Karl Ihfe examines the remarkable story of friendship found in Mark 2, where four friends carry a paralyzed man to Jesus, going so far as to tear through a roof to get their friend before Him. Ihfe highlights how true friendship requires significant investment of time—our most precious and limited resource—and sacrifice, as these friends were willing to overcome any barrier to bring their friend to Jesus.
The sermon emphasizes a profound truth from this passage: when Jesus healed the paralyzed man, He did so in response to the friends' faith, not the paralyzed man's. As Mark 2:5 states, "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'" Ihfe challenges the congregation to consider both whose "mat" they might need to carry and what "mat" they might be lying on, needing to ask for help. He reminds us that Jesus calls us friends (not servants) and demonstrated the ultimate friendship by sacrificing Himself for us, carrying our sins to the cross.
