Judea to Galilee, Section 35 & 36

Section 35 
JESUS HEALS A PARALYTIC AT CAPERNAUM
MATT. 9:2-8
MARK 2:1-12
LUKE 5:17-26

Jesus returns to Capernaum and was preaching to crowds of people. According to McGarvey, this marks end of his first missionary tour through Galilee.

Four men bring a paralytic to him for healing, resorting to lowering him through a hole they made in the roof because the crowd was impassable. It's noteworthy that Jesus counts this as an act of faith:

Mark 2:5  "And when Jesus saw their faith..."

Significantly, his first action is to heal the man's soul, forgiving this man's sins. The scribes observe this "some of them questioning in their hearts" (Mark 2:6); "some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”" (Matthew 9:3)

From McGarvey's Fourfold Gospel:

"Why did he pronounce the forgiveness so publicly? As the terms of pardon prescribed in the law were yet in full force, this open speech of Jesus was a surprising assertion of authority. In fact, such assertions were exceptional in his ministry; for only on three recorded occasions did he thus forgive sins (Luke 7:48; 23:43) [My note, the others being the woman who anointed his feet and the thief on the cross] Being the exceptional and not the established method of pardon, and being thus employed in the presence of so representative an audience, it was evidently used for a special purpose; and that purpose was to show that Jesus had such power, that men seeing this power might believe him to be the Son of God. He was vindicating an eternal law of the universe, in which all human beings throughout all generations would be interested; viz.: that humanity has a Ruler who can present it spotless before the throne of God (Jude 24). Jesus propounded his law in the presence of those most interested in exposing it if false, and most able to explode it had it not been true. Whether his words were truth or blasphemy, was the controversy between Christ and the rulers from that day to the end of his ministry-- Matt. 26:65."

Mat 9:4  But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?

McGarvey sees this as the first instance of the rise of opposition against Jesus by the religious establishment:

"It is not likely that such a gathering came together by accident. Capernaum was known to be the headquarters of Jesus, and these leaders of the people had doubtless gathered there to wait for some opportunity to see or hear Jesus. They recognized the necessity of coming to some definite judgment regarding him. We shall see in this scene the beginning of their hostility to Jesus, which developed into four objections:

1. Alleged blasphemy 
2.  Intercourse with publicans and sinners 
3. Supposed neglect of ascetic duties, such as washings, fastings, etc.
4. Alleged violation of the sabbath"

                                 -McGarvey, The Fourfold Gospel

Anonymous depiction commissioned by the Evangelical Society of Mafa

A few of my own notes and questions here:

*Jesus is omniscient, knowing that the four men were acting in faith and the internal thoughts of the scribes.

*Jesus comments in Luke that the physical healing is secondary, a testimony to the scribes: "that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” (Luke 5:24)

*Faith is rewarded, evil thoughts are debased.  Did Christ physically heal the man's body to testify to the scribes that he had authority to forgive sins?  Would he have healed the man physically regardless of the scribes thoughts and presence?

*Our immediate requests are centered in the physical circumstances of our lives--relief from pain, from difficulty, from uncomfortable circumstances.  But Christ's alternate focus and priority of the invisible needs of our souls calls us to examine our values.  His focus is internal---on the sins of the man and the sins of the scribes thoughts.

The Jews viewed the internal and external as connected, so Christ's forgiving of this man's sin can also be viewed as him removing the root of the paralysis:

"In the popular opinion sin was a cause of which disease was the effect. We are told, on the authority of later rabbis, that it was a maxim among the Jews that no diseased person could be healed till his sins were blotted out. We also recognize a correlation between sins and diseases, which the Saviour's use of this miracle justifies....The proof consisted in the relation which disease bears to sin, and the consequent relation which healing bears to forgiveness. The connection between disease and sin is a real and necessary one. The Jews were right in seeing this connection, but they erred in thinking that they were warranted in personally criminating every one whom they found afflicted, and in judging that the weight of the affliction indicated the quantity of the sin. The Book of Job should have corrected this error. Such unrighteous judgments are condemned by Christ (John 9:3; Luke 13:2-5)." Fourfold Gospel

It makes sense to conclude that sometimes disease is a result of poor choices/sinful behavior but not by default.

Section 36
THE CALL OF MATTHEW (At or near Capernaum.) 
MATT. 9:9
MARK 2:13, 14
LUKE 5:27, 28 

Jesus walks by Matthew at his tax booth and invites him to follow him.