Friends

2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ² They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.³ Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. ⁴ Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. ⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ⁷ “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸ Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹ Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”So he said to the man, ¹¹ “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ¹² He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

This story of the healing of the paralytic stands in stark contrast to the one that precedes it.  While the former story may leave the impression that the ministry of healing inconveniences Jesus, this passage reveals a healing that promotes and confirms Jesus' ministry.

Arriving in his home region, the crowd is huge.  Obviously, the man healed from leprosy and any of a number of others whom Jesus had healed and released from demons had been busy spreading the word.  The crowd is huge, and there seems to be no room for anyone to turn around.

They have come to see a miracle--and Jesus preaches the word.  Once again, the conflict between what the crowds want Jesus to do and what Jesus wants to do is central to the story.

But this time, it will be different.  Now, rather than someone coming to Jesus of their own accord, the paralytic man is brought by his friends (we do not and cannot know whether the man on the pallet agreed with the plan).  The four friends encounter the crowd.  The solid wall of people do not deter them.  Realizing that the door is not an option, the engineer in the bunch develops a cunning plan to put a hole in the roof.  While this is not the original context, it reminds me of a funeral procession with pallbearers, the excavation of the grave and the lowering of the body.

The digging is described, but not the reaction in the crowded room where the dust and debris begin to rain down.  Also not shared is the reaction of the owner of the house (would he tell the State Farm agent that it was "Hale" damage?).

The man is lowered from the sky, and it probably isn't significant, but one other time so far in the gospel, something has descended upon Jesus from heaven.  It was the Spirit at his baptism.  Perhaps this is why Jesus is not angry as he is with the man at the end of Chapter 1, because this is a task given to him by God.

And when Jesus saw their faith--their faith?  The faith of the friends or the friends and the man?  The friends have been the only ones digging and that is all that could be seen so far, unless Jesus is using spiritual sight.  There seems to be a larger point made here--that when friends bring the hurting to Jesus, there is salvation.  Our faith can have an impact on the lives of others even when they have no faith of their own.

"Your sins are forgiven." Jesus says to the man.  What an odd thing to say.  Isn't this a healing story?  What does sin have to do with that?  Is the man's sin connected to his condition?  And how could the actions of others lead to the forgiveness of someone else?

These are profound questions that don't seem to be easily answered.  But it does point again to how we misremember this story as a healing story and not a salvation story.  Jesus is preaching repentance and salvation and that is the first gift he offers the man--not healing.

But the controversy that will lead to Jesus' death is already stirring as the religious types converse among themselves about God alone being able to forgive sins.  If Jesus had been content to do what the crowd wanted (healing), it seems likely that the religious authorities would have embraced him.  And while they intend to keep this plotting to themselves, Jesus is aware of their challenge.

"Which is easier?" He asks.  They would likely answer incorrectly that forgiving is easier than healing.  But it is almost certain that for Jesus it is the other way around.  So when Jesus heals for them it is a primary display, while Jesus knows that the primary display is really the gift of forgiveness that leads to salvation.

When he tells the man to get up, it recalls the prior healing as well.  When Jesus pronounces the leper healed he tells him to go to the priests, which the exuberant man fails to do.  But when Jesus heals this man and tells him what he should do, the man obeys.  His faith is revealed to be as strong as his friends who have brought him.  He is a disciple

But the confusion and ambiguity around these stories continues.  The crowd has never seen anything like this.  They probably mean "this" with regard to the healing, but what should amaze them is the power of the forgiveness of sins. They have seen this man's life change for the moment, but more importantly seen it changed for eternity.  This is not a healing story, it is a salvation story.