Mark 2:5

their faith The faith of all, of the paralytic himself and those that bore him. The Holy One did not reject this "charitable work" of theirs in bringing him before Him, any more than He does that of those who bring infants to Him in Holy Baptism.

Son St Luke, Luke 5:20, gives the words thus, "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." St Mark has preserved to us the tenderer word, even as St Matthew has done in his account (Matthew 9:22).

thy sins His sufferings may have been due to sinful excesses. Comp. the words of the Saviour to the man, who had an infirmity thirty and eight years, "Behold thou art made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee," John 5:14. At any rate his consciousness of sin was such that it was necessary to speak to his soul before healing was extended to his body. See Luke 7:48.

be forgiven The mood here is not optative but indicative. Thy sins are, or rather, have been forgiven thee.