For Crafters

One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things 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, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."

One day Jesus was in a house teaching about God, and there were lots of people who came to listen to him, so much so that people were spilling out of the house.

While he was teaching, some people brought a paralyzed man on a stretcher to be healed by Jesus. But since the house was so full, they couldn't get to Jesus, so they went on the roof and somehow made a hole in it and lowered the paralyzed man right in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, he looked at the paralyzed man and said, "Your sins are forgiven."

Now there were some religious leaders in the crowd. When they heard Jesus say this, they were thinking to themselves, "What? He can't say that. Only God can forgive sins."

Well, Jesus knew what they were thinking and he turned to them and said, "What's easier? To say your sins are forgiven, or get up and walk? I'll show you I can forgive sins."

And Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Get up and go home." Immediately, the man jumped up, grabbed his mat and walked out praising God. And everyone was amazed and said, "We have never seen anything like this before."