Setting the Record Straight

The Rejection of Jesus — (Vs. 1)

Exodus 33:15 KJV 1900

15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.

The Removal of Sin — (Vs. 2)

Marks Account

Mark 2:3–4 KJV 1900

3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

Luke’s Account

Luke 5:18–19 KJV 1900

18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

“Thy sins be forgiven thee.”

John MacArthur — Aphiēmi, the verb behind are forgiven, has the basic idea of sending or driving away, of doing away with.

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us,” David declared (Ps. 103:12). When God forgives sins He casts them “into the depths of the sea” (Mic. 7:19).

John MacArthur — Forgiveness of sin is God’s greatest gift because it meets man’s greatest need.

Psalm 32:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no guile.

John MacArthur — Son — Because the paralytic repentantly identified himself with Jesus, Jesus lovingly identified Himself with the paralytic.

Galatians 4:3–7 KJV 1900

3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Romans 8:14–17 KJV 1900

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

The Reasoning of the Scribes — (Vs. 3)

Mark 2:6–7 ESV

6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Chuck Swindoll — If Jesus had been a mere man, as they believed, they would have been right; it would have been blasphemy to claim for oneself the authority to forgive sins. Though they weren’t wrong in their theological reasoning, they were wrong in their presupposition. Jesus was not a mere man. As the God-man, He does have the authority to forgive sin. But how would anybody in the room know that the pronouncement of pardon was anything more than just words?

The Rebuttal of Jesus — (Vs. 4-6)

“And Jesus knowing their thoughts”

Psalm 139:2 KJV 1900

2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off.

1 Chronicles 28:9 KJV 1900

9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

“For whether is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk?”

Albert Barnes & James Murphy — The one involves divine power, the other divine authority, and neither can be done but by God.

John Phillips — The Lord cured the paralytic of both his sin and his sickness “that ye may know that the Son of man hath power [authority] on earth to forgive sins” (9:6).

Note that the Son of man is the Son of God. He possesses the divine attributes and wields the divine prerogatives. He has the power to forgive sins on earth; that is, if sins are to be forgiven at all, they must be forgiven on earth. And He is the One who forgives them. It is no use taking our sins to a priest; we must take them to Jesus. Once we leave this life, it is too late to have our sins forgiven.

“Take up thy bed”

“Bed” is the Greek word (Kline) and it speaks of a bedroll or sleeping mat. One writer said it was probably not more than a thick blanket of sorts carried by the 4 men.

I think of those medical battlefield cots I’m sure we’ve all seen where they look like they have a pole through each side and it’s literally nothing more than some thick fabric that the person lays on.

Everyone know what I’m talking about?

But the question I keep coming back to is why did Jesus tell the man to take up his bed and go home?

The Response of the Paralytic — (Vs. 7)

John G Butler — The command was given to one who could not at the moment of the giving of the command fulfill the command; but as it is with all God’s commands, He gave the power to do the command. Do not complain about God’s commands being too hard or impossible to do. If God gives the command, it can be done. This healing is proof of that fact.

The Response of the Crowd — (Vs. 8)

John G Butler — The word “men” says volumes about their unbelief in Christ. They missed the lesson completely. They were still calling Christ nothing more than a man. They did not see the issue of Deity in the healing and forgiveness.