The Man on the Mat Needed Jesus

Mark 2:1-12

Our true story comes from the Bible. It is in the part, or book, of the Bible called Mark. Mark loved Jesus and told people about Him.

The Bible tells us about a man whose legs didn't work. He couldn't walk or run. All the man could do was lie on a mat.


But the man wasn't alone. He had four good friends. The friends helped the man get food to eat. They spent time with him so he wasn't lonely. But they couldn't help him walk.


One day, the four friends heard that Jesus was in Capernaum ("kuh-PURR-ne-um"). That was the name of the town where they lived. They knew that Jesus could help their friend walk. The four friends put the man on his mat. They carried the man to the house where Jesus was teaching.


They were surprised when they got to the house. So many people had come to listen to Jesus! There were too many people to fit in the house. Some people were even standing outside and look in the windows!


The four friends looked at each other. How could Jesus help their friend if they couldn't get inside to see Him?


Then they had an idea. Carefully the four friends carried the man up the outside stairs to the flat roof of the house. They made a hole in the roof.


The friends slowly lowered the mat through the hole in the roof so their friend could see Jesus. Jesus looked up at the four friends through the hole. He knew they believed He could help their friend.


Jesus talked to the man on the mat. "Get up. Pick up your mat and walk home."


Right away the man got up and picked up his mat. He could walk! The amazed crowd watched the man walk away. They praised God.


The four friends knew the man needed Jesus. So, they took the man to Him. Everyone needs Jesus. And we can take them to Jesus, too. We can tell them how much Jesus loves them and how Jesus wants to be their friend forever. We all need Jesus.


Bible Paraphrase: You are everything I need. – Psalm 119:57, NIrV

Text Truth: My friends need Jesus.

Family Devotional

Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” — Mark 2:3-5

Teachers and other leaders in your church play an important a role in the life of the child. Your child considers them friends. They are friends that teach your child about Jesus.

Just as God honored the work of the four friends and their determination to get their friend to Jesus, He will honor the work of determined teachers and leaders who work with your child and help them to learn about Jesus.

When the man was healed "this amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!'" — Mark 2:12

Pray that your child will be amazed at the love and work of Jesus when the teachers and leaders in your church help them learn about Him.


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The illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported license. www.freebibleimages.org
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