- 1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. 2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. 3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
- 4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Jesus in Capernaum
Once again Jesus is back in Capernaum — possibly in the house of Peter’s mother-in-law, although the actual identity of “the house” is uncertain. Naturally, he is swamped by a mob of people either hoping that he will continue healing the sick or expecting to hear him preach. Christian tradition might focus on the latter, but at this stage the text suggests that his fame is due more to his ability to work wonders than to hold crowds through oration.
So many arrive, in fact, that no one can move around in the house; but rather than focusing on healing, he starts to preach. Note that at this time the “gospel” appears to be simple message of “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel,” as related in Mark 1:15. As elsewhere in Mark, little emphasis is placed on the actual message Jesus taught.
One group, however, was not to be deterred either by the large crowds or by Jesus’ insistence on talking instead of healing. They are so desperate to get their friend with palsy healed by Jesus that they actually go up on the roof and remove some of it so that they could let their friend down through! If this were indeed the house of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, one can only imagine what her reaction to all of this must have been.
Does Jesus heal the man suffering from palsy? No, not at first. Instead, he tells him that his sins are forgiven — this is the first time Jesus is depicted doing this, although we can guess that it may have occurred before. While it is presumably good to be forgiven personally by Jesus like this, why didn’t Jesus heal him first? After all, that’s why his friends carried him all that way and tore apart someone’s roof.
Then there is why the man was forgiven: faith. There is no indication that the man had faith in Jesus having the power to forgive or that he was the messiah. That’s what many Christians read into it, but it isn’t what the text says. A more appropriate reading is that the man, or at least his friends, had faith that Jesus had the power to heal — not faith in Jesus’ divinity, messianic role, or even ability to forgive sins.
