Matthew 9:6

4 But Jesus, ^aknowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?

5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?

6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

7 And he arose and departed to his house.

8 Now when the multitudes saw it, they ^amarveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

Matthew the Tax Collector

9 ^aAs Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Matthew 9:6 Mean?

Matthew 9:1-8

In the healing of the paralytic (Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26), the physician Luke uses a medical term, "palsied" (KJV), the technical Greek word used to describe paralysis from disease in some part of the nervous system. Because his disease was so debilitating, the man needed comfort and healing. Jesus thus refers to him as "son," or more literally, "child," showing His fatherly compassion.

Paralysis represents sin's crippling power and the sinner's sheer helplessness to do anything to relieve his own suffering. The apostle Paul speaks of our initial lack of spiritual strength in Romans 5:6, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." With this miracle, Jesus forgave the penalty that the man had incurred through sin and raised him from his miserable state.

Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing a Paralytic (Part Two)

Matthew 9:6

Jesus sets the spiritual and physical in the right perspective. Since sin was responsible for the man's paralysis, He deals with the cause first, then the effect. All actions are subject to the law of cause and effect; for every action there is a reaction. The man's physical ailment was not nearly as heavy a burden as his spiritual corruption. In reality, physical healing is meaningless without a sound mind. Psalm 103:3 can be seen as a prophecy that the Christ would forgive sins related to sickness and disease.

Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Healing a Paralytic (Part Two)

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Matthew 9:6:

Matthew 9:1-8
Luke 5:17-26
Luke 5:36-39

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Matthew 9:7 >>

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Matthew the Tax Collector

What Does Matthew 9:6 Mean?

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