Luke
5:27-39
The mission of the Messiah, 1:5-9:50
3. The signs of the Messiah, 4:31-6:11
v] Sign of the outcast - Lord of the lost
SynopsisAfter the healing of the paralytic, Luke records the call of Levi and the banquet that was held later in his home. This dinner with tax collectors and sinners prompts a strong reaction from the Pharisees, to which Jesus responds, "I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance." Luke then records the question over fasting. The Pharisees are not impressed with the rather sloppy approach to fasting regulations employed by Jesus and his disciples, to which criticism Jesus makes the point that a wedding is not for fasting. A collection of parabolic sayings illustrates this point: new cloth on old; new wine in new wineskins; a person who has started drinking well-aged wine will not put up with a young wine.
Teaching
In the dawning of the messianic age of the kingdom, lost sinners are found and forgiven. This is not a time for fasting, but rejoicing, for something new is here, and like a mature wine, once tasted, nothing else compares.
Issues
i] Context: See 4:31-44. The calling of Levi and the question about fasting is the fifth episode of six in the section The signs of the Messiah which, by focusing on his acts, reveals the nature of his authority, 4:31-6:11. He does what only God can do. This episode is the second in a group of three conflict stories.
ii] Structure: The sign of the outcast:
The call of Levi, v27-28;
The question over associating with sinners, v29-32:
Setting, v29;
Reaction, v30;
Jesus' response, v31-32:
"it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."
"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners ....."
The question on fasting, v33-39:
Question, v33;
Jesus' reply, v34-35;
"can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast ........"
Parables, 37-38:
New cloth on old;
New wine in old wineskins.
Saying, v39:
"no one after drinking old wine wants the new ......'"
iii] Interpretation:
This episode, with its focus on the tax collector's banquet, serves as a sign of the new age, a sign of the ingathering of the lost. Something new is here; God is gathering the lost into his promised kingdom. "The Anointed One has brought with him the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises, and the joy of the awaited age has come. As a result, there is no room for fasting or mourning", Stein.
In the call of the tax collector Levi, Jesus breaks the existing religious mould. He inaugurates a new age and, in so doing, incorporates into the people of God those who are lost and broken before the Lord ("those who are sick"). This is a profound theological truth, ie., Levi represents the incoming of the lost remnant of Israel (this episode is not about incorporating social outcasts into the church, so Danker, Fitzmyer).
What does Jesus mean when he says he has "not come to call the righteous"? The parenthetical qualification indicating that the call is not to the "righteous / just" causes no end of problems.
The promised eschatological kingdom of God is inaugurated in the calling out of the lost of Israel - the dispersed remnant of Israel, the broken, enslaved, scattered people of God who wait expectantly for the day of their redemption. For membership in the kingdom, the messiah calls out / invites / summons the lost to repentance ("to repentance" is peculiar to Luke); he calls out / invites / summons those waiting for redemption. Messiah has come to gather to membership those who are non-member, those who want to be right before God.
So, what about the members of the kingdom, "the righteous"? "I have not come to call the righteous" If Jesus is engaging with the Pharisees at this point, then "the righteous" could mean "self-righteous", Jesus has not come to call those who think they are in the kingdom of God on the basis of their ethical superiority. Jesus is certainly not suggesting that the Pharisees are "the righteous." Hopefully some of them are the lost waiting expectantly for the day of redemption, although as Jesus notes in v39, most are happy with their existing state.
On the other hand, Jesus may have in mind those who are righteous before God, devout people who, like Simeon or Anna, rest firmly on the faith of Abraham, waiting earnestly for the dawning of the kingdom. Repentance for such people is a way of life; humility is their daily walk. Zachariah speaks of these righteous Jews entering the gates of the kingdom with Gentiles / outcasts holding onto their tassels, Zech.8:23. Of course, in the end, there is only one righteous Jew, namely Jesus. Everyone else, Jew and Gentile alike, only sneak into the kingdom by holding onto the tassels of that one righteous man. None-the-less, there has always been a righteous remnant in Israel, a remnant accounted righteous through faith, and Jesus doesn't come to call them to repentance.
The Western mind is always confused by a counterpoint proposition. We will often give weight to the negative as well as the positive, but to the Eastern mind, the negative is eliminated by the positive. A classic example can be found in the Lord's prayer: "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Of course, God will not lead us into the test / trial (what a stupid idea), but he will deliver us from the Evil One, if we ask. The purpose / object of Jesus mission is certainly not about calling / inviting / summoning the righteous to repent (what a stupid idea), but it is certainly about calling sinners to repent. The healthy don't need a doctor, but the sick certainly do.
The bridegroom proverb, v34-35. When Jesus says that "the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them", is he referring to his crucifixion? Does Jesus treat the bridegroom proverb allegorically and apply it to himself in verse?. He, as the bridegroom, will be "taken away / removed", then the disciples ("guests") will fast / mourn. "Taken away" may well refer to Jesus' death, while the fasting / mourning may last till his resurrection / Pentecost??? Old Testament allusions have been suggested, cf., Ez.10:1-4, Tobit 6:13ff, and of the Servant being "taken away", Isa.53:8.
It seems better if we treat v34 and 35 as a simple illustration which makes the point that a wedding is not for fasting / mourning, but for celebration; fasting / mourning is for another day. The dawning of the new age of the kingdom prompts celebration, not sobriety.
The Parables of the patch and the wineskins. These teaching parables illustrate the radical incompatibility ("incompatible", Marshall, "dichotomy", Ellis) that exists between the present age and the dawning of the long-promised kingdom in Christ. The incompatibility of the two is evident in the comparison between the piety of Israel's religious elite (fasting of the Pharisees / the disciples of John) and the celebrating of Jesus and his disciples.
Some commentators argue that the parables illustrate the difference between scribal law, as opposed to Christian freedom, so Danker, or the distance between the old forms of religious piety and politics and the kingdom message of Jesus, so Johnson. Yet, we are on safer ground if we follow Nolland who argues that they state nothing more than a truism - some things just don't go together, so "the new must be allowed to have its own integrity", Nolland.
The saying: "no one after drinking a well-aged wine desires this year's vintage, for he says, 'a finely aged drop is better.'" This saying, recorded only in Luke, sums up the episode, although its sense is not overly clear. Is the comment negative or positive?
Taken negatively, the point seems to be that the Pharisees, and their scribes, are hooked on the old wine - they prefer the struggle of waiting over the joy of arrival. "Those who are most accustomed to the old wine will not even taste the new; the old, they say, is good enough. To drink the new wine offered at Jesus' banquet, to wear the new garment for his wedding feast, one must have a new heart, go through metanoia, 'a change of mind', such as that shown by tax-agents and sinners", Johnson. Plummer makes the point simply, "you have set your course, you will never change your ways"; "Some people will not taste the new wine of the gospel, since some tastes never change", Bock. So, referencing the Pharisees, they treat the new wine of the gospel "as inferior to the old wine", Nolland.
Taken positively, what Jesus offers is good mature wine, wine that reflects God's ancient purposes in Israel, whereas the Pharisees offer a young wine, innovative theology which is inconsistent with God's will, so Green. "Whoever has begun drinking the old wine will not put up with the new. ..... What is new in the Gospel is also ancient .... in comparison to the more recent doctrinal deviations (of the Pharisees)", Bovon. The positive approach is somewhat left-of-field, but has much to commend it.
iv] Synoptics:
See 3:1-20.. Another memorable pericope consisting of narrative, sayings and parables. The package stands as a whole and could well have taken this shape in the oral tradition of the early church. All three synoptic gospels align, again with the usual stylistic differences. Matthew adds the interpretive saying "I desire mercy not sacrifice", 9:13, and Luke adds the saying "no man, having drunk old wine, desires new, for he says the old is good enough."
v] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.
Text - 5:27
Lord of the lost, v27-39: i] The call of Levi, v27-28. Tax in the first century was insidious. Not only was it too high, it was fraudulently collected. The tax collectors would often pocket up to 50% for themselves. Levi, often identified by his common name Matthew, was in his tax booth collecting taxes. Obviously he had already been touched by Jesus' ministry, and when asked to be a disciple, he jumps at the chance.
meta tauta "after this" - [and] after these things. Temporal use of the preposition meta, "after". Referring to the events of the previous episode.
exhlqen (exercomai) aor. "Jesus went out" - he went out [and saw]. Probably went out of the town, which according to Mark was Capernaum.
telwnhn (hV ou) "a tax collector" - a tax collector. Accusative direct object of the verb "to see." A person employed by either the Roman authorities, or Herod, to collect custom dues for the transportation of goods. Jewish tax collectors were regarded as collaborators as well as thieves (they took a commission for their work).
onamati (a atoV) dat. "by the name of" - by name [levi]. Dative of reference / respect; "with respect to his name, Levi."
kaqhmenon (kaqhmai) aor. part. "sitting" - sitting. The participle serves as the accusative complement of the direct object "saw", standing in a double accusative construction and stating a face about the object "Levi"; "saw Levi sitting at the tax office / customs office / revenue office".
epi + acc. "at" - in [the tax office]. Spatial; "at the tax booth", ESV.
autw/ dat. pro. " to him" - [and he said] to him. Dative of indirect object.
moi "me" - [follow] me. Dative of direct object after the verb "to follow." The meaning is "become a disciple." Such involves "participation in, and commitment to, the destiny of one whose actions and movements constitute a divinely appointed journey to be accomplished; with which journey are bound up the kingdom of God and eternal life", Evans.
v28
katalipwn (kataleipw) aor. part. "left [everything]" - [and] having left behind [all, having arisen]. This participle, as with "having arisen", is attendant circumstance, expressing action accompanying the main verb "he followed" which being imperfect, is possibly inceptive; "Levi rose from his seat, left everything, and began to be his follower", Barclay. The position of "left everything" is emphatic, given that Levi would "get up" first before leaving. It is unclear whether his leaving everything is to be understood as a total renunciation of the things of this world, or simply that he leaves "everything in the tollhouse behind; .... leaves one occupation to take up another", Fitzmyer.
autw/ dat. pro. "him" - [he was following] him. Dative of direct object after the verb "to follow."
v29
ii] Jesus' association with tax collectors and sinners, 29-32. a) Setting, v29. Jesus' association with the lost of Israel further illustrates the dawning of the new age. Jesus has come to call the sinners to repentance.
autw/ dat. "for Jesus" - [and levi arranged a great banquet] for him. Dative of interest, advantage.
en + dat. "at" - in [the house of him]. Local; expressing space / place, as NIV.
telwnwn (hV ou) gen. "of tax collectors" - [and there was a great crowd] of tax collectors. The genitive is adjectival, partitive / wholative. Outcasts socialize with outcasts!
h\san ... katakeimenoi (katakeimai) pres. part. "were eating" - [and others who] were reclining at table. A periphrastic imperfect construction, possibly emphasizing aspect, durative action; "reclined at the table, eating and drinking", Junkins.
met (meta) + gen. "with" - with [them]. Expressing association.
v30
b) Reaction, v30: Somehow, the Pharisees get in on the act, although as the separated ones they would certainly not have entered the home of a collaborator and thief. In their question to the disciples, the Pharisees probe the issue of religious cleanliness. Jesus cannot be the messiah if he allows himself to become ritually unclean. "Over against the Pharisaic idea of salvation by segregation, Jesus sets up the new principle of salvation by association", Manson, Sayings.
autwn gen. pro. "who belonged to their sect" - [and the pharisees and the scribes] of them. The genitive is probably adjectival, possessive, as NIV. A rather strange statement, even more complex in Mark, "scribes of the Pharisees." Many scribes / experts in the Law were Pharisees, so "Pharisaic scribes", Nolland.
egegguzon (gogguzw) imperf. "complained" - were grumbling, murmuring, complaining. The imperfect is probably durative expressing ongoing grumbling; "made this a bone of contention with his disciples", Rieu.
proV + acc. "to [his disciples]" - toward [the disciples]. Introducing a prepositional construction serving as the indirect object of "complained", a construction often used by Luke instead of a dative of indirect object. The complaint is directed to the disciples with reference to Jesus. Up to this point, Luke has referred to the apostles as Jesus' followers, but now he refers to a wider group following Jesus, maqhtaV, "disciples".
legonteV (legw) pres. part. "-" - saying. Attendant circumstance participle, redundant (pleonastic) - a common Semitic construction introducing direct speech; "complained .... saying" = "complained .... and said" = "complained".
dia tiv "why" - because why [are you eating and drinking]. This construction forms a question asking for a reason; "why?"
meta + gen. "with" - with. Expressing association.
aJmartwlwn (oV) gen. "sinners" - [the tax collectors and] sinners. Referring to ritually unclean people, so "people with whom no respectable Jew would have anything to do", Barclay.
v31
c) Jesus' response, v31-32: This proverbial saying has Hellenistic parallels; "only the sick need a physician, the healthy do not". As the sick need a physician, so sinners need an advocate. If Jesus is in the business of renovating sinners then he obviously has to attend to their sin. Any interpretation of this proverb must be controlled by v32, since it is likely that it is nothing more than a sarcastic quip.
apokriqeiV (apokrinomai) aor. pas. part. "[Jesus] answered" - [and] having answered [jesus said]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb said, virtually redundant; see apokriqeiV, 1:19.
proV "them" - to them. Again, Luke uses this preposition instead of a dative for an indirect object, a construction he continues to use, eg., v33, 34, 36. Also found in Acts.
oiJ uJgiainonteV (uJgiainw) pres. part. "the healthy" - the ones being healthy, well, sound. The participle serves as a substantive, nominative subject of the verb "to have."
ou creian ecousin "have no need" - no need have. "It is not those who are in good health ... who are in need of a physician", Cassirer.
iatrou (oV) gen. "a doctor" - of a doctor, physician. The genitive is usually taken as verbal, objective; "no need for a doctor."
alla "but" - but. Strong adversative standing in a counterpoint construction.
econteV (ecw) pres. part. "the [sick]" - the ones having badly = illness. The participle serves as a substantive, nominative subject of an assumed verb "to have", and with the adverb "badly" forms an idiomatic nominal phrase, "the ones being ill have need of a doctor"; "those who are in bad health", Cassirer.
v32
Jesus declares the purpose of his mission. In line with the Old Testament prophets, Jesus declares that the dawning kingdom of God is for the lost, broken, dispersed, enslaved..... remnant of Israel. Messiah comes to gather those who yearn for the day of redemption. Jesus therefore, as the messiah, rightly associates with "sinners" and invites, or better, summons them to enter the kingdom. Unlike both Matthew and Mark, Luke adds the means by which a person enters, namely, repentance. "I'm here inviting outsiders, not insiders - and invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out", Peterson.
kalesai (kalew) aor. inf. "to call" - [i have not come] to call. The infinitive is adverbial, probably final, expressing purpose; "I have .... come .... in order to call". Like the prophets of old, Jesus comes from God as a messenger of God, to call /invite (possibly better summons, cf., Isa. 41:9, 42:6) the remnant of Israel to participate in the blessings of God's long-promised eschatological kingdom.
dikaiouV (oV) "the righteous" - righteous, just. The parenthetical qualification indicating that this call is not to the "righteous / just."
alla "but" - but. Strong adversative standing in a counterpoint construction; "not ...., but ...."
eiV "to" - [to call sinners] into [repentance]. Here expressing purpose / end-view; Jesus comes with the purpose of summoning those who are separated from God, ("sinners"), with a view to a decision, on their part, for return to God ("repentance").
v33
iii] The question on fasting, v33-35. Although it is true that even the disciples of John the Baptist fast, the dawning of the new age of the kingdom is a time of joy, a time of celebration.
a) Question, v33: The Pharisees note that even the disciples of John the Baptist fast, so why is it that Jesus and his disciples are more prone to partying than piety?
Iwannou (oV) gen. "John's" - [but/and they said to him, the disciples] of john. The genitive is adjectival, relational.
pukna adv. "often" - [fast] frequently, often [and offer prayers]. The Day of Atonement is the only official fasting day, but the Pharisees added their own days. It is interesting to note that the disciples of John join in this practice. Were some Pharisees? The practice of fasting in sackcloth and ashes serves to express a state of loss, sadness, brokenness before God, particularly for Israel's subjugation.
oiJ "the disciples" - [likewise also] the ones. The article serves as a nominalizer turning the genitive "of the Pharisees" into a nominal phrase subject of the verb "to do"; "the ones of the Pharisees do likewise" = "just like the Pharisees' disciples", Phillips.
twn Farisaiwn (oV) gen. "of the Pharisees" - of the pharisees. The genitive is adjectival, relational, or possessive.
oiJ ... soi "yours" - [but/and] the ones to you [eat and drink]. Again, the article oiJ serves as a nominalizer turning the dative pronoun soi into a substantive subject of the verbs "eat and drink"; "the ones to you eat and drink" - durative present, "keep on eating and drinking." The dative soi may be classified as a dative of reference / respect, but better of possession, as NIV. We may simply have an observation here which notes that the life-style of Jesus and his disciples aligns with that of secular society more than the accepted piety of religious Judaism, but it is likely that something stronger is intended; "You and your disciples spend most of your time at parties", cf., Peterson. This observation should help deflate the view that Christianity is a kill-joy religion.
v34
b) Jesus' reply, v34-35: In a simple illustration, Jesus makes the point that a wedding is not a time for sadness, but rather joy. The inauguration of the new age of the kingdom is not a time for fasting, but a time of celebration.
mh "-" - [but jesus said toward them, you are] not [able]. Used in a question expecting the answer "no". "You can't make ....... can you?" The expected answer is "of course not."
poihsai (poiew) aor. inf. "make" - to make. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "being able".
tou numfwnoV (wn wnoV) "[the guests] of the bridegroom" - [the sons] of the wedding hall, bridal chamber (the wedding guests of the house celebrating the wedding). The genitive is adjectival, relational.
nhsteuousai (nhsteuw) aor. inf. "fast" - to fast. The infinitive is complementary, and along with "to make", completes the sense of the verb "being able"; "not being able to be made to fast." Matthew has "to mourn", but the word "to fast" can take a similar sense, "to be sad". Fasting is surely intended. "It is foolish to expect the companions of Jesus to fast / mourn as it is to expect the companions of the bridegroom to fast / mourn", Marshall.
en w|/ "while" - while [the bridegroom]. This construction, the preposition en + a dative relative pronoun, Introduces a temporal clause expressing contemporaneous time; "while, during."
met (meta) + gen. "with" - [is] with [them are you]?. Expressing association.
v35
kai "-" - [but/and will come days] and. Possibly epexegetic, specifying the "days", "will come the days, namely when the bridegroom is taken ...."
o[tan + subj. "when" - when [the bridegroom may be taken away]. This construction introduces an indefinite temporal clause, future time, as NIV. This part of the illustration is often interpreted allegorically to refer to Jesus' death, but it is more likely that it serves only a literary (dramatic) function, namely, to contrast, and thus emphasise, the joy of the celebration. The present reality of the kingdom of God, realised in the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, is a time of celebration and joy, not glum fasting / mourning.
ap (apo) + gen. "from" - from [them]. Expressing separation; "away from."
tote adv. "-" - then [they will fast in those days]. A temporal use of the preposition en introducing the temporal phrase "in those days" is somewhat pointless given the use of the temporal adverb tote, although Culy suggests that it "helps highlight the fact that those days have not yet arrived"
v36
c) The parables of the new cloth on old, and new wine in old wineskins, v36-38. Jesus then, with two short illustrations, makes the point that some things in life simply cannot go together, they are totally incompatible. There is a total dichotomy between an age when people wait for the coming of God's kingdom and an age when people enter it. The day of entry is a day of celebration, and that day is now. Again, allegorical interpretations of these illustrations abound, usually referring to the discarding of the cultic trappings of Judaism, eg., "You cannot accommodate the life of the New Age in the old forms of Judaism", Browning - So why did Jesus go up to Jerusalem every year to celebrate the Passover?
de kai "-" - but/and, and = also. A common transitional construction used by Luke. Plummer argues that it is emphatic, "indeed", but more likely transitional and adjunctive; "He added this illustration", Cassirer.
parabolhn (h) "parable" - [he was saying] a parable. Accusative direct object of the verb "to say." Properly classified as a simple teaching parable and not a kingdom parable (a gospel riddle), so the word "illustration" best identifies its function.
proV + acc. "them" - toward [them]. Used here instead of a dative of indirect object, "He also told a parable to them."
oJti "-" - that. Introducing an object clause / dependent statement, direct speech, expressing what Jesus says to them.
scisaV (scizw) aor. part. "[no one] tears" - [no one] having torn [a piece from, out of, a new garment puts it on an old garment]. The participle can be treated as adverbial, probably temporal, "no one, after tearing a patch from a new garment, uses it to patch an old garment", or attendant circumstance, "no one tears a piece from a garment and puts it on an old garment", ESV.
ei de mh ge "if he does" - if but not indeed = otherwise [the new will tear]. Expressing a "hypothetical result", Guelich. Rather than the more common ei de mh Luke favours the stronger construction; "but if he indeed does", or simply "otherwise" when following a negative as here. "Otherwise, both (kai, here correlative) the new garment will be torn, and furthermore (kai) the patch from the new [garment] will not match with the old one."
to "-" - [and the piece] the = which is [from the new]. The article serves as an adjectivizer turning the prepositional phrase apo tou kainou, "from the old", into an attributive modifier limiting "piece, patch."
tw/ palaiw/ dat. adj. "the old" - [will not match] the old. Dative of direct object after the negated sun prefix verb "to agree with, harmonize with, match." "The patch will shrink and make the hole even bigger", CEV.
v37
A further illustration of the incompatibility of the new with the old. New wine ferments and old wineskins are not pliable enough to handle the expansion caused by the released gas. Again, allegorical interpretations abound, eg., "One cannot place the new wine of the gospel in the old wineskins of Pharisaic Judaism", Stein. "What this (the illustration) is meant to convey about the mutual relation of Christianity and Judaism - eg., whether they are to continue as separate entities alongside each other - is by no means evident", Evans, cf., Act.2:46.
askouV (oV) acc. "wineskins" - [and no one puts new wine into old] leather bags = wineskins [otherwise the new wine will burst the] wineskins [and it will be spilled and the] wineskins [will be destroyed]. "The new wine would swell and burst the old skins. Then the wine would be lost, and the skins would be ruined.", CEV.
v38
alla "no" - but. Strong adversative standing in a counterpoint construction, as NIV. "New wine must be put only into new wineskins", CEV.
blhteon adj. "must be poured" - [new wine] must be put [into new wineskins]. A gerundive, verbal adjective, with the force of an imperative. The point being, new goes with new - the new age of the kingdom is a time for joy, not mourning. Variant use of the verb ballousin.
v39
d) Concluding saying - lovers of mature wine detest a young wine, v39. In a final note, only found in Luke's gospel, Jesus observes that the dawning kingdom of God is like a well-aged wine, once tasted nothing else compares. For the interpretation of this saying / proverb, see above.
piwn (pinw) aor. part. "after drinking" - [and no one] having drunk [the old]. The participle is probably adverbial, best treated as temporal, as NIV.
qelei (qelw) pres. "wants" - wants, wills [the new]. "Desires".
gar "for" - for [he says]. Introducing a causal clause explaining why no one is interested in a young wine, having tasted a full-bodied mature red, like a Penfolds Grange, "because" a fine aged wine is better.
At a mate's 40th., a friend gave him a bottle of Grange. He didn't realize what he was given, so he opened it and put it on the drinks table. I noticed it, and with another mate we nonchalantly worked our way through it. In good Aussie fashion, we later thanked him for the quality of the wine he had on offer, and have continued to reminded him ever since!!! But of course, having now tasted the good stuff, everything else is second-rate. So yes, no one who has tasted a beautiful red wants anything to do with cheap fresh plonk.
crhstoV adj. "[the old is] better" - [the old is] kind / useful / better, superior / pleasant, easy, suitable. The numerous base meanings of this adjective have spawned a variety of translations. "Superior", as NIV, is widely accepted, or something slightly less, eg. "good", REB, ESV, ... Given the context, the comment possibly doesn't claim the high moral ground, but rather the middle ground; "the old suits me", Rieu.
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