Albert Barnes Commentary Matthew 9:2

"And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven." — Matthew 9:2 (ASV)

A man sick of the palsy. (See Barnes on Matthew 4:24).

Lying on a bed. This was probably a mattress, or perhaps a mere blanket spread to lie on, so as to be easily carried. Being light, Jesus might appropriately command him to take it up and walk (Matthew 9:6).

Mark says, “they uncovered the roof” (Mark 2:4). Luke says, “they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling” (Luke 5:19). To us, it would appear that much injury must have been done to the house where Jesus was, and that they must have been much inconvenienced by the removal of tiles, rafters, etc.

Familiarity, however, with the style of building in the East removes every difficulty of this nature. Houses in eastern countries are commonly square in form and of a single story. On approaching them from the street, a single door is seen in the center, and usually, directly above it, a single latticed window.

This lack of doors and windows facing the streets, though it gives their dwellings a somber appearance, is nevertheless adapted to the habits of retirement and secrecy among the people of the East, where they desire to shield their women from public view. The accompanying illustration of an Arabian house shows the external appearance of an eastern dwelling, and the upper chamber, or “closet,” rising above the main building. (See Barnes on Matthew 6:6).

On entering the only door in front, the first room is a small square room, surrounded with benches, called the porch. In this room, the master of the family commonly transacts business and, on private occasions, receives visits.

Passing through the porch, you enter a large square room directly in the center of the building, called the court. Luke says that the paralytic was let down “into the midst;” not in the midst of the people, but of the building—the middle place of the house. This court is commonly paved with marble; and, if possible, a fountain of water is formed in the center to give it beauty and to spread a pleasant coolness. This room is surrounded on every side by a gallery or covered walk. From that covered walk, doors open into the other rooms of the house.

This center room, or court, is commonly uncovered or open above. In wet weather, however, and during times of great heat from the sun, it is covered with an awning or canvas, stretched on cords, and capable of being easily removed or rolled up. This is what Mark means when he says they uncovered the roof. They rolled up or removed this awning.

The ascent from the court to the roof is by flights of stairs, either in the covered walk or gallery, or in the porch. The roof is nearly flat. It is made of earth or, in the houses of the rich, is a firmly constructed flooring made of coals, chalk, gypsum, and ashes, hardened by repeated blows. On these roofs, spears of grass, wheat, or barley sometimes spring up, but these are soon withered by the sun (Psalms 129:6–8). The roof is a favorite place for walking, for repose in the cool of the day, for conversation, and for devotion. (See Barnes on Matthew 6:6).

On such a roof Rahab concealed the spies (Joshua 2:6), Samuel talked with Saul (1 Samuel 9:25), David walked in the evening (2 Samuel 11:2), and Peter went up to pray (Acts 10:9). The illustration below represents the roof of a house, with the battlement, and a person viewing the neighboring country.

This roof was surrounded on the sides with a balustrade, or railing, breast high; but where a house was adjacent to another and of the same height, the railing was lower, so one could walk from one roof to another. In cities constructed in this manner, it was possible to walk over a considerable part of the city on the roofs of the houses.

A breastwork or railing was of course built in the same manner around the open space in the center, to prevent them from falling into the court below. This railing, or breastwork, is what Luke 5:19 says they let him down through. They probably removed it so that the couch could be conveniently let down with cords; and standing on the roof over the Savior, they let the man down directly before him. The perseverance they had manifested was the evidence of their faith or confidence in his power to heal the sick man.

The diagram on the next page exhibits the ground plan of an eastern dwelling and illustrates the account of the cure of the sick man. By looking at this, it may be easily seen how the paralytic was presented to Jesus. Suppose the Savior to be seated in the open court, say at G. The room was crowded. There was but one way of access, through a. It would be easy to ascend the stairs at F, go around on the gallery until they came over Jesus, and remove a part of the balustrade, or breastwork, and let him down directly before him.

Be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. It may seem remarkable that, since the man came only to be healed, Jesus should have at first declared his sins forgiven. For this, the following reasons may be suggested:

1. The man might have brought on this paralytic condition by a long course of vicious indulgence. Conscious of guilt, he may have feared that he was so great a sinner that Christ would not regard him. He therefore assured him that his offenses were pardoned, and that he might lay aside his fears.
2. Jesus might have been willing to show his power to forgive sins. Had he stated it without any miracle, the Jews would not have believed it, and even his disciples might have been staggered. In proof of it, he performed a miracle; and no one, therefore, could doubt that he had the power. The miracle was performed in express attestation of the assertion that he had the power to forgive sins. As God would not perform a miracle to confirm a falsehood or to deceive people, the miracle was a solemn confirmation on God’s part that Jesus had the power to forgive sins.
3. The Jews regarded disease as the effect of sin (John 9:2; James 5:14–15). There is a real connection between sin and suffering, as in the case of gluttony, intemperate drinking, lewdness, and debauchery. Jesus might have been willing to direct the minds of the spectators to this fact and, by pointing them to a clear example of the effect of sin, to lead them to hate and forsake it. Diseases are sometimes the direct judgment of God for sin (1 Corinthians 5:3–5; 1 Corinthians 11:30; 2 Samuel 24:10–14).

This truth, also, Christ might have been wishing to impress on the people.

“Son, be of good cheer” (Mark 5:34).