It is also recorded in the Gospel according to St. Luke,
that on a certain day Jesus passed by a Jew who was sick of the palsy, and lay
upon a couch. When the Jew saw Him, he recognized Him, and cried out for His
help. Jesus said unto him: “Arise from thy bed; thy sins are forgiven thee.”
Certain of the Jews, standing by, protested saying: “Who can forgive sins, but
God alone?” And immediately He perceived their thoughts, Jesus answering said
unto them: “Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, arise, and
take up thy bed, and walk; or to say, thy sins are forgiven thee? that ye may
know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins.” This is the real
sovereignty, and such is the power of God’s chosen Ones! All these things which
We have repeatedly mentioned, and the details which We have cited from divers
sources, have no other purpose but to enable thee to grasp the meaning of the
allusions in the utterances of the chosen Ones of God, lest certain of these
utterances cause thy feet to falter and thy heart to be dismayed.
- Baha’u’llah (‘The Book of Certitude’)
