Faith for Others
H. M. Luckock, D. D. Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the sick of the palsy, Son, your sins be forgiven you. The perfect concurrence of the paralytic cannot be doubted, and probably he had already poured out his soul in confession; still, we have no right to ignore what the Holy Spirit has here recorded, viz., that it was the sight of his bearers' faith which drew from Christ's lips the words of forgiveness. It is a fact full of mystery, but full also of consolation, that not a few of the gifts of healing and restoration — on the centurion's servant, on Jairus' child, on the blind man at Bethsaida, on the Syro-Phoenician's daughter — were obtained through the faith and prayers, not so much of the sick and afflicted themselves, as of their relations and friends. Surely this dependence of man upon his fellow creatures was intended to foreshadow the great mystery of Redemption through Another's Blood. It may well have been placed on record by the Holy Spirit to teach us that whenever we try to bring others to the feet of Jesus to be healed of their soul's sickness — be they friends or enemies — whenever we offer up "the prayer of faith," which we are assured "shall save the sick," we are associating ourselves in deeds of mercy and acts of intercession with the Great High Priest of the world — the One Mediator between God and Man — the Man Christ Jesus, our Lord. (H. M. Luckock, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. WEB: Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."