Matthew 9:3

Mat 9:3-8. Behold, certain of the scribes, (Luke adds, and Pharisees,) said within themselves — That is, in their hearts, This man blasphemeth — Attributing to himself a power (that of forgiving sins) which belongs to God only. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, which, it appears, they did not openly declare, (for Mark says, Mar 2:8, He perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves,) said: Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts — Namely, concerning me, on account of these words which I have spoken? For whether is easier, &c. — Do not both of them argue a divine power? Therefore: if I can heal his disease, I can forgive his sins, especially as his disease is the consequence of his sins, therefore these must be taken away, if that is. But that ye may know — May have evident proof, that the Son of man hath power on earth — Even in his state of humiliation, to forgive sins; then (turning from them) he saith to the sick of the palsy, Arise, &c., and he arose — Thus Jesus gave the Pharisees a twofold demonstration of his divinity: 1st, by showing that he knew their thoughts; for to search the hearts and know the thoughts of mankind is not in the power either of men or angels, but is the prerogative of God only; 2dly, by assuming to himself, and manifesting undeniably, that he possessed power to forgive sins. But when the multitude saw it, they marvelled — They were all amazed, says Mark, and glorified God, &c. — So, what was to the scribes an occasion of blaspheming, was to the people an incitement to praise God.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9:3 Does he think he’s God? God alone could forgive sins (Ps 103:3; Isa 43:25; Jer 50:20). The teachers of religious law failed to comprehend Jesus’ mission as God’s incarnate Son (Matt 3:17; 11:25-27). As God’s Messiah (1:1; 11:2-6), he was saving mankind (8:17; 26:26-28).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mat 9:3. εἶπον ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, οὗτος βλασφημεῖ, said within themselves, this man blasphemeth) Blasphemy is committed when (1.) things unworthy of God are attributed to Him; (2.) things worthy of God are denied to Him; (3.) when the incommunicable attributes of God are attributed to others.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 9:3 . τινὲς τ . γραμματέων : some scribes present on this occasion. Ominous fact duly introduced by ἰδοὺ ; its significance still more distinctly recognised by Luke, who gives it prominent mention at the beginning of his narrative (Mat 9:17 ). Sure sign of the extent, depth, and quality of Christ’s influence. βλασφημεῖ : of course; the prophet always is a scandalous, irreverent blasphemer from the conventional point of view. The scribes regarded forgiveness purely under the aspect of prerogative, and in self-defence Jesus must meet them on their own ground. His answer covers the whole case. There is more than prerogative in the matter; there is the right, duty, privilege, and power of every man to promote faith in pardon by hearty proclamation of the law of the moral world. This is dealt with first.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To blaspheme, signifieth amongst the divines to speak wickedly: and amongst the more eloquent Grecians, to slander.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 3. This man blasphemeth.] βλασφημεω comes either from βλαπτειν την φημην, to hurt or blast the reputation or credit of another, or from βαλλειν ταις φημαις, to smite with reports. Whenever it is used in reference to GOD, it simply signifies, to speak impiously of his nature, or attributes, or works. Injurious speaking is its proper translation when referred to man.

The scribes were the literati of that time; and their learning, because not used in dependence on God, rendered them proud, envious, and obstinate. Unsanctified knowledge has still the same effect: that light serves only to blind and lead men out of the way which is not joined with uprightness of heart. The most sacred truths often become an occasion of delusion, where men are under the government of their evil passions.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) This man blasphemeth.—The words were but an echo of the charge that had been brought at Jerusalem, that “He made Himself equal with God” (Joh_5:18), and may well have come from some of the same objectors. St. Mark and St. Luke give the grounds of their accusation: “What is this that this Man thus speaks? Who can forgive sins but One, that is, God?” Speaking abstractedly, they were affirming one of the first principles of all true religious belief. All sins are offences against God, and therefore, though men may forgive trespasses as far as they themselves are concerned, the ultimate act of forgiveness belongs to God only; and for a mere man, as such, to claim the right of forgiving thus absolutely, was to claim a divine attribute, and therefore to blaspheme—i.e., to utter words as disparaging as open profaneness to the majesty of God. What they forgot to take into account was the possibility (1) that God might so far delegate His power to His chosen servants that they, on sufficient evidence of that delegation, might rightly declare sins to be forgiven; or (2) that the Teacher might Himself be one with God, and so share in His perfections and prerogatives. On either of these suppositions the charge of blasphemy was fully answered, and the sin of the scribes lay in their ignoring the fact that He had given sufficient proof of the former, if not of the latter also.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And behold, certain of the Scribes said within themselves,.... And of the Pharisees also, as Luke says; for there were at this time Pharisees and doctors of the law, who were come out of every town of Galilee and Judea, and out of Jerusalem, sitting and hearing him teach, and observing what he said, and did; who upon hearing him pronounce the sentence of pardon, upon this "paralytic" man, reasoned and concluded in their own minds, though they did not care to speak it out, that

this man blasphemeth: the reason was, because they thought he ascribed that to himself, which was peculiar to God: and so he did, and yet did not blaspheme; because he himself was God, of which he quickly gave convincing proofs.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.

Ver. 3. This man blasphemeth] True, had he been but a man, and had taken upon him to forgive sins by his own authority, as Popish priests do, to the subverting of some men’s souls. I have known one, saith a reverend divine, who neither by education nor affection was disposed to Popery; who having the ill hap, when his conscience was perplexed, to fall into the hands of a Popish priest, became a Papist upon this reason, because, as the priest suggested, that religion afforded more comfort for the conscience than ours; and therefore more comfort, because it had and exercised a power to pardon sin, which our ministers neither did nor dare to assume unto themselves.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This man blasphemeth - The word “blaspheme” originally means to speak evil of anyone; to injure by words; to blame unjustly. When applied to God, it means to speak of him unjustly; to ascribe to him acts and attributes which he does not possess; or to speak impiously or profanely. It also means to say or do anything by which his name or honor is insulted, or which conveys an “impression” unfavourable to God. It means. also, to attempt to do, or say a thing, which belongs to him alone, or which he only can do. This is its meaning here. Christ was charged “with saying a thing in his own name, or attempting to do a thing, which properly belonged to God;” thus assuming the place of God, and doing him injury, as the scribes supposed, by an invasion of his prerogatives. “None,” said they (see Mark and Luke), “can forgive sins but God only.” In this they reasoned correctly. See Isa 43:25; Isa 44:22. None of the prophets had this power; and by saying that “he forgave sins,” Jesus was understood to affirm that he was divine; and as he proved this by working a miracle expressly to confirm the claim, it follows that he is divine, or equal with the Father.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

This man blasphemeth, by pretending to have a power to forgive sins, which none but God can do; and they looked upon Jesus as a man only. It is true, and what all Catholics teach, that God alone hath power of himself to forgive sins. But Christ, who was both God and man, could, and did communicate this power of forgiving sins in his name, to bishops and priests, as his ministers and instruments in the sacraments of baptism and penance. We have Christ’s clear words for it, (John xx. 23.) whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, &c. (Witham) --- And behold some of the scribes. The Jewish rulers wished to defame the character of our divine Redeemer, but by this means they rendered the miracle much more famous, and Christ turned their wicked designs to their own confusion. (St. John Chrysostom) --- For Christ says, Why do you think evil in your hearts? in which words Jesus plainly evinces to them the reality of his divinity; for who knows the secrets of man’s heart, but God alone? (St. Jerome)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Mark saith, There were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only? Mar 2:6,7. Luke saith, The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? Luk 5:21. It should seem they did not speak it out. Mark saith, they reasoned in their hearts. Matthew in the next verse saith,

Jesus, knowing their thoughts. It seemeth that it was then agreed on all hands, that forgiving of sins was the prerogative of God alone; and that for man to arrogate to himself such a power as belonged to God alone was no less than blasphemy, as all ascribings of Divine perfections to creatures must be. It stands the pope and priests in hand to clear themselves from this guilt. It was also agreed by the scribes and Pharisees, that Christ spake blasphemy in pronouncing to the sick of the palsy, that his sins were forgiven. The reason was, because they did not believe him to be the Son of God, but looked on him as mere man.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Blasphemeth — By its proper force, this word means to slander or reproach. Here it means to infringe the divine attributes or impeach the divine character in a presumptuous way.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And certain of the scribes. From St. Luke"s account (ver. 17) we learn that the miracle took place before a large assembly of "Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who had come out of every village of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem." "Yet even among these there was a division (tinev). Said within themselves. So Mark, "reasoning in their hearts." This man (outov). The word seems to convey a notion of contempt and of vindictive joy that they have caught him. (cf. Mark, ti outov outwv lalei ; and perhaps Mat_12:24) Blasphemeth (blasfhmei). In its fullest meaning; through assumption of Divine authority. (so also Mat_26:65 Joh_10:33, Joh_10:36) "No passage of the Old Testament affirms that the Messiah himself will forgive sins. Thus Jesus ascribes to himself what even the highest Old Testament prophecies of the Messianic time had reserved to God; e.g. Jer_31:34 Isa_43:25 (Kubel). Observe that Mark lays more stress upon the process of their thoughts, Matthew and Luke on the conclusion at which they arrived, Luke also indicating that the supposed sin had many parts (lalei blasfhmiav) they thought, "Every word he has uttered is blasphemy."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This man blasphemeth - Attributing to himself a power (that of forgiving sins) which belongs to God only.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The condemnation of the scribes:

v. 3. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.

v. 4. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

v. 5. For whether is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise, and walk?

As usual, the enemies of Christ had their representatives in the people surrounding Jesus, to counteract, if possible, the influence of His teaching and of His miracles. It was not a rude interruption which they tried here, but their objection, to the omniscient mind of Christ, was as open as though they had shouted it at the top of their voice. They bring the accusation of blasphemy against the Lord, of an impious assumption of divine rights and powers. They challenge His prerogative, correctly stating that it was God’s office to pardon sins, Luk 5:21. Jesus read their thoughts as He read the mental state of the paralytic. His very searching and knowing of their hearts reproved their wickedness, and to this He adds the spoken rebuke: To what end, with the expectation of what,—what do you propose to accomplish with the evil thoughts that are in your hearts? His question to them: Both being equally easy to say, which takes the greater power and authority, which would prove the stronger argument as to divine omnipotence, the healing of the body or the healing of the soul?

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See here, how the best of men are sometimes charged with saying and doing the worst of things; to do well and bear ill, was the portion of Christ himself, and may be the portion of the holiest of those that belong to Christ; the innocent Jesus was accused of blasphemy, of sorcery, and of the blackest crimes. Innocency itself can protect no man from slander and false accusations.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. Certain of the scribes said within themselves. They had scented heresy from afar, and came from Jerusalem to pry into the teachings of the Prophet of Galilee, as the people called him, (see Luke 5:17). Scribes. The learned class, the official expounders of the Scriptures, the theologians, the jurists, the legislators, the politicians, and, indeed, the soul of Israel. This man blasphemeth. By professing to forgive sins, the prerogative not of man, but of God. If Christ were but a man, as they imagined, the scribes would have been right. And yet, so far, he had not said that he forgave the sins, but merely declared them forgiven. This was the beginning of the opposition that ended with the cross. On the same accusation of blasphemy, now first made, the Sanhedrim condemned him to death (Matt. 26:65).

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Behold

This marks the beginning of another event in the larger story. It may involve different people than the previous events. Your language may have a way of doing this.

among themselves

Possible meanings are 1) each one was thinking to himself, or 2) they were speaking among themselves.

blaspheming

Jesus was claiming to be able to do things the scribes thought only God can do.

knew their thoughts

Jesus knew what they were thinking either supernaturally or because he could see them talking to each other.

Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?

Jesus used this question to rebuke the scribes. (See: Rhetorical Question)

evil

This is moral evil or wickedness, not simply error in fact.

in your hearts

Here "hearts" refers to their minds or their thoughts. (See: Metonymy)

For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?

Jesus uses this question to make the scribes think about what might prove whether or not he could really forgive sins. AT: "I just said 'Your sins are forgiven.' You may think that it is harder to say 'Get up and walk,' because the proof of whether or not I can heal the man will be shown by whether or not he gets up and walks." or "You may think that it is easier to say 'Your sins are forgiven' than it is to say 'Get up and walk.'" (See: Rhetorical Question)

which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?

The quotes can be translated as indirect quotes. AT: "which is easier, to tell someone that his sins are forgiven, or to tell him to get up and walk?" or "you may think that it is easier to tell someone that his sins are forgiven than to tell him to get up and walk." (See: Direct and Indirect Quotations)

Your sins are forgiven

Here "your" is singular. This can be stated in active form. AT: "I have forgiven your sins" (See: Forms of You and Active or Passive)

that you may know

"I will prove to you." The "you" is plural. (See: Forms of You)

your mat ... your house

Here "you" is singular. (See: Forms of You)

go to your house

Jesus is not forbidding the man to go elsewhere. He is giving the man the opportunity to go home.

translationWords

scribe

blasphemy

Jesus

evil

heart

sin

forgive

Son of Man

authority

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

3. βλασφημεῖν. Construction τινά, εἴς τινα, τι or abs. (1) to speak evil of God or of sacred things βλ. εἰς τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, Mar 3:29 and Luk 12:10; ἠνάγκαζον βλασφημεῖν, Act 26:11; ἵνα μὴ ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ βλασφημῆται, Tit 2:5. (2) to disparage the divine nature, to usurp the honour due to God, as here and generally in the Gospels. (3) ‘to calumniate men’ τί βλασφημοῦμαι ὑπὲρ οὖ ἐγὼ εὐχαριστῶ; 1Co 10:30. As a classical word βλασφημεῖν is opposed to εὐφημεῖν: so βλασφημία, Eur. Ion. 1189, βλασφημίαν τις οἰκετῶν ἐφθέγξατο, ‘spake word of evil omen.’ The derivation is uncertain, perhaps from the same root as βλάξ, βλάζειν, see Buttmann, Lex, sub voc. βλίττειν, § 6. Others connect the word with βλάπτειν, cp. ‘all words that may do hurt.’

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(M) 3. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemes.] Mk. has: “And there were certain of the scribes there sitting, and reasoning in their hearts. Why doth this man so speak? He blasphemes.”—καὶ ἰδού] See on 1:20.—ἐν ἐαυτοῖς] for Mk.’s ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν refers to inward reasoning, not to outward expression. Mk. adds: “Who can forgive sins save one, God?”

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.