According to verses 6 and 7, when the scribes heard this word, they were reasoning in their hearts: “But there were some of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, Why is this man speaking this way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except one—God?” Scribes and Pharisees, as the proponents of the old and dead religion, were motivated and used by Satan, the enemy of God, to oppose, resist, and frustrate the gospel service of the Slave of God throughout all His ministry (2:16, 24; 3:22; 7:5; 8:11; 9:14; 10:2; 11:27; 12:13, 28). They thought they worshipped God and were zealous for Him, not knowing that the very God of their forefathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was immediately before them in the form of a slave to serve them. They were blinded by their traditional religion from seeing Him in God’s economy, and they plotted to kill Him (3:6; 11:18; 14:1). Later they actually killed Him (8:31; 10:33; 14:43, 53; 15:1, 31).
The reasoning scribes, who considered themselves “scriptural” and “theological,” acknowledged the Slave-Savior merely as a man, even a despised Nazarene (John 1:45-46). They did not realize that the One who forgave the sins of the paralytic was actually the forgiving God incarnated in the form of a lowly man. The scribes, assuming that they knew the Scriptures, thought that only God had authority to forgive sins, and that Jesus, who in their eyes was only a man, blasphemed God when He said, “Your sins are forgiven.” This indicates that they did not realize that the Lord was God. By uttering such a word, they rejected Him. This was the first rejection by the leaders of the Jewish religion.
In their hearts the scribes accused the Lord of blaspheming God. They seemed to be saying, “Who is this claiming to forgive sins? Only God has the authority to do such a thing. We know that this man is a Nazarene. How can a despised Nazarene forgive someone’s sins?”
The scribes did not realize that the Lord knew what they were reasoning in their hearts. Concerning this, verse 8 says, “And immediately Jesus, knowing in His spirit that they were reasoning this way among themselves, says to them, Why are you reasoning these things in your hearts?” Literally, the Greek word rendered “knowing” means fully knowing. The Slave-Savior knew the seekers’ faith, the sick one’s sins (v. 5), and the scribes’ inward reasoning. This indicates that He was omniscient. Such omniscience, manifesting His divine attribute, unveils His deity as the omniscient God.
The scribes must have been shocked at the Lord’s word. They may have said to themselves, “We didn’t say anything. How does He know what we were reasoning in our hearts?” The Lord knew their reasonings because He was not only a Nazarene—He was also the omniscient God.
A striking point in the Gospel of Mark is that this Gospel presents the Lord in the likeness of man and in the form of a slave. The scribes did not realize that within the humanity of this Slave there was deity. The Lord behaved Himself in such a way as to indicate that within His humanity there was deity. The Lord was a Nazarene in the form of a slave; yet He had omniscience. Because He was omniscient, He knew what the scribes were saying in their hearts. Instead of arguing with them, He simply spoke the facts.
According to verse 9, the Lord went on to ask the scribes this question, “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Rise, and pick up your bed and walk?” Here the Lord did not say, “Which is more difficult,” because to Him nothing is difficult. For Him to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” was easier than to say, “Rise, and pick up your bed and walk.”
Verses 10 and 11 say, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins—He says to the paralytic, To you I say, Rise, pick up your bed and go to your house.” The Slave-Savior was the very God incarnated, not regarding equality with God a thing to be grasped. He was outwardly in the likeness and fashion of man, even in the form of a slave, but inwardly, He was God (Phil. 2:6-7). He was the Slave-Savior and the God-Savior as well. Hence, He had not only the ability to save the sinners, but also the authority to forgive their sins. In this incident He forgave people’s sins as God, but asserted that He was the Son of Man. This indicates that He was the true God and a real Man, possessing deity and humanity. In Him men could see both His divine attribute and human virtue.
These verses indicate that in order to show that He had authority to forgive sins, the Lord said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your bed and go to your house.” This was the healing of the paralytic. The Lord’s salvation not only forgives our sins, but also makes us “rise and walk.” It is not rise and walk first, and then be forgiven of our sins; that would be by works. Instead, it is to be forgiven of our sins first, and then to rise and walk; this is by grace.
In verse 12 we have a concluding word concerning this incident: “And he rose, and immediately, having picked up the bed, he went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, We have never seen anything like this!” Here we have the fulfillment of the Slave-Savior’s word, “Rise, pick up your bed.” To say, “Your sins are forgiven,” was easier than to say, “Rise, pick up your bed and walk.” Since the latter was fulfilled, the former, the easier one, was surely also fulfilled. This is strong evidence that the Slave-Savior has authority to forgive sins on earth.
The paralytic rose, picked up his bed, and went out before all. The Lord enabled the paralytic not only to walk, but also to pick up his bed and walk. Formerly the bed bore him; now he bears it. This is the power of the Lord’s salvation. Moreover, this paralytic was brought to the Lord by others, but he went home by himself. This indicates that it is not that the sinner can come to the Lord, but that the sinner can go forth from the Lord by the Lord’s salvation.