1And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."
6And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7"Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, "Arise, take up your bed and walk'? 10But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"--He said to the paralytic, 11"I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." 12Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"
They are back in Capernaum again. Are they back in Simon's house again? Once again the house is crowded. Last time they met at the house, Jesus healed many sick and cast out many demons. This time it says he preached.
Four men brought a paralytic. Did they bring him to be healed, or simply so the paralytic could hear Jesus preach too? I remember trying to push a baby stroller through the crowds at a Zoo or a fair. I could imagine it would be difficult for four men carrying someone on a bed to be able to get through the crowds. It said there was not even room at the door.
The first surprising line here says "when Jesus saw their faith", not "When Jesus saw their ingenuity", or "When Jesus saw their determination", or, as my reaction might have been if it was my home or my friend's home "When Jesus saw their destruction", or if I had been one of those waiting outside the door because the crowd was too thick for me to enter "When Jesus saw them budging in line". Jesus saw what they did for what they intended, not all the other things that could be read into it. He saw their faith as their driving force to their need to get to Jesus. Roofs can be repaired, everyone there will get a chance to hear him. We need to strive to not be so judgmental of other people's actions. Especially when no real harm is done. We do not know what is driving them to take the actions they do. Sure, it could be motivated by a mean spirit, but it could also be motivated by something good. We cannot tell by a situation, but Jesus knows what is motivating us.
Here, Jesus saw the faith of not just the paralytic, but also of the four men. Do we have faith enough to do the unconventional, to do what it takes to be near our God? If we just have faith, our sins will be forgiven.
I have a tougher time with the next verses. It seems like Jesus is saying that he could have said either "Your sins are forgiven" or "Take up your bed and walk", that either would have had the same effect. It is interesting, because up till now, Jesus had healed many people and cast out many demons, but no mention has been made of forgiving sins. And based on the reactions of the scribes around him, I don't think it is something he had done before.
A footnote in my Bible says He had been drawing from their belief that you can't have physical healing without the forgiveness of sins. By showing physical healing, He was also demonstrating that sins must have been forgiven too. But I'm not convinced of this explanation. First of all it ties sins and physical illnesses closer together than I believe it ought to be - I know some wonderful, very good people that are wheelchair bound. And I can't believe their sins are keeping them there. I know God forgives their sins. Also, Jesus had already healed many others, including in that very city not too long before. So why now is it a surprising demonstration of forgiving sins when it hadn't been before?
Here I think Jesus sees several needs. He sees the faith of the 4 men and the paralytic. He can see into the heart of the paralytic and knows he needs forgiveness for his sins. He knows the paralytic would like to be healed. And He knows the scribes need to see that Jesus has the power to forgive sins.
Jesus took care of the more dire need first. He forgave the sins of the paralytic. Next, how can he demonstrate to the scribes that he has the power to forgive sins? Just because He says the sins are forgiven, what is the proof? He questions the scribes. What would be easier for them to say: someone's sins are forgiven or to tell a paralytic to get up and walk? I would expect they would know they could do neither, but because they know they could not simply command a paralytic to get up and walk, they might conclude it would be easier for them to tell someone their sins were forgiven. Or maybe they were to reflect inwardly, would it be easier for them to forgive someone for a wrongdoing against them or for them to heal a physically broken body -- they know they could (and should) forgive someone who asks for forgiveness, but know they would be powerless over healing someone. So maybe by demonstrating that Jesus could accomplish what to them is the harder of the two, but could easily be proven, that they should be able to understand that Jesus should also be able to do what to them would be the easier of the two.
When we see God's wonderful and amazing works around us in things we can grasp and see, it really does make it easier to have faith in the things we cannot see or prove. And remember, God can easily forgive our sins!