The Paralytic Lowered Through The Roof

And when they had broken through they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying.

The paralytic lowered through the roof. When the man s friends carried him to the house where jesus was staying they found the house to be packed with people wanting to hear jesus and be healed by him. Since they were not able to bring him to jesus because of the crowd they removed the roof above where he was. 4 being unable to get to him because of the crowd they removed the roof above him. The house had a flat roof and outside stairs leading up to the roof.

As late as the early 20th century some of the roofs in tiberias were of packed clay. Most likely then the paralytic who was let down through the roof was weighed down by a burden of guilt which he had carried rightly or wrongly for many years. Jesus was impressed by the faith of these men. The friends climbed up an outside staircase and dug a hole through the roof.

And when they had dug an opening they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. So the four men went up on the roof removed some tiles and lowered the paralyzed man on his bedroll into the middle of the crowd right in front of jesus. They lowered their friend down to the place where jesus was. When jesus saw their faith he said to the paralyzed man son your sins are forgiven some of the teachers of the law interpreted this as blasphemy since god alone can forgive sins.

The implication is quite clear that the man was paralyzed because of past sins. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man but could not get inside so they made an opening in the roof above jesus and then lowered the man down. Many roofs of the galilean villages were overlain with packed clay. But the language is strongly against such a construction.

Luke 5 18 25new international version niv 18 some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before jesus 19 when they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd right in front of jesus. An awning is not a roof and it is rolled up not broken up moreover the man was let down through the tiles which seems to indicate that the remaining tiles encased an opening through which he was lowered. 3 and they came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.