Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 9:5

"For which is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise, and walk?" — Matthew 9:5 (ASV)

Which is easier...? — The form of the question implies what we call an argument à fortiori. It was easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee, because those words could not be subjected to any outward test; only the sinner's own awareness could attest to their power. It was a bolder and harder thing to risk uttering words that challenged an immediate and visible fulfillment, yet He was content to speak them without fear of the result.

Viewed in their true relationship, the spiritual wonder was, of course, the greater. But here, as so often elsewhere, He puts Himself on the level of His hearers, condescending to speak to them according to their own way of thinking.