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. 18Ā Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19Ā 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.
20Ā When Jesus saw their faith, he said, āFriend, your sins are forgiven.ā
21Ā The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, āWho is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?ā
22Ā Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, āWhy are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23Ā Which is easier: to say, āYour sins are forgiven,ā or to say, āGet up and walkā? 24Ā But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.ā So he said to the paralyzed man, āI tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.ā 25Ā Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26Ā Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, āWe have seen remarkable things today.ā