"And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judæa, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.” (Luke 5:17-19)

Luke records a detail for us that is not clearly seen in the accounts of Mark and Matthew. We all know that the house was so full that no one could go in the door, but Luke tells us that a majority of those packed in the room were Scribes and Pharisees. We know that, most of the time, these two groups of people were often against the Lord rather than seeking Him. They may have been around a lot, but it was out of motivation of curiosity or contention.

There may have been those among the Scribes and Pharisees who sought the Lord truly. And there were, no doubt, others who were devoutly looking to Jesus as the Messiah. But I think we need to take notice of the result of their personal interest in the Savior.

They got in the way of others seeking Jesus.

We most certainly must be on fire for the Lord in our personal discipleship but that cannot be to the neglect of others. The four friends were a perfect imitation of Christ by doing all the work for their friend in need. We should be more like those that seek to do the Lord’s will by helping others.

We may have been faithful to come and worship the Lord for many years, but we must continually examine ourselves so that we are growing in grace and knowledge of God. As we grow, one of the most important things we should be aware of is others. Does our behavior or non-Biblical tradition hinder others from gaining access to the knowledge of Jesus?

Rather than holding tightly to our comfortable routine of worship that might close the doors of the church to others, we should be open to the needs of others and hold open the doors of the church so others may have the same joyous access to fellowship with the Redeemer.