It’s a small detail with huge implications. There’s a story about a paralysed man who is brought by his friends to Jesus. Desperate to get him to Jesus despite the crowds, they dig a hole through the roof and lower the man down to Him. But the small detail, which seems unnecessary, is found at the end of Mark 2:3: “Some men came, bringing to Jesus a paralyzed man, carried by four of them”. Why specifically mention “carried by four”? There’s a fascinating pattern in Proverbs that gives “three, yes four” lists: “There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a young woman” (Proverbs 30:18-19). This is not just a list of four, it points to the fourth as part of the list but different or transcendent. For us to carry a desperate need to God, it takes three, yes four. It cannot be done without fellow disciples, but the fourth who carries with the three is most vital. “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.” (Matthew 8:17). We do not carry our burdens alone. We carry them with our brothers and sisters, and Jesus. It’s always carried by three, yes four. (Craig B) Open Bible – bit.ly/mar2v3, bit.ly/Pro30v18-19, bit.ly/Mat8v17
