The Pharisees were dumb with amazement and overwhelmed with defeat. They saw that here was no opportunity for their jealousy to inflame the multitude. The wonderful work wrought upon the man whom they had given over to the wrath of God had so impressed the people that the rabbis were for the time forgotten. They saw that Christ possessed a power which they had ascribed to God alone; yet the gentle dignity of His manner was in marked contrast to their own haughty bearing. They were disconcerted and abashed, recognizing, but not confessing, the presence of a superior being. The stronger the evidence that Jesus had power on earth to forgive sins, the more firmly 271 they entrenched themselves in unbelief. From the home of Peter, where they had seen the paralytic restored by His word, they went away to invent new schemes for silencing the Son of God.

Farisæerne var målløse af forundring og følte deres nederlag overvældende. De indså, at der ikke her var nogen mulighed for, at de ved deres skinsyge kunne ophidse folket. Den undergerning, der var sket med manden, som de havde overgivet til Guds vrede, havde gjort et så dybt indtryk på alle, at ingen i øjeblikket havde tanke for rabbinerne. De så, at Kristus ejede en kraft, som de mente, at kun Gud havde; men alligevel var den milde værdighed i hans optræden en påfaldende modsætning til deres eget hovmodige væsen. De var forvirrede og flove og erkendte, skønt de ikke indrømmede det, at de havde mødt en, som var dem overlegen. Jo stærkere beviser de fik for, at Jesus havde magt på jorden til at forlade synder, jo stærkere forskansede de sig i deres vantro. De gik bort fra Peters hjem, hvor de havde set den lamme blive helbredt ved Jesu ord, og søgte at opfinde nye planer for at bringe Guds Søn til tavshed.