042 Curing the Sick - A Bible Story for Children

Matthew 8:1-4, 14-15; 9:1-8 - Mark 1:23-2:12 - Luke 4:33-41; 5:27-26

The good news about the coming of God's kingdom traveled quickly, and crowds began to gather wherever Jesus went. In these crowds there were often sick people who hoped that Jesus would cure them.

One Sabbath, Jesus went to the synagogue in Capernaum to preach. The worshippers were impressed by the strength of what Jesus said and by his faith in God. Suddenly, a man pushed his way up to Jesus. "What do you want here, Jesus of Nazareth?" he shrieked. "Have you come to destroy us?"

At that time, people thought that evil spirits could find a home in someone's body and make him act wildly. So Jesus looked at the man calmly. "Be gone," he ordered the evil spirits. At Jesus' words, the man fell to the floor, shaking and crying. When he got up, he was quiet.

From the synagogue, Jesus and the apostles went for supper to the house of Simon Peter's mother-in-law. She lay in bed, sick with a fever. Jesus took her hand and held it for a moment. The woman rose from her bed, the fever gone, and went to prepare supper.

By sunset that evening, the sick and the suffering of the town had heard of the healings and gathered outside the house. Jesus went out to them. He laid his hands on them, and the sick were cured, the lame could walk again.

The next morning, Jesus began his travels again. On the road he met a leper, a man who suffered from a terrible disease that left his body covered with sores. Because of their disease, lepers were not allowed to go near other people.

The leper knelt down before Jesus. "If only you will, you can make me well," he begged. Jesus stretched out a hand to him. "Be well," he said, and the leper was cured.

Word of these miracles spread everywhere, and when Jesus returned to his house in Capernaum, the street outside was so crowded with people who wanted to be cured that no one could get near it. In the crowd was a paralyzed man, a man who could not move. He was carried on a stretcher by four friends. The door to Jesus' house was blocked by people, and the man's friends did not see any way to get him to Jesus. Finally, they had an idea. They climbed to the roof and removed the tiles above the room Jesus was in. Carefully, they lifted the man to the roof and gently lowered him through the hole they had made.

It touched Jesus to see how much the paralyzed man wanted his help and how much he and his friends believed in Jesus. "Go, your sins--your wrongs against God--are forgiven," he said to the paralyzed man.

Some teachers of the law were standing near Jesus' house at the time, and they were shocked by his words.

"Who is he to forgive sins? Only God can do that," they said to themselves.

Jesus knew what the men were thinking. "You think I am just saying, 'Your sins are forgiven,' but I will show you that I really do have the power to forgive sins on this earth." Turning to the paralyzed man, he said, "Take up your stretcher and walk."

The man got up, took his stretcher, and walked away from the house. Everybody marveled at this and praised God, saying, "Today we have seen something we have never seen before."

Category: Children's Bible Stories