Paralytic; Paralysis
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Matt. 4:24; 9:2)—a person deprived wholly or partly of voluntary movement by illness or injury. Ancient terms gathered several neurological conditions that modern medicine distinguishes, so the Gospel designation should not be forced into a single diagnosis such as stroke, spinal injury, or muscular contraction. Jesus healed paralytics and, in the healing of the man brought on a mat, joined bodily restoration with the authoritative forgiveness of sins (Matt. 9:1-8). The narrative does not teach that every disability results from a particular personal sin.