The Healing of the Paralytic

Mark For Everyone

MARK 2.1–12
The Healing of the Paralytic...

...Everyone was astonished, and they praised God. ‘We’ve never seen anything like this!’ they said
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Most people don’t realize that this was probably Jesus’ own house. He had moved to Capernaum from Nazareth; the point of the first two verses is that when Jesus returned from his short preaching trip around the neighbouring villages, he found crowds pressing around the door as though he were a movie star or well-known footballer. Jesus himself was the unlucky householder who had his roof ruined that day.

This opens up quite a new possibility for understanding what Jesus said to the paralysed man. How would you feel if someone made a big hole in your roof? But Jesus looks down and says, with a rueful smile: ‘All right – I forgive you!’ Something in his voice, though, made them all realize this was different. This forgiveness went deeper than mere domestic disputes. Jesus was speaking with a quiet authority which went down into the paralysed man’s innermost being. Not surprisingly, those around felt uneasy. Only the priests could declare forgiveness, speaking in the name of God. If that’s what the man needed, his friends should take him to the Temple in Jerusalem, not to a wandering preacher....

Taken from Mark for Everyone by Tom Wright