When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralysed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ‘Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, ‘Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and take your mat and walk”? But so 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, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.’ And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’
Mark 2:1-12
Καὶ πάλιν εἰσῆλθεν εἰς Καπερναοὺμ δι᾽ ἡμερῶν Καὶ ἠκούσθη ὅτι εἰς οἶκον ἐστίν
καὶ εὐθὲως συνήχθησαν πολλοὶ ὥστε μηκέτι χωρεῖν μηδὲ τὰ πρὸς τὴν θύραν καὶ ἐλάλει αὐτοῖς τὸν λόγον
καὶ ἔρχονται πρὸς αὐτὸν παραλυτικὸν φέροντες αἰρόμενον ὑπὸ τεσσάρων
καὶ μὴ δυνάμενοι προσεγγίσαι αὐτῷ διὰ τὸν ὄχλον ἀπεστέγασαν τὴν στέγην ὅπου ἦν καὶ ἐξορύξαντες χαλῶσιν τὸν κράββατον ἐφ᾽ ὧ ὁ παραλυτικὸς κατέκειτο
ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὴν πίστιν αὐτῶν λέγει τῷ παραλυτικῷ Τέκνον ἀφέωνται σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου
ἦσαν δέ τινες τῶν γραμματέων ἐκεῖ καθήμενοι καὶ διαλογιζόμενοι ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν
Τί οὗτος οὕτως λαλεῖ βλασφημὶας τίς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ θεός
καὶ εὐθὲως ἐπιγνοὺς ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῷ πνεύματι αὐτοῦ ὅτι οὕτως διαλογίζονται ἐν ἑαυτοῖς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Τί ταῦτα διαλογίζεσθε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν
τί ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον εἰπεῖν τῷ παραλυτικῷ Ἀφέωνταί σοί αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ἢ εἰπεῖν Ἔγειραι καὶ ἆρον σου τὸν κράββατον καὶ περιπάτει
ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε ὅτι ἐξουσίαν ἔχει ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀφιέναι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἁμαρτίας λέγει τῷ παραλυτικῷ
Σοὶ λέγω ἔγειραι καὶ ἆρον τὸν κράββατον σου καὶ ὕπαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου
καὶ ἠγέρθη εὐθὲως, καὶ ἄρας τὸν κράββατον ἐξῆλθεν ἐναντίον πάντων ὥστε ἐξίστασθαι πάντας καὶ δοξάζειν τὸν θεὸν λέγοντας ὅτι οὐδέποτε Οὕτως εἴδομεν
So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door
– cf. Mark 1:33they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it
– the Greek is unclear, but Mark is describing a typical house in that region in those days, with a roof of mud and thatch. St Luke (5:19) changes this to a tiled roof of his urban Hellenistic readers.the mat – of a poor person; changed by Luke to a bed (5:19)
their faith – of those carrying the paralysed man.
your sins are forgiven
– the Greek is unclear: is this by God (the verb is passive); or is Jesus understood to be the agent? The scribes take it to be the latter.Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves
– this clarifies that Jesus can do things that were understood as only being able to be done by God.Which is easier
– 1) both statements are as easy to say as the other 2) forgiveness of sins is easy to claim, but harder to demonstrate 3) healing is the most difficult to demonstratego to your home
– Jesus has restored him to the communityAs this year the Sunday Gospel reading focus is on St Mark’s Gospel, This is some of my personal study and Lectio Divina with that Gospel.
This is the thirteenth post in a series – you can begin here:
Mark in Slow Motion 1
Mark in Slow Motion 2
Mark in Slow Motion 3
Mark in Slow Motion 4
Mark in Slow Motion 5
Mark in Slow Motion 6
Mark in Slow Motion 7
Mark in Slow Motion 8
Mark in Slow Motion 9
Mark in Slow Motion 10
Mark in Slow Motion 11
Mark in Slow Motion 12
.
“When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.”
This is the first time that I’m thinking that, here in Mk, this happened in Jesus’
own home, the house in which he was living!
Capernaum is a much nicer place than Nazareth :-), David. Blessings.