Who Can Forgive Sins

Observe. When Jesus tells the paralysed man that his sins are forgiven, some teachers of the law sitting nearby think to themselves that this is blasphemy, since only God can forgive sins. Jesus knows their thoughts and asks which is easier to say: your sins are forgiven, or get up and walk. Then he tells the man to rise, and he does, in front of everyone.

Interpret. The scribes are right about the theology. Sin is ultimately against God, as David confesses in Psalm 51:4, and so only God can forgive it. What they get wrong is the identity of the man in front of them. Jesus does not argue them out of their premise; he accepts it and then demonstrates his authority with a healing that anyone can verify. Forgiveness is invisible; a man walking is not. The visible miracle is offered as evidence for the invisible one. Mark is quietly making a claim about who Jesus is that the rest of his Gospel will fill out.

Apply. This is one of the earliest places where the question of Jesus' identity is forced into the open, and it is forced by the question of forgiveness. Why do you think Jesus chose to prove his authority to forgive rather than simply to heal? In what ways do you find it easier to believe he can fix your circumstances than to believe he has fully forgiven you? How would your week look different if you were as certain of the invisible gift as of the visible one?