2. The paralytic responded immediately

“…and immediately picked up his bed…”

The paralytic’s example of how we are to respond to Jesus continues when we consider the timing in which he obeyed Jesus’ command. There was no hesitation or inner deliberation in the paralytic. He knew that the one who has authority to heal is the one who needs to be obeyed.

The motivating source of the paralytic’s obedience wasn’t a servile fear of Jesus. He was obeying the one who just enabled him to walk once more, not only among other people, but with God. By healing his legs, Jesus empowered the man so that he could once more resume normal fellowship with his family and friends. But by forgiving him of his sins, Jesus empowered the man to resume normal fellowship with God. No more hindrances. No more barriers. Just a perfectly restored fellowship with God. That’s what Jesus does.

Therefore I would suggest that the motivating force of the paralytic’s response to Jesus was thankfulness and love. It is love that compels people to consistently obey God immediately, not servile fear. The one who only fears God will only do enough to get by. But the one who loves God perfectly, who has the love of God shed abroad in his heart, will love God altogether and obey him, not out of mere duty, but with eagerness and joy. It is the one who loves God that takes pleasure in God’s will and delights to execute it.

This has direct ramifications for every area of the Christian life. For example, what will ever motivate us to fulfill the Great Commission? Is it fear, or is it love? In his sermon, The Unity of the Divine Being (1872 edition), John Wesley says, “It is in consequence of our knowing God loves us, that we love him, and love our neighbour as ourselves. Gratitude towards our Creator cannot but produce benevolence to our fellow creatures.”1 Wesley is suggesting that the originating source of benevolence towards other people is the love of God Himself. When the paralytic was healed by Jesus, he experienced the transforming power of God’s love first-hand. What this produced was a thankfulness and immediate obedience to his every command. Jesus told him to get up, take his mat, and go home. “And immediately” he went off to engage in the evangelistic ministry of being a witness to the wonderful grace of God.

There is a lot of hesitation in the hearts of believers today. Many of us delay in our obedience to God. Whether it be rebellion or laziness, our hearts have gone cold and unresponsive and we have turned a deaf ear to the voice of God. We delay, and often entirely ignore, the commands Jesus lays on our lives every day. Perhaps this is because we have forgotten what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. If John Wesley is right, the church needs to keep her eyes ever fixed on the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb as the definitive statements of God’s love for humanity. It is only then that we will be free to render back to God our love, praise, and obedience in response to his gracious redeeming provisions in Christ.

1 “The Unity of the Divine Being,” (17).