But that you may know that the Son of man has power upon earth to forgive sins,
(he said unto the paralytic,)
I say unto you, Arise, and take up your bed, and go into your house.
All Commentaries on Luke 5:24 Go To Luke 5
Ephrem The Syrian
AD 373
While the Pharisee doubted that our Lord was a prophet, he was unwittingly pledging himself to the truth by thinking, “If this man were a prophet, he would know that this woman is a sinner.” Therefore, if our Lord indeed knows that she is a sinner, then, Pharisee, by your own reasoning he indeed is a prophet. And so our Lord did not hesitate to point out not only that she was a sinner but also that she had sinned very much, so that the testimony of his own mouth would trap the accuser. [The Pharisee] was one of those who had said, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Our Lord took this testimony from them, that whoever is able to forgive sin is God. From this point on, the struggle was for our Lord to show them whether or not he was able to forgive sin. And so he quickly healed the parts [of the body] that were visible, to confirm that he had forgiven the sins which were not visible.
