Mark 2:5-9

2:5 When Jesus saw their ¹  faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” ²  2:6 Now some of the experts in the law ³  were sitting there, turning these things over in their minds: ⁴  2:7 “Why does this man speak this way? He is blaspheming! ⁵  Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 2:8 Now ⁶  immediately, when Jesus realized in his spirit that they were contemplating such thoughts, ⁷  he said to them, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? ⁸  2:9 Which is easier, ⁹  to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up, take your stretcher, and walk’?

¹ sn The plural pronoun their makes it clear that Jesus was responding to the faith of the entire group, not just the paralyzed man.

² sn The passive voice here is a divine passive (ExSyn 437). It is clear that God does the forgiving.

³ tn Or “some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

⁴ tn Grk “Reasoning within their hearts.”

⁵ sn Blaspheming meant to say something that dishonored God. To claim divine prerogatives or claim to speak for God when one really does not would be such an act of offense. The remark raised directly the issue of the nature of Jesus’ ministry.

⁷ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the shift from the thoughts of the experts in the law to Jesus’ response.

⁸ tn Grk “they were thus reasoning within themselves.”

⁹ tn Grk “Why are you reasoning these things in your hearts?”

⁹ sn Which is easier is a reflective kind of question. On the one hand to declare sins are forgiven is easier, since one does not need to see it, unlike telling a paralyzed person to walk. On the other hand, it is harder, because for it to be true one must possess the authority to forgive the sin.