Some modern Commentators, being aware of these difficulties in this Story, and willing to reconcile Men to the earlier belief of it, say, as Drusius[258] did, that the Houses of Judæa were flat-roof'd, and not ridg'd: And Doctors, Lightfoot and Whitby[259] say, there was a Door on their flat Roofs, by which the Jews used to ascend to the top of their Houses, where they discours'd on the Law and religious Matters; and that it was thro' such a Door, by a little widening of the sides of it, that the Paralytick was let down in the presence of Jesus. To which Opinion I would yield, if it was not liable to these Objections, viz. that it is not reconcilable to what St. Luke says, of their letting the Paralytick down thro' the Tiling with his Couch, in the midst, where Jesus was; nor hardly consistent with what St. Mark says of their uncovering and breaking up the Roof of the House: which Expressions the Evangelists had never used, if there had been a Door for him to descend by. But to indulge Lightfoot and Whitby in their Notion; I may ask them, what occasion was there then of widening the doorway, and breaking down the sides of it? They'll say, because the Passage otherwise was too narrow, for the Man's Couch to get thro'. Why then did not they take him out of his Couch, and let him down in a Blanket, a Chair, or a Basket? Or rather, why did not Jesus, to prevent this Trouble and Damage to the House, ascend thro' this Door, to the Top of it, and their speak the healing Word to this poor Man? To say, that Jesus could not or would not go up to the Paralytick, I would not, for Fear of an Imputation of Blasphemy against me. Our Divines therefore are to look for, what they'll hardly find, an Answer to the said Question, which will consist with the Wisdom, the Goodness and Honour of Jesus; or here will be another and insuperable Bar to the Credibility of this Story.
In short, there are more and greater Difficultys affecting the Credit of this Miracle, on the side of Jesus, than any before urg'd. Could not he, as it was antiently[260] objected, have made the Access to himself more easy? Could not he, to prevent all this Trouble and Pains of getting to the Top of the House, and of breaking up the Roof of it, have desired or even forc'd the People to make way for this poor Man and his Bearers? This was not impossible for him to do. If it was hard for another; it was not for him, who was omnipotent. He that could drive his Thousands before him out of the Temple; and draw as many after him into the wilderness, might surely, by Force or Persuasion have made the People, how unreasonably mobbish soever, to retreat. And why did he not? Without a good and satisfactory Answer, which I can't conceive, to this Question, here is the most unaccountable and incredible part of the whole Story, that reflects on the Wisdom, the Power and Goodness of Jesus. If there had been no other absurd Circumstances of it, this is enough to spoil its Credit, so far as that I believe it impossible for Ministers of the Letter, with all their Wit, Penetration and Sagacity to get over it.
Believe then the Story of this Miracle, thus taken to Pieces, who can? It is such an Accumulation of Absurdities, Improbabilities, and Incredibilities, that a Man of the most easy Faith, if he at all think, can't digest. It's not credible, I said, to suppose, the People of Capernaum, where Jesus dwelt, and was well known and little admired, would at all press to see or hear him: And if the occasion of their Concourse was to behold his Miracles; it is less-reasonable to think they would tumultuate to their own disappointment; but rather make way for the diseased, for the satisfaction of their own Curiosity, to come to him: And if they did mob it to their own disappointment, about the Door of the House; it was next to impossible for the poor Man and his Couch to be heav'd over their Heads, and rais'd to the top of it: More unreasonable yet to think, the master of the House would suffer the Roof of it to be so broken up: But most of all against Reason to suppose, Jesus would not give forth the healing word, and prevent all this Labour, or by his divine Power disperse the People, that the Paralytick might have present and easy access to him.
Whether all this be not absolutely shocking of the Credit of this Story, let my Readers judge. In my Opinion, no Tale more monstrously romantick can be told. I don't here question Jesus's Power to heal this Paralytick, nor the miraculousness of the Cure of him: The trouble of that Question is saved me, by the many other incredible Circumstances of the Story, which are such a Contradiction to Sense and Reason, as is not to be equall'd, in any thing, that's commonly receiv'd and believ'd by Mankind. Cicero says, that there is nothing so absurd, which some of the Philosophers have not held. And they might and did, some of them, hold gross Absurdities. But the Letter of the Story of this Miracle before us, which is the Object of the Faith of our learned Priesthood at this Day is a Match for the worst of them.
But as absurd, as this Story is, I expect that our Clergy will be disgusted at my ludicrous display of it; and that Arch Deacon Stubbs in particular will again be ready to exclaim against me, and say, that this is turning a miraculous Fact and a divine Testimony of our Religion into Ridicule. Whereupon it is to be wish'd, that Arch-Deacon would write, what would be a Pleasure to see, a Vindication of this Story. If he can account for the possibility and credibility of the Letter of it, he shall have my leave to make another dull Speech in Convocation against me. And it is not unlikely, but he may say as much for it, as another Man: For as the Story is senseless, so it is the better suited to his Head and Brains. But if he don't, I much question, whether any other Clergyman of more Wit will, appear in Defence of it.
So absurd is the Letter of this Story, that for the Honour of Jesus, and Credibility of his Gospel, it is absolutely necessary to turn it into Allegory. To the Fathers then, let us go for their help in this Case. If they did not read me a better Lecture upon this Miracle, than do our modern Commentators, I should be almost tempted to renounce my Religion upon it: But as they have rationally and rightly instructed me in its true meaning, so I retain my Christian Faith, and admire the Sublimity of the Mystery, which I am now to give an account of.
By this Paralitick, St. Hilary[261] says, is to be understood Mankind of all Nations, which opinion too the Fathers held of the Paralitick, who was heal'd at the Pool of Bethesda. And by his Palsy is not meant any bodily Distemper, but the spiritual Palsy of the Soul, that is, as St. Augustin[262] and St. Jerome[263] interpret, a dissoluteness of Morals, and an unsteadiness of Faith and Principles, which is the Condition of Mankind at present, who want Jesus's help for the Cure of it. Eusebius Gallicanus[264] says, our Saviour's words signify, that it is not a bodily but a spiritual Disease here meant; or he had never said to the Paralytick, Son, thy Sins are forgiven thee, which words respect the inward Man, and demonstrate the Palsy here to be a disease Of the Soul.
The Man sick of the Palsy had four Bearers. And who are they mystically in this Case? Why, the Fathers[265] understand by them the four Evangelists, on whose Faith and Doctrine Mankind is to be carry'd unto Christ; for no Soul can be brought unto him, for the Sanation of his Sins and Errors, but by these four.
But to the top of the House is Mankind, thus paralytically diseased, to be carry'd by the four Evangelists, his Bearers. And what then is this House and its Top? The House of Jesus is the intellectual Edifice of the World, otherwise call'd Wisdom's House; of the beautiful Buildings of which the Scriptures prophetically treat: therefore to the sublime Sense of the Scriptures, call'd the Top[266] of the House, is Man to be taken: He is not to abide in the low and literal Sense[267] of them, where People press and strive in vain to come to Jesus: But if he is taken to the Sublimity of the Scriptures and there open[268] the House of Wisdom, he will presently be admitted to the Presence and Knowledge of Jesus.
Venerable Bede, who is altogether a Transcriber of the Fathers, for which Reason I cite him among the Fathers, says[269], that by the Tiles of the House spoken of in St. Luke, is meant the Letter of the Scriptures, which is to be laid open for the manifestation of Christ and of divine Mysteries to the healing of Man's spiritual Palsy, the unsteadiness and dissoluteness of his Morals and Principles.