Ordinarily there was nothing wrong with someone declaring a person’s sins forgiven, as long as that someone was a priest and everyone was in the temple. But nobody says, “Hang on, you’re not a priest!” or “Wait a minute, this isn’t the temple!” Rather, the complaint is, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7; see Isa 43:25). The offense that Jesus’ words provoke is by his presumption to speak with a divine prerogative. Clearly Jesus’ declaration of forgiveness in such a context was tantamount to assuming the authority to forgive on God’s behalf.
