086. They Uncovered the Roof

They Uncovered the Roof

(Mark 2:4)

"And when they could not come nigh to him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay."

Scripture tells that there was such a large crowd that the four men who carried the sick man could not force their way through, so they did just what a native would do, went up the outside stairs to the roof, broke up part of the roof, and lowered the sick man down in front of Christ. Oh, the homes are not like ours, but very low, with flat roofs. Jesus was probably standing in the open "lewan," a sort of vestibule in front of the house, with the roof over it, but no door. Those who carried the sick man, not being able to "come at him for the press," went to the roof and removed as much of that as was necessary and let the sick man down at Jesus’ feet. It would be an easy matter to do in that kind of house; the roof is not high, and by stooping after they had removed a piece of the roof and holding the corners of the bed or couch - which was merely a thickly padded quilt, such as people still use in that region - letting the palsied man down would be rather a simple affair. The peasants are accustomed to opening their roofs to let down grain, straw and other articles. We have often seen it done. The materials used for the roofs are beams about three feet or more apart, across which are arranged short sticks quite close together, and then covered with thickly matted thorn bush called bellan. Over this is spread a coat of mortar which is covered with earth and rolled flat and smooth. Any part of this could be removed without harming the rest, and no objection whatever would be made by the owners of the house. All men did was to scrape back a part of the earth over the lewan where Christ stood, remove the thorns and the short sticks and let down the man on the quilt at the feet of Jesus.

Afterwards they would repair the roof, restoring as before. Not all the roofs are made like this, but of material more easily removed. The roof may have been made of coarse matting, or it may have been of boards or stone slabs, that could very easily have been lifted for the time being.

"A heavy burden."
A common sight in Palestine.

Carpenter at work. He uses his foot to hold the piece of wood he is working on.
A daily sight in Nazareth.

Woman preparing a meal in firepot with thorns. "The grass of the field."

"Men as trees walking."
Men scarcely discernible under their loads, carrying brushwood and thorns.

Anyway, the roofs are very low and flat, easily reached by stairs from the yard or court, and are very easily opened. You or I could with little difficulty open a roof as these four men did.