Forgiveness and the Son of God

Jesus can forgive because he is the Son of God. Other passages support either half of this assertion, but Jesus’ healing of the paralytic in Luke 5 (also Matthew 9 and Mark 2) beautifully illustrates both clauses. Before Jesus physically heals the man, he tells him that his sins are forgiven. The Pharisees object, protesting that only God can forgive sins. Jesus responds by asking,

Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? (Luke 5:23).

When he heals the man, the implication is clear: if Jesus has the supernatural power to heal the man, surely he also has the power to forgive his sins. And if he can forgive sins, he must also be the Son of God, because, according to the Pharisees, only God can forgive sins (Luke 5:21).

The argument Jesus employs and the gospel writers record is certainly obvious, but is it sound? Yes, if Scripture is true, the fact that Jesus heals a man is a great conditional upon which to found an argument, but does that necessarily imply that Jesus can forgive sins? Similarly, if Jesus can forgive sins, does that logically require that he be God? This essay will seek to demonstrate that the answer to both of these questions is yes.

Is Jesus’ ability to heal the paralyzed man a sufficient foundation from which to deduce that he can indeed forgive sins? Though the paralyzed man comes to Jesus to be healed physically, Jesus directly addresses his deeper need. His first words to the paralytic are, “Man, your sins are forgiven you” (Luke 5:20). Of course, the Pharisees immediately protest, denying that Jesus can forgive sins. To be fair, the Pharisees have no reason to believe Jesus’ statement — anyone can utter the words. It is impossible to physically demonstrate that the man’s sins are actually forgiven.

Jesus understands the Pharisees’ disbelief, for he does not expect blind, leap in the dark faith. Christians are called to see God in creation, to study his physical revelation in Scripture, and to use reason and logic. That’s why Jesus asks which is easier, forgiving the man or healing him. Both are impossible for mere humans, but his question is rhetorical. Jesus is preparing to prove his ability to forgive sins. He heals the man “that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Luke 5:24). Healing is ultimately a divine action because God is the Lord that heals (Exodus 15:26), and the Pharisees recognize forgiving to be a divine action too. So if Jesus is able to heal the man, then they have evidence of Jesus’ divinity and a reason to believe he possesses the divinity to forgive sin. Hence, Jesus’ ability to heal paralysis does indeed imply the ability to forgive sins.

Beyond this, the belief that physical afflictions are the result of specific sins was widely held in the first century. This is seen in John 9, when Jesus heals the man born blind. Upon seeing the blind man, Jesus’ disciples ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2). Jesus rejects the idea entirely, saying,

It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3).

Is it not, then, reasonable to assume the Pharisees in Luke 5 held the same belief? If the same idea is applied to the paralytic, the Pharisees probably think the man is paralyzed because of one specific sin he has committed. This notion offers a valid explanation for the lame man’s sudden ability to walk. If the man cannot walk because he has sinned, and then the man’s sin is forgiven, the paralysis that is a judgement on the sin logically must disappear. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that the Pharisees would have seen  Jesus’ ability to heal the man as evidence of  his ability to forgive sins.

Next, if Jesus does possess the ability to forgive sins, does that necessarily require that he be God? Here, the Pharisees are correct. As they indignantly declare, only God can forgive sins (Luke 5:21). If Jesus is not God, his presuming to possess the power to forgive sins would indeed be blasphemy.

How do the Pharisees come to this conclusion? Undoubtedly, forgiveness is the prerogative of the “victim.” That means the power to forgive sin comes only from being sinned against. Against whom is all sin?

All sin is ultimately against God because his law is the ultimate authority.

Paul writes in Romans, “Where there is no law there is no transgression” (Romans 4:15). Without God’s law, there would be no sin. Sin is vertical, not horizontal. David expresses this in Psalm 51:

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Psalm 51:4).

This is also the truth behind Matthew 25:40, where God, or the King, says,

Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

Sure, there is often a “middle man” who is also insulted by sin, but the sin is still ultimately against God. If a country insults a foreign emissary or representative, the insult is ultimately against the country whom the emissary represents. Likewise, every human is, in a sense, a representative of God as his image-bearer, and anytime one is insulted, the insult is ultimately against God. Therefore, God is the victim of every sinful action, though he never can be truly victimized in the strictest sense of the word.

This is why the Pharisees reject Jesus’ forgiveness. They correctly recognize that only God can forgive sins but do not accept that Jesus is the Son of God. However, after Jesus heals the paralyzed man, it seems all who were present do believe. Luke writes, “And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have seen extraordinary things today.’” (Luke 5:26). If the Pharisees still believe Jesus is blaspheming, they would hardly glorify God for blasphemy. Therefore, the argument Jesus presents in Luke 5 is sound.

1. If and only if Jesus has the power to heal paralysis, which Scripture affirms, then he has the power to forgive sin.
2. And if and only if Jesus can forgive sin, then Jesus is the Son of God.

Put another way, if Jesus has the miraculous power to heal, and if only God can heal in such a manner, Jesus must be the Son of God. And if Jesus is God, and God has the power to forgive, Jesus can forgive sins. Put the former way, this story primarily teaches about Jesus’ divinity. Put the latter way, this story is primarily a display of Jesus’ power to forgive.