Mark 2:10-11 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.
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The incident in question occurs here and in Matt. 9 and Luke 5.
Mark and Matthew say this occurred in Capernaum.
In Luke, the entering of Jesus into the city is recorded this way:
Luke 5:17 (KJV) And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
I don’t think I have read a commentator that thinks Jesus was talking about healing the doctors of the Law and Pharisees. The consensus is that this refers to the multitudes. But I think the healing of the Jewish leadership is perhaps and even more powerful image.
In many manuscripts “them” is in the singular, then read like “the power of the Lord was there for His healing.” This is good, because the doctors of the Law and the Pharisees were examples of the people there that most in need of healing, but also supposed to be the true healers as well. These false physicians are the people who take the lead in dismissing real healing power in favor of a doctrinal perspective which can’t heal, which is the point here:
Matthew 9:3 (KJV) And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
Luke 5:21 (KJV) And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
Question: with respect to Messiah, is the superior concern the doctrinal conclusion that a Man can forgive sins, or is it that Messiah will forgive sins? Sins can only be forgiven by God,, true. But are the Pharisees right, that this is the main issue here? Or is Jesus coming to correct not the conclusions of the theology, but their priorities with respect to true healing?
This exchange presents another illustration of Jesus trying to teach why messianic prophecy of Him is a superior consideration in religion and theological discourse, especially in its application to the Truth needy, to that of those pertaining to disputations over its mere outward expressions and relatively minor doctrinal considerations, fallen religion always putting the latter over the former. Yes, that means that for faith the issue of the deity of Christ is a relatively minor issue, or at least behind that of Jesus’s proof of messianic credentials. Is it a relatively minor or anterior issue? OF course, because if Jesus is not Messiah he is certainly not God, but just another pretender and another man glorifying himself. It may sound pious to emphasize, as the Church does, that Jesus is God before saying that Jesus is Messiah, but its very far from a piety, and this kind of dishonest faith is indeed in need of healing.
This is why Jesus directs himself to what people are reasoning within themselves (v.8) rather than to what they give as outward displays. The battle is always between carnal and the spiritual, righteous spirituality being a concern over the words of the prophets of the Messiah. Bad spirituality is a consideration for outward forms of bodily expression in act and speech and toward religious conclusions instead of religious transcendent evidence.
In V. 9 Jesus effectively states that to the Pharisees and Scribes the Messianic sign of the Messiah forgiving sins (see Jesus and the Forgiveness of Sins: an Aspect of His Prophetic Ministry, by Tobias Hagerland, if you can ignore the Documentarian perspective), not the actual forgiveness of sins by anyone other than God, or the that a man could heal the sick miraculously, is the more difficult and sinfully resisted truth taken from Scripture about Jesus’ claims. Jesus puts it this way:
Mark 2:9 (KJV) Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
The Pharisees are worried about the question of who can forgive sins? Is it not God alone? But notice that in this statement by Jesus there is a theological decree pertaining to the forgiveness of sin and a messianic command pertaining to physical healing. Translation: “Which is more important, that I as a Man forgive sins or that I am displaying the healing credentials of Messiah, who is prophesied to forgive sins, certified by his power of miraculously heal?” Of course, its easier to say “your sins are forgiven” than to perform a miracle. Anyone can say ones sins are forgiven. But who except Messiah can heal this man? Question to Pharisees: “why are you flipping the priority list here? The greater miracle stands in front of , not behind, the theological question. Look in your Bible and you can confirm this yourself, that Messiah is prophesied to heal, and by this He proves himself also the divine Messiah.” Its far harder for the Pharisees to accept that Messiah heals and forgives sin than to conclude that only God can forgive sin, because they are putting theological assumptions before the question of what kind of Christ is prophesied, which is backward.
Jesus cements this in the next verse:
Mark 2:10 (KJV) 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,)
Jesus shifts the issue of who is God to the issue of who is Messiah. The “Son of Man” is Jesus’ favorite title, taken primarily from Daniel 7.
Daniel 7:13-14 (KJV) I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
“Son of Man” is used mostly in Ezekiel by God for Ezekiel. If you harmonize Ezekiel and Daniel you have the definition of “Son of Man, a being who is fully God and fully man, who fulfills the Word of God concerning Him, giving Him a right to sit at Gods’ right hand as co-equal. “Son of Man” functions first as designator for the Messiah from prophecy, His right to rule, a title that points to the proven biblical phenomena of Messiah. This leads in the definition. What follows in the definition is his divinity as Messiah, which His fulfilment of Gods Word entitles Him.
It is obvious that even the subject of sin is a more difficult one to think about to a certain sure conclusion than whether a miracle has occurred, since one is only understood through the more difficult work of thought and the other through sight. The Pharisees have decided, however, that the issue over who can forgive sin is easier and more needful than who is the Messiah from Scripture, although the Messianic credentials is something that they can see with their own eyes by consulting the Tenach.
Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for failing to apply themselves to the greater but easier truth of the Messianic ministry in favor of religious concerns informed from emotion and tradition which are far more difficult when considered outside of the Messianic concern. Without the greater truth of Messiah neither they nor anyone else could ever recognize Messiah should he come. If they cant recognize Messiah should be come Jesus can’t be judged for forgiving sins as a man, a biblical, messianic sign.
“The Son of Man forgives sins” is a statement that, untimely, is not for physical healing, but of the spiritual healing of the forgiveness of sins, only possible through a sincere desire to know the plain truth of what signs the Messiah will display when he comes before we glom onto the theological implications. IF we do this we cant miss that Jesus is Messiah, and therefore Jesus is God.
The idea that Jesus is primarily trying to teach himself as God here is true, but, in the same calculation as above, it is not possible to righteously entertain it without Him first being seen and confessed as the Messiah of the OT. God will fulfill prophecy not how we would wish but by His own council. This should teach us that long before our particular take on what constitutes the exact fulfillment of prophecy, the greater consideration is the certainty that prophecy was to be fulfilled unexpectedly and with great power. Why? Because of God’s Prophetic Word of Demonstration1, that it had been historically fulfilled so many times in the past.
From this, might we re-speculate on what kind of sins Christ is forgiving? We seem to take it for granted that it’s about sins of bodily motion of some form, but those are not now, with Jesus’s New Covenant of the Word, the fundamental sins. The sins of the Paralytic are not mentioned here. Why would Jesus forgive his sins? What did this poor man do? What sins are Jesus forgiving? Adamic sin? His abuse of his wife? His misappropriation of money? Well, I would say original sin, but not the one we want it to be, which is assumed represented and plain to see by one’s actions or words. The sins that cant be seen, however, are the ones targeted, which hide behind the pious words and moral bodily motions.
In another context, it was evident that the Jews associated physical ailments with divine punishment for sins (John 9:2). Jesus challenges this belief. He employs the physical malady as a symbol to address the underlying spiritual sin. Regardless of the individual’s spiritual condition, Jesus uses this symbol to demonstrate that faith in the Word of God can overcome the pervasive sin of rejecting His messianic power. This messianic Word encompasses the teachings of the Prophets regarding Jesus of Nazareth. Overcoming this sin requires honesty, humility, and a sincere desire to seek the truth, allowing it to manifest its transformative influence.
Paralysis of the body can be seen as a reflection of a mental paralysis in spiritual matters, particularly in relation to messianic prophecy as a guiding principle of faith. The essence of faith lies first in the knowledge and belief in Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus forgives sins rooted in ignorance or lack of faith in Him as the Messiah when one at first prioritizes Messiah, realizing and confessing by Scripture that He is indeed the fulfiller and holder of the messianic mantle. Redemption is achieved through a genuine acceptance of Jesus by the honest handling of this evidence and a willingness to move past distorted beliefs, allowing for a true understanding of His teachings. Man’s physical demonstrations of faith are no longer the primary indicator of spiritual truth, only faith in Jesus’ physical demonstrations of Messiah.
Please see these recent articles:
Head and Heart: John 14:1-12: Having Jesus In Your Heart But Not In Your Head
Mark 12: Prophetic Streams of the Shema and the Undertow of Prophetic Sin
Mark 2: Bride Chambers, New Cloth, and Jesus: Passing by Nehushtan
https://www.amazon.com/Systematic-Theology-1-Wolfhart-Pannenberg/dp/0802865038 ↩
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