Luke 5:17-26
Chapter 5
One day, Jesus was teaching, and many Pharisees and teachers of the law had come from all parts of Galilee, Judea, and even Jerusalem. They were sitting there, while the power of the Lord was at work to heal the sick.
but they couldn’t find a way through the crowd. So they went up on the roof, removed some tiles, and lowered him on his mat into the middle of the crowd right in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man:
“My friend, your sins are forgiven.”
At once the teachers of the law and the Pharisees began to wonder:
“This man insults God! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
But Jesus knew their thoughts and asked them:
Now you shall know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus said to the paralyzed man:
Amazement took hold of the people, and they praised God. They were filled with holy fear and said:
“What wonderful things we have seen today!”
Commentaries
Cure of a Paralytic.
The first thing that strikes us in this passage is the audience listening to Jesus: Pharisees and teachers of the law from Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem (17a). On the one hand, Jesus “had the power of the Lord to heal” (17b), and on the other, he presents himself to them as the Son of Man who has authority on earth to forgive sins (24), an attribute exclusive to God. This episode marks the beginning of confrontations between official Judaism and Jesus, which will culminate on the cross. To accept Jesus, we must come out of our prostration and open ourselves to him, so that even without confessing our sins—the paralytic does not confess—we feel forgiven and welcomed by him to begin a new life.