Capernaum was Peter's home and Jesus may have made this a sort of base. When He returned the people had not forgotten what He had done, and so the crowds gathered in great numbers. True to His mission, Jesus preached the word to them.
Some men had brought a paralysed friend with them. They had come with the express intention of getting Jesus to heal their friend. Houses of the time typically had an outside flight of stairs that led up to a flat clay roof. So they took their friend up there and made a hole in the roof.
There are two notable things about Jesus' reaction. First He commends them on their faith. The fact that they had just made a hole in the roof is overlooked. Jesus is more interested in our faith than a whole lot of other things we do. Secondly, rather than healing the man immediately He declares that his sins are forgiven.
This forgiveness would have shocked all concerned. First, the teachers of the Law accused Him of blasphemy. Even the Messiah was not allowed to forgive sins, only God Himself. So Jesus is claiming equality with God.
Then there is the paralysed man and his friends. Probably he (or at least his friends) were somewhat disappointed. They had brought him to be healed, not forgiven. Actually forgiveness is our greatest need, moreover it is the harder thing to achieve. Jesus could heal with a single word or touch, in order to obtain our forgiveness He had to go to the cross. So Jesus then does heal the man to demonstrate that He did indeed have the authority to heal.
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