Bible Study for Today

Why were the scribes upset that Christ forgave the paralytic?

In Matthew 9:1-8, the fact that the man was brought on a bed indicates that his paralysis was severe. Christ ignored the paralysis and addressed the man’s greater needs. Christ’s words of forgiveness may indicate that the paralysis was a direct consequence of the man’s own sin (John 9:1–3).

The scribes outcry, “This Man blasphemes!” would be a true judgment about anyone but God incarnate, for only the One who has been sinned against has the prerogative to forgive. Jesus’ words to the man were therefore an unequivocal claim of divine authority. That He asserted His prerogative that was God’s alone was completely understood by the scribes.

Jesus then confronts the scribes directly. It is certainly easier to claim the power to pronounce absolution from sin than to demonstrate the power to heal. Christ actually proved His power to forgive by instantly healing the man of his paralysis. His ability to heal anyone and everyone at will—totally and immediately—was incontrovertible proof of His deity. If He could do the apparently harder, He could also do what seemed easier. The actual forgiving of the sins was in reality the more difficult task, however, because it ultimately required Him to sacrifice His life.

Reading for Today:

Genesis 23:1–24:67
Psalm 7:1-5
Proverbs 3:7-8
Matthew 9:1-17
Notes:

Genesis 23:1, 2 Although Sarah’s age—the only woman’s age at death recorded in Scripture—might suggest her importance in God’s plan, it more importantly reminds of the birth of her only son well beyond childbearing age (at 90 years of age, see 17:17) and of God’s intervention to bring about the fulfillment of His word to her and Abraham. Sarah’s death occurred ca. 2028 B.C.

Genesis 24:2–4 put your hand under my thigh…and…swear. A solemn pledge mentioning the Lord’s name and formalized by an accepted customary gesture indicated just how serious an undertaking this was in Abraham’s eyes. At his age (v. 1), Abraham was concerned to perpetuate his people and God’s promise through the next generation, so he covenanted with his servant to return to Mesopotamia and bring back a wife for Isaac.

Matthew 9:1 His own city. Capernaum is the city where Jesus settled. Jesus had left there to get away from the crowds for a time.

Matthew 9:13 go and learn what this means. This phrase was commonly used as a rebuke for those who did not know something they should have known. The verse Jesus cites is Hosea 6:6, which emphasizes the absolute priority of the law’s moral standards over the ceremonial requirements. The Pharisees tended to focus on the outward, ritual, and ceremonial aspects of God’s law—to the neglect of its inward, eternal, and moral precepts. In doing so, they became harsh, judgmental, and self-righteously scornful of others. Jesus repeated this same criticism in 12:7.