Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 9:1-8

"And he entered into a boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city. 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. And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the sick of the palsy), Arise, and take up thy bed, and go up unto thy house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they were afraid, and glorified God, who had given such authority unto men." — Matthew 9:1-8 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: Christ had previously shown His excellent power in several ways: through His teaching, when he taught them as one having authority; in healing the leper, when He said, I will; be you clean; through the centurion, who said to Him, Speak the word, and my servant shall be healed; by calming the sea with a word; and by the demons who confessed Him.

Now again, in another and greater way, He compels His enemies to confess the equality of His honor with the Father. To this end, the text continues that Jesus entered a ship, passed over, and came into His own city. He who could have crossed the sea on foot entered a boat, for He did not always work miracles, so as not to detract from the reality of His incarnation.¹

St. Peter Chrysologus: The Creator of all things, the Lord of the world, having for our sakes confined Himself within the bonds of our flesh, began to have His own country as a man. He began to be a citizen of Judea and to have parents—though He Himself is the parent of all—so that affection might draw in those whom fear had driven away.²

St. John Chrysostom: By "his own city," Capernaum is meant here. For one town, namely Bethlehem, had received Him at His birth; another, Nazareth, had raised Him; and a third, Capernaum, received Him to live there continually.

St. Augustine of Hippo: That Matthew here speaks of "his own city" while Mark calls it Capernaum would be more difficult to reconcile if Matthew had named Nazareth. But as it is, all of Galilee might be called Christ's city because Nazareth was in Galilee, just as the entire Roman empire, though divided into many states, was still called the Roman city.ⁱ

Who, then, can doubt that the Lord, in coming to Galilee, is rightly said to have come into "his own city," whatever the town was in which He dwelt? This is especially true since Capernaum was elevated to be the metropolis of Galilee.³

St. Jerome: Alternatively, this city may be none other than Nazareth, from where He was called a Nazarene.

St. Augustine of Hippo: If we adopt this supposition, we must conclude that Matthew omitted everything that happened from the time Jesus entered His own city until He came to Capernaum, proceeding at once to the healing of the paralytic. This is similar to many other places where the evangelists pass over intervening events and carry on the thread of the narrative to something else without noting any interval of time.

So here, the account says, And, behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed.

St. John Chrysostom: This paralytic is not the same as the one in John's Gospel. For that man lay by the pool, while this one was in Capernaum; that man had no one to help him, while this one was carried "on a bed."

St. Jerome: He was "on a bed" because he could not walk.

St. John Chrysostom: He does not always demand faith from the sick—for example, when they are insane or, due to some other severe illness, are not in their right minds. This is the case here, as the text says, seeing their faith.

St. Jerome: He saw not the sick man's faith, but the faith of those who carried him.

St. John Chrysostom: Seeing, then, that they showed such great faith, He also shows His excellent power, forgiving sin with full authority. As the text continues, He said to the paralytic, "Be of good courage, son; your sins are forgiven you."

St. Peter Chrysologus: How powerful a person's own faith must be with God, when the faith of others here was enough to heal a man both inwardly and outwardly! The paralytic hears his pardon pronounced but remains silent, offering no thanks, for he was more anxious for the healing of his body than his soul. Christ, therefore, with good reason accepts the faith of those who carried him rather than the man's own hardness of heart.

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, we may suppose that even the sick man had faith; otherwise, as the other Evangelist relates, he would not have allowed himself to be let down through the roof.

St. Jerome: O, what wonderful humility! This man—feeble, despised, and crippled in every limb—He addresses as "son." The Jewish priests did not deign to touch him. He calls him "son," therefore, because his sins were forgiven.

From this we may learn that diseases are often the punishment for sin. Perhaps, then, his sins are forgiven first so that, with the cause of his disease removed, his health may be restored.

St. John Chrysostom: The Scribes, in their desire to spread a bad report about Him, unintentionally made what was done more widely known. Christ used their envy to publicize the miracle. For it is a mark of His surpassing wisdom to reveal His deeds through His enemies. Thus, the text continues: Behold, some of the Scribes said among themselves, "This man blasphemeth."

St. Jerome: We read in prophecy, "I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions" (Isaiah 43:25), so the Scribes, regarding Him as a man and not understanding the words of God, charged Him with blasphemy. But He, seeing their thoughts, showed that He is God, who alone knows the heart. And so, in a sense, He said, "By the same power and authority with which I see your thoughts, I can forgive men their sins. Learn from your own experience what the paralytic has received." When Jesus perceived their thoughts, He said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?"

St. John Chrysostom: He did not, in fact, contradict their suspicion that He had spoken as God. If He had not been equal to God the Father, it would have been fitting for Him to say, "I am far from having this power to forgive sin." But He confirms the opposite with His words and His miracle: "Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, and walk’?"

Inasmuch as the soul is superior to the body, it is a greater thing to forgive sin than to heal the body. But since the healing of the body can be seen with the eyes, while the forgiveness of sin cannot be perceived by the senses, He performs the lesser, more visible miracle as proof of the greater, imperceptible one.

St. Jerome: Whether or not his sins were forgiven, only He who forgave could know. But whether he could rise and walk, not only he himself but also those who looked on could judge. The power that heals, however, is the same, whether it heals the soul or the body. And since there is a great difference between saying and doing, the outward sign is given so that the spiritual effect may be proven: But so that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins...

St. John Chrysostom: Previously, He said to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven you," not, "I forgive you your sins." But now, when the Scribes resisted, He shows the greatness of His power by saying, "The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins." To show that He was equal to the Father, He did not say that the Son of Man needed anyone to grant forgiveness, but that "He has power."

Glossa Ordinaria: The words "But so that you may know..." could be either Christ's words or the Evangelist's. If they are the Evangelist's, it is as if he had said: They doubted whether He could remit sins, "but so that you may know that the Son of Man has the power to remit sins, He says to the paralytic..." If they are the words of Christ, the connection is as follows: You doubt that I have the power to remit sins, "but so that you may know that the Son of Man has power to remit sins..."—the sentence is left incomplete, but the action supplies the missing clause when "He says to the paralytic, ‘Rise, take up your bed.’"⁴

St. Peter Chrysologus: That which had been proof of his sickness now becomes proof of his recovered health. He is told, "And go to your house," so that, having been healed by Christian faith, he might not die in the faithlessness of the Jews.

St. John Chrysostom: He added this command so that it might be seen that there was no illusion in the miracle. The text then follows to establish the reality of the cure: And he arose, and went away to his own house. But those who stood by still groveled on the earth, as the text continues: But the multitude seeing it were afraid, and glorified God, who had bestowed such power among men.

If they had considered this rightly among themselves, they would have acknowledged Him to be the Son of God. In the meantime, it was no small thing for them to esteem Him as someone greater than other men and to believe He had come from God.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Mystically, when driven out of Judea, He returns to His own city. The city of God is the people of the faithful, and He entered this city by a boat, which represents the Church.

St. Peter Chrysologus: Christ has no need of the vessel, but the vessel has need of Christ. For without heavenly guidance, the ship of the Church cannot cross the sea of this world to its heavenly harbor.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: In this paralytic, the entire Gentile world is presented for healing. He is therefore brought by the ministry of angels. He is called "Son" because he is God's creation. The sins of his soul, which the Law could not remit, are remitted for him, for faith alone justifies. Lastly, by taking up his bed, he shows the power of the resurrection, teaching that all sickness will then no longer be found in the body.

St. Jerome: Figuratively, the soul, sick in the body with its powers palsied, is brought by the perfect doctor to the Lord to be healed. For everyone who is sick ought to ask others to pray for his recovery.

Through them, the halting footsteps of our actions may be reformed by the healing power of the heavenly word. These helpers are spiritual guides who raise the soul of the hearer to higher things, even though it is sick and weak in the outer body.

St. Peter Chrysologus: In this world, the Lord does not require the consent of those who lack understanding, but instead looks to the faith of others, just as a physician does not consult the wishes of a patient when his illness requires a different course of action.

Rabanus Maurus: His rising up signifies drawing the soul away from carnal lusts. His taking up his bed signifies raising the flesh from earthly desires to spiritual pleasures. His going to his house signifies his return to Paradise, or to a state of inner watchfulness over himself against sin.

St. Gregory the Great: Alternatively, the bed denotes the pleasure of the body. Now that he is made whole, he is commanded to carry that on which he had lain when sick. This is because every person who still takes pleasure in vice is, as it were, laid down sick in carnal delights. But when made whole, he carries this bed because he now must endure the impulses of the flesh in whose desires he had previously rested.⁵

St. Hilary of Poitiers: It is a very fearful thing to be seized by death while one's sins are still unforgiven by Christ, for there is no way to the heavenly house for a person whose sins have not been forgiven. But when this fear is removed, honor is rendered to God, who by His word has given such power to men: the power for forgiveness of sins, for the resurrection of the body, and for the return to Heaven.

1. Hom. xxix
2. Serm. 50
3. De Cons. Evan., ii, 25
4. ap. Anselm
5. Mor. xxiii, 24