How the Paralysed Man story reveals conflict :-
· The religious teachers presented in this passage would have spent many years studying Jewish law (10 Commandments handed down by Moses) and all of the rules and regulations that go with it. Jesus said that he could forgive sins, the religious teachers were hugely offended as from their studies they believed only God could forgive sins. No human being had the right to claim that power; “God is the only one who can forgive sins”
· If Jesus had simply cured the man, the teachers of the law would probably have taken no notice of him, or assumed he had new medical skills. It was Jesus’ claim to be able to forgive sins that causes the conflict; “Seeing how much faith they had, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "My son, your sins are forgiven."”
· In Jewish belief, only God can forgive sins, and this happens in the afterlife. The teachers of the law perhaps would have thought that Jesus was intentionally insulting them.
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