The Paralytic

And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:1-12 ESV). Did you catch that last sentence? Mark says, “They were all amazed.” They had never seen anything like that before. But surely they had. It was by no means the first miracle of healing that Jesus had done in Capernaum. Agreed, it was probably the first, and so far as we know the only time that a roof was broken through to get a sufferer to him; but though that may have been rather surprising, you could scarcely say it was amazing. I think the thing they had not seen before was Jesus dealing with sin as well as suffering. The response of the hard-hearted was, “He says the man’s forgiven, but how do we know, and how does he know, and what right has he to say so?” A more positive response would be, “Since he has the power to heal, he must also have the power to forgive.” Though everybody had seen the man walk away, nobody had actually seen his sins disappear, had they? What they had seen was one who could do nothing, a mere man, completely restored by one who seemingly could do anything, one claiming to be the Son of Man, True Man, the Man with divine power and authority. That was what amazed everyone. It was Jesus’ claim to be able to do what only God could do. You remember that yesterday I quoted Jesus as saying to the woman at the well, “I who speak to you am he.” There is so much assurance in those words. It is the foundation of Jesus’ miraculous work in our reading today. There were many prophets who had healed the infirmities of people before Jesus; however, no one had ever claimed to forgive a man of his sins. And, isn’t that the real healing we need today? I think I’ll be fine if I get into heaven with my infirmities. However, if I don’t get there, I won’t be fine at all. The great miracle of Jesus is that through his work of grace we are forgiven. Perhaps we should focus on that truth today. Go ahead, rise, pick up your bed of affliction, and walk!