The Meaning of the Mats

[Wm777]

In at least two different miracles in two different Gospels - Jesus tells two different paralytics to “Pick up your mat and walk.”

My questions are about the mats.

1.) What were they used for? Were they used for prayers? They seem to have more than just a protective significance, such as being protection from the ground (as maybe a picnic blanket would for the food at a picnic, or one’s body from the ground).

2.) When Jesus says to pick up the mat and walk, it seems like an additional command; meaning, he could have just said, “Get up and walk”, which would be even easier than picking up the mat and walking, even though rising and walking would precede picking up the mat.

What I am ultimately trying to discern here is, the mats seem to be a little like the cross and resurrection - perhaps even a foreshadowing of both because in both stories Jesus ends up persecuted by the healed person’s witness for working a miracle on the sabbath.

In either case, it makes me wonder about the meaning of the mats.

 

[BartholomewB]

In the case of the miracle at Capernaum, in all three Synoptic Gospels (Matt 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:17-26), the man is paralyzed and is carried around lying on a stretcher of some kind. Jesus’ words have such a miraculous impact that the man can not only walk but can even carry his stretcher as well.

John’s miracle takes place in Jerusalem and he doesn’t specify that the man is paralyzed, but he has been “sick” or “disabled” (in different translations) for 38 years and he is also clearly carried around on a pallet or stretcher (John 5:1-15).

In this context, it looks as though “mat” may not be the best translation for any of the three different Greek words that the evangelists use in these passages, kliné, klinidion, krabattos.

https://biblehub.com/greek/2825.htm

https://biblehub.com/greek/2826.htm

https://biblehub.com/greek/2895.htm

 

[Wm777]

That’s interesting.

I studied ancient Greek in undergrad ages ago, but I dont recall the word “kline” being discussed in any of our classes. That’s not to question the meaning of the word. I just dont remember learning it. It probably is the root of “recline”, “decline”, “incline”, etc., which seems basically to denote something a person “rests” on.

The notion of “rest” may have a deeper meaning because the miraculous events in question also occurred on the sabbath (the day of rest) - although the added depth of the meaning would be an interesting point to discern…

I dont think (meaning I’m assuming) the “rest” on the sabbath is not the same type of rest one would take while being sick… by sitting in something like a wheelchair… or, in this case, by sitting on a mat… besides both men had long-lived problems, not just a temporary infirmity…

One purpose of mats I had wondered about - is probably more of a later Muslim tradition, since Muslims use mats to pray… I dont think Jewish folks use mats to pray, so the purpose of the mats must have been more a health/medical one… That would take care of my first question…

I still dont quite get why Jesus wanted them to carry them, though…
It’s possible the mat could have been a show of health and strength, or possible that carrying it could have borne witness to the healing (for exmple, in a later unrelated miracle, Lazarus would himself become a witness)… But - in the healing in John - Jesus later told the paralytic, “Look, you are well now… avoid getting in any more trouble…” But, then, carrying the mat was also what got him and Jesus in trouble, so the mat couldn’t have been a “witness” article… It still seems like a mini via dolorosa, but I cant tell for sure…

So the info was helpful, , but still working on a more complete interpretation.

 

[LilyM]

To this day pilgrims who arrive at Lourdes on crutches and are healed will have their crutches hung up around the shrine as a visible symbol.of.their healing.

I suppose seeing someone who.was.previously paralysed get up off their stretcher AND then carry it away with them serves much the same purpose.