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And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"
- Mark 2:1-12
In yesterday's reading, we read that as soon as Jesus came out of the synagogue, He went to the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them. In the evening after sundown, many came to Him. He healed the sick and cast out demons, but wouldn't allow the demons to speak, as they knew who He was. In the very early morning before daylight, Jesus went to a solitary place to pray. Simon and others were searching for Him; they told Him: "Everyone is looking for You." But He said they should go to the next towns, "that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth." Preaching throughout Galilee, He cast out many demons. Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean." Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing, be cleansed." As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.
And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. My study bible says, "Jesus preached (a vital part of His ministry) wherever there were people -- in the synagogue, on the mountain, on the plain, and here in a house." At the end of yesterday's reading, we were told they came to Him from every direction, even when He stayed outside the cities in deserted places. Here they flock to His ministry's "headquarters," Simon and Andrew's family home in Capernaum, until there is no room left for anyone to enter.
Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." My study bible points out that this passage is read on the second Sunday of Lent in the Orthodox Church. It says there is a "threefold symbolism relating to our preparation for Easter. (1) We must come to Christ in faith and let Him heal us of our spiritual paralysis. Sin is a paralysis of the soul. (2) We should let nothing deter us from getting to Christ, who alone can heal us, both in body and in soul. (3) We must help each other come to Christ."
And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" My study bible tells us that the heart in Scripture usually refers to the center of consciousness, including the will and reason. Here, it points out, "the scribes are correct in saying that only God can forgive sins. They unwittingly confirm the divinity of Christ."
But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" Jesus is the "heart-knower," as is attested to elsewhere in Scripture. It is another quality of His divinity. My study bible says of His statement here that "the point is not that either one is easier, but that One who can say, Arise, take up your bed and walk is also able to forgive sins."
There are several things that are of note in today's passage. One of them is the fact that Jesus is the "knower of hearts." In the passage in Acts (1:24) in which the Apostles pray as they cast lots, this is made into a word in the Greek, a title, the "heartknower" (καρδιογνωστα). He speaks to the heart, He judges from the knowledge of the heart, and in today's passage, He responds to what is in the hearts of the scribes. He goes directly to the heart and "lives" there and acts from there and responds to that part within ourselves. Clearly this has something to do with God's power to forgive sins, because only One that knows us that deeply has the power of true judgment. And so we reach deeply into what it means for Jesus to preach the word, in today's passage. The word is logos in the Greek, the same title John's Gospel teaches us about Christ. Logos here becomes a very important concept to us. Jesus' preaching reflects His own authority and identity as Logos, the One who brings into life all meanings and values, who creates right-relatedness and true order, who sets things in their right places. And there we come back to the capacity to know hearts, to forgive sins, and to heal. At this depth, all of these meanings come into our understanding, because healing, order, restoration and love all come from the same place. All value, order, meaning and life are within Him and He offers Himself to us. No wonder that house is so crowded that there is no room left, even at the door. Even so, there is a way for more to come to Him. And that is perhaps our most important understanding from the reading, that there is always a way to come to Him, no matter what we think the obstacles might be. He is ready to receive, and to know, and to teach and to heal.
