³ four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat.

¹⁸ Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, ¹⁹ but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. ²⁰ Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹ But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”

²² Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? ²³ Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? ²⁴ So I will prove to you that the Son of Man^[a] has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

²⁵ And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. ²⁶ Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

9 Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. ² Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.”

³ But some of the teachers of religious law said to themselves, “That’s blasphemy! Does he think he’s God?”

⁴ Jesus knew^[a] what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵ Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? ⁶ So I will prove to you that the Son of Man^[b] has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

⁷ And the man jumped up and went home! ⁸ Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised God for giving humans such authority.

²⁴ News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all.