Friends lower a man through the roof

Jesus returned to Capernaum, and people heard that he was in the house. So many gathered that there was no room left, even around the door. Jesus preached the word to them.

Four men came carrying a man who was sick of the palsy and could not walk. The crowd kept them from getting near Jesus. They uncovered part of the roof above him, broke it open, and lowered the man's bed down.

Jesus saw their faith. Before speaking about the man's legs, Jesus told him that his sins were forgiven. Some scribes were sitting there. They wondered in their hearts why Jesus spoke that way, because they knew that God alone can forgive sins.

Jesus knew what they were thinking. He asked which was easier: to say that the man's sins were forgiven, or to tell him to rise, take up his bed, and walk. Then Jesus said he wanted them to know that the Son of man had power on earth to forgive sins.

Jesus told the man to arise, take up his bed, and go home. The man immediately stood up, picked up his bed, and walked out in front of everyone. The people were amazed. They glorified God and said they had never seen anything like it.

After some days, Jesus entered Capernaum again, and word spread that he was in the house. A crowd quickly filled the place so completely that even the area around the door was packed. Jesus was preaching the word to them when four men arrived carrying a man described as sick of the palsy.

They could not bring him close because of the crowd. Instead, they uncovered the roof above Jesus, broke through it, and lowered the bed on which the man was lying. Mark says that Jesus saw their faith. Jesus first addressed something no one in the room could see: he told the man that his sins were forgiven.

Certain scribes were sitting there, reasoning silently. Their question went to the heart of the moment. They knew that forgiving sins belonged to God, so they asked in their hearts why Jesus spoke this way. Jesus immediately knew what they were reasoning and challenged them. Which was easier to say, that sins were forgiven, or that the man should rise, take up his bed, and walk?

Jesus then connected the visible healing with his authority. He said that the Son of man had power on earth to forgive sins. Turning to the man, Jesus commanded him to arise, take up his bed, and go home. The man immediately rose, picked up the bed, and walked out before them all.

The result was public and impossible for the people in the room to miss. They were amazed and glorified God, saying they had never seen anything like it. The account therefore places two claims side by side: Jesus forgave the man's sins, and then he gave the crowd a visible sign by making the man able to rise and walk. Mark also shows that questions about Jesus' authority were already becoming part of the response to his ministry.

The order matters. The passage does not say that the man's physical condition was caused by a particular sin, and it does not tell us why he was sick. The argument in the house is about who has authority to forgive. The healing gives the gathered crowd something they can see after Jesus has made a claim about something they cannot see. By the end, the man who had been carried into the house is carrying his own bed out of it, while the crowd gives glory to God.