Jesus went home to Capernaum. When the news spread that he was back people began to flock to the house where he was staying. They jammed so close together to see what was going on that no one else was able to squeeze through the doors. The crowd included some with Ph. D.s in the Law of Moses, as well as priests and other officials (Luke 5:17).
Four men had a friend that had palsy, and they knew this was their only chance to save their friend from a life of begging in the streets. Without thinking about what they were doing to someone else’s property, they dug a hole in the roof and used ropes to lower their friend down to where Jesus was standing (Mark 2:4). Scripture says, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”
The men with the Ph.D.s immediately were angry saying, “Only God has a right to forgive sins.” Jesus asked them a very important question, “Is it easier, to say, your sins are forgiven, or to say, Arise and walk?”
It is far easier to say your sins are forgiven, because no one can see your sins being forgiven, can they? But everyone can see if someone with palsy is healed. Jesus then made his point clear, “The next thing I do is to prove to you that the Son of man has power to forgive sins.’ Then he tells the man on the bed, “Arise, take up your bed and go home.”
Jesus was demonstrating to everyone that he had the power to forgive sins. If only God can forgive sins, what did this healing tell the Pharisees about his divinity?
