The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 98

HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-12.-Cure of the paralytic. I. DIFFICULTIES ABE READILY OVERCOME WBEBB THERE IS FAITH. The house was probably a poor one, roofed with mud and shingle. It would be easy, therefore, to dig a hole and obtain entrance in that way. But doin<> it required a certain amount of ingenuity and effort, which proved that the man and bis friends were resolved to get to Jesus and obtain the cure. All this trouble and thoughtfulness was the outcome of faith in Christ. Their boldness was the confidence of faith. Where the heart is right, difficulties in the way of seeking or following the Saviour will only call forth keener ingenuity and higher resolution. II. FAITH EVER SECURES THE SYllPATHY AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF CHRIST. Christ's first words were not chiding, but a welcome. He said," Son [child], thy sins are for- given." There would be tenderness and sympathy in the tone as well as in the words. He spoke as a father or an elder brother. 'l'he sick man may have been young. But in the midst of all the kindness the guilty past of the man is not for- gotten. He bad been a sinner, and probably his malady was but the fruit of his misdoing. A thrill of wonder and fear, mingled with more hopeful feelings, would pervade him as he listened. Here was one who kne1v a.II about him, and yet had compassion on him ! The faith of the patient and his bearers (possibly relatives) was thus rewarded beyond their hopes. A greater boon was conferred than they sought. Christ is never satisfied with half measures. He goes at once to the root of the evil, and seeks to save a man altogether, in soul as well as in body a.od fortune, Ill. IN SHOWING MERCY CHRIST ASSUMES THE HIGHEST AUTHORITY. Whilst the nature of the case before him demanded that the cure should be thus radical, the mere utterance of the words, "Thy sins are forgiven," i::lvolved a claim which those looking on were not ready to acknowledge. 1. Faith in being taxed is rewarded. The believing men were required to believe more, and more definitely, than they had already done. And to him chiefly concerned there were already inward witnesses in favour of the new claim. That Christ should have divined the secret source of the bodily weak- ness and mental unrest was a presumption that he was what he professed implicitly t.o be. Doubtless, with the rising of his spirit to the new duty of recognizing the authority of Jesus, the sick man's conscience would receive sudden and unlooked-for relief. The tide of life would turn again in the glad flush of peace and happiness. Christ's demands upon men to believe more than they already do are intended as con- ditions of his bestowing :i;rea.ter blessings. 2. Jn order to do all that he was sent to do, Chriat required to be Divine. The argument was perfectly sound, which the scribes carried on "in their hearts." Only God can, in the ultimate, forgive sins. Yet his power is sometimes delegated according to fixed principles and appointments. But probably they included in their reasoning the unspoken evidence given in Christ's manner, that he forgave out of and frorn himself. The entire circumstances of the case ahow that he must have done this. And so ever, when men come to him, it is that he OH, IL 1-28,] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BT. MARK. 95