3 Four men had brought a man who was paralyzed, 4 but they could not get near Jesus because of the crowds. So they went up on the roof and took it apart. After they had made an opening above Jesus, they lowered down the mat with the paralyzed man lying on it.

5 When Jesus saw the trust these men had, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

6 Some of the religious teachers sitting there thought to themselves, 7 "Why is he talking like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins? Only God can do that!"

8 Jesus knew right away what they were thinking. He said to them, "Why are you thinking like this? 9 What’s easier: to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 But to convince you that the Son of man has the right to forgive sins, 11 I say to you (the paralyzed man), ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.’"

12 He stood up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of everyone there. They were all amazed, and praised God, saying, "We’ve never ever seen anything like this!"