Charles Spurgeon Commentary Luke 5:20

"And seeing their faith, he said, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." — Luke 5:20 (ASV)

And when he saw their faith, he said to him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

Christ has eyes with which he can see faith. You and I cannot see it; but he can: When he saw their faith, he said to him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. This was going to the very root of his disease. Jesus knew what the man really ailed; he was paralyzed in spirit as well as in body, and Christ removed the root of his disease by forgiving his sin.

And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

Laying the axe at the root—not healing the paralysis at first, but forgiving the sin that depressed the man's spirit and thus was, to some extent, the cause of the paralysis. By removing the sin, he raised the man's spirits, and with his renewed spirits, strength came back. Note that it was when he saw their faith that he said to the man, Thy sins are forgiven thee.