耶穌在本章說出，也做出一些革命性的事，首先，祂治好一個癱子，這件事本身已經夠了不起了，但在醫好這個從房頂上縋下來的癱子以前，耶穌還對他說了一句話：「小子，你的罪赦了」。也難怪文士會感到困惑，因為除了上帝以外，沒有人有赦罪的權利；相信我們也都同意文士的看法。但耶穌在歷史上是與眾不同的人物，祂說，有資格得到祂這種白白救恩的不是那些敬虔、康健、公義的人士，而是那些有病的人──罪人。

        這個觀念當然違反當時的宗教思想。猶太拉比的傳統認為一個人要藉著行善才能得義。但耶穌駁斥這個傳統，祂說真正有病的人才有資格得著救恩。然後耶穌又批評了源自當時的公義觀念的所謂「敬虔生活」。首先，祂說禁食不一定是討上帝喜悅的因素。祂實際上是說：「看哪，我代表一個嶄新的世紀、一個新的國度、新的信息。」在這樣一個新時代裡，新酒的確需要用新皮袋來裝。那是一個待開發的新領域。守安息日也一樣，安息日是猶太人生活中很重要且神聖的一環，但耶穌看出安息日已成為一個重擔，祂說，安息日是為人設的，人不是為安息日設的，換句話說，如果安息日不能使我們得到益處，守安息日就沒有好處。耶穌再次強調上帝重視的是人健康、聖潔、和休息、更新的需要。耶穌是拯救人的醫生，是醫治人的救主，也是最高等次的自由之靈。

        主啊，謝謝您，您有赦罪的權柄；在這段經文中，您甚至在還沒有醫治癱子以前就赦了他的罪。願我們也能像那四個人一樣，將我們所愛的人帶到您面前。奉主耶穌基督聖名，阿們！

English

         In this chapter, Jesus really does and says some radical things. First of all, He heals a paralytic, which in itself is outstanding, but precedes the healing by saying to this fellow who has dropped in from the roof, “Son, your sins are forgiven”. It’s no wonder the teachers of the Law were upset. Nobody has the right to forgive sins but God alone, and I think we would all agree with their comment. But the fact is that Jesus was someone unlike anyone else in history. He then goes on from this outstanding event to say that the ones who qualify for this kind of salvation He is freely giving out are not the religious, nor the healthy, nor the righteous people, but those who are sick- the sinners.

         This, of course, goes against the grain of current religious thought. The idea, then as now, in the rabbinic tradition, was that a man obtained righteousness through good works. But Jesus contradicts tradition and says the ones who are really diseased are those qualifying for salvation. Then He takes some shots at two aspects of piety that spring out of the current view of righteousness. He first of all says that fasting is not necessarily a factor in pleasing God. He, in effect, was saying, “Look, I represent a whole new age, a new kingdom, a new message:. And in that context new wineskins are necessary for new wine. There’s a whole new horizon to be explored. The same applies to Sabbath observance, a very important and holy aspect of Jewish life. But Jesus, seeing the Sabbath becoming a bondage, says the Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath. In other words, if the Sabbath does not benefit us, there’s no way we are going to benefit it. So He focuses in again on God’s commitment to the healthiness, or holiness, of man and his need for rest and recreation. Jesus is a Healer who saves, a Savior who heals, and a Free Spirit of the highest order.

         Thank You, Lord, that You have the right to forgive sins which You exercised with the paralytic in this reading, even before You healed him. May we be like the four men and bring our loved ones to you, Lord Jesus.