.

  When the laughter dried up, He touched the man. "Your sins are forgiven," He said.  

  "You blaspheme," said one strait-laced Pharisee, wearing more vestments than the others, obviously more important than the others. "Only God has the power to forgive sins."

  "Does not healing come from God?" He asked.  They nodded, reluctantly. "Then the forgiveness of sins can also come from God via a person who gives healing." He looked at them.  "You were not amused," He said. "These men carry their friend here, determined that he will be healed.  They find a way, a most novel way, of getting him to me. It amused me, it amused many gathered here."  He waved His hand at the crowd and they shouted their versions of 'Yes!' to the poker-faced men.  "It is as easy for me to say: 'your sins are forgiven' as it is to say 'pick up your bed and walk.'  Without even a touch from Jesus, the man got up from his bed, said his grateful thanks, waved to his friends and left the house. They shouted their thanks as they replaced the tiles and they too left.

  I caught His eye for a moment and He did something He never did in public: He smiled at me. He knew.