He
entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city. Behold, they brought to him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, cheer up! Your sins are forgiven you.” Behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man blasphemes.” Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven;’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” (then he said to the paralytic), “Get up, and take up your mat, and go up to your house.” He arose and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Matthew 9:1-8
Matthew 8 [32.] He said to them, “Go!”
They came out, and went into the herd of pigs: and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea, and died in the water. Those who fed them fled, and went away into the city, and told everything, including what happened to those who were possessed with demons. Behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged that he would depart from their borders.
Matthew 9 [1.] He entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city. Behold, they brought to him a man who was paralyzed, lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, cheer up! Your sins are forgiven you.”
Matthew 9 [3.] Behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man blasphemes.”
Matthew 9 [4.] Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven;’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” (then he said to the paralytic), “Get up, and take up your mat, and go up to your house.”
Matthew 9 [7.] He arose and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Matthew 9 [9.] As Jesus passed by from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax collection office. He said to him, “Follow me.” He got up and followed him. As he sat in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
Meaning:
Jesus had just crossed the Sea of Galilee after freeing two men from demons in the country of the Gergesenes, where the whole city begged him to leave (Matthew 8:28-34). He now returns by boat to “his own city”, Capernaum, where he had settled after leaving Nazareth (Matthew 4:13). There a paralyzed man is brought to him, and the healing that follows raises the most important question of all: who has the right to forgive sins? Mark and Luke tell the same story in more detail (Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26).
- “Jesus, seeing their faith”
Matthew keeps the account short. Mark adds that the friends could not get through the crowd, so they broke open the roof and let the mat down in front of Jesus (Mark 2:4). Jesus saw “their faith”, the faith of the men who carried their friend as well as the faith of the paralyzed man himself. Their faith was shown in action.
- “Son, cheer up! Your sins are forgiven you.”
Everyone expected a healing, but Jesus first spoke about sin. He addressed the man warmly as “Son” and told him to take courage. Many linked illness to sin, though Jesus rejected any simple link (John 9:2-3). Here Jesus goes to the man’s deepest need. A body can be healed and still die; a forgiven sinner is made right with God for ever. The psalmist praised Yahweh “who forgives all your sins; who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:3), and Jesus was about to do both.
- “This man blasphemes.”
The scribes, experts in the law of Moses, did not say it aloud, but they thought it. Mark records their reasoning: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7). They were right that only God can forgive sins. Through Isaiah, God had said, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake” (Isaiah 43:25). If Jesus was only a man, his words were blasphemy, an offence that carried the death penalty under the law (Leviticus 24:16). But if he was who he claimed to be, their accusation exposed their own blindness.
- “Jesus, knowing their thoughts”
Jesus answered thoughts no one had spoken, seeing the heart as only God can. Then he asked which is easier to say. Forgiveness cannot be checked by onlookers; a healing can. So Jesus did the visible thing to prove the invisible one.
- “the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”
“Son of Man” was Jesus’ favourite title for himself. It recalls Daniel’s vision of “one like a son of man” to whom “There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom” (Daniel 7:13-14). That authority is not limited to heaven; it is exercised “on earth”, here and now. After his resurrection Jesus would say, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).
- “He arose and departed to his house.”
The man did exactly what Jesus said. The crowds “marveled and glorified God”. Matthew notes that they praised God for giving “such authority to men”. They had not yet understood that the man before them was more than a man, yet they were right to see God at work.
The Significance of Matthew 9:1-8
- Forgiveness is our greatest need
Jesus dealt first with the man’s sin, then with his body. Nothing matters more than being forgiven by God. The Good News offers this forgiveness freely to all who come to Jesus.
- Bringing others to Jesus
The paralyzed man could not come by himself. His friends carried him, and Jesus honoured their faith. We can carry others to Jesus today through prayer, help and invitation.
- Jesus has authority
Many still question Jesus’ right to forgive. The healing of the paralytic shows that his word is trustworthy: what he says, happens. When he says, “Your sins are forgiven,” we can believe him.
Cross-References:
Mark 2:5: "Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”" Mark’s parallel account.
Mark 2:7: "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" The scribes’ objection in their own words.
Psalm 103:3: "who forgives all your sins; who heals all your diseases;" Yahweh forgives and heals, as Jesus did.
Daniel 7:14: "There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom," The background to the title Son of Man.
Conclusion: Back in Capernaum, Jesus saw the faith of the men who brought a paralyzed friend and declared the man’s sins forgiven. When the scribes silently accused him of blasphemy, Jesus read their thoughts and healed the man to prove that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. The man walked home, and the crowds glorified God. Jesus meets our deepest need, forgiveness, and his word can be trusted.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible