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John 5:8, 9 KJV

8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked:

Matthew 9:6 NIV

Get up, take your mat and go home.

Mark 2:11 NIV

I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.

There are various passages in the Bible where Jesus instructs people who have received a miracle to pick up their belongings, such as their bed or mat, and move.

Does this action carry any specific significance within the context of tradition or culture? What is the interpretation behind this directive?

agarza
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Humberto José Bortolossi
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3 Answers3

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It is only necessary to examine the context.

Neither of these two men are at home. The man in John is lying in a place where he expects to find healing and suporting himself on a bed or pallet or whatever translation is being used. The man in Mark and Matthew is being carried on a bed or pallet to a place where he expects to find healing.

Once they are healed, they can go home. In both cases, presumably, the bed or pallet is their own property. Therefore, obviously, they take it home with them. They will still need it.

Stephen Disraeli
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In John 5, the cultural importance of "take up thy bed and walk" is that it takes place on the Sabbath, when Jews are not allowed to carry things according to traditional interpretations of the Torah. This results in opposition from certain Jews. The author (John) then presents sequel episodes in which Jesus explains his view of the Sabbath and his unity with the Father. This is considered blasphemous by "the Jews," who plot to put him to death.

In Matthew's and Mark's versions, the healing is controversial because Jesus has said, “child, your sins are forgiven,” prior to instructing him to "take up your mat." This is overheard by certain scribes, who object that only God can forgive sins. They accuse Jesus of blasphemy. Jesus responds by asking "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’?" He then explains that the miracle was done so that "you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth.” Taking up one's mat in these narratives has no particular significance outside of being a dramatic detail in the story.

Summary: The cultural significance of taking up the mat in John's account is that it takes place on the Sabbath, when carrying such things was thought be some to be prohibited. In Matthew and Mark, taking up the mat is a dramatic detail with no particular significance in itself. It is an incidental part of a miracle story that is an object lesson to show that Jesus has the power to forgive sins.

Dan Fefferman
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There are two instances when Jesus instructed a paralytic to "take up your bed":

  1. The Paralytic Carried by Four Men Matt 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:17-26
  2. The Paralytic at Pool Bethesda, John 5:1-15

In both cases, Jesus' instruction to pick the mat and either walk or go home acts as a kind of proof of miracle - only a person who can walk can pick up their mat on which they were lying!

It was thus that all who knew the man realized immediately that he had been cured miraculously.

There is a secondary reason as well, different in each case:

  1. Paralytic carried by four men: The instruction to pick the mat and walk served to prove that Jesus had power/authority to forgive sins
  2. Paralytic at Pool Bethesda: The instruction to pick up the mat and walk served to prove that healing and compassion was more important that the minutiae of Sabbath-keeping; and further that Jesus is always at work upholding the universe (John 5:17). That is, Jesus used this miracle to demonstrate that He had life within Himself and was this divine (John 5:21, 24, 28, 40, etc.)
Dottard
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