-THE LIFE OF CHRIST - THE GALILEAN MINISTRY
-Back to Capernaum – A Paralytic Man Healed – Some Opposition
-Matt 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:17-26
-When word spread that Jesus was
back in Capernaum, the
people gathered in large numbers at
the house in which He was located. There were so many people and the
crowd around the house
was so thick that nobody else could enter in.
-On this occasion, a man suffering
with palsy (Strongs – paralutikos – paralytic), was carried by
four people to the
house. Seeing that they could not gain access to Jesus due to the crowd, they
made their way to the roof, dismantled it and lowered the man into the
room in the presence of
Jesus.
-Something very significant
happens here: Upon seeing this man and the show of faith (the belief
and effort put
forth), Jesus said “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee” (Mark 2:5). Rather than
focusing
on the man’s physical need, He addressed the spiritual need. Instead of
immediately healing the
man, Jesus granted forgiveness.
-Some Opposition
-Upon hearing the
words of Jesus, the “Pharisees and doctors of the law” (Luke
5:17),
“scribes” (Matt 9:3, Mark
2:6) thought within themselves that Jesus was guilty of
blasphemy.
-“The reasoning of the
scribes and the Pharisees went like this: 1. Only God can forgive
sins. 2. This man is not God. 3. Therefore, He is guilty of blasphemy.
There was
nothing wrong with their logic; the problem was that their second premise was
incorrect”.
The reasoning of the visitors from
Jerusalem should have gone
like this: 1. Only God
can forgive sins. 2. This man can forgive
sin. Therefore He is God”
(Roper, 3, p19-20).
-Jesus knew the thoughts of the
Jewish leaders and He addressed them. In this passage, Jesus
makes it very clear that His miraculous acts were done to provide evidence
of His authority over
sin – “that ye may
know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins” (Mark 2:10).
-Jesus then healed the man. Once again, the people were amazed and God was glorified.