Jesus Heals a Paralytic
‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ (Mark 2:5)
On the 1st Sunday of the blessed month of Paope the Church reads from the Gospel of Mark2:1-12. In these verses we read the story of Christ healing the paralyzed man in Capernaum. When the Lord had entered Capernaum and settled in a house and started preaching the word, many people gathered in and around the house until no one can even enter it.
St. Mark records that four men, unable to reach Jesus through the crowd, opened the roof above Him and lowered their paralyzed friend down before Christ. Their bold and persistent effort was a powerful testimony of their faith.“When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” (Mark 2:5)
Notice that before Christ healed the man’s body, He healed his soul. Seeing not only the man’s faith but also the determination of his friends, Jesus addressed the paralytic’s greatest need: spiritual healing.
However, the scribes who were present were troubled, thinking to themselves that only God could forgive sins. Jesus replied and told them “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” he said to the paralytic “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” Mark 2:8-10.
Here we see that Jesus’ power to heal the paralyzed man proved the truth of the Son of Man’s claim and power to forgive sins. As John Chrysostom said in one of his homilies: “The scribes asserted that only God could forgive sins, yet Jesus not only forgave sins, but showed that he had also another power that belongs to God alone: the power to disclose the secrets of the heart.”
The Gospel reading today reminds us that while bodily illness may limit us, sin cripples us far more deeply. Physical healing is temporary, but spiritual healing is eternal.
Let us, like the paralytic and his friends pursue Christ with persistence, carry one another in prayer, and seek forgiveness above all else, knowing that our unforgiven sins are more damaging than unhealed limbs.
Amen
Sources
The Holy Bible- ESV
Patristic Bible Commentary
Homilies of St. John Chrysostom