In Matthew 9, when Jesus tells the paralysed man,
Your sins are forgiven (
v.2), the Pharisees respond by accusing him of blasphemy (
v.3); in Mark's account their ire is made more explicit: they ask,
Who can forgive sins but God alone? (
Mark 2:7). It's a good question - and also a moot point.
The crowd who see the miracle respond with awe and praise because, as they see it, "
God...had given such authority to men." Authority to do what? To heal? Yes. To forgive? That would seem to be part of the package they have in mind.
The Pharisees are
angered because, as they see it, God alone can forgive sins; and the crowd are
amazed because, as they see it, God has conferred authority on men (not just the man) to forgive sins.
Who's right? It's often said (by preachers - I know, because I've said it) that the Pharisees were at least right on this point; where they went wrong was in not recognising that God was among them in the person of his Son. So they were right and the crowd was wrong.
I'm not so sure now. Is it true that only God can forgive sins? Yes, but it is also true that he devolves the authority to do so to people - Jesus tells us that explicitly in
Matthew 18:15ff, esp.
v.18.
So the Pharisees were only partly right; the crowd, however deficient in their understanding of the true identity of Jesus, had got it spot on.
