Rachel Workman:
Matthew
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Mark
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Luke
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John
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9 Jesus climbed into a boat and went
back across the lake to his own town. 2 Some people brought to him a
paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man,
“Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.”
3 But some of the teachers of religious
law said to themselves, “That’s blasphemy! Does he think he’s God?”
4 Jesus knew what they were thinking,
so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts?
5 Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’?
6 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!” Bible scholars believe that Jesus chose to
forgive the man's sins before healing him for two reasons: to encourage the
man that his sins wouldn't stand in the way of healing (at that time, many
people blamed sick or injured people for their affliction, thinking that it
was caused by their sins), and to let the religious leaders in the crowd know
that he had the authority to forgive people's sins.
7 And the man jumped up and went home!
8 Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised
God for sending a man with such great authority.
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2 When Jesus returned to Capernaum
several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home.
2 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, 3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat.
4 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. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the
paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” This is interesting.
The man was not healed by HIS faith but by the faith of his friends.
6 But some of the teachers of religious
law who were sitting there thought to themselves, 7 “What is he saying?
This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
8 Jesus knew immediately what they were
thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?
9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or
‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 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, 11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go
home!”
12 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!”
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17 One day while Jesus was teaching,
some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed
that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well
as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus.
18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed
man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, 19 but
they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and
took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the
crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the
man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” I also found this interesting.
They tried to take him inside and couldn't. Did they give up? No, they went
to the roof and lowered the man down expecting to be successful and expecting
Jesus to heal this man. They knew very well what Jesus was capable of. How
many times have I allowed something to keep me from my path because I
couldn't get through the crowd?
21 But the Pharisees and teachers of
religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy!
Only God can forgive sins!”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking,
so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 23 Is it
easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 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!”
25 And immediately, as everyone
watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.
26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God,
exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!” Once again you see Jesus healing completely. This man laid on the mat
for many years and was able to get up and walk. His legs were not weak due to
inactivity. He was completely restored with no recovery time.
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8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up
your mat, and walk!”
9 Instantly, the man was healed! He
rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!
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John Burnett:
Matthew
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Mark
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Luke
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John
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9 Jesus climbed into a boat and
went back across the lake to his own town. 2 Some people
brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to
the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.”
3 But some of the teachers of
religious law said to themselves, “That’s blasphemy! Does he think he’s God?”
4 Jesus knew[a] what they were thinking,
so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Is
it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 So
I will prove to you that the Son of Man[b] 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!” What is amazing to me is
that there were people there that saw that miracle yet did not believe.
7 And the man jumped up and went home!
8 Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And
they praised God for sending a man with such great authority.[c]
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2 When Jesus returned to
Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. 2 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, 3 four
men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4 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. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the
paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”
6 But some of the teachers of
religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, 7 “What
is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
8 Jesus knew immediately what they
were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 9 Is
it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up,
pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 So I will prove to you that
the Son of Man[a] has the authority on
earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 11 “Stand
up, pick up your mat, and go home!” I love that Jesus is about
truth. Knowing that he knows what I think could be scary to some and it
used to be for me, but He died for me anyways. Making the paralytic
walk is not in the same universe of difficulty compared to forgiving sins.
Jesus said get up and he was healed. To forgive sins he had to
die the most horrific death ever.
12 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!”
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17 One day while Jesus was teaching,
some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed
that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well
as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus.
18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed
man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, 19 but
they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and
took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the
crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus
said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
21 But the Pharisees and teachers of
religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy!
Only God can forgive sins!”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking,
so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 23 Is
it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 So
I will prove to you that the Son of Man[d] 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!”
25 And immediately, as everyone
watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. 26 Everyone
was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We
have seen amazing things today!”
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8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up
your mat, and walk!”
9 Instantly, the man was healed! He
rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! Short but not near as
sweet as the other renditions.
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____________________________________________________________________________________
Mike Grimm: Matthew 9:1-8
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed
Man
9 Jesus climbed
into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2 Some
people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said
to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.”
3 But some of the teachers of religious law said to
themselves, “That’s blasphemy! Does he think he’s God?”
4 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he
asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Is
it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 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!”
7 And the man jumped up and went home! 8 Fear
swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised God for
sending a man with such great authority.
The central theme or
message of the passage is that Jesus has authority to forgive sin. How do we
know that? Part of the answer, and the answer given here, is that He has the
power to heal.
In sum, the Bible teaches
that all sickness, disease, pain, contamination, pollution, and death is the
result of the presence of sin in the world. In the beginning when sin entered
the world and the curse was announced as the natural result of rebellion against
the living God, the world and the human race was from that point contaminated.
Death and dying now reign where life was created. And all sickness and disease,
physical or mental, is part of this dying. The human existence is characterized
by pain, conflict, disease and death.
The point is that if Jesus
can take care of the effects of sin--by healing a paralytic or a leper, or by
raising a dead person--He can therefore also take care of the cause of the
illness--by forgiving the sin. For Jesus the forgiving of sins and the healing
of diseases are two sides of His mission, with the forgiveness of sins being
the most important.
Mark 2:1-12
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed
Man
2 When Jesus
returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was
back home. 2 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, 3 four men arrived carrying a
paralyzed man on a mat. 4 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. 5 Seeing
their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are
forgiven.”
6 But some of the teachers of religious law who were
sitting there thought to themselves, 7 “What is he saying? This
is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so
he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 9 Is
it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up,
pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 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, 11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and
go home!”
12 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!”
This meeting with Jesus wasn’t by
chance. It occurred through the loving devotion of his close friends. They
weren’t about to let slip the opportunity to bring him to Jesus, and as a
result this man experienced one of the Bible’s great miracles. As Jesus taught
in a room jammed with people, He may have felt particles of dirt falling on His
head. He and the crowd looked up to see daylight streaming through a growing
hole in the roof. Then the needy man was lowered through the opening.
Jesus’ response amazes us no
matter how often we read this familiar story. He took care of the greater
problem first, forgiving the man’s sins. This angered Jesus’ opponents (vv.
6-7), who reasoned that only God could forgive sins. To prove His authority
over sin, Jesus invoked His authority over sickness: to the paralytic He said,
“Get up, take your mat and go home” (v. 11). The man, whose body had been
motionless, did just as Jesus commanded.
As amazed as the crowd must have
been by sight of a man being lowered through a roof, they were more amazed when
they saw him walk out of the house with his mat under his arm. They said, “We
have never seen anything like this!” (v. 12)—and that was never more true than
with Jesus.
Luke 5:17-26
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed
Man
17 One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees (Luke is the only Gospel to call the Pharisees by
name) and teachers of religious law
were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in
all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power
was strongly with Jesus. The teachers of the law
had gathered to hear Jesus, to pass judgment on Him, and then, undoubtedly, to
decide what course of action to take concerning the threat which He posed to
them.
18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping
mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, 19 but they
couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took
off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd,
right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to
the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
21 But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said
to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive
sins!”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked
them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 23 Is it easier
to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 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!”
25 And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped
up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. 26 Everyone
was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We
have seen amazing things today!”
There is a focus here on
the authority of Jesus, authority that is joyously accepted by some and
disdained by others. Those two worlds collide in this section. We observe some
faithful friends literally tearing the roof off of a house to get their
paralyzed companion close to Jesus because they believed that Christ had the
power to help him. As Jesus tangibly confirmed this belief, the stage was set
for the religious authorities to reveal their disbelief in Jesus authority,
especially His authority to forgive sins. The key point then of this message
from Pastor Daniel is that, “as God, Jesus Christ has the total, complete, full
authority and ability to totally, completely, fully, entirely, wholly, forgive
the sins of those who place their faith in Him.” It follows, therefore, that we
should, 1) Beware of challenging Christ’s authority in our hearts and, 2)
Produce fruit that demonstrates our faith.
Luke made some big claims
about the authority that Jesus had and purported to have but he knew that those
claims were not really very impressive if not backed up with demonstrable
action to verify that authority. Jesus had already shown that he had the
authority over demons and illnesses, but now he was about to make a claim of
authority that goes way beyond that. Could it be that he really had the power
to forgive sin? How could one possibly ever know the truth of that claim? Luke
proves this.
This man’s friend’s great
hope was that Jesus would heal this man and allow him to walk home but Jesus
did way more than that. The kingdom of God, after all, was not primarily about
physical healing. The physical healing merely pointed to the true power of the
kingdom of God to heal the lives of sinners. Because this man had demonstrated
the determined kind of faith that was necessary for one to accept the kingdom
of God, Jesus would demonstrate his position as the savior of the world who had
the authority, even though he had humbled himself to become a man limited by
the flesh, to forgive sins. It is important to note, that although those around
him were still not fully cognizant of the fact that Jesus was claiming to be
God, that Jesus was doing things that only Israel’s God could do as savior. AS
the prophet Isaiah wrote, “I, even I, am YHWH, and apart from me there is no
savior” (Isa. 43:11).
John 5:8-9a
8 Jesus told him, “Stand
up, pick up your mat, and walk!”
9 Instantly,
the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking!
Instantly, as Jesus spoke
the words, the man was completely healed. To show he was fully healed, Jesus
told him to pick up his bed and walk. He did not need to go to
"rehab" to learn to walk again. He was healed mind and body and such
is a true miracle healing by God.
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