"No indeed!" The others were determined. "I am sure he will be healed if we can just find some way to get through," said one of them.
The fourth man was gazing at a staircase that led up to the roof of the house next to Simon's home.
"Look! Why can't we get in that way?"
In a moment the men had climbed the stairs and stepped across the narrow space that separated them from the roof of Simon's house. On the porch under them, they could hear Jesus talking. It took about fifteen minutes to lift the tile from the porch roof, tie ropes to the stretcher, and lower the man toward Jesus.
Everybody stared as the paralyzed man slowly came to rest at the feet of Jesus.
"My son!" Jesus' voice could be clearly heard in the hush of the courtyard. "Your sins are forgiven."
The statement took everyone by surprise. Andrew saw a scribe whisper to a friend.
"Did you hear what he said?" remarked the scribe whom Andrew was watching. His friend nodded.
A woman who knew the sick man said: "Is this man paralyzed because he sinned? He was born this way, wasn't he?"
"He has been a very good man," answered her husband.