The incident that follows occurred before the one in 8:28-34. Matthew placed it in his Gospel here for thematic reasons. It is another evidence of Jesus' supernatural power but in a different realm.
9:1 Jesus arrived back in Capernaum having travelled there by boat. This is another transitional verse that sets the stage for what follows.
9:2 Jesus saw the faith of the men who were carrying their paralytic friend.
"The reason the reader is provided with inside views of characters is to shape his or her attitude toward them."405
The evidence of their faith was that they brought him to Jesus for healing. However, Jesus spoke only to the paralytic. The term "son"(Gr. teknon) is an affectionate one that older people often used when speaking to the younger. What Jesus said implied a close connection between this man's sin and his sickness (cf. 8:17; Ps. 103:3; Isa. 33:24), and He implied that sin was the worse condition. Forgiveness of sins is basic to healing. Jesus told him that his sins were forgiven, not had been forgiven at a previous time. He used the present tense that here has punctiliar force.406
9:3 Some of the teachers of the law who were standing by took offense at what Jesus said. He was claiming to forgive sins, but God alone can forgive sins since it is He whom people sin against (Ps. 51:4; Isa. 43:25; 44:22). They called Jesus' words blasphemy because they viewed them as a slanderous affront to God.
9:4 Jesus probably knew what they were thinking simply because He knew them. Jesus did not need supernatural power to perceive the typical attitude of the scribes. What they were thinking was evil because it involved a denial of His messiahship, the very thing His words were claiming.
9:5-7 Jesus' question in verse 5 was rhetorical. His critics believed it was easier to say, "Get up and walk,"because only God can forgive sins. Jesus had claimed to do the more difficult thing from their viewpoint, namely to forgive sins. Jesus responded ironically in verse 6. He would do the easier thing. From the scribes' perspective since Jesus had blasphemed God He could not heal the paralytic since God does not respond to sinners (John 9:31). By healing the paralytic Jesus showed that He had not blasphemed God. He could indeed forgive sins.
Jesus again used the term "Son of Man"for Himself (v. 6). His critics should have sensed the messianic claim Jesus' use of this title implied since they knew the Old Testament well. The Judge had come to earth with authority to forgive sins (cf. 1:21, 23).407
Finally Jesus not only healed the paralytic but also assured him that God had forgiven his sins. He also refuted the scribes' charge of blasphemy.
9:8 The response of the observing crowd was appropriate in view of Jesus' action. People should respect and admire the One who can forgive sins. Here was a manifestation of God before them. They glorified God because they saw a man exercising divine authority. Unfortunately they failed to perceive that Jesus was the divine Messiah.
Readers of Matthew's Gospel, however, perceive that this was the promised King come to rule "on earth"(cf. v. 6). The King had come to save His people from their sins. The kingdom of David's Son was at hand.
"This is one of the most significant signs Jesus performs relative to the kingdom program. It shows that He is capable of forgiving sins on earth."408
This miracle proves that Jesus could forgive sins and so produce the conditions prophesied in Isaiah 33:24; 40:1-2; 44:21-22; and 60:20-21. The three miracles in this section (8:23-9:8) show that Jesus could establish the kingdom because He had the authority to do so. He demonstrated authority over nature, the angelic world, and sin.
