In the story at the beginning of Mark chapter 2 a paralysed man is carried to Jesus but his four friends cannot negotiate the crowds. He is taken onto the roof and lowered through it. The picture, from sacred destinations, shows a golden mosaic of the healing of the paralytic in the Basilica di San Marco, Venice.
Then things become a bit strange. Seeing the faith of the friends, Jesus does not heal the paralysed man but forgives his sins. This causes some of the scribes to question how Jesus has taken upon himself the authority to forgive sins. To prove he has the authority, Jesus heals the man.
Jesus did not forgive the man's sins to annoy the scribes, it was an essential step in the healing. We don't know how long the man has been paralysed. It might well have been an accident, although it could have been since birth. He is obviously well loved. He has friends who care for him.
What is the nature of his sins? It depends on how we look at the situation. The paralysed man is in debt. If he is healed he will feel obliged to work to pay off his debt to his friends. How could he ever repay them for what they have done for him? Possibly their hope is to remove a burden to which they are committed. They may have told him he owes them nothing. But in his own mind he is in debt.
Jesus simply tells him, you owe nothing to anyone. The man is free to walk out of the house beholden to no-one. He is free to work where he will and his friends are free of a burden. Hopefully, he will find some mutual arrangement with his friends.
Does Jesus have the authority to forgive debt? Could he forgive someone their mortgage? This is probably more difficult than healing disease or walking on water.
The story demonstrates the power of debt over our lives. Once you achieve a certain degree of indebtedness you become bound by it, even where the indebtedness is in your own mind.
Throughout the Gospels we read stories of people giving up their wealth or being asked to. We meet people who have defrauded others, repaying their debts and more. Too often we focus on the healing and overlook the equally incredible release people find from the shackles of their possessions.
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