What is the message of Matthew 9:5?

Question

Matthew 9:1-8 (NIV)
1 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then the man got up and went home.
8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.

What does Matthew 9:5 mean? Taken literally, it doesn't seem to make any sense at all. What is the verse trying to say?

Answer 1

Christ is using his ability to perform miracles as evidence that he is God, and therefore has the right to forgive sins.

He is saying, anyone can say "Your sins are forgiven," without any evidence that they have the authority to do so. But only God can heal a paralytic. So by performing such a miracle, Christ is proving that he has the authority of God both to heal and to forgive sin.

Answer 2

You must take verses 5 and 6 together, as they're a single statement. Christ has just told the paralyzed man that his sins are forgiven, and the teachers around Him that saw it believed His statement of forgiveness was blasphemy as only God can forgive sins. They failed to recognize that Christ was God. So, He then makes a point of showing them that it's just as easy for Him to heal a body as it is to forgive sins. He then solidifies His position by healing the man, proving that He does have power over the physical, removing their doubt of his power over the spiritual.

Answer 3

It is vitally important that you look at the previous few verses in order to get context. Let's take the whole passage in the NIV:

Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.

Jesus has pronounced forgiveness of the man's sins. The Pharisees object, saying that "only God can forgive sins". The Pharisees would agree that forgiving sins is easier than having the man walk again, so Jesus makes him walk again as a clear demonstration that he has the power to do both.

It has nothing to do with the sickness being caused by sin. Jesus clearly breaks that connection elsewhere.

Answer 4

It's rooted in the idea that the man's affliction was a result of a past sin. Exactly what or why, we aren't told. But when people questioned Jesus for presuming to forgive the man's sin (which only God has the authority to do, and they weren't convinced of his divinity,) he pointed out that it's just as easy to say "your sins are forgiven" (thus implying that the punishment is rescinded) as to say "get up and walk," and that the two are basically equivalent.