Jesus Heals the Paralytic

Mark 2: 1-12: When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "My child, your sins are forgiven." But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, "What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!" Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, "Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!" And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, "We’ve never seen anything like this before!" (NLT Bible)

The paralytic was totally helpless. We are not told in this passage whether he was a paraplegic or a quadriplegic, only that he was so helpless and that it required his friends to carry him on a mat in order for him to go anywhere. No wheelchairs, scooters, or medical care existed. In the ancient near East, paralysis was a condition that would probably lead to death sooner rather than later.

The people that amaze me in this passage are the paralytic’s friends. They believed that Jesus could do something for their paralytic friend. They believed it so strongly that they were willing to carry their helpless friend all the way to the house where Jesus was. It must have been hard, carrying the dead weight of the paralytic on his mat, but the friends did it. Not being deterred by the crowds at the house where Jesus was, the friend’s faith was such that they improvised and carried, even lifting the paralytic up to the roof of the house, where they opened a hole in the roof and lowered the paralytic down into the house in front of Jesus. Amazing.

The text then tells us that Jesus saw their faith, the faith of the friends and the paralytic. Jesus immediately responded to seeing their faith by declaring to the paralytic that his sins were forgiven. The question that comes to my mind here is: Why did Jesus declare that the paralytic’s sins were forgiven instead of healing him?

I believe the answer to the question is that the paralytic’s greatest need was forgiveness of sins rather than to be physically healed. The paralytic symbolizes the human race. Like the paralytic, we humans are in a hopeless and helpless condition, due to our sins. Our sins condemn us to death and an eternity without God. It was also a teaching moment for Jesus. The religious teachers recognized this when they questioned Jesus’ authority to forgive sins, rightly pointing out that only God can forgive sins. However, they missed Jesus’ point. By forgiving sins, Jesus was indicating that he IS Messiah, the righteous and divine Son of God. This passage is a clear, unmistakable indication of Jesus’ divinity. Jesus reinforces the point by telling the religious teachers that as the Son of Man, He had the authority and divine identity to forgive sins. Jesus then heals the paralytic as a demonstration of that authority. The response of the crowd to the healing was that they praised God.

The question for us today is: Like the paralytic and his friends, do you have the faith to come to Jesus for forgiveness in your helpless and hopeless condition? Jesus has the authority to forgive sins. He gave himself as a sacrifice for your sins on the cross. He will forgive your sin just as He forgave the paralytic. When you repent and believe, you can have your sins forgiven and you can have a relationship with the Living God and have hope for the future in Eternity. Ask Jesus to heal and forgive you today.

Please contact me if you would like to talk to someone about your decision, if you have any questions, or you would like to discuss this Good News.

Dave Moore