Mark 2:9-12 - Get up!

2:9

Now at this point was it reasonable for the teachers of the Law to deduce that Jesus was God? Maybe not, but Jesus now does something that should at least cause them to think, rather than react. He presents them with the question “Which is easier to say to this paralysed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say ‘Get up, take up your man and walk’?”. The first one is easier to say, for there is no immediate visible sign of someone’s sins having been forgiven, the second is quickly proven to be true or false.

2:10-12

Jesus then commands the man to get up, take his mat and go home, which of course the man does. Jesus has shown that He was not mouthing empty words. He also refers to Himself as the “Son of Man” for the first time in Mark. The term “son of man” can be taken in two ways. Ezekiel is frequently referred to as “son of man”, meaning that he is just a man. In Daniel 7:13 it is used in a messianic sense. Jesus deliberately uses the term ambiguously, maybe referring to both His deity and humanity.