Thomas Aquinas 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)

Above, the Evangelist set forth miracles opposed to bodily dangers; here, he sets forth miracles opposed to spiritual dangers. According to this, he does two things. Firstly, he shows how Christ aids those coming to Him; and secondly, how He seeks after those whom He may save, where it is said, And Jesus went about all the cities and towns.

Regarding the first, Christ begins by setting forth a remedy against sin; and secondly, He sets forth a remedy against death, where it is said, As he was speaking these things to them, etc. Regarding the first, He initially sets forth the remedy against sin by forgiving; and secondly, He sets forth the remedy by drawing sinners to Himself, where it is said, And it came to pass as he was eating in the house, etc. First, the Evangelist sets forth a kind of preamble to the good deed; and secondly, he sets forth the good deed itself, where it is said, But that you may know, etc.

First, the Evangelist presents a kind of preamble to the good deed; and secondly, he presents the good deed itself, where it is said, But that you may know, etc. And firstly, he relates the place; and secondly, the devotion of those bringing the sick man, where it is said, And behold they brought to him one sick of the palsy.

He says, therefore, And entering into a boat, he passed over the water. This part is continued from the last chapter, because they were imploring Him to depart from them, which is why He entered the boat.

Hence, He gives us to understand that if some men were to say, “Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of your ways” (Job 21:14), He immediately departs; for that reason, He entered into a boat. This boat signifies the Cross or the Church. He came into his own city, namely, into a city of the Gentiles, who were given to Him. Hence, in Psalm 2:8, it is said: “Ask of me, and I will give you the Gentiles for your inheritance.”

But there is a question: Why do Mark and Luke say that this happened in Capernaum, while here it is maintained that this happened in His own city, which was Nazareth?

It should be said that a certain city was Christ’s by reason of His birth, and this was Bethlehem. A certain city was Christ’s by reason of His upbringing, and this was Nazareth. And a certain city was Christ’s by reason of His social interaction and of working miracles; and in this way, Capernaum was His city. For this reason, it is well said, Into his own city. Hence, it is said: “As great things as we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in your own country” (Luke 4:23).

Augustine solves the question differently: among the other cities, Capernaum was the most famous; hence, it was, as it were, a metropolis. And it is just as if someone were from some village near Paris, it might be said that he was from Paris on account of the notoriety of the place; in this way, the Lord, because He was from the surroundings of Capernaum, was said to be from there.

Or it can be explained otherwise: that the other Evangelists omitted something, from which something can be added, namely, that He passed through Nazareth, and He came into Capernaum. And then they brought to Him the one sick of the palsy.

And behold they brought to him one sick of the palsy. Here the devotion of those bringing the sick man is mentioned. Hence, in Mark it is mentioned that, because they had not been able to get through the multitude in the house, they set him down through the roof tiles. This paralytic signifies a sinner lying in sin; just as a paralytic cannot move himself, so neither can a sinner. Those, however, who carry the paralytic, are they who carry the sinner to God by their admonitions. And Jesus, seeing their faith, etc. He relates the good deed, in which we can see three things:

1. We see what moves Jesus to act.
2. We see what it is that is required.
3. We see the dispute opposing the good deed.

The Lord sometimes cures someone on account of his faith, sometimes on account of his prayers or the prayers of others. Jesus therefore, seeing their faith, said. Hence, it is said: “Whatever you ask when you pray, believe that you shall receive, and it shall be done to you” (Mark 11:24). Be of good heart, son. What, therefore, is required? Faith; “They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion; he shall not be moved forever that dwells in Jerusalem” (Psalms 124:1). And: “Purifying their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:9). Your sins are forgiven you. Here the good deed is mentioned.

But why is it that this man was asking for the health of the body, and the Lord gives health of the soul? The reason is that sin was the cause of the sickness, as it is written in Psalm 15:4: “On account of their sins their infirmities were multiplied.” Hence, the Lord acted like a good doctor, who cures the cause of the sickness. Then the Evangelist relates the dispute opposing the good deed, where it is said, And Jesus knowing their thoughts, etc.

He says, therefore: And behold some of the scribes said within themselves: He blasphemes. And why were they astonished? Because they were seeing a man, and they were not seeing God; for it belongs to God alone to forgive sins. For that reason, they were saying He was blasphemous, according to that passage in Job 34:18: “Who says to the king: You are an apostate: who calls rulers ungodly,” etc. And Jesus seeing their thoughts, said: Why do you think evil in your hearts? Here He confounds them in three ways: by His thought, word, and deed. Because just as it pertains to God alone to forgive sins, so also to know the secrets of the heart; “The searcher of hearts and reins is God” (Psalms 7:10). And Jesus seeing, because only He knows men’s thoughts. And firstly, He depicts their wickedness, Why do you think evil in your hearts? because they were saying within themselves that He was blasphemous; “Take away the evils from your thoughts” (Isaiah 1:16).

Which is easier to say, etc. Here he sets forth the refutation. But it seems that the Lord argues badly, because He argues by affirming from the lesser, for it seems easier to heal the body than to heal the soul. But Jerome explains this passage in this way: it is easier to say than to do. It is true, as far as the deed is concerned, that it is more powerful to heal the soul than to heal the body; but as far as the power is concerned, the power is the same for both. But, referring to what was said, we see that liars quickly lie whenever they cannot be detected: for in such things which appear, they can be detected, but not in those things which are concealed. Hence, in such things which do not appear, they speak audaciously, wherein they cannot be detected. It is easier to say something, therefore, if you are not able to know if it is true or not.

For that reason, He says, But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins. He shows the truthfulness of His words by a deed. And firstly, the end of the work is related; secondly, the manner is related; and thirdly, His efficient power is related. Hence, He says: on account of this, that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the man sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up your bed, and go into your house. By this, He shows Himself to be God. “For it is he who shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

He says, That the Son of man, and also He says, On earth, and He crushes a twofold error, namely, of Nestorius and of Photinus. Nestorius said that the Son of man and the Son of God were two supposits, nor could it be said of one what is said of the other; therefore, it could not be said: ‘This Child created the stars.’ For that reason, Christ says, Son of man, because it belongs to God to forgive sins. Likewise, He is speaking against Photinus, who was saying that Christ had received His beginning of existence from the Virgin Mary, and by merit He acquired His divinity. Photinus was relying upon that passage: “All power is given to me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18); and for that reason, Christ says, On earth. Hence, in Baruch 3:38, it is said: “Afterwards he was seen upon earth, and conversed with men.” Has power.

It seems that it cannot be proved from this, because the Apostles themselves also had this power. But it should be affirmed that these men had this power by way of its administration, not by way of its source. This, however, which is said, That you may know, etc., can be read in two ways: either as being the words of the Evangelist, and in this way it was a narration; or they are the words of Christ saying, That you may know, etc., and in this way the speech is incomplete, because these men were doubting. And, for that reason, so that you may know that I have the power of forgiving sins, he said to the man sick of the palsy: Arise, etc. Hence, He cured by a word, which is proper to God, according to that passage in Psalm 32:9: “He spoke and they were made.”

The sick man had to endure three things: he was lying in a bed, he was being carried by others, and could not move himself. Therefore, because he was lying down, Christ said, Arise; because he was being carried, Christ commanded that he, the sick man, would carry, saying, Take up your bed; and because he could not move himself, Christ said, And walk; “The works of God are perfect” (Deuteronomy 32:4).

Likewise, it is said to the sinner lying in his sins, Arise, from sin through contrition; Take up your bed, through satisfaction, “I will bear (portabo) the wrath of the Lord, because I have sinned against him” (Micah 7:9). And go into your house, into the house of eternity, or into one’s own conscience; “When I go into my house, I shall repose myself with her” .

The execution follows: And he arose, and went into his house. And the multitude seeing it, not the scribes, because they were unworthy, feared; “O Lord, I have heard your hearing, and was afraid” (Habakkuk 3:2). But why were they fearful? They were fearful because they glorified God, because all things redound to God: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to your name give glory” (Psalms 113:1). That gave such power to men. Hence, these men do not scorn, as the scribes do; but because it is said, to men, for that reason Hilary explains this passage: “That gave such power to men of being made sons of God,” as it is said in John 1:12: “He gave them power to be made the sons of God.”