by Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible, ed. Dunn, 2003.

As the human being described in Daniel 7, the human being to whom divine authority is granted, Jesus has authority to forgive sins, or, in the case of someone like Caiaphas, he has the authority to sit in judgment. Jesus has not claimed to be God (if he had, the scribes would have reacted much more violently); he has claimed to be God’s vice-regent on earth, proclaiming God’s rule and offering forgiveness to those who respond in faith to the proclamation.

It is also worth noting that in the Aramaic paraphrase of Isaiah (i.e., the Targum) the suffering servant of Isa 52:13-53:12 is understood in messianic terms as one through whom Israel’s sins can be forgiven. A few phrases are instructive: “… in that we attach ourselves to his words our sins will be forgiven us… before the Lord it was a pleasure to forgive the sins of us all for his sake … he shall beseech concerning their sins … yet he will beseech concerning the sins of many, and to the rebels it shall be forgiven for him” (Tg. Isa 53:5, 6,11,12).

To defend his claim that he truly does possess divine authority to forgive sins, Jesus asks his critics: “Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your pallet, and walk?’” (2:9). The word of healing is harder because it can be verified; the word of forgiveness is easier because it cannot be verified. Therefore, to prove that he really can do the easier (i.e., forgive the man’s sins) he does the harder (i.e., heal the man’s paralysis). Jesus commands the paralyzed man to rise, take up his pallet, and go home (v. 11). He does so, and everyone is astounded and glorifies God (v. 12). This response stands in stark contrast to the grousing of the scribes only moments earlier. “We never saw anything like this!” No, they had not, because the authorized Son of Man had never before been among them.