The Healing of the Paralytic

St Matthew Chapter IX : Verses 1-8

Contents

• Matt. ix. 1-8 Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
• Notes on the text
• Additional Notes: 

Matt. ix. 1-8

The Healing of the Paralytic. J-J Tissot.
Brooklyn Museum.

1 And entering into a boat, he passed over the water and came into his own city.

Et ascendens in naviculam, transfretavit, et venit in civitatem suam.

2 And behold they brought to him one sick of the palsy lying in a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man sick of the palsy: Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee.

Et ecce offerebant ei paralyticum jacentem in lecto. Et videns Jesus fidem illorum, dixit paralytico : Confide fili, remittuntur tibi peccata tua.

3 And behold some of the scribes said within themselves: He blasphemeth.

Et ecce quidam de scribis dixerunt intra se : Hic blasphemat.

4 And Jesus seeing their thoughts, said: Why do you think evil in your hearts?

Et cum vidisset Jesus cogitationes eorum, dixit : Ut quid cogitatis mala in cordibus vestris?

5 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee: or to say, Arise, and walk?

Quid est facilius dicere : Dimittuntur tibi peccata tua : an dicere : Surge, et ambula?

6 But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the man sick of palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house.

Ut autem sciatis, quia Filius hominis habet potestatem in terra dimittendi peccata, tunc ait paralytico : Surge, tolle lectum tuum, et vade in domum tuam.

7 And he arose, and went into his house.

Et surrexit, et abiit in domum suam.

8 And the multitude seeing it, feared, and glorified God that gave such power to men.

Videntes autem turbæ timuerunt, et glorificaverunt Deum, qui dedit potestatem talem hominibus.

Notes

    1. entering into a boat. The ship in which they had come. 

    passed over the water. Having recrossed the lake, Jesus spent some few days in solitude, as the leper when cleansed began to publish and blaze abroad the word (St Luke) ; in consequence Jesus could not openly go into the city, but was without in desert places, and it was only after some days (St Mark) that Jesus entered again into his own city, when the excitement had calmed down. Evidently Jesus came back privately, since we read, and it was heard that he was in the house, and many came together, so that there was no room, no, not even at the door ; and he spoke to them the word (St Mark ii. 2).

    his own city. Nazareth was His native town, but Capharnaum was frequently His dwelling-place during His public life, and this would naturally be considered His own city. Doubtless when there, He stayed in the house of St Peter.

    2. they brought to him, etc. To the house in which Jesus was teaching the people.

    From the other Synoptists we learn—

    (a) Particulars concerning the audience : And it came to pass on a certain day, as he sat teaching, that there were also Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, that were come out of every town of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem (St Luke v. 17).

    (b) The difficulties which those who carried the sick man had to overcome : And they came to him bringing one sick of the palsy, who was carried by four. And when they could not offer him unto him for the multitude, they uncovered the roof where he was: and opening it they let down the bed wherein the man sick of the palsy lay (St Mark ii. 3, 4).

    Note. — Our Lord would probably be in a humble house, and the family room would be on the ground floor and easy of access. The Orientals were accustomed to enter freely into each other’s dwellings. The houses of the poorer classes had flat roofs. Large beams were placed across at intervals of several feet. Rough ceiling-joists were fixed over these. A layer of small poles or brushwood, arranged close together, completed the framework. These three layers were covered with earth or gravel, on which grass grew or flowers were cultivated. Sometimes slabs of stone were placed next to the joists instead of brushwood. The layer of earth was rolled flat and gradually hardened. Therefore the sick man’s friends reached the roof by the outside staircase. They uncovered the roof by scraping away the earth or gravel ; and by removing a few slabs or small poles and some of the joists, they could let the man down between the beams.

    in a bed. This was a common pallet or mat used by the poorest. It was just large enough for one person, and could be rolled up when not in use.

    This explains how the four hearers could let down the sick man either by holding the corners, if, as was usual, the rooms were not more than a few feet high, or by means of ropes. Such a bed could be easily carried away by one person.

    seeing their faith, — i.e. the faith of the bearers and of the sick man himself. The bearers shewed their faith by their persistence in overcoming the obstacles which prevented them from approaching our Lord. The man shewed his faith in allowing himself to be thus brought. He believed that our Lord could and would heal him. When God grants blessings to those for whom we pray. He rewards our prayer and faith as well as that of the person for whom we pray, but no grace can be received by one who does not ask or desire it, at least, implicitly.

    Be of good heart. Lit. “take courage” (Θάρσει).

    son. St Mark also has “son,” but in St Luke we read “man.” Our Lord thus shewed His love, and animated the sick man’s confidence. Possibly the man thought that his sins might prevent his being healed. The rabbinical teaching on this point is seen in the following passage : — We know that God doth not hear sinners (St John ix. 31).

    thy sins are forgiven. The MSS. vary between the present “ are being forgiven” (ἀφίενταί) and the past “have been forgiven” (ἀφέωνται). Tischendorf accepts the latter, which is supported by most of the Uncials.

    3. scribes, etc. And also the Pharisees. The Synoptists give the objection in various forms —

St Matthew. He blasphemeth.

St Mark. Why doth this man speak thus ? he blasphemeth. Who can forgive sins, but God only ?

St Luke. And the scribes and Pharisees began to think, saying : Who is this who speaketh blasphemies ? Who can forgive sins, but God alone ?

    The Jews had already determined to kill him (St John v. 18), and the Scribes and Pharisees were there as spies watching our Lord, that they might accuse Him to the synagogue. This is the first of the many conspiracies against our Lord.

    blasphemeth. By asserting a power which God alone has, viz. that of forgiving sins. To the scribes, who denied our Lord’s divinity. His word seemed a breach of the second commandment.

Men are guilty of blasphemy —

(1) When they speak against God or deny His attributes.

(2) When they ascribe these attributes to creatures.

    4. seeing their thoughts. It was by His divine Spirit that He read the thoughts of His enemies. He thus proved His divinity, and therefore His power to forgive sins, for who can forgive sins but God alone ? The prophets often knew things by God’s revelations, as when Eliseus convicted Giezi of lying and disobedience, but Jesus needed no interior illumination. As God, all was open to Him.

Additional Notes

    2. They brought to him one sick of the palsy. This happened “ on a certain day, as he sat teaching, that there were also Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, that were come out of every town of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem ; and the power of the Lord was to heal them ” (St Luke V. 17). If we compare St John’s account of the healing of the infirm man at the “ pond called Probatica ” we find a light thrown on the verse above. Jesus had healed an infirm man “ that had been eight and thirty years under his infirmity .... Hereupon therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he did not only break the sabbath, but also said God was his Father, making himself equal to God” (St John v. 18). Jesus answered their charge by referring to the “ power to do judgment ” given by the Father to Him as “the Son of man.” On this occasion Jesus cures another infirm man, using the very same words, “Arise, take up thy bed and walk, ” and this miracle He worked as a proof of His divine authority. The Pharisees and Scribes from Jerusalem and Judea, who were among the accusers, were doubtless His former opponents. They were sent as spies by the Sanhedrin to watch in order to find some ground of accusation against Him. This was ultimately the charge on which Jesus was condemned to death.

    Thy sins are forgiven thee. The Jews believed that every temporal calamity or affliction was sent as a punishment for sin, e.g. “And there were present at that very time some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices” (St Luke xiii. 1). “Jesus answered: Neither hath this man sinned nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him ” (St John ix. 3). Jesus, in remitting sin, was verifying St John the Baptist’s words : “The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and he saith : Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who taketh away the sin of the world ” (St John i. 29), and proving Himself to be the Christ since He exercised the prerogatives of the Messias. “ Because his soul hath laboured, he shall see and be filled : by his knowledge shall this my just servant justify many, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I distribute to him very many, and he shall divide the spoils of the strong, because he hath delivered his soul unto death, and was reputed with the wicked : and be hath borne the sins of many and hath prayed for the transgressors” (Is. liii. 11, 12. See also Jeremias xxxi. 34 ; Micheas vii. 18-19). None of the prophets had ever absolved from sin. The sick man must have had true contrition for his sins and earnestly desired forgiveness, otherwise Jesus would not have absolved him.

    4. Jesus seeing their thoughts, said: Why do you think evil in your hearts ? He answers the interior question, which the Scribes were asking themselves, in the affirmative, for, since only God can read man’s thoughts, if Christ could do that. He must be God. As a proof of the divine power which He claims, our Lord works a miracle of healing, which is a visible proof of possessing that power. Our Lord does not establish any comparison as to which is the more difficult in itself, to heal the body or to forgive sin, since we know that it cost Him far more to redeem one single soul than it would to create a million worlds. Jesus proves the truth of His words by mighty works, and gave His apostles, later on, power to work miracles for the same end. In the Catholic Church, miracles have never ceased.

    6. Son of man. This title is mostly found on the lips of our Lord Himself. The sacred writers rarely apply it to Him. It occurs fourteen times in St Mark’s gospel. This same title is applied to the Messias by Daniel (vii. 13): “I beheld therefore in the vision of the night, and lo, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven.” Jesus uses it to express His perfect humanity. It is also used by St Stephen, who, “ being full of the Holy Ghost, looking up steadfastly to heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And he said : Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God ” (Acts vii. 55. See also by St John, Apocalypse i. 13, xiv. 14).

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.