Mark 2:1-12--Jesus Heals a Paralytic

Mark 2:1-12
English Standard Version

Jesus Heals a Paralytic
2 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 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?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic-- 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

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Those who have been studying The Gospel Project this quarter will recognize this passage as it was one of the passages we studied recently to show that Jesus has power over sin (Summer 2023:  Unit 22, Session 2).  You can find the Daily Discipleship Guide and the lesson video for this lesson in the Discipleship Discord (Use the contact form to request access if you don't have access yet).

Jesus returns to "home base" (he probably stayed with Simon Peter and his family) and people found out where He was staying so that the crowds came to Him and filled the house and were standing outside trying to get as close to Him as they could.  They were all eager to hear Him preach the Word to them.

However, there were some people that were trying to get to Jesus for a different reason.  They had a friend who was paralyzed so that they had to carry him on a cot.  They knew if they could just get their friend to Jesus that Jesus could heal their friend--even though their friend's condition was beyond getting help from any of the regular medical experts.  Since the house was so crowded that they could not gain entry by way of the door, they climbed up on the roof (the flat roofs had staircases that led up to them as people used their roof much like we'd use a patio), and they started to remove tiles and clay and break through the roof to make an opening to lower the bed their friend was laying on down through the roof.

Jesus saw the great faith of the friends and He chose to deal with the greater issue at hand that we are not told that they came for.  Nowhere does the passage say they brought their friend to Jesus because they knew he was a sinner in need of salvation, but Jesus knew that.  The condition of the man's heart was more urgent than the condition of his physical body.  For, if his body was healed and his soul was left separated from God, one day his body would die and his soul would spend an eternity separated from God.  However, if Jesus healed this man's heart condition by forgiving his sins (and we assume giving him eternal life), then ultimately the man's body would be restored one day in the New Heaven and the New Earth.  Jesus is calling the man and his friends to even greater faith and using this as an opportunity to continue to teach the crowds and especially the religious leaders about His identity and primary purpose.  It is time for Him to finally reveal Himself to the people.

The religious leaders are quick to catch onto the fact that Jesus is claiming to be God by saying that He had the authority and power to forgive sin.  It doesn't seem anyone else caught on, but Jesus is going to answer their thoughts and internal discussions they were having.  They didn't even need to speak a word out loud and Jesus was able to answer them showing His omniscience.  (See verse 8).

Jesus then asks them a question about what would be easier for Him to claim to do (both are just as easy for Him to actually do if He is God in the Flesh, but that is the question at hand), to claim to heal the man's sins or to claim to heal the man's body.  The answer if obvious that claiming to heal the man's sins is "easier" because there is no physical proof to deny the claim, but claiming to heal the man's body would be "hard" because everyone would be able to see the evidence about if the healing had happened or not and if it lasted or not.  So, Jesus does the "harder" thing to prove that He has the power and authority to also do the "easier" thing.  "So that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...," then Jesus commands the paralytic to pick up his bed, walk, and go home.  

The healing of the paralytic was immediate and complete.  The man needed no physical therapy.  No one had to help him get up.  This gospel of Luke tells us that when the man got up, he went home glorifying God.  This man had been kept from having access to other people and access to God (those who were disabled couldn't access the Temple).  Now the man, thanks to his friends, has come face-to-face with God, has been healed by God so that he once again has access to God and man.  The people there began praising God, but if we look at Luke which we studied for our Gospel Project lesson, it is obvious they only thought of Jesus as a prophet at this point who was a conduit for the Father's power and authority.  Those who potentially would have believed were kept from seeing at this point that Jesus' authority over sin meant that He was God in the Flesh.