05.10. Out of Weakness made Strong

10. Out of Weakness made Strong

"And when he entered*1 again into Capernaum after some days, it was noised*2 that he was in the house.*3 And many were gathered*4 together, so that there was no longer roomfor them,no, not even about the door; and he spake*5 the word unto them. And they come, bringing unto him a man sick of the palsy, borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was; and when they had broken it up,*6 they let down the bed*7 whereon the sick of the palsy lay. And Jesus seeing their faith saith unto the sick of the palsy, *Song of Solomon 8 thy sins are forgiven. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak? he blasphemeth: who can forgive sins but one, even God? And straightway Jesus, perceiving*9 in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, saith unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether*10 it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise and take up thy bed and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power*11 on earth to forgive sins (he saith to the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and straightway took up the bed, and went forth*12 before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion"*13 (Mark 2:1-12, R.V.).

{*1 "on his entering again," W.K.
*2 "reported," J.N.D., W.K.
*3 "at the house," " at home," W.K.
*4 "brought together," W.K.
*5 "was speaking," W.K.
*6 "having dug it up," J.N.D., W.K.; "opened it up," W.K.
*7 "couch," J.N.D., W.K. Mark uses krabbaton in this section, and also in Mark 6:55; Matthew and Luke use a different word. They were not copyists one of another.
*8 "child" J.N.D., W.K.
*9 "knowing well," J.N.D., W.K.
*10 "which," J.N.D., W.K.
*11 "authority," W.K.;exousia, right as well as ability; see note on p. 38, ante.
*12 "out," J.N.D., W.K.
*13 "thus," J.N.D., W.K.}

Here we have the account of another of the numerous "mighty works of our Lord performed in that particularly favoured town, Capernaum. This town, whose name signifies the city of comfort or consolation, seems to have been the chosen centre from which the Lord proceeded upon His various itineraries. It is called by Matthew "His own city" (Matthew 9:1), and it was there, presumably because it was His place of residence, that the tax-collectors exacted tribute from Him (Matthew 17:24).

After some days of retirement in desert places, following upon the cleansing of the leper, Jesus came to town again and entered the house privately possibly the house of Simon and Andrew. His arrival was quickly reported, and the news travelled rapidly throughout the town and district, so that He was soon sought out by the crowds in Capernaum, as He had been in the desert places. The Lord continued His work of teaching, as the Sower sowing the good seed of the word of the kingdom, and as the righteous Servant of Jehovah instructing the masses in righteousness (Isaiah 53:11, New Tr.). Besides the simple unlettered peasantry of Galilee His audience, on a certain day at any rate, included Pharisees and teachers of the law who had come out of every town in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem (Luke 5:17;Mark 3:22). Were these emissaries of the priests to whom the cleansed leper presented himself, and charged by them to make official inquiries concerning Jesus and His work? We indeed are not told so, but we are told (1) that this healed man was sent as a witness to the leaders of the people, and (2) that immediately afterwards hostility to the Servant of God had begun to work in their hearts.

Eagerness to see and hear something novel brought together then, as always, a great concourse of persons, whose interest was intensified not only by the fame of Jesus and His miracles, but also by the visit of the nation’s great ones from the metropolis and from the large towns of the provinces. Every means of access to the Master who sat indoors teaching was in consequence filled by excited crowds straining to hear a word or to catch a glimpse of what was being done.

There must necessarily have been disappointment for many that day, and it would seem that one of the least likely in Capernaum to receive benefit on this occasion from the great Healer was the paralysed man, whose infirmity confined him to his bed. This man had an earnest desire in his heart to seek the face of Jesus, whom he believed could relieve him, as He had done many others. His faith was shared especially by four devoted friends*, who carried him upon his bed to the house where Jesus was. These were accompanied by others, as Mark’s narrative shows — "they came, bringing a paralytic, borne of four." At the house further advance seemed impossible, for the courtyard and every avenue of approach was blocked by interested persons who showed no disposition to make room for the sick man and his hearers. But what so dauntless as earnest and purposeful faith such as this! They, the sufferer agreeing to endure the pain to himself which the scheme involved, ascended by an outside flight of stairs to the flat roof of the house (cp. Matthew 24:17), where they proceeded to remove the tiling or the thin stone roofing (not at all a difficult task, and its repair an easy matter), and to lower the paralytic upon his bed, through the opening thus made, in to the presence of the Master.

{*Is there any connection between these four unnamed bearers and the four "fishers of men," associated with Jesus for the purpose of bringing others to Jesus (Mark 1:16-20)?} The act was a bold and beautiful strategem of faith, arising not from a spirit of bravado, but from real confidence in the grace and power of Him whose presence they sought, coupled with a sense of the needed mercy. The faith was that of the five, for the action was concerted. And this the Lord saw, and approved what might have seemed to most brusque and ill-timed. It was indeed an offering to the Lord, even as the Jews will be in a future day when they are brought to Jehovah out of all the nations "upon horses and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts" to the holy mountain Jerusalem for blessing in their land (Isaiah 66:20). In this instance the Lord did not wait for the suppliant to frame his petition, nor did He say, as to the blind man, "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" He gave him the boon and more, going down to deep-seated needs the man, so far as we know, had never realised. Addressing the sick of the palsy in tender and affectionate terms, Jesus said, "Son*, thy sins are forgiven." The critical portion of the audience, seeing no visible effect following these words, drew adverse conclusions immediately, and in their hearts set down the Lord as a blasphemer "Why doth this man thus speak? he blasphemeth. Who can forgive sins but God only?" But Jesus was present not only as the One to pardon iniquities and heal diseases (Psalms 103:3), but also as the One who searches the hearts, tries the reins and knows the inmost thoughts (Psalms 94:11;Jeremiah 17:10). He who saw the faith of the five men perceived the reasonings of the scribes in His own omniscient spirit (cp.John 2:24;John 6:61), and not by a power temporarily imparted to Him, as might have been the case with a prophet. None but God could penetrate the secret workings of man’s spirit, as Solomon confessed in his prayer (1 Kings 8:39;1 Chronicles 28:9;2 Chronicles 6:30;Ezekiel 11:5), and the Lord gave the Pharisees the proof of the nature of His person by answering their thoughts. Who else could "hear them thinking"? The Lord thereupon addressed those who were inwardly cavilling at His words in terms which shed the light of God upon their hearts, revealing their secret thoughts: "Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise and take up thy bed and walk?" The crucial point was not the actual words uttered, but what result was consequent upon their utterance. And the Lord proceeded to give them a visible assurance that His word was living and powerful, as He had just shown it to be "sharper than a two-edged sword." He demonstrated its power over physical infirmity, that by analogy its power to dispense pardon to the guilty might be known. The Master then continued, "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (he saith to the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house."

{*Luke gives "Man," the Lord having used both terms. But Matthew and Mark giveteknon(nothuios) indicative of more affection (cp.Mark 10:24;Matthew 21:28;Luke 2:48;Luke 15:31;Luke 16:25). Matthew adds, "Be of good cheer" — a word of comfort to the afflicted man.} The effect of these words addressed in His own authority ("I say unto thee"), and not speaking as a delegate, was instantaneous upon the paralytic man. His useless limbs were strengthened, so that he arose immediately; and so hale was he that he was able, as incontestable evidence of his thorough restoration, to take up the pallet or mattress upon which he had been brought to Jesus and to carry it away in presence of them all. What previously was a proof of his weakness, became thus a witness to his strength. The miracle too was an undeniable testimony to the claims of the One then in Capernaum. The company was deeply impressed by the sight. 1 hey were all amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. Israel by-and-by will see and believe on the evidence of sight. But the Lord said, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20:29), and this applies to the Christian today (1 Peter 1:8).

Forgiveness of Sins

It is remarkable that the Lord in His ministry in only one other recorded instance deals with the question of the forgiveness or remission of sins. TO the penitent woman, in Simon the Pharisee’s house, He said definitely, "Thy sins are forgiven" (Luke 7:48). There were thus two witnesses to His power on earth to forgive sins according to the prophecy of Zacharias (Luke 1:77). This blessed work was hindered by the obduracy and impenitence of the people. But after His crucifixion and the shedding of the blood of the new covenant for the remission of sins, He is presented anew in this character. Peter testified concerning this: "Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31). And this grace is not for Israel alone, but for all that believe. This Paul declared in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch: "Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all that believe are justified from all things" (Acts 13:38-39).

Such was the wider and fuller tide of blessing for man which was ensured by the death of Christ. But here was a sample of this function performed by the Person deputed to forgive, the blood-basis of the act having not yet been laid. The cleansing of the leprosy and the healing of the paralytic, coupled with the forgiveness of sins, were indisputable evidence that the Servant-Prophet of Jehovah was present in Galilee exercising divine prerogatives in His own right. Was not the Psalm familiar to their ears, "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases "* (Psalms 103:2-3)? There was now an exemplification of this mercy before their eyes which could not be dissociated from Jesus of Nazareth as the One who was acting. In point of fact, Israel did not know nor consider, but this Servant of God patiently accumulated evidences of His mission which would leave the nation without excuse.

{*In Luke we read that the "power of the Lord (i.e.,of Jehovah) was present to heal" (Luke 5:17), a reference, it would seem, to this Psalm.} Are the Lord’s words to be regarded as a benevolent wish on His part that the sick man’s sins may eventually be forgiven? Not so; but rather as a positive declaration that they were then and thereby forgiven ("Thy sins are forgiven"); and the Lord intended that the sufferer should understand His words in this unequivocal sense. At any rate, the scribes understood the words in this sense, and they, in consequence, brought the charge of blasphemy against Him: "Why doth this man thus speak? he blasphemeth? Who can forgive sins but one, even God? "It is evident they regarded the words as a positive expression of fact, and not a hope for future pardon, such as any one might compassionately utter on behalf of another.

It may be asserted that the disease of this man’s body was an infliction upon him in consequence of some particular sins of which he had been guilty. God sent such temporal judgments in His government of the people of Israel, as the scripture testifies in many parts. For instance, at the repeated murmuring of the nation in the wilderness Jehovah smote them with a plague* (Numbers 11:32-33; Psalms 78:31). In New Testament times it was so also in the assembly at Corinth, where many were in sickness and some even slept, because of their transgression (1 Corinthians 11:30; see also James 5:14-16). The Lord recognised afflictions of this judicial character in the case of the impotent man of Bethesda, to whom He said after His cure, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5:14).

{*The people of Israel were warned by Jehovah at the commencement of their wilderness journey that their disobedience would be punished in this way: If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am Jehovah that healeth thee" (Exodus 15:26).}

If it be so, that the Lord’s declaration of forgiveness had reference only to that portion of the man’s sins for which his paralysis was a temporal chastisement under the hand of God, and not to the sum total of his guilt as a sinner, the principle still holds good. It is equally the exclusive prerogative of God to release a man from the temporal, as it is from the eternal, consequence of his sins. Sin is an offence against God, and therefore He only can remit it. By divine mercy the sins of Saul of Tarsus, the chief of sinners, were forgiven; by that same mercy alone, the thorn in the flesh could be removed from Paul the apostle (1 Timothy 1:15; 2 Corinthians 12:7).

True were the words of the scribes, "Who can forgive sins but one, even God"; but false was their assumption that He who had just spoken was not God. He was God "manifest in the flesh," as He proved so often before their eyes. But all human reasoning founded upon disbelief in the person of Christ must not only be false but evil. He alone is the Truth, and He is also the Life, and the Way to the Father.

Speaking Blasphemy

Blasphemy in Holy Scripture, while sometimes used for evil speech against man, has reference also to evil speaking against or about God. The mental charge of blasphemy made against our Lord on this occasion was due to the assumption of the scribes that He usurped one of the attributes of Godhead by pronouncing absolution of sins. His claim to be the Son of God was so regarded by the Jews; as the Lord said to them, "Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God?" (John 10:33; John 10:36). At the trial Caiaphas said to Jesus, "I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said; nevertheless I say unto you, Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his garments, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard the blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, He is worthy of death" (Matthew 26:63-66; Mark 14:64, New Tr.).

While these references illustrate the use of the term by the Jews, the Lord Himself applies it to the disparagement of God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:28-29; Luke 12:10). The term is also used for the calumniation of men, and of Jesus on the cross (Luke 22:65; Luke 23:39), and is translated variously as "evil speaking," "railing," "being defamed," etc. Its seriousness as a sin is correlated to the dignity of the person slandered or blasphemed — a distinction fully recognised by human laws.

Son of Man

It is to be noted that in this connection we have the first recorded use of this title of our Lord in this Gospel and also in Luke — the power of the Son of man to forgive sins. In Matthew it first occurs in the sentence, "The Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). The title is frequently applied by the blessed Lord to Himself, but is never applied to Him by others, nor by the Evangelists themselves. Stephen testified, however, that he saw the "Son of man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56). And in the Apocalyptic visions John saw the Son of man in His capacity as Judge (Revelation 1:13; Revelation 14:14). It does not occur at all in the Epistles, except once in a quotation from the Psalms (Hebrews 2:6). This title, "Son of man," by its terms suggests a wider sphere than is suggested by "Son of David" and "Son of Abraham." It implies universal headship, as Hebrews 2. shows, and was adopted by the Lord in view of His rejection by the Jews as the Messiah. Son of a man He was not, but Son of man He was, and when on earth He could say, "The Son of man whichisin heaven" (John 3:13;1 Corinthians 15:47). In Daniel His universal dominion is prophesied of under this title: "I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like unto the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom that all the peoples, nations and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13-14). As Son of man He has power to execute judgment on sins as well as to forgive them (John 5:27). In the prophetic communications to Ezekiel, the title, "Son of man," is frequently employed by Jehovah when addressing the prophet. It is also used once in addressing Daniel (Daniel 8:7), but they never apply it to themselves. Both Ezekiel and Daniel were prophets of the exile, and ministered away from Judah, which was under the power of the Gentiles. The Lord too, as the despised Servant-Prophet, ministering in "Galilee of the Gentiles," assumed this title, proving His authority to forgive sins, not as Jehovah of Psalms 103:1-22, or as the Messiah of Israel, but as the Son of man.