When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. 3 Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. 5 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 fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’? 10 But so 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, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” 12 And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Chapter 2 follows an organic progression in Mark’s narrative: Jesus’ growing fame, based on his teaching and healing ministry, begins to result in concrete opposition, in particular from the religious authorities. The healing of the paralytic, described in verses 1-12, is archetypal. It is about Jesus’ claim to authority and the controversy that this claim generates.
We must note first, however, the faith of the paralytic’s friends. There is great colour to this episode. We can imagine the crowds pressing in to see Jesus, and the sheer, almost comical audacity of the decision on their part to descend through the roof. Such single-mindedness and ingenuity is a product of their faith – they will stop at nothing to get to Jesus, exactly because they have an understanding of his power and authority. Faith and works here are rightful partners.
Nevertheless, the friends quickly disappear from view, with Mark abruptly shifting the focus to Jesus, the paralytic and the scribes only. This change in tone is marked by Jesus’ words ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ It is easy to underestimate the force of this statement. To those listening it would have been at the very least surprising (surely, they were expecting a healing rather than an absolution?) and at worst blasphemous. Indeed, the scribes accuse Jesus of just such a crime: ‘It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’
This is exactly the point. That Jesus, as the God-man, can in fact forgive sins. At stake here is the truth of the incarnation. The scribes press him by suggesting that he simply talks as if he forgives sins: ‘why does this fellow speak in this way?’ In response, Jesus poses a question of his own: which is easier, to say ‘you are forgiven’ or to say ‘be healed?’ There are a number of possible interpretations here, but the general sense seems to be that Jesus is chiding the scribes for their lack of understanding. What the crowds appear to have gathered intuitively – that the forgiveness granted to the paralytic was more than just ‘talk’ – the scribes have not perceived. Thus, Jesus then says ‘But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…’
We know what happens next. The healing is meant to be a tangible demonstration of what has already occurred spiritually. We are also, as a result, led to understand that Jesus’ priority is not healing but the forgiveness of sins. The outward sign is at the service of the inward reality.
Outward signs are important. In Protestantism we have two main ones: baptism and the Lord’s supper. But they are not ends in themselves; rather, they point us to Jesus himself, and the forgiveness of sins that he wrought at the cross and confirmed in his resurrection. And this is what Mark is wishing to press on us, that the Kingdom of God and the Good News begin and end with Jesus, the one who alone possesses the authority of God himself.