Matthew 9:1-8 1And after getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. 2And behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Have courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” 3And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4But when Jesus saw their thoughts, he said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your bed and go to your home.” 7And after he rose, he went home. 8But when the crowds saw this, they were afraid and glorified God, who had given such authority to people.
This story begins with a simple reference to Jesus crossing back to the other side of the lake, which raises the question of why he even went to the region of the Gadarenes. It may have been for the sole reason of bringing new life to the two demon-possessed men and offering the city the opportunity for faith. After his brief stopover there, he returned to one of his primary headquarters, his own city, which likely refers to Capernaum where he spent a lot of time. Mathew’s version of this story is shorter and lacks some of the details found in Mark’s and Luke’s accounts.
This scene with a paralytic lying on a bed seems like another impossible situation. Only divine intervention could make any difference. Matthew says very little about the friends of this paralytic, with the subject embedded within the verb they brought. Jesus’ use of the term child (teknon) gives the sense of care and relationship. The word can refer to a spiritual child or follower of a master. No age is necessarily specified or implied in the term. The faith of those who brought this person and his faith is the key point that moves this story forward and resolves the problem of paralysis. The story goes deeper than a physical problem and gets to the spiritual problem of sin. The paralytic’s greatest problem was sin. He does not say anything in this story, but Jesus knows the paralytic’s heart and that he saw hope and salvation in Jesus.
Jesus’ pronouncement of forgiveness of the paralytic’s sins created quite a stir and controversy with the scribes who were watching and listening. Both forgiving sins and healing paralysis took divine power and authority; only God can do these, which the scribes knew. They were willing to accept the healing part but not the forgiving part. The unstated question again revolves around accepting Jesus’ power and authority (exousian). Jesus calls himself the Son of Man, an important designation that describes his identification with humanity and his position as God’s representative in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
The proof of forgiveness came when the paralytic got up and went home. How would people respond to such a miracle? Would they accept Jesus’ authority and recognize God’s presence and power in him? They were afraid and glorified God, but did they accept Jesus in the same way as the paralytic? It is one thing to marvel at the stories about Jesus, and it is another to believe and experience healing and forgiveness.
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