In the relation of this miracle by Mark, he names Capernaum as the place where it was wrought; so that this may serve to teach us, that when Christ's own city is spoken of, it means Capernaum, and not Bethlehem, where Christ was born. This miracle is among the many, one of the highest in confirmation both of his Godhead, and of his mission as the Messiah. The Prophet had said, - Behold, your God shall come and save you; and then shall the lame man leap as an hart. Isaiah 35:4-6. Observe, the first act in proof of Christ's eternal power and Godhead which he manifested towards this man with the palsy, was to pardon his sins. The reasoning of the Scribes was well founded in truth, though formed by them in malice, that none but God himself can forgive sins. And the Lord Jesus, by the exercise of this authority, and in the cure of the body, which immediately followed, proved that he was God. The second act in proof of his Godhead was, that Jesus knew their thoughts, and acted upon that knowledge, by telling them what they thought. This also is the sole prerogative of Godhead; and this Christ exercised. Jeremiah 17:10; Revelation 2:23. And the evidence the Lord Jesus immediately gave of his person and power in the cure of the palsy, confirmed the whole beyond a doubt. When the Reader hath duly considered these grand things in this miracle, I would beg to call his attention to other considerations, which arise out of it. In this miracle the Lord Jesus seems to demand attention to his character as Messiah; for he calls himself the SON of Man. It was to be among the features of Him that was to come to be known under this character. Hence when John sent his disciples to ask Jesus whether he was the very person that should come, or were they to look for another, the Lord Jesus referred to those testimonies, in proof that he was the very SON of Man. Compare Isaiah 61:1 with Matthew 2:2-6. And hence Jesus also, in his discourse with the Jews, when they attacked him for healing the man on the Sabbath day, declared that all authority was given to him to execute judgment, because he was the SON of Man. So that over and above his own personal power and Godhead, in the essence of JEHOVAH, he here acted in his mediator-character, and thereby manifested who he was, and the great object for which he came. I pray the Reader, in order that he may have a clear apprehension of this subject, and to distinguish between the SON of God's person, as one of the persons in the Godhead, and his office-character, as mediator,
God and Man in one person, that he will turn to those scriptures in proof before he goes further, John 5:17 to the end. John 17:2-3; Matthew 26:62-65. There is one point more in this miracle, which merits our earnest attention; namely, the tenderness and compassion of Jesus, which unasked, pardoned the sin of the soul, while healing the disease of the body. Well might the astonished beholders, in the contemplation of this miracle, express their thankfulness to God. Just how is it, that under such impressions, no saving conviction of Christ is said to have been wrought upon their hearts? The Reader will find an answer to this, and similar questions of the like nature, Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 13:14; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 27:26; Romans 11:8. For other observations on this miracle, I refer the Reader to Mark 2:9-12.