17 And it came to pass on one of those days, that he was teaching;
and there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, who
were come out of every village of Galilee and Judæa and Jerusalem:
and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 And behold, men
bring on a bed a man that was palsied: and they sought to bring
him in, and to lay him before him. 19 And not finding by what
_way_ they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went
up to the housetop, and let him down through the tiles with his
couch into the midst before Jesus. 20 And seeing their faith, he
said, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. 21 And the scribes and the
Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this that speaketh
blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? 22 But Jesus
perceiving their reasonings, answered and said unto them, Why
reason ye in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, Thy sins are
forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk? 24 But that ye may know
that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (he
said unto him that was palsied), I say unto thee, Arise, and take
up thy couch, and go unto thy house. 25 And immediately he rose up
before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his
house, glorifying God. 26 And amazement took hold on all, and they
glorified God; and they were filled with fear, saying, We have
seen strange things to-day.
Leprosy was the symbol of the uncleanness of sin; paralysis of its
impotence and pain. On the occasion of healing a paralytic, Jesus,
however, did something more startling: he forgave sin. The poor sufferer
had been borne by his four friends who were discouraged by no obstacles.
When they were unable to enter the house where Jesus was, because of the
multitudes which surrounded it, they went to the roof and let the sick man
down through the tiles into the very presence of Christ. Their earnestness
is a rebuke to us who make so little effort to bring our comrades within
the healing influence of our Lord.
Jesus recognized the faith both of the man and of his friends and
responded with an utterance which occasioned his hearers more surprise
than had the opening of the roof, “Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.” No
request had been made for such forgiveness, but Jesus read the heart. He
saw the yearning of the sufferer for healing not only of his body but of
his soul. He recognized his sorrow for the sin which had caused the
sickness, and the anguish of remorse and immediately he spoke the word of
pardon and of peace. Thus Jesus voiced the message which the world seems
reluctant to accept. He declared that physical ills and social evils are
less serious than the moral and spiritual maladies of which they are the
symptoms and the results; and further, he expressed his claim of divine
power to pronounce pardon and to remove guilt.
This claim at once aroused the bitter resentment of the scribes and
Pharisees who were present and they began to reason: “Who is this that
speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” Their
reasoning was correct. Jesus was a blasphemer worthy of death, or else he
was divine.
To prove his deity Jesus proposed an immediate test: “Which is easier, to
say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk?” Of course
neither is easier; either requires divine power. Therefore, when at the
word of Jesus the man arose and started for his home, “glorifying God,” it
is not strange that “amazement took hold on all, and they glorified God.”
Thus the miracles of Christ were real proofs of his deity as well as
expressions of his love; they were moreover parables of his ability and
willingness to deliver man from the guilt and power of sin.