Son, Thy Sins Be Forgiven Thee (Mark 2:5)

2023-11-27

Jesus healed a paralytic in Capernaum. When He did so, He caused quite a stir when He said, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee” (Mark 2:5). The scribes secretly called Him a blasphemer in their thoughts. “...who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:7).

But the Lord knew their mind. “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house” (Mark 2:10-11). And he did. The miracle confirmed that the Lord Jesus can forgive sins.

Were the scribes right? Can only God forgive sins? What did David say after the matter about Bathsheba? “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight” (Psalm 51:4). All sin is ultimately against God, so it is God that must forgive sin. If Jesus forgave sin that day, then He must be God.

Moreover, if Jesus knew the scribes’ thoughts, this further affirms that He is God. As we saw yesterday, “The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity” (Psalm 94:11). The God they served their whole lives was right in front of them and they did not know it.

Jesus forgives and knows all about you. He can forgive not only because He is God, and all sin is against Him. He also can forgive because He paid the penalty for your sins on the cross. Friend, the Lord says, “thy sins be forgiven thee.”