Event 9 – The Healing of the Paralytic

Matthew 9:2-8, Mark:1-12, Luke 5:17-26

^K A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, ^L as he was teaching K the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.

^L Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.

^K Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, ^L on a mat ^K carried by four of them. ^L and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and ^K made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, they ^L lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. ^K When Jesus saw their faith, ^M he said to the paralytic, “Take heard, son; your sins K are forgiven.”

Now some ^L Pharisees and the teachers of the law ^K were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, ^M “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which ^K is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

^L Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and walked in full view of them all. ^M When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men. ^K “We have never seen anything like this!”