10.-Out of Weakness Made Strong
“And when he entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was noised that he was in the house. 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. And they come, bringing unto him a man sick of the palsy, borne of four. 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. And Jesus seeing their faith saith unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins are forgiven.
“But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak? he blasphemeth: who can forgive sins but one, even God?
“And straightway Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, saith unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether 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? 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, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 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“ (Mark 2:1-12, R.V.).
Here we have the account of another of the numerous “mighty works” of our Lord performed in that particularly favored town, Capernaum. This town, whose name signifies the city of comfort or consolation, seems to have been the chosen center from which the Lord proceeded upon His various itineraries. It is called by Matthew “His own city” (Matt. 9:1), and it was there, presumably because it was His place of residence, that the tax-collectors exacted tribute from Him (Matt. 17:24).
After some days of retirement in desert places, following upon the cleansing of the leper, Jesus came to town again and entered the house privately—possibly the house of Simon and Andrew. His arrival was quickly reported, and the news traveled rapidly throughout the town and district, so that He was soon sought out by the crowds in Capernaum, as He had been in the desert places.
The Lord continued His work of teaching, as the Sower sowing the good seed of the word of the kingdom, and as the righteous Servant of Jehovah instructing the masses in righteousness (Isa. 53:11, New Tr.). Besides the simple unlettered peasantry of Galilee His audience, on a certain day at any rate, included Pharisees and teachers of the law who had come out of every town in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem (Luke 5:17; Mark 3:22). Were these emissaries of the priests to whom the cleansed leper presented himself, and charged by them to make official inquiries concerning Jesus and His work? We indeed are not told so, but we are told (1) that this healed man was sent as a witness to the leaders of the people, and (2) that immediately afterward hostility to the Servant of God had begun to work in their hearts.
Eagerness to see and hear something novel brought together then, as always, a great concourse of persons, whose interest was intensified not only by the fame of Jesus and His miracles, but also by the visit of the nation’s great ones from the metropolis and from the large towns of the provinces. Every means of access to the Master who sat indoors teaching was in consequence filled by excited crowds straining to hear a word or to catch a glimpse of what was being done.
There must necessarily have been disappointment for many that day, and it would seem that one of the least likely in Capernaum to receive benefit on this occasion from the great Healer was the paralyzed man, whose infirmity confined him to his bed. This man had an earnest desire in his heart to seek the face of Jesus, whom he believed could relieve him, as He had done many others. His faith was shared especially by four devoted friends, who carried him upon his bed to the house where Jesus was. These were accompanied by others, as Mark’s narrative shows— “they came, bringing a paralytic, borne of four.” At the house further advance seemed impossible, for the courtyard and every avenue of approach was blocked by interested persons who showed no disposition to make room for the sick man and his bearers. But what so dauntless as earnest and purposeful faith such as this! They, the sufferer agreeing to endure the pain to himself which the scheme involved, ascended by an outside flight of stairs to the flat roof of the house (cp. Matt. 24:17), where they proceeded to remove the tiling or the thin stone roofing (not at all a difficult task, and its repair an easy matter), and to lower the paralytic upon his bed, through the opening thus made, in to the presence of the Master.
The act was a bold and beautiful strategem of faith, arising not from a spirit of bravado, but from real confidence in the grace and power of Him whose presence they sought, coupled with a sense of the needed mercy. The faith was that of the five, for the action was concerted. And this the Lord saw, and approved what might have seemed to most brusque and ill-timed. It was indeed an offering to the Lord, even as the Jews will be in a future day when they are brought to Jehovah out of all the nations “upon horses and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts” to the holy mountain Jerusalem for blessing in their land (Isa. 66:20).
In this instance the Lord did not wait for the suppliant to frame his petition, nor did He say, as to the blind man, “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” He gave him the boon and more, going down to deep-seated needs the man, so far as we know, had never realized. Addressing the sick of the palsy in tender and affectionate terms, Jesus said, “Son, thy sins are forgiven.”
The critical portion of the audience, seeing no visible effect following these words, drew adverse conclusions immediately, and in their hearts set down the Lord as a blasphemer— “Why doth this man thus speak? he blasphemeth. Who can forgive sins but God only?”
But Jesus was present not only as the One to pardon iniquities and heal diseases (Psa. 103:3), but also as the One who searches the hearts, tries the reins and knows the inmost thoughts (Psa. 94:11; Jer. 17:10). He who saw the faith of the five men perceived the reasonings of the scribe’s in His own omniscient spirit (cp. John 2:24; 6:61), and not by a power temporarily imparted to Him, as might have been the case with a prophet. None but God could penetrate the secret workings of man’s spirit, as Solomon confessed in his prayer (1 Kings 8:39 Chron. 28:9; 2 Chron. 6:30; Ezek. 11:5), and the Lord gave the Pharisees the proof of the nature of His person by answering their thoughts. Who else could “hear them thinking”?
The Lord thereupon addressed those who were inwardly caviling at His words in terms which shed the light of God upon their hearts, revealing their secret thoughts: “Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is easier to gay to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise and take up thy bed and walk?” The crucial point was not the actual words uttered, but what result was consequent upon their utterance. And the Lord proceeded to give them a visible assurance that His word was living and powerful, as He had just shown it to be “sharper than a two-edged sword.” He demonstrated its power over physical infirmity, that by analogy its power to dispense pardon to the guilty might be known. The Master then continued, “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, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.”
The effect of these words addressed in His own authority (“I say unto thee”), and not speaking as a delegate, was instantaneous upon the paralytic man. His useless limbs were strengthened, so that he arose immediately; and so hale was he that he was able, as incontestable evidence of his thorough restoration, to take up the pallet or mattress upon which he had been brought to Jesus and to carry it away in presence of them all. What previously was a proof of his weakness, became thus a witness to his strength.
The miracle too was an undeniable testimony to the claims of the One then in Capernaum. The company was deeply impressed by the sight. They were all amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. Israel by-and-by will see and believe on the evidence of sight. But the Lord said, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29), and this applies to the Christian to-day (1 Peter 1:8). [W. J. H.]
(To be continued)