Verse 1. After some days He comes into Capernaum again, and it was noised that He was in the house.
Verse 2. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and He preached the Word unto them. This is the special service He has before Him, and faithfully He attends to it. It would be the truth—what He Himself is, unfolded from the Scriptures, and new things from the divine storehouse; Israel’s Messiah promised; the Saviour of men, who can meet man’s need. His works conforming His word, carrying with it delivering power from every evil.
Verse 3. And they come unto Him, bringing one sick of the palsy (paralysis) which was borne of four. Here is the helpless sinner who cannot come, but four men who have confidence in the Lord carry him.
Verse 4. And when they could not come nigh unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where He was; and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. Their perseverance expressed their confidence in Jesus, in His love and in His power. Faith overcomes obstacles and presses on till its object is gained. The man is needy. Jesus alone can meet his need and they have confidence that He will heal him.
Verse 5. When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the palsy, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” The cause of man’s ruin was sin. Sin was the root of all the trouble and disease that had come upon man. Now the one who can meet the need is come, the great Messiah of whom it was written (Psa. 103) “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases.” He tells the man the cause of the trouble—it is sin. This is the teaching of God that draws the sinner to Christ (John 6:4545It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. (John 6:45)). There He meets us and gives us soul healing—the remission of sins. It is the same faith we need to exercise now as Christians, that, making us feel our need, keeps us as needy ones drawing from His fullness, and assures us that He will not fail us. He will teach us patience and prove us, but He will answer the soul that relies upon Him. This is the Holy Spirit’s work in us.
Verses 6-11. The scribes reason in their hearts, “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?” They are blind to the things of God; it is the carnal mind (Rom. 8:77Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (Romans 8:7)), and it cannot receive the things of God (1 Cor. 2:1414But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)). Jesus knew their thoughts, for He was God manifest in the flesh who was present among them, and He answers them, “Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the paralyzed man, Thy sins be forgiven thee: or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins (He saith to the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed and go thy way into thine house.” God had come in love to pardon and to heal. He had the right and the power in His own person as Son of Man to meet man’s wretchedness, and to free him from the sufferings of body which sin had brought in; and to forgive His sins. Isaiah 53:4-64Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4‑6) tells us what it was to cost Him. He could speak it to the man, well knowing that God’s justice would be maintained by His finished work at the cross. Thus He proved Himself to be the Friend of Sinners, forgiving their sins and delivering them from sins forever, and by His grace attracting them to Himself as a loving Saviour.
Verse 12. “And immediately He arose, took up his bed, and went forth before them: insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, we never saw it on this fashion.” The man’s walk is a “witness” to the new power given him by the Lord Jesus.
Verse 13. “And He went forth again by the seaside; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them.” This is His special work again.
Verse 14. “And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alpheus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him.” The publicans were considered the lowest of the Jews, and were hated, as servants of the Romans, for collecting the Roman tributes from their brethren. The Jews hated to pay this tax. They were continually reminded by it of their sin that put them under the Roman yoke. The publicans were, therefore, despised and detested. Some of them grew rich and were blamed for defrauding the Jews to enrich themselves. In calling Levi, the Lord shows the true character of His mission, that it was to seek the lost, the needy sinner, that He came.
Verse 15. “And it came to pass, that as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His disciples: for there were many and they followed Him.” Luke 5:2929And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. (Luke 5:29), tells us that Levi (or Matthew) made a great feast to Jesus; it seems to be this same occasion.
Verse 16. The scribes and Pharisees show their ignorance of their own state under their religious garb, questioning His disciples. “How is it that He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?”
Verse 17. “When Jesus heard it, He saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” What a rebuke to them, to their pretended sanctity, and what grace to the lowly confessed sinner—grace in seeking the lost; forgiving the guilty; welcoming and gathering the needy repentant souls, to give to them remission of sins.
This is not law; the law demanded righteousness from man and cursed him for not having it (Gal. 3:1010For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (Galatians 3:10)). But the Lord Jesus is full of grace and truth seeking sinners to forgive their sins, as we know (Rom. 3:2525Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (Romans 3:25)), righteously, because of the work He would do upon the cross, “There is none righteous” otherwise (Rom. 3:1010As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (Romans 3:10)). He does not send the sinner away, but seeks him and sits and eats with him while still being Himself altogether holy. This is the love of God winning the hearts of men, and producing confidence towards God in these hearts; to give them a perfect object, and to form them after His image. May we contemplate His glory as thus revealed, that we may be drawn after Him.
God is revealed to us in the gift of His Son; the cross manifests that love in giving Him for us. And in righteousness, too, for there we see the blessed Lord made sin for us, and we are now made the righteousness of God in Him, and have an inheritance awaiting us in glory. We are also God’s dear children. What a contrast with law which demands and gives nothing.
(To be Continued.)