The healing of the paralytic (Mark 2:1-12) is a healing story with a twist. It begins as a heart-warming story of faith and erupts into a confrontation over religious authority – a confrontation provoked by Jesus!

Mark’s Controversy Stories

The healing of the paralytic is the first in a series of controversy stories in which Jesus’ actions are questioned by religious leaders. The questions include:

• “Why does this fellow speak in this way?” (2:7)
• “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (2:16)
• “Why don’t your disciples fast?” (2:18)
• “Why are your disciples doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” (2:24)
• “Why do you heal on the Sabbath?” (3:4).

In each case Jesus appears to flagrantly disregard settled religious traditions. Consequently, each question essentially voices the same protest: Why are you doing these things? Just who do you think you are?

The series of controversy stories concludes with a partnership between two religious groups normally opposed to one another – the conservative Pharisees and the cosmopolitan Herodians. Together, they conspire against Jesus concerning “how to destroy him” (3:6).

The Setting for the Story

The story begins with Jesus returning home after a successful preaching tour in Galilee to his base of operations in Capernaum.[1] The news has spread from neighboring villages about his powerful message and miraculous deeds. Like a movie star or a sports figure, Jesus is welcomed home by a large crowd eager to catch a glimpse of the latest celebrity. Crowds gather at his home to listen eagerly to the “word” Jesus preaches to them. People fill the house and overflow into the street, blocking the entry to the house, and creating the second of three obstacles that our main character – the paralytic – must overcome in order to see Jesus and experience the power of his kingdom.

The First Obstacle: Paralysis

The first obstacle for the paralytic is, quite simply, his paralysis. He is severely disabled and completely passive throughout the story. He is helpless and can do nothing for himself. His world was his bed, which doubled as a stretcher. It is impossible to know how long he had been paralyzed – perhaps for a short time, perhaps for most of his life.

The worst aspect of his paralysis was not the physical affliction, but the alienation that resulted from it. The paralytic had no access to the larger human community or to the religious life of Israel. According to Torah he was blemished and thus unable to fully participate in religious worship. Some would even conclude that his serious illness was the result of personal sin – an unjustified conclusion that Jesus rejects elsewhere (e.g., John 9:2; Luke 13:1-5). Because of his condition, he was unable to take part in religious services. Who knows how long it had been since he had participated in corporate worship and heard the words, “Son of Israel, your sins of forgiven”?

Unable to do anything about his condition, his situation appeared hopeless. That is, until four faithful friends made his acquaintance! This caring community of friends did for the paralytic what he could not do for himself. They loaned him the hands and feet necessary to overcome his debilitating obstacle.

The Second Obstacle: The Crowd

As the four friends draw close to Jesus’ home they encounter the second obstacle: the crowds bursting from the house in which Jesus was teaching. However, this did not deter the faithful four. Instead, they come up with a creative solution – vandalism of private property. If they could not get in through the hole in the wall (the door), they would make their own entryway – through the roof!

They climb up the ladder or stairs to the roof and begin to create a hole big enough to let down the paralytic. Roofs of Judean homes were built of tree trunks or poles over which smaller branches, reeds, clay and dirt were packed. We can only imagine what it must have been like to be inside the house as this occurred. Certainly, dirt, clay, and branches must have showered down upon Jesus and the crowd. The actions of the four friends would appear disrespectful to the crowd, to Jesus, and the owner of the home!

But Jesus does not see an act of vandalism; he sees an act of faith. He sees their determination – the extraordinary lengths they are willing to go to present the paralytic to Jesus. The crowd – the second obstacle – gives us a chance to “see” the faith of the four friends – active faith in service of the weak and helpless. Unlike the crowds, the four faithful friends did not seek Jesus simply for their own interests, but for the interests of another.

The Paralytic Meets Jesus

If I filmed this episode for dramatic impact I would film one long extended shot completely from the perspective of the paralytic. By doing this, I would allow the viewer to identify completely with the paralytic’s helplessness. It would begin with a calm shot of the sky. The slight sound of disembodied voices would begin and grow in volume. Suddenly, four faces would come into view against the backdrop of an open sky. The sky would begin to move. The crowd noise would increase. The four heads would stop to talk to one another. Then the camera would jerk violently in a bouncing motion. Suddenly, all motion would stop. The four would disappear. Digging sounds would arise. Again, the four heads would appear against the backdrop of the sky. Their faces would recede. The field of vision would narrow from the wide expanse of the sky to the narrow rectangle of a broken roof. A moment of absolute silence and stillness would be broken by the appearance of the face of Jesus looking down with deep love in his eyes. After another pause, Jesus would break the stillness with the word, “child”.

The first word the paralytic heard was “child”. It is an affectionate term that communicates love, acceptance, and esteem. It is a religious term that declares his status in the covenant community – a true child of Israel. It is an authoritative term that communicates benevolent parental authority.

The first word – child – is beautiful, powerful, and warm. The next four words, however, are completely unexpected. We expect a word of healing, but we receive a word of forgiveness: “your sins are forgiven.” It is these four words that generate controversy with the religious leaders – the scribes – who monitor Jesus’ activities. With these four words, a heart-warming story of faith and healing degenerates into a confrontation over acceptable religious authority – a confrontation Jesus provokes!

Even though the scribes do not actually say anything in the story, Jesus reads their faces and perceives their thoughts. “Why does he speak this way? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” These are good questions. What exactly is their complaint?

According to Hebrew law, divine forgiveness was available through the Israelite cultic system of priests, sacrifice, and temple. After appropriate sacrifice was made for one’s sins by a qualified priest from the tribe of Levi, the priest possessed the authority to pronounce forgiveness of sins. Clearly, Jesus was not qualified to offer this kind of forgiveness. He was of the tribe of Judah, not Levi. Therefore, the forgiveness Jesus offered was outside the scope of the Hebrew law. Jesus undercut the normal channels of authority and established a new authority rooted in the inbreaking kingdom of God. As prophesied, the kingdom of God inaugurated a new creation.

The scribes’ complaint may also have reflected the common Jewish perspective that forgiveness was contingent upon repentance. “Forgiveness depends, according to Judaism, on true repentance – sorrow for sin, open acknowledgement of it, and resolute turning away from it, together with such restitution as may be possible. Where these conditions are present, God forgives sin.”[2] Conversely, where these conditions are not present, there is no possibility of divine forgiveness. The paralytic could not meet any of these conditions. We possess no evidence that the paralytic even possessed faith; it is the faith of the friends that Jesus commends and acts upon.

Whatever the specific reason, Jesus is perceived by the religious authorities to be usurping God’s role. Forgiveness is God’s prerogative. What gives Jesus the right to forgive sins – especially when he oversteps God’s law and rejects religious tradition. Who does he think he is?

Their conclusion is simple: “It is blasphemy!” Jesus is accused of insulting God and committing acts derogatory of God.

Jesus’ Religious Test of Authenticity

Jesus responds to their accusing questions with his own questions: “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’?

Which is easier? A few commentators argue that it is easier to heal the body than to heal the soul through forgiveness.[3] But the general consensus is that it is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven.” It is simpler to pronounce forgiveness than command a healing. Forgiveness is unseen and unverifiable. There is no observable change to confirm that forgiveness has occurred. It is much harder to say, “Stand up, take up your mat, and walk.” Unlike forgiveness, this statement is instantly verifiable. Observers can instantly assess whether the words are true or not.

It is easier to pronounce forgiveness. It is harder to instantly effect a healing. Ultimately, both forgiveness and healing are actions of God. Jesus works off the assumption that if the greater case holds, so does the lesser. In effect, Jesus says, “I’ll do the harder, so you’ll believe the easier.” Jesus deliberately generates a situation that will require him to provide a validating miracle in support of his authoritative word. If he heals, his enemies must recognize his authority to forgive sin. Would God give a blasphemer the power to restore health?

Jesus then authoritatively declares to the paralytic, “Stand up, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately, the paralytic expresses his first explicit act of faith – and is healed completely! “Because of this faith, the once powerless man is introduced to the realm of eschatological power. Once carried on a pallet, he now carries his pallet; once prostrate and unable to walk, he now arises and walks; once dependent on others, he now returns to his own home.”[4] With a little help from four faithful friends and the love of God in Christ, the paralytic is given a new life!

The crowd’s response underscores the uniqueness of this miracle. Other healings had occurred, but this one is held in special esteem. Something completely new, something which no eye has previously seen is breaking in (Isaiah 64:4; 1 Corinthians 2:9).

The healing validates Jesus’ word of forgiveness. His word possesses the authority to effect the greater act – the healing of the paralytic. Therefore, his word possesses the authority to effect the lesser – the forgiveness of sins.

The Forgiveness Jesus Offers

The scribe’s question can now be answered. Who can forgive sins but God alone? The answer: Jesus! Jesus does what only God can do!

The next logical question is: Who then is Jesus?

The healing of the paralytic is more than a miracle story – it is an identity story! This is the reason that Jesus has provoked the controversy: “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…”

Who then is Jesus? The son of man who possesses divine authority to forgive sins. Son of man is Jesus’ favorite self-referential term. Jesus combines its usage in Ezekiel referring to mortality and its usage in Daniel referring to a transcendent kingdom bearer to express his unique relationship to God and humanity. By combining these meanings, Jesus creates a new significance to the term. He is Ezekiel’s mere mortal (e.g., Ezekiel 2:1). He is also Daniel’s mysterious “one like a son of man” who receives a universal kingdom from the Ancient of Days in order to rule on his behalf and fulfill his will on earth (Daniel 7:9-18). Jesus is the human who possesses the authority of God to act on God’s behalf – to inaugurate and establish God’s kingdom. Jesus’ challenge draws attention to his unique identity and kingdom mission. He is the son of man who has divine authority to forgive sins.

The forgiveness Jesus offers corresponds to the new age he inaugurates. He offers full, free forgiveness exemplified in his word to the paralytic. The paralytic was completely helpless. If not for the help of the four faithful friends he never would have seen Jesus. He certainly showed no observable signs of repentance. It is unclear whether he even possessed faith!

Jesus’ forgiveness is a living parable that teaches God’s forgiveness is not dependent on our worthiness, ability, or even our deeds of repentance. It is completely a product of God’s grace. “I, even I, am the One who wipes out your transgressions for my own sake; And I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25). The prophets foretold that this complete forgiveness would be one of the great blessings of the new covenant: “they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).

The Faith Jesus Honors

The healing of the paralytic not only displays the forgiveness Jesus offers. It also reveals the faith Jesus honors – and, like almost everything Jesus does, it is completely unexpected.

We know the content of the faith the scribes possessed. They were the respected religious authorities. As orthodox as they were, they were another obstacle to the paralytic’s pursuit of Jesus. They were the third of three obstacles: The paralytic’s paralysis was the first, the crowds the second, and the scribes were the third obstacle in the way of the paralytic’s healing.

The scribes were paralyzed by their own theology – more concerned for rules than for people. Thankfully, Jesus was not sidetracked by the theological debate. He just kept on doing kingdom work in spite of opposition. He continued to forgive – and it would lead to the cross! The scribes’ accusation of blasphemy would continue throughout Jesus’ ministry until it climaxed in the ultimate accusation at his trial, “You have heard his blasphemy! He is worthy of death!” (Mark 14:64)

Unlike the scribes, the faith of the four friends was not an obstacle but an aid to the paralytic. Also unlike the scribes, we know practically nothing of their beliefs except that they took action. They possessed a faith that benefited others. They exercised a vicarious faith that helped one who could not believe on his own. Most importantly, they possessed an active, risky, bold faith. They were willing and determined to remove all obstacles. Jesus was not offended by their non-traditional ways. Instead, he honored them.

In this story, the heroes of the kingdom are those whose faith helps the helpless. They represent the kind of faith we are called to embody – faith that aligns with Jesus’ desire to grant free, full forgiveness to all.

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© Richard J. Vincent, 2006