Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 9:7

"And he arose, and departed to his house." — Matthew 9:7 (ASV)

Jesus responded to this situation according to the perspective of the teachers of the law—namely, that to say “Get up and walk” is easier since only God can forgive sins. Jesus claimed to do the more difficult thing. Thus v.6 is ironical —“All right, I’ll also do the lesser deed.” Yet if Jesus had blasphemed in pronouncing forgiveness, how could he now perform a miracle (cf. Jn 9:31)? But so that they might know that he had authority to forgive sin, he proceeded to the easier task. The healing therefore showed that Jesus as “Son of Man” truly had authority to forgive sins. This is the authority of Immanuel, “God with us” (1:23), sent to “save his people from their sins” (1:21). To sum up, the healing not only cured the paralytic (v.7), it also assured him that his sins were forgiven and thus refuted the charge of blasphemy.