(1) "And when He entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was noised that He was in the house. (2) And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, no, not even about the door: and He spake the word unto them. (3) And they came, bringing unto Him a man sick of the palsy, borne of four. (4) 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, they let down the bed whereon the sick of the palsy lay. (5) And Jesus seeing their faith, saith unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins are forgiven. (6) But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, (7) Why doth this Man thus speak? He blasphemeth: who can forgive sins but One, even God? (8) And straightway Jesus, perceiving in His spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, saith unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? (9) Which 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? (10) But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (He saith to the sick of the palsy), (11) I say unto thee, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thy house. (12) And he arose, and straightway took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion."
Golden Text.—"The Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins." Verse 10.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) To what city did Jesus again come? What notice was taken of His coming? Verse 1. Note 1. (2) What was the result of the publication of the news? When the people were assembled what did Jesus do? Verse 2. Note 2. (3) While He was preaching, what peculiar company approached? Verse 3. Note 3. (4) What hindered their access to Jesus? To what means did the anxious company then resort? Verse 4. Note 4. (5) What did Jesus see in the persistent action of these men? Then what did He say to the afflicted man? Verse 5. Note 5. (6) What noted class of men were represented in the audience? How were they contemplating the words of Jesus? Verse 6. (7) What were they saying in their hearts? Verse 7. (8) Why were they unable to conceal their thoughts? What did Jesus say to them? Verse 8. Note 6. (9) What further question did He ask of these scribes? Verse 9. (10) What did He wish especially to impress upon the minds of all? For this purpose whom did He again personally address? Verse 10. (11) What did He command the sick man to do? Verse 11. Note 7. (12) What was the effect of this command? How were the people affected when they saw the miracle? What did they do and say? Verse 12.
NOTES.
1. Jesus had been on a tour of other towns since the events recorded in the last lesson. Ch. 1: 35-39. Matthew places the incident of this lesson just after the rejection at Gadara, where the devils were permitted to enter the herd of swine. See Matt. 8: 28 to 9: 2.
2. The scene presented is that of Jesus preaching in a private house. The house is crowded to overflowing, the multitudes throng about the door, endeavoring to catch His words. This shows a deep interest, as also a great curiosity. The people of the city had not seen or heard Him for some time, and they were anxious not only to hear Him preach, but to see Him do some wonderful work.
3. Scene two is four men approaching, bearing a litter on which lies a man helpless from paralysis, all seemingly eager to see Jesus, that the sick man might be healed. They remembered, or had heard of, the vast numbers of sick people who had been healed when Jesus was in the city before, and are all filled with eager expectation.
4. The crowd of people is so dense that the men bearing the paralytic are unable to approach Jesus by way of the door. But their faith that He could and would heal the afflicted one was so strong that they could not be deterred from their purpose. Finding their way to the stairs leading to the roof, they carried their needy charge upon the housetop, pulled up a part of the tile roofing, and let him down in his bed to the place where Jesus was speaking to the people.
5. "Seeing their faith."—Yes it was faith that could be seen. A faith that is not seen in corresponding works will not wield much influence. Was it not rude to thus disturb the preaching service?—Notice that not a word of that discourse is recorded for our delectation, but this act of faith and its lesson are put on record by three of the Gospel writers—Matthew, Mark, and Luke. As in the instance of the lunatic's noisy outbreak on a former occasion, Jesus showed His aptitude for utilizing what would ordinarily be deemed a great and unwarranted disturbance. He was able to make use of any circumstance to illustrate the Gospel work.
6. This circumstance was not only an opportunity to show the power of Christ to forgive sins, but it enabled Him to demonstrate to His enemies that He could discern their thoughts.
7. It made no difference whether Jesus said to the sick man, "Thy sins are forgiven," or "Take up thy bed;" for, according to the teaching of the scribes, sickness was the result of personal sin; therefore to heal the sickness ought to be to them a logical evidence that the patient's sins were forgiven.
8. When Jesus had a controversy with His enemies, His arguments, whether of words or action, were always such as to convince the audience, whether they fully accepted the Gospel or not. Luke closes his account of this incident as follows: "And fear took hold on all; and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet is arisen among us; and, God hath visited His people. And this report went forth concerning Him in the whole of Judea, and all the region round about." Luke 7: 16, 17.
