Day 47 – On the roof

“And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.” Luke 5:19

The famous Bible commentator, Spurgeon, spoke of the quality of men who would bring a friend to Jesus, “The need to be strong, for the burden is heavy; they need be resolute, for the work will try their faith; they need be prayerful, for otherwise they labor in vain; they must be believing, or they will be utterly useless.”

When reading this story, we see a man’s friends willing to go the extra mile to help him, to bring him straight to the feet of Jesus. We read they let him down on his mat through the tiling of the roof. Seems simple enough, right? But it wasn’t an easy task, and learning about the architecture of the houses in that time shows their resilience.

Verse 19 refers to tiles, but this is a little lost in translation to modern-time readers, as we understand tiles as single shingle-type tiles that can easily be removed. But the Greek term is 𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘴, which refers to hard, sunbaked clay blocks like pottery. The roof of a single-story house was sturdy enough to walk on, was used as storage, and could be accessed by a staircase next to the house. Recent archaeological research has suggested that this type of house could not have supported a second story, and the roof would have been straw and branches covered with clay baked hard in the sun.

These friends didn’t lift a few tiles; they had to break through hard-baked clay. Their determination is something we need to examine in our relationships. Are we THIS determined, this resolute, and this faithful to bring our friends to the feet of Jesus?

Pray with me: Father, once again we can break deeper into Your Word like these friends had to break through the clay to get to Jesus. May our determination equal theirs when we speak, pray, and intercede for our friends. Maybe we are just the friend someone needs. Amen. ©

Love, Iriza