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Home , Matthew 9

The Paralyzed Man (9:1–8) (:2–12; :17–26)

Matthew 9:1 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city.

This is their return journey back across the sea to . We learned earlier that this is now where lives.

“And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,” (:13, ESV)

Matthew 9:2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”

This scene takes place in a very crowded house.

“And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.” (Mark 2:2, ESV) some people brought to him a paralytic…. Mark provides greater detail telling us that his friends lowered him through the roof.

“And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.” (Mark 2:4, ESV) faith1 Interestingly, it appears this is the faith of those who brought the sick man to Jesus—although the sick man may have been a part of the group identified as “their” which would include his faith as well. your sins are forgiven23…. Sin and forgiveness are key concerns of Matthew. From the prophecy of his birth, we learn that Jesus primary mission is to forgive sins.

“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (:21, ESV)

And near the moment of his death, he repeats that mission.

“for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (:28, ESV)

At first reading, it does not appear that the man came to get his sins forgiven, but to walk. However in this case, it was assumed that sin was behind such conditions. The

1 faith πίστις “…to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance—‘to believe in, to have confidence in, to have faith in, to trust, faith, trust.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the : Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (375). New York: United Societies. 2 forgiven ἀφίημι “…to send. To send forth or away, let go from oneself.” Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers. 3 forgiven ἀφίημι “…to remove the guilt resulting from wrongdoing—‘to pardon, to forgive, forgiveness.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains. New York: United Bible Societies. same connection is made in John 5 in the healing of the blind man where Jesus responds:

“Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”” (John 5:14, ESV)

However, generally Jesus does not associate his healing with sin in the person he heals. “That Jesus did not always pause to forgive sins shows that he did not always connect disease and sin in a causal relationship….”4 Of course, in the broader sense all misery is the product of sin. But here Jesus’ answer implies that in his case there was a direct relationship between his sin and his paralysis. So Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter and forgives his sin.

Matthew 9:3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” scribes…. Luke adds to this group as well. To a large degree, the two terms appear to overlap, probably most scribes were Pharisees.

“And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”” (Luke 5:21, ESV)

The Pharisees note that only God can forgive sins. They were correct in this. blaspheming5…. It is interesting that those who live blasphemous lives are quick to call others blasphemers. It reminds us today of those who live lives of hate who are quick to call Christians haters.

“Blasphemy is an act in which a human insults the honor of God. This extends to misusing the name of God, which is cursed or reviled instead of being honored, the penalty for which is death by stoning (Lev. 24:10–23; 1 Kings 21:9ff.). The teachers of the law charge Jesus with blasphemy because they believe that he is dishonoring God by taking to himself the prerogative to forgive sins, something that only God can do (cf. Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21).”6

Their charge of blasphemy was based on Jesus’ statement that he had forgiven sins. They properly understood that only God could forgive sins. Of course, the purpose of the healing and forgiveness was to make the point that Jesus was in fact God.

Matthew 9:4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?

4 Craig S. Keener, The of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009), 289. 5 blaspheming βλασφημέω “…to speak against someone in such a way as to harm or injure his or her reputation (occurring in relation to persons as well as to divine beings)—‘to revile, to defame, to blaspheme, reviling.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (433). New York: United Bible Societies. 6 Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (vol. 1; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 62–63. knowing7 [seeing] their thoughts…. Perhaps he did so “by observing the “body language” and whispering together of the disaffected group.”8 Although he could have done so supernaturally as well (:25; 22:18). think9 evil10 in your hearts11…. Notice the relationship between think and heart. In our Western world, we view the heart as the seat of emotions and associate thinking with our minds. We are often told not to overthink something but to go with what is in our heart. But in the Bible, the heart is not viewed as the seat of emotions but similar to, or as a synonym of, the mind. The Bible never tells us to ignore our mind and go with our emotions. This is a major theme of the devil and his disciples to keep us from thinking through a topic. .

“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,” (Mark 7:21, ESV)

“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.” (Matthew 12:34–35, ESV)

In our culture today, we would say a person “speaks their mind.”

Matthew 9:5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? easier12…. “The rhetorical question of v. 5 implies that if the “harder” of the two options can be demonstrated, the “easier” may be assumed also to be possible.”13 “Because healing as opposed to forgiveness is empirically verifiable, the teachers of the law would conclude that it is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven”…. By performing a sign that is empirically verifiable, however, Jesus argues that he is God’s authorized agent and therefore has authority to forgive sins.”14

7 knowing οἶδα “…to see with perception….” Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers. 8 France, R. T. (2007). The (p. 346). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co. 9 think ἐνθυμέομαι “…to process information by giving consideration to various aspects—‘to think about, to consider.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (348–349). New York: United Bible Societies. 10 evil πονηρός “…pertaining to possessing a serious fault and consequently being worthless—‘bad, worthless.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (623). New York: United Bible Societies. 11 hearts καρδία “…the causative source of a person’s psychological life in its various aspects, but with special emphasis upon thoughts….” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains. New York: United Bible Societies. 12 easier εὔκοπος “…pertaining to that which is easy, in the sense of not requiring great effort or work—‘easy, without trouble.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains. New York: United Bible Societies. 13 France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew (p. 346). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co. 14 Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009), 290. to say15.… The key to understand the question is to focus on the phrase “easier, to say” not easier to do.

“It might be suggested that to forgive sins is the harder, since only God can do it, but Jesus’ question is not about which is easier to do, but which is easier to say, and a claim to forgive sins is undoubtedly easier to make, since it cannot be falsified by external events, whereas a claim to make a paralyzed man walk will be immediately proved true or false by a success or failure which everyone can see. This will be the logic of what follows: Jesus’ demonstrable authority to cure the disabled man is evidence that he has authority also to forgive sins.”16

Your sins are forgiven…. “It is easier to say ‘your sins are forgiven’ if you are a charlatan because there is no immediate check….”17

Rise and walk…. To say rise and walk brings things to an immediate head. If you are a charlatan, you will fail. It is best not to say this, just “your sins are forgiven.” For after all, who would really know—if you stopped there?

Matthew 9:6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”

“The argument is spelled out by a broken sentence in which the first (subordinate) clause addressed to the scribes leads into a main clause which is in fact an imperative addressed to the paralyzed man. In the narrative setting this change of addressee would be made perfectly clear by the speaker’s physical movement or gesture, and the logic of the two-part sentence would thus be obvious: what the man is being told to do is itself the proof of the claim Jesus has made.”18

Son of Man…. (See :20) In Daniel 7:13-14, a pivotal verse on the subject of the Son of Man, repeatedly uses this term in conjunction with the word dominion, a word similar in meaning to authority.

13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion19 and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him;

15 εἶπον λεγω “…to speak or talk, with apparent focus upon the content of what is said—‘to say, to talk, to tell, to speak.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (396). New York: United Bible Societies. 16 France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew (p. 346). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co. 17 Nolland, J. (2005). The Gospel of Matthew: A commentary on the Greek text. New International Greek Testament Commentary (381). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press. 18 France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew (pp. 346–347). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co. .(governmental dominion, mastery, i.e., the authority or power to rule….” Swanson, J. (1997…“ ןָׁטְלָׁ ש Dominion 19 Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Aramaic (Old Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc. his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13–14, ESV) authority20…. This is the third use of authority in these chapters (:29, ESV, Matthew 8:9, ESV, Matthew 9:6, ESV. It will be used three more times, Matthew 9:8, ESV. :1, ESV). The last use of the word is found in :18.

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18, ESV)

So the logic goes like this: if I can do the hard thing and command one to “rise and walk”, then I can do the easy thing and say, “your sins are forgiven.” In doing the hard thing, he establishes his authority and power to do the easy thing—to forgive sins! “By performing a sign that is empirically verifiable, however, Jesus argues that he is God’s authorized agent and therefore has authority to forgive sins.”21

“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” “The “bed” was presumably a simple, light- weight structure, sufficiently rigid to allow it to be used as a stretcher, but able to be carried by one person. By carrying it to his own home the man will demonstrate his complete and immediate cure.”22 This is another illustration of the supernatural power of the miracle. We see it in Peter’s mother-in-law who was so energized by the cure that she got up and served those in her home (Matthew 8:15). We see it in the glassy calm of the lake after Jesus ordered to storm to cease (Matthew 8:26). We see it in the demon possessed men sitting clothed and in their right minds (:15). Now we see it in the strength and energy of the paralytic to pick up the bed and leave. These often overlooked extra elements show that Jesus’ miracles were even more powerful than appeared on the surface.

Matthew 9:7 And he rose and went home. Thereby demonstrating the perfect cure, he had received from Jesus.

“And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”” (Mark 2:12, ESV)

Matthew 9:8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

20 authority ἐξουσία “Permission, authority, right, liberty, power to do something (Acts 26:12). As éxesti denies the presence of a hindrance, it may be used either of the capability or the right to do a certain action. The words éxesti and exousía combine the two ideas of right and might. As far as right, authority, or capability is concerned, it involves ability, power, strength (dúnamis…) as in Matt. 9:8; 28:18.” Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers. 21 Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009), 290. 22 France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew (pp. 347–348). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co. afraid23…. “Fear … is the response to supernatural phenomena, and that sense would be appropriate here: Jesus has just demonstrated that he wields a superhuman authority. They rightly acknowledge God’s hand in what they have seen….”24

Their fear response was proper. In his claim to forgive sins, it implies the ability to deliver or destroy.

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28, ESV) who had given such authority to men. In fact, the authority was not given to men, plural, but to one man, Jesus Christ.

23 afraid φοβέω “…to have such awe or respect for a person as to involve a measure of fear—‘to fear, to show great reverence for, to show great respect for.’” Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition.) (734). New York: United Bible Societies. 24 France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew (p. 348). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co.