In Part 1 of this series, I reflected on the difficulties facing Adventist education, and in Part 2, I used Mark’s story of the paralyzed man and his friends to show how ailing Adventist schools must be brought before God. In this installment, I define the characteristics of the heroes of Mark’s story and show how modern Adventists should strive to achieve the same qualities.
The story’s four courageous heroes were nameless, unsung, and unselfish. Most importantly, they decided to put their personal interests aside for the healing of their paralytic friend. Such a spirit was unique, astonishing, and unparalleled. These men stood out from their families, neighbors, and communities and found themselves in the Bible. They knew that Jesus Christ would transform the life, purpose, and health of their paralytic friend.
The four men took Capernaum by storm and turned it upside down. Jesus and the crowd marveled as they saw their faith, love, commitment, passion, and dedication. The world is looking for individuals of this character who can save their neighbors. We need them in the 21st century as we seek to save Adventist education.
The characteristics of the four can be summarized as follows:
- The four were nameless, common, ordinary men who were ready to do the extraordinary. Such people’s names were rarely captured in the Bible—“Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man” (Mark 2:3 NIV).
- The four were following their master, Jesus Christ, from a distance and knew when He had returned to Capernaum—“A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come” (Mark 2:1).
- The four were bold, courageous, and focused—“Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them” (Mark 2:3).
- The four were risk-takers, and the crowd could not intimidate them—“Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus” (Mark 2:4).
- The four men sacrificed and used their meager resources to help their paralytic friend instead of themselves—“They made an opening in the roof by digging through it and lowered the mat the man was lying on” (Mark 2:4).
The climax of this exceptional work was the healing of the paralyzed man. Jesus said to him: “I tell you, get up, take your mat, and go home” (Mark 2:11). Mark observed, “He got up, took his mat, and walked out of the full view of them all. It amazed everyone, and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” (Mark 2:12).
We must ask ourselves where we can find the “four men” who can save Adventist Education. We seek men and women who are:
- Common and ordinary but have the zeal to do extraordinary work
- Able to know when Jesus has entered Capernaum
- Full of boldness, courage, and strength
- Risk-takers for mission
- Ready to sacrifice for mission and Adventist education
In the final part of this four part series, I will emphasize the action and effort necessary to save Adventist education and affirm how our faith can prepare a new generation of young people for God’s second coming.
Author
Andrew Mutero
Mutero currently serves as the Education Director for the East-Central Africa Division, which includes the countries of Burundi, D.R. Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania.