The four men probably used an outside stairway to carry their friend up to the roof.
The house four men opened the roof.
A composite of grass clay clay tiles and laths.
The bible knowledge commentary says the following about the construction of this house.
Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room even outside the door.
So the men went onto the roof.
3 then a paralytic was brought to him carried by four men.
There was no way four men could carry a man through that crowd and into the house through the door.
And being unable to get to him because of the crowd they removed the roof above him.
When the crowd had refused to make way for them to pass the four friends carried the man up on the flat roof of the house.
Mark 2 4 since they were unable to get to jesus through the crowd they uncovered the roof above him made an opening and lowered the paralytic on his mat.
Four friends bring their crippled friend to jesus and because of the crowds let him down through the roof.
And when they had dug an opening they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying.
Roofs were often flat.
This done they tied ropes about the bed on which the man lay and lowered the bed very carefully into the room before jesus.
Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house.
Jesus heals the man telling him to rise and take up his bed.
The crowd of people was packed about the doorway trying to get a glimpse of jesus.
They believe that if they can get this man to jesus then jesus can heal his body.
Then they tore up the roof tiling and saw where jesus stood.
When they arrive at the house the crowd is so large that they cannot get into the house through the door.
Like many palestinian dwellings this house probably had an outside stairway leading to a flat roof.
Mark 2 3 5 and they came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
The construction of the roof itself it describes as.
And jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic my son your sins are forgiven.
They couldn t bring him to jesus because of the crowd so they dug a hole through the roof above his head.
People could sleep on the roof when it was hot.
A set of stairs on the side of the house allowed access to the roof which was used much like we use a deck in our day.
4 since they were unable to get to jesus through the crowd they uncovered the roof above him made an opening and lowered the paralytic on his mat.
While he was preaching god s word to them four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat.
We are not told in what part of the house jesus stood but evidently an opening was made in the flat roof above him and the man was lowered to the floor in front of jesus by means of short straps or pieces of rope fastened to the four corners of the bed.
