Mark 2:1-12
From The Explanation of the Gospel of St. Mark
by Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Ochrid and Bulgaria
1-5.
And again He entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was heard
that He was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together,
insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as
about the door: and He preached the word unto them. And they come unto
Him, bringing a paralytic who was borne by four. And when they could not
come nigh unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where He was:
and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the
paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the paralytic,
Child, thy sins be forgiven thee. What does this mean, after some days?
(Theophylact is here interpreting for his contemporary Greek reader of
1100 AD the somewhat difficult New Testament Greek phrase δι᾽ ἠμερῶν.)
It means, "when several days had gone by." When Jesus had entered the
house, the people heard that He was inside and all came running, hoping
that it would be easy to meet Him there. The faith of those men was so
great that they even made an opening in the roof through which they
lowered the paralytic. Thereupon the Lord healed him, seeing the faith
of those who carried him, or of the paralytic himself. For the paralytic
would not have agreed to be carried if he himself had not believed that
he would be healed. Many times the Lord healed the unbelieving sick on
account of the faith of those who brought them. Similarly, He often
healed the one brought to Him because of that man᾽s faith, despite the
unbelief of those who brought him. First He forgives the sins of the
sick man and then He cures the disease, since the most severe illnesses
occur for the most part as a result of sins. So it is that the Lord said
of the paralytic in John᾽s Gospel that it was as a result of sins that
the man had been paralyzed (John 5:5-15). But the paralytic in John᾽s
Gospel is not the same one mentioned here. For the man in John᾽s account
had no one to help him, while this man had four. And that man was by
the Sheep᾽s Pool; this man was in the house. And this one was in
Capernaum, while the other was in Jerusalem, to name but a few
differences. But know that the paralytic mentioned by Matthew (9:2-8)
and the one mentioned here by Mark are one and the same.
6-12.
But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in
their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive
sins but God only? And Jesus, immediately knowing in His spirit that
they so reasoned within themselves, said unto them, Why reason ye these
things in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralytic, Thy sins be
forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But
that ye may know that the Son of Man hath authority on earth to forgive
sins—He saith to the paralytic—I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy
bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up
the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all
amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
When the Lord said that He could forgive sins, the Pharisees falsely
accused Him of blasphemy, since God alone can forgive sins. But the Lord
gives yet more evidence that He is God, by revealing what was in their
hearts. God alone knows what is in the heart of each, for, as the
prophet says, Thou alone knowest the hearts of the sons of men.
(II Chron. 6:30, III Kings 8:39) Although the Lord had revealed their
innermost thoughts, the Pharisees remained senseless, not conceding that
He Who knew their hearts could heal their sins as well. By healing the
body, the Lord makes credible and certain the healing of the soul as
well, confirming the invisible by means of the visible, and the more
difficult by what was easier, though it did not appear so to the
Pharisees. For the Pharisees thought it was more difficult to heal the
body, because it was something visible. And they thought that it was
easy to say that the soul had been healed because this healing was
invisible. Perhaps they were thinking thoughts like these: "Look at this
deceiver. He declined to heal the body which is visible, and instead
claims to heal the soul which is invisible, saying, Thy sins be forgiven thee.
Certainly, were He able, He would heal the body rather than pretend to
do something that cannot be seen." Therefore the Saviour shows them that
He is able to do both, saying, "Which is easier? To heal the body or
the soul? Certainly it is easier to heal the body, but you think just
the opposite. So I will heal the body, which in fact is easy, although
it seems difficult to you. By so doing I will confirm the healing of the
soul as well, which is difficult although it seems easy because it is
invisible and cannot be verified." Then He says to the paralytic, Arise, and take up thy bed,
to confirm even more that the miracle was not a phantasy, and also to
show that He had not only healed him but had filled him with strength.
The Lord does the same with our spiritual sicknesses. He not only
delivers us from our sins, but fills us with strength to do His
commandments. Therefore I, too, who am a paralytic can be healed. For
Christ at this very moment is in Capernaum, which, interpreted, is the house of comfort and consolation,
which is the Church. For the house of the Comforter is the Church. I,
too, am a paralytic, for the powers of my soul are inert and will not
move to do good. But if I am carried by the four Evangelists and brought
to the Lord, then I will hear Him call me, Child,
(for by doing His commandments I become a son of God) and my sins will
be forgiven me. But how can I be brought to Jesus? If they make an
opening in the roof. And what is the roof? It is my mind, which
over-arches all that is within me. It is a roof made of many earthen and
clay tiles, signifying earthly affairs. But if all these things are
pulled away, and the strength of the mind within us is opened up and
freed of the weight of earthly things, then I will be lowered, that is, I
will be humbled. For I ought not to rise up in pridefulness that I have
been unburdened of earthly things; but instead, after I have been
unburdened of earthly things, I ought to be lowered, that is, humbled.
Then I will be healed and I will take up my bed, which is my body, and
employ it to do the commandments. For I should not only be raised up
from sin and understand that I sin; I should also take up my bed, that
is, get my body up and set it to do good. Then we shall also be able to
see with spiritual eyes, so that all our thoughts within us can say, We never saw it on this fashion,
which means, "We never understood until now that we were paralytics and
have now been healed." Only he who has been cleansed of sins sees
things as they truly are.
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