Mark 2:1-5 NIV
[1] “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. [2] They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. [3] Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. [4] Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. [5] When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

What a shocking thing for someone to say! It’s one thing to tell people about forgiveness, but quite another to declare a person forgiven, especially in the religion of Israel where only the priests had that prerogative and only after all the prescribed rituals had been performed.

The Pharisees were quick to jump on Jesus in their thoughts for speaking words that they considered to be blasphemy.

Mark 2:6-7 NIV
[6] “Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, [7] “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Exactly! How could Jesus forgive sins if He was not God? DoescHe think He’s God? Is He God?

I think what shocked them even more was that Jesus knew what they were thinking!

We could talk about Jesus’ awareness that this man needed forgiveness of sin first before he needed healing. However, the context demands that we examine the Pharisees’ accusation of blasphemy.

What was the big issue between the Pharisees and Jesus? Authority! Blasphemy! Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and confirmed His claim by doing works that only God can do. One of those works was to forgive sin.

The general belief in Isreal was that physical conditions were the consequences of sin. For example, the disciples questioned Jesus about the blind man in John 9.

John 9:2 NIV
[2] “His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Jesus even confirmed this belief when He cautioned another blind whom He had healed not to go back to sinning.

John 5:14 NIV
[14] “Later, Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you.”

Since the Pharisees were accusing Jesus of blasphemy, the only way to prove that He was not blaspheming was to do a miracle that would prove that He was telling the truth about His identity, and that He had the authority to forgive sin.

Mark 2:8-12 NIV
[8] “Immediately, Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? [9] Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? [10] But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, [11] “I tell you, get up, take your mat, and go home.” [12] He got up, took his mat, and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone, and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

What could the Pharisees say? Jesus did exactly 2hat He saud He had the authority to do…He forgave his sin and healed the man.

Well, did this miracle convince the Pharisees that Jesus was who He claimed to be? Not at all! In their stubborn unbelief, they were even more determined to get rid of Him. Whats more, the oeople were beginning to believe in Jesus.

Mark 2:12 NIV
[12] “He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Everything Jesus did to confirm His claim enraged Hisc opponents more and fueled their determination to have Him arrested and tried for blasphemy.