By healing a paralyzed man Jesus demonstrated his authority to forgive sins as well as to heal.

Mark 2:1-12

2 Jesus and his disciples returned to Capernaum town. A few days later, because it was {people} heard that Jesus was in his house, 2 many people gathered there. As a result, after the people filled the house, there was no longer space to stand in the house or outside around the doorway. Jesus preached God’s message to them. 3 Some people came to the house bringing to Jesus a man who was paralyzed. He was carried by four men {Four men carried him} on a sleeping pad. 4 They were not able to bring the man to Jesus because there was a crowd there. So they went up the steps to the flat roof and removed some of the tiles above where Jesus was. Then, after they made a big hole in the roof, they lowered by ropes the sleeping pad on which the paralyzed man lay. They lowered it through the hole, down in front of Jesus. 5 After Jesus perceived that the men believed that he could heal this man, he said to the paralyzed man, “My friend, I forgive your sins!” 6 There were some men who taught the Jewish laws sitting there. They started thinking like this: 7 “◄Who does this man think he is, talking like that/This man shouldn’t talk like that!► [RHQ]? ◄He is insulting God!/Does he think he is God?► [RHQ] ◄No person can forgive sins!/Who can forgive sins?► [RHQ] Only God can forgive sins!” 8 Jesus sensed that they were deliberating like that within themselves. So he said to them, “◄You should not question within yourselves whether I have the right to forgive this man’s sins!/Why do you question whether I have the right to forgive this man’s sins?► [RHQ] 9 It is not risky [RHQ] for someone to tell the man who is paralyzed, ‘Your sins are forgiven {I forgive your sins},’ because no one can prove that it has happened. But no one would say to him, ‘Get up, pick up your stretcher, and then walk away’, unless he really had the power to heal him, because people can easily see whether it happens or not. 10 So I will do something in order that you may know that God has authorized me, the one who came from heaven, to forgive sins on earth as well as to heal people.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, 11 “To you I say, ‘Get up! Pick up your sleeping pad! And then go home!’ ” 12 [fn] The man stood up immediately! He picked up the sleeping pad, and then he went away, while all the people there were watching. They were all amazed, and they praised God and said, “We have never before seen anything like what happened just now!”