Mark § 7

When Jesus saw their faith, etc. The Lord, about to cure a man of paralysis, first dissolved the bonds of sins, to show that he was condemned due to the bonds of sins by the dissolution of his limbs, and that he could not be restored to health in his limbs unless these bonds were relaxed. Likewise, to that paralytic, who was waiting in vain by the pool of Bethesda for the movement of the water for a long time, it is said by the Lord, healed: "Behold, you have been made well; do not sin anymore, lest something worse happen to you." (John XIV).

"Son," he said, "your sins are forgiven you." O wondrous humility! He calls "son" the despised and weak man, dissolved in all his limbs, whom the priests would not deign to touch. Or rightly "son" because his sins are forgiven him. It should indeed be considered how much the faith of each person is worth before God, since the faith of others was so great that a whole man, that is, was suddenly saved both outwardly and inwardly, and the errors of some were loosed by the merit of others.

(ubi sup.) It may indeed be seen, how much each person's own faith weighs with God, when that of another had such influence that the whole man at once rose up, healed body and soul, and by one man's merit, another should have his sins forgiven him.

(ubi sup.) Moreover, the Lord being about to cure the man of the palsy, first loosed the chains of his sins, in order to show that he was condemned to the loosening of his joints, because of the bonds of his sins, and could not be healed to the recovery of his limbs, unless these were first loosened. But Christ's wonderful humility calls this man, despised, weak, with all the joints of his limbs unstrung, a son, when the priests did not deign to touch him. Or at least, He therefore calls him a son, because his sins are forgiven him. It goes on: But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man speak blasphemies?

For instance, He went about saying to people, "I forgive your sins." Now it is quite natural for a man to forgive something you do to him. Thus if somebody cheats me out of £5 it is quite possible and reasonable for me to say, "Well, I forgive him, we will say no more about it." What on earth would you say if somebody had done you out of £5 and I said, "That is all right, I forgive him"?

I could never see how one escaped the dilemma aut deus aut malus homo by confining oneself to the Synoptics. Moderns do not seem startled, as contemporaries were, by the claim Jesus there makes to forgive sins; not sins against Himself, just sins. Yet surely, if they actually met it, they would feel differently. If Dr Pittenger told me that two of his colleagues had lost him a professorship by telling lies about his character and I replied, "I freely forgive them both", would he not think this an impertinence (both in the old and in the modern sense) bordering on insanity?

One part of the claim tends to slip past us unnoticed because we have heard it so often that we no longer see what it amounts to. I mean the claim to forgive sins: any sins. Now unless the speaker is God, this is really so preposterous as to be comic. We can all understand how a man forgives offences against himself. You tread on my toes and I forgive you, you steal my money and I forgive you. But what should we make of a man, himself unrobbed and untrodden on, who announced that he forgave you for treading on other men's toes and stealing other men's money? Asinine fatuity is the kindest description we should give of his conduct. Yet this is what Jesus did. He told people that their sins were forgiven, and never waited to consult all the other people whom their sins had undoubtedly injured. He unhesitatingly behaved as if He was the party chiefly concerned, the person chiefly offended in all offences. This makes sense only if He really was the God whose laws are broken and whose love is wounded in every sin. In the mouth of any speaker who is not God, these words would imply what I can only regard as a silliness and conceit unrivalled by any other character in history.

(non occ.) Further, He first healed by the remission of sins that which He had come to seek, that is, a soul, so that when they faithlessly doubted, then He might bring forward a work before them, and in this way His word might be confirmed by the work, and a hidden sign be proved by an open one, that is, the health of the soul by the healing of the body.

There follows: But when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. He did not mean the faith of the sick man, but of his bearers; for it sometimes happens, that a man is healed by the faith of another.

"Thy faith," He would say, "hath saved thee; " and, "Thy sins shall be remitted thee," on thy believing, of course, albeit thou be not yet baptized.

He saw the faith of the sick man himself, since he would not have allowed himself to be carried, unless he had had faith to be healed.

If therefore I, having the powers of my mind unstrung, remain, whenever I attempt any thing good without strength, as a palsied man, and if I be raised on high by the four Evangelists, and be brought to Christ, and there hear myself called son, then also are my sins quitted by me; for a man is called the son of God because he works the commandments.

(ubi sup.) Who remits sin by those also to whom He has assigned the power of remitting, and therefore Christ is proved to be very God, for He is able to remit sins as God. The Jews then are in error, who although they hold the Christ both to be God, and to be able to remit sins, do not however believe that Jesus is the Christ. But the Arians err much more madly, who although overwhelmed with the words of the Evangelist, so that they cannot deny that Jesus is the Christ, and can remit sin, nevertheless fear not to deny that He is God. But He Himself, desiring to shame the traitors both by His knowledge of things hidden and by the virtue of His works, manifests Himself to be God. For there follows: And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? In which He shows Himself to be God, since He can know the hidden things of the heart; and in a manner though silent He speaks thus, With the same power and majesty, by which I look upon your thoughts, I can forgive the sins of men.

And these indeed are testimonies bearing on the incarnation of the Word; and there are also very many others. But let us also look at the subject in hand,-namely, the question, brethren, that in reality the Father's power, which is the Word, came down from heaven, and not the Father Himself. For thus He speaks: "I came forth from the Father, and am come." Now what subject is meant in this sentence, "I came forth from the Father," but just the Word? And what is it that is begotten of Him, but just the Spirit, that is to say, the Word? But you will say to me, How is He begotten? In your own case you can give no explanation of the way in which you were begotten, although you see every day the cause according to man; neither can you tell with accuracy the economy in His case. For you have it not in your power to acquaint yourself with the practised and indescribable art (method) of the Maker, but only to see, and understand, and believe that man is God's work. Moreover, you are asking an account of the generation of the Word, whom God the Father in His good pleasure begat as He willed. Is it not enough for you to learn that God made the world, but do you also venture to ask whence He made it? Is it not enough for you to learn that the Son of God has been manifested to you for salvation if you believe, but do you also inquire curiously how He was begotten after the Spirit? No more than two, in sooth, have been put in trust to give the account of His generation after the flesh; and are you then so bold as to seek the account (of His generation) after the Spirit, which the Father keeps with Himself, intending to reveal it then to the holy ones and those worthy of seeing His face? Rest satisfied with the word spoken by Christ, viz., "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit," just as, speaking by the prophet of the generation of the Word, He shows the fact that He is begotten, but reserves the question of the manner and means, to reveal it only in the time determined by Himself. For He speaks thus: "From the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten Thee."

The scribes asserted that only God could forgive sins, yet Jesus not only forgave sins, but showed that he had also another power that belongs to God alone: the power to disclose the secrets of the heart.

Well, I on my side will first explain the reason of his offence, that I may the more easily explode the scandal of our heretic. Now, that the very Lord Himself of all might, the Word and Spirit of the Father, was operating and preaching on earth, it was necessary that the portion of the Holy Spirit which, in the form of the prophetic gift, had been through John preparing the ways of the Lord, should now depart from John, and return back again of course to the Lord, as to its all-embracing original.

But if repentance is a thing human, its baptism must necessarily be of the same nature: else, if it had been celestial, it would have given both the Holy Spirit and remission of sins. But none either pardons sins or freely grants the Spirit save God only. Even the Lord Himself said that the Spirit would not descend on any other condition, but that He should first ascend to the Father.

For thus it was that the Lord Jesus Christ showed His power: "Why think ye evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say to the paralytic, Thy sins are remitted thee; or, Rise and walk? Therefore, that ye may know the Son of man to have the power upon earth of remitting sins, I say to thee, paralytic, Rise, and walk." If the Lord set so much store by the proof of His power as to reveal thoughts, and so impart health by His command, lest He should not be believed to have the power of remitting sins; it is not lawful for me to believe the same power (to reside) in any one, whoever he be, without the same proofs.

Then the Lord, through the healing of the body, confirms that He also healed the soul — that is, by means of what is manifest He establishes what is hidden, and by means of the easier He establishes the more difficult, although it seemed otherwise to them. For the Pharisees considered the healing of the body, as a visible act, to be more difficult, and the healing of the soul, as invisible, to be easier, and they reasoned as if to say: here is a deceiver who avoids the healing of the body, as something obvious, and heals the invisible soul, saying, "Your sins are forgiven you." If He could really heal, then surely He would have healed the body and would not have resorted to what is invisible. Therefore the Savior, showing them that He can accomplish both the one and the other, says: which is easier to heal, the soul or the body? Without doubt, the body; but to you it seems the opposite. And so I will heal the body, which is in fact easy but only seems difficult to you, and thereby I will assure you of the healing of the soul, which is truly difficult but seems easy only because it is invisible and cannot be exposed.

But though their thoughts were laid bare, still they remain insensible, refusing to believe that He who knew their hearts could forgive sins, wherefore the Lord proves to them the cure of the soul by that of the body, showing the invisible by the visible, that which is more difficult by that which is easier, although they did not look upon it as such. For the Pharisees thought it more difficult to heal the body, as being more open to view; but the soul more easy to cure, because the cure is invisible; so that they reasoned thus, Lo, He does not now cure the body, but heals the unseen soul; if He had had more power, He would at once have cured the body, and not have fled for refuge to the unseen world. The Saviour, therefore, showing that He can do both, says, Which is the easier? as if He said, I indeed by the healing of the body, which is in reality more easy, but appears to you more difficult, will prove to you the health of the soul, which is really more difficult.

But that you may know that the Son of man has power, etc. If he is also God according to the Psalmist, who as far as the east is from the west has removed our transgressions from us, and the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, therefore he himself is both God and the son of man, so that Christ as man can forgive sins through the power of his divinity, and the same God Christ, through the frailty of his humanity, can die for sinners. Spiritually, to arise from the bed is to draw the soul, which lay sick due to carnal desires, away from them. But to take up the bed is to also subdue the flesh, corrected by the bridle of continence, and to separate it from earthly delights through the hope of heavenly rewards. To go home after taking up the bed is to return to paradise. For indeed, this is our true home, which first received man, not rightfully lost, but through deceit, ultimately restored by him who owed nothing to the deceitful enemy. Alternatively, the man who was healed carries the bed home, when the soul, having received the forgiveness of sins, returns with the body to the inner vigilance of itself, lest it admit anything after pardon for which it may be justly struck again. And immediately he rose, and taking up the bed, he went before all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this." How marvelous is the power of divine authority, where, without any intervening delay of time, the swift healing follows the command of the Savior! Rightly those who were present, condemning the javelins of blasphemy, turn their amazed hearts to the praise of such majesty. And he went out again to the sea, and all the crowd came to him, and he taught them. Teaching in Capernaum, the Lord demonstrated the heavenly power of his doctrine through the healing of the paralytic. After this, he went out to the sea, to not only instruct the civil life of men in the way of truth, but also to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the inhabitants of the sea, teaching them to scorn the wavering motions of passing things and to overcome them with the firmness of faith. Finally, he teaches the great crowd that comes to him there. There he makes an apostle and evangelist of a tax collector called from the toll booth. There he deems many sinners corrected through penance worthy of his supper, making them hearers of his secrets, and leading them away from swelling waves and the deceiving leviathans of desires to the solidity of a peaceful life, which is in the hope of heavenly goods. For it follows:

(ubi sup.) A carnal sign therefore is given, that the spiritual sign may be proved, although it belongs to the same power to do away with the distempers of both soul and body; whence it follows: And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all.

Whenever there was need to punish or to honor, to forgive sins or to make laws, Christ was fully authorized to do it. Whenever Christ had to do any of these much greater things, you will not characteristically find him praying or calling on his Father for assistance. All these things, as you discover in the text, he did on his own authority.

But by means of that light, which is of one substance with Thee, Thou hast given light to those that sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, in order that in Thy light they might see the light of knowledge; and it has seemed good to Thee, by means of our Lord and Creator, to fashion us again unto immortality; and Thou hast graciously given unto us a return to Paradise by means of Him who separated us from the joys of Paradise; and by means of Him who hath power to forgive sins Thou hast blotted out the handwriting which was against us. Lastly, by means of Him who is a partaker of Thy throne and who cannot be separated from Thy divine nature, Thou hast given unto us the gift of reconciliation and access unto Thee with confidence...

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) And because it is easier to say than to do, there was still manifestly something to say in opposition, for the work was not yet manifested; wherefore He subjoins, But that ye may know, &c. as if He said, Since ye doubt my word, I will bring on a work which will confirm what was unseen. But He says in a marked manner, On earth to forgive sins, that He might show that He has joined the power of the divinity to the human nature by an inseparable union, because although He was made man, yet He remained the Word of God; and although by an economy He conversed on the earth with men, nevertheless He was not prevented from working miracles and from giving remission of sins. For His human nature did not in any thing take away from these things which essentially belonged to His Divinity, nor the Divinity hinder the Word of God from becoming on earth, according to the flesh, the Son of Man without change and in truth.

He charged the man to perform an action of which health was the necessary condition, even while the patient was still praying for a remedy for his disease.… It was our Lord's custom to require of those whom he healed some response or duty to be done.

You have been a paralytic inwardly. You did not take charge of your bed. Your bed took charge of you.

(ubi sup.) Or else, the sick man is let down after the roof is opened, because, when the Scriptures are laid open to us, we arrive at the knowledge of Christ, that is, we descend to His lowliness, by the dutifulness of faith. But by the sick man being let down with his bed, it is meant that Christ should be known by man, whilst yet in the flesh. But by rising from the bed is meant the soul's rousing itself from carnal desires, in which it was lying in sickness. To take up the bed is to bridle the flesh itself by the bands of continence, and to separate it from earthly pleasures, through the hope of heavenly rewards. But to take up the bed and to go home is to return to paradise. Or else the man, now healed, who had been sick carries back home his bed, when the soul, after receiving remission of sins, returns, even though encompassed with the body, to its internal watch over itself.

But the good Instructor, the Wisdom, the Word of the Father, who made man, cares for the whole nature of His creature; the all-sufficient Physician of humanity, the Saviour, heals both body and soul. "Rise up," He said to the paralytic; "take the bed on which thou liest, and go away home;" and straightway the infirm man received strength. And to the dead He said, "Lazarus, go forth;" and the dead man issued from his coffin such as he was ere he died, having undergone resurrection. Further, He heals the soul itself by precepts and gifts-by precepts indeed, in course of time, but being liberal in His gifts, He says to us sinners, "Thy sins be forgiven thee."

Take up your bed. Carry the very mat that once carried you. Change places, so that what was the proof of your sickness may now give testimony to your soundness. Your bed of pain becomes the sign of healing, its very weight the measure of the strength that has been restored to you.

Then He says to the paralytic: "Arise, take up your bed," so as to further confirm the reality of the miracle — that it was not imaginary — and at the same time to show that He not only healed the sick man but also gave him strength. So the Lord acts with the infirmities of the soul as well: He not only frees us from sins but also grants us strength for the fulfillment of the commandments. And so even I, a paralytic, can be healed. For even now Christ is in Capernaum, in the house of consolation — that is, in the Church, which is the house of the Comforter. I am paralyzed because the powers of my soul are inactive and immovable toward good; but when the four Evangelists take me up and bring me to the Lord, then I will hear His word: "Child!" For I become a son of God through the fulfillment of the commandments, and my sins will be forgiven. But how will they bring me to Jesus? By breaking through the roof. And what is the roof? The mind, as the summit of our being. Upon this roof there is much earth and tile — that is, earthly deeds; but when all this is cast off, when the power of the mind is broken open and freed from its burden, when I am then let down — that is, when I humble myself (for I must not be puffed up as a result of the lightening of my mind, but after being lightened I am obliged to descend, that is, to humble myself) — then I will be healed and will take up my bed, that is, my body, rousing it to the fulfillment of the commandments. For one must not only rise from sin and recognize one's sin, but also take up the bed — that is, the body — for the doing of good. Then we may also attain to contemplation, so that all our thoughts will say within us: "We have never seen anything like this" — that is, we have never had such understanding as now, having been healed of our paralysis. He who is cleansed from sins truly sees.

Again, He says, Take up thy bed, to prove the greater certainty of the miracle, showing that it is not a mere illusion; and at the same time to show that He not only healed, but gave strength; thus He not only turns away souls from sin, but gives them the power of working out the commandments.

It is necessary to take up also one's bed, that is the body, to the working of good. For then shall we be able to arrive at contemplation, so that our thoughts should say within us, never have we seen in this way before, that is never understood as we have done since we have been cured of the palsy; for he who is cleansed from sin, sees more purely.