Who Can Forgive Sins?

Friends lower a paralyzed man through the roof, but Jesus first pronounces his sins forgiven. The scribes and Pharisees immediately identify the theological pressure point: “Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” Jesus then heals the man so that his authority to forgive is made visible.

Where this fits in the story: forgiveness belongs to God’s covenant mercy and temple-sacrificial world, yet Jesus places the authority of the Son of man at the center of the scene. Luke will return to the question of forgiveness repeatedly—in table fellowship, prayer, repentance, the cross, and the resurrection mission.