One day, our Lord Jesus Christ got into a boat and went to His own city. What He got there, some people brought a paralyzed man to Him. The man could not walk, so they brought him to Jesus on a mat.

Jesus saw that they believed that He could heal their friend. He looked at the man and said, “Your sins are forgiven!”

Some of the important people from the synagogue were upset. They thought to themselves, “This man is acting like He is God. That is not good to do!”

But Jesus knew what they were thinking, so He asked them a question, “Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Get up and walk?’”

Then, to show that He had the power to even forgive sins, Jesus told the man, “Get up! Pick up your mat, and go home!”

Right away the man got up and walked home! When all the people gathered there saw this, they were amazed. They glorified God for giving Jesus such great power.

1. Look at the icon. Find the stretcher. People who couldn’t walk were carried by their friends on stretchers.

2. Jesus said, “Take heart,” to the man. He wanted the man to be hopeful of good things to come.

3. Jesus then forgave his sins. A sin is anything we do that hurts someone, or destroys something.

4. At the end of the story, did Jesus heal the man?

5. Jesus wants us to know that he is God. When he was living on earth with us, he healed the sick. He wanted people to see hat he is God. Those who knew he was God listened carefully to what he taught.

6. In church, when do we hear what Jesus taught?