Mark 2:9 Commentary and Bible Study

The scribes have condemned Christ in their hearts and dismissed his words as blasphemy – because he has declared that this man’s sins are forgiven. Included in that condemnation is the assertion that he has lied about this. He knows he cannot really forgive sin; he is just saying that he can do it; there is no evidence that he can. The paralytic’s sins are not really forgiven, for no one can forgive sins but God. This claim to be able to forgive sins is bogus. He is a charlatan. Anyone can say that sins are forgiven, but how can anyone verify that it is true? This is the charge that he is refuting in this verse. They are bitter, insulted. They don’t believe Isaiah 53: that Christ will come in humiliation and make atonement for sin. They have made up minds he is not divine, so they say, what is this man doing? If Christ had asked, ‘Which is easier to do?’, then the answer would be different. For man, both are equally impossible. For God, who can do all things, anything is possible. God can forgive sins, and he can heal any disease – the Creator has no difficulty restoring the creation from the effects of the curse and the fall. We would have to add to that answer that, in a sense, for God to heal is far easier because that is an act of his power and skill alone. To forgive sins is infinitely hard, even for God, yet he can do this also. To forgive sin God had to send his Son into the world to take human nature. The Son had to live a perfect life under great provocation, and then go to Calvary’s cross and bear the eternal punishment for all who would be saved. The Father had to punish the Son with the punishment that his people deserve. He had to cause him to experience our eternal suffering in hell. That was the most costly thing that the Father and the Son could do. But that was not the question that Christ asked. He asked which is easier to say, that is, to say and not do? Which is easier to make a fake statement about? That is what they are accusing him of doing. Here the answer is different. It is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, than to say, ‘Rise up and walk’. Why? Because anyone can verify whether the second is bogus or not. If it is said with real power and authority, then the results will be visible to all. But the first does not produce any visible result – at least, not immediately. So which is easier to say? The first is easier to say, because it cannot easily be verified. Christ admits this, but he is then going to provide the verification himself. If the second is harder to fake, then he will do the second to prove that he has the power to do the first. He takes seriously their accusation and deals with it, even though he knows the hypocrisy of the scribes. He does this for the sake of other more genuine enquirers who might be troubled by the same objection.