Luke 5:24

‘But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins', he said to him who was paralysed, “I say to you, Arise, and take up your couch, and go to your house.” '

Here we have the positive message that this account is all about. The sudden switch in subject in the middle of the verse should be noted. It has caused some to see the original account as having been interfered with in one way or the other before Mark got hold of it. But it is difficult to see how Mark could have got over this point so personally and yet so succintly without using this method. And the fact that scholarly Luke accepts it by citing him suggests that he saw nothing wrong with it. It is in fact dramatic. Jesus makes His solemn declaration to the Scribes and then instantly speaks to the man, all in one breath, closely connecting the two. The repetition of ‘He said to him who was paralysed,' is not a simple repetition but a deliberate contrast with what He says in Luke 5:20. The repetition draws attention to the contrast between that and here. The point is brought home. The purity of the Greek takes second place.

His new claim is startling. Now He has moved from ambiguity to clarity. ‘So that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.' He claims authority on earth to forgive sins! ‘Forgive' is in the present infinitive, ‘to go on forgiving sins' as a personal activity. And we notice that the words are spoken directly to the Rabbis. It is they whose thoughts He is challenging. He wants them to know that He can forgive sins in God's name, something which no other can do.

But we note first the title under which He claims the right to forgive sins. He does so as ‘the Son of Man'. Some have tried to make this mean simply ‘man' on the basis of the Aramaic, but Mark was an Aramaic speaker and yet he translated it as ‘the Son of Man', with Luke following suit, treating it as a title and making an unambiguous connection with the ideas that lie behind that term. It is significant that in the Gospels the term is only ever used on the lips of Jesus (Mark 8:31; Luke 24:7; and John 12:34 are not really exceptions for they are referring to what Jesus actually said), and in the New Testament only ever referred to Jesus. Thus there are no good grounds for denying these words to Jesus.

He begins to develop the term from the moment of His baptism. His first use of it is to Nathaniel at his call following Jesus' baptism, where He speaks of angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man (John 1:51). He then uses it to Nicodemus with clear heavenly connections. ‘No man has ascended into Heaven but He Who descended out of Heaven, even the Son of Man' (John 3:13). Thus according to John the Son of Man is closely connected with Heaven and has His source in Heaven right from the beginning. And as we have seen above He continues using it to depict His own authority, to depict His manhood, to depict His coming sufferings and to depict His coming in glory, all of which He partakes in as God's chosen One.

The connection with the coming in glory unquestionably connects the title with Daniel 7:13. There ‘a son of man' comes on the clouds of Heaven to receive dominion and power and glory, and from the remainder of the chapter it is clear that He is the representative of the saints of the Most High, that is the future promised King of Israel. And by His receiving the kingship He obtains the power to judge and to show mercy, to condemn or to forgive. Thus Jesus is revealing Himself as this figure and declaring that He therefore has the power to forgive sins on earth. He leaves all who hear to consider what the full consequences of such a statement are.

To the problem that Jesus had set these men they could give no answer. Had they said that it was easier ‘to make the man walk' they would have had to do it. And they knew that they could not. Only a man in direct touch with God could do that. But they would not admit that they were wrong either. So they sank into sullen silence

Then Jesus drove in the last nail. He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, Arise, and take up your litter, and go to your house.”