Forgiveness and healing of a paralyzed man
Life of Jesus · Draft · BSB
Content revision: 5c7ca97e81cb18bd · No editorial review date recorded
Date: Ministry in Galilee. A guided comparison of Gospel accounts, not a measured calendar or a claim that every parallel follows the same sequence.
Men bring a paralyzed man to Jesus. In Mark and Luke they lower him through the roof. Jesus pronounces forgiveness, answers the objection this raises, and tells the man to rise and carry his mat home.
The controversy concerns the Son of Man’s authority to forgive sins. The text does not identify a particular sin as the cause of the man’s paralysis, nor does it name the house’s owner.
Primary Scripture
9:1 Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town.
9:2 Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”
9:3 On seeing this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”
9:4 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you harbor evil in your hearts?
9:5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
9:6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” Then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”
9:7 And the man got up and went home.
9:8 When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
2:1 A few days later Jesus went back to Capernaum. And when the people heard that He was home,
2:2 they gathered in such large numbers that there was no more room, not even outside the door, as Jesus spoke the word to them.
2:3 Then a paralytic was brought to Him, carried by four men.
2:4 Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat.
2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
2:6 But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking in their hearts,
2:7 “Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
2:8 At once Jesus knew in His spirit that they were thinking this way within themselves. “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?” He asked.
2:9 “Which is easier: to say to a paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’?
2:10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” He said to the paralytic,
2:11 “I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”
2:12 And immediately the man got up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of them all. As a result, they were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
5:17 One day Jesus was teaching, and the Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. People had come from Jerusalem and from every village of Galilee and Judea, and the power of the Lord was present for Him to heal the sick.
5:18 Just then some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They tried to bring him inside to set him before Jesus,
5:19 but they could not find a way through the crowd. So they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
5:20 When Jesus saw their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
5:21 But the scribes and Pharisees began thinking to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
5:22 Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus replied, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?
5:23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
5:24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on the earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”
5:25 And immediately the man stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.
5:26 Everyone was taken with amazement and glorified God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
Related Scripture
The psalm praises God for forgiveness and healing without supplying a diagnosis for this man.
Location evidence
Mark explicitly names Capernaum; Matthew describes Jesus’s own town. The particular house and roof are not identified.
Event map marker: Identified site; [longitude, latitude] = [35.57516, 32.88059]. This is a teaching marker, not an exact event venue.
Capernaum: Identified site. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.57516, 32.88059]. Classification source: rule.
Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire
Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire
For the class
How does the visible healing answer the question about forgiveness?
Interpretation and reuse
Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.
Record source: theographic (287)
Record source: editorial
Events and places adapted from Theographic Bible Metadata (github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata), CC BY-SA 4.0. This adapted data is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.
Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm