Luke

5:17-26

The mission of the Messiah, 1:5-9:50

3. The signs of the Messiah, 4:31-6:11

iv] Sign of the paralytic - Lord of the sinner

Luke now describes an impressive gathering of religious authorities, presumably assembled to the hear what Jesus has to say for himself, possibly even to investigate him. The gathering is made up primarily of Pharisees, representing synagogues from all over Galilee, Judea and even Jerusalem. The meeting is possibly in a palatial home with a central courtyard. Some men, carrying a sick friend on a plank, try to get access to Jesus, but are unable to get through the crowd. So, they climb onto the roof, dia twn keramwn, "through the tiles", and lower their friend down to Jesus. Jesus, making a connection between sin and suffering, declares the man's sins forgiven. This statement prompts a strong reaction from the religious authorities. Jesus responds with a question to the audience, and then announces that the Son of Man (the messiah) has authority to forgive sins. Jesus then addresses the lame man, telling him to take up his klinidion, "plank", and walk.

The messianic age, the kingdom of God, dawns at the hand of the Son of Man who has both the power and the authority to forgive sins.

i] Context: See 4:31-44. The healing of the paralytic is the fourth episode of six in the section The signs of the Messiah, signs which, by focusing on Jesus' acts, reveals the nature of his authority, 4:31-6:11. Unlike the first three episodes, this and the next two are conflict stories evidencing the first signs of Israel's hardening to Jesus and his logoV, "word / news."

ii] Structure: The sign of the paralytic:

iii] Interpretation:

iv] Synoptics:

v] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.

The healing of the paralytic, v17-26. i] Setting, v17: Jesus is teaching a crowd, presumably in a private villa. Unlike Mark, Luke notes the presence of "Pharisees" and "Teachers of the law" (those who give authoritative interpretation of the scriptures) from Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem. He also makes the rather strange comment "the power of the Lord was with him to heal."

kai egeneto "-" - and it happened. Transitional; see egeneto 1:8.

en + dat. "-" - on. Temporal use of the preposition. Mark tells us that this miracle was performed in Capernaum, but Luke makes no mention of where the miracle is performed. Luke is not overly focused on geography.

twn hJmerwn (a) gen. "[one] day" - [one] of the days. The genitive is adjectival, partitive.

h\n didaskwn (didaskw) pres. part. "he was teaching" - he was teaching. An imperfect paraphrastic construction probably emphasising durative action. Interestingly, two other paraphrastic constructions are found in this verse: hsan elhluqoteV "had come", a paraphrastic pluperfect, and h\san kaqhmenoi "were sitting", an imperfect paraphrastic. Jesus is teaching, obviously in the inner courtyard of the house.

farisaioi kai nomodidaskaloi "Pharisees and teachers of the law" - [and] pharisees and teachers of the law [were sitting down]. The account notes that some Pharisees and scribes were present, although it is not stated if one of them owned the house. Although a lay movement, the Pharisees were a powerful lobby group dedicated to the business of maintaining the purity of Israel's Mosaic faith. This they achieved by developing a raft of rules on the application of Mosaic law. The Scribes (only here mentioned in the synoptic gospels) functioned as legal assistants, documenting and adjudicating on the interpretation of Mosaic law. Most were Pharisees.

h\san elhluqoteV (ercomai) perf. part. "they had come" - [who] had come. The imperfect verb and the perfect participle form a periphrastic pluperfect construction, possibly emphasising aspect.

ek + gen. "from" - from [every village]. Expressing source / origin. Obviously an exaggeration, a "hyperbolic expression", Plummer. The sense that every village had a Pharisee or two and that all were represented on this occasion is modified by a variant which implies that it was the sick from every village who had come to see Jesus, cf. NEB. The more difficult reading, as NIV, is likely original, cf., Metzger, 138.

thV GalilaiaV gen. "of Galilee" - of gallilee [ and judea and jerusalem]. The genitive "Galilee and Judea" is adjectival, idiomatic / locative; "every town located in Galilee and Judea." "Jerusalem" is presumed genitive, probably with an assumed ek, "from"; "and from Jerusalem."

kuriou (oV) gen. "of the Lord" - [and the power] of the lord. The genitive is ablative, source / origin. "Lord", without an article, obviously references "God", while "power" is interchangeable with "Spirit", cf. 4:15, 24:49. "Luke is continuing to clarify what it means for Jesus to have become, through the descent of the Spirit, the repository of the power of God", Nolland.

h\n (eimi) imperf. "was" - was. Luke's comment here does not imply that this power came and went, that it was just present on this occasion. Rather, Luke is referencing the evidential outworking of this power to those present on this occasion, including the Pharisees and Scribes, which evidence exposes the stupidity of their comment in v21, and the surprise of Jesus in v22.

eiV to iasqai (iaomai) pres. inf. "to heal [the sick]" - into [him] to heal. This construction, the preposition eiV with the articular infinitive, usually forms a purpose clause, "there was power from God in order that ("so that" = hypothetical result) he could heal / enabling him to heal." The variant autouV, a corruption of auton shifts "him" = "Jesus" to "them" = "the sick", as NIV. The stronger reading is auton, "him", the accusative subject of the inf.

ii] Faith in action, v18-19: Some friends of a paralytic, unable to get through the crowd to meet with Jesus in the home, climb onto the roof and lower their friend into the internal courtyard (presumably through the pergola).

kai idou "-" - and behold. Luke's "now take note", references the popularity of Jesus at this point in his ministry, and therefore the difficulty of a sick person to approach him.

feronteV (ferw) pres. part. "came carrying" - [men] carrying. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "men"; "who were carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralysed."

h\n paralelumenoV (paraluw) perf. pas. part. "a paralytic" - [a man who] had been paralysed, disabled. This periphrastic pluperfect construction probably emphasises aspect, here the durative nature of his illness.

epi + gen. "on [a mat]" - upon [a bed, stretcher, bier, ..]. Spatial, "down upon."

eisenegkein (eiVferw) aor. inf. "to lay" - [and were seeking] to bring in [him]. This infinitive, with the conjoined infinitive qeinai "to put / lay", may be classified as complementary, completing the sense of the verb "to seek", or as introducing an object clause / dependent statement of perception, expressing what the men "were seeking, wanting = tried to do", namely to get their sick friend into the house and lay him before Jesus.

enwpion + gen. "before" - before, in front of [him]. Spatial.

mh euJronteV (euJriskw) aor. part. "when they could not find" - [and] not having found. The participle is adverbial, possibly temporal, as NIV, or causal, "unable to find a way to bring him in, .........., they went up onto the roof."

poiaV gen. pro. "a way" - of what way. The genitive of this interrogative pronoun is probably adjectival, attributive / qualitative, limiting a supplied oJdoV "way"; "of what kind of way", but possibly a genitive of place, "of / by what [way]", Zerwick.

eisenegkwsin (eisferw) aor. subj. "to do this" - they might carry [him to jesus]. The interrogative pronoun poiaV with the deliberative subjunctive forms an indirect question expressing what a person might ask as they observe the situation faced by the men, eg., "in what [way] might they carry him [to Jesus]?" = "how are they going to get this man through such a large crowd and into the presence of Jesus?"

dia + acc. "because of [the crowd]" - because of, on account of [the crowd]. Expressing cause / reason. "On account of the crowd", Moffatt.

anabanteV ( anabainw) aor. part. "they went up" - having gone up. The participle is possibly adverbial, consecutive, expressing result, "They were unable to find any way to carry him in because of the crowd. So (as a result) they went up on the roof", Barclay, or possibly just attendant circumstance expressing action accompanying the verb "to let down"; "They went up on the roof and let him down ...", ESV.

epi + acc. "on [the roof]" - upon [the roof, house-top]. Spatial.

dia + gen. "through" - [they let down him] through. Here spatial, "through" in place; "They let him down through the tiling", Cassirer.

twn keramwn (oV) gen. "the tiles" - the made of clay. A flat roofed home in Palestine would not have clay tiles on the roof proper, but it could have a tiled area over part of the verandah / porch / pergola, possibly in this case around an internal courtyard. Of course, the word "tiles" can mean "clay" and so Luke may be describing the digging out of lumps of clay from the roof, clay that is laid down over light thatching, but this seems unlikely. On the other hand, if the owner of the house is wealthy, the home may be a Roman villa, which of course would be tiled, but this seems unlikely, given that such homes were usually owned by wealthy Roman officials.

sun + dat. "on [his mat]" - with [the stretcher, bed]. Expressing association; "along with."

eiV "into" - into [the middle before jesus]. Expressing movement toward and arrival at. The prepositional phrase is emphatic by position, dramatic, and very descriptive; "they lowered him down on his stretcher into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus."

iii] Jesus' response, v20: The friends of the paralytic exhibit the type of faith required for Israel's restoration, the faith required for the forgiveness of a people lost to God. So, On the basis of their faith, Jesus acts to forgive the paralytic's sins.

idwn (oJraw) aor. part. "when [Jesus] saw" - [and] having seen. The participle is adverbial, best treated as temporal, as NIV.

autwn gen. pro. "of them" - [the faith] of them. The genitive is adjectival, possessive, "their faith", or subjective, "the faith performed by them." The faith, if any, of the paralytic is not mentioned, although Danker argues that the plural includes the paralytic. This is Luke's first use of the word pistiV, "faith", a word he will use many more times. For Luke, "faith" is "the conviction that God's help is to be found with Jesus", a conviction that "gratefully receives God's action through him (Jesus)", Nolland. Faith is firmness, a firm resting on Jesus, a reliance on Jesus' word?

anqrwpe (oV) voc. "friend" - [he said] man. Vocative. Mark's "son", being a term of endearment, is certainly softer, but when "man" is used in an address it takes the sense "friend", as NIV.

sou gen. pro. "your [sins]" - [the sins] of you. The genitive may be classified as adjectival, possessive, or verbal, subjective, "the sins performed by you."

afewntai (afihmi) perf. pas. "are forgiven" - have been forgiven. Mark uses the present tense, but Luke's perfect tense seems a better expression of what has occurred, probably in the terms of an absolution, "your sins have been forgiven". The man's sins are already forgiven and the consequence of this fact, namely being in a forgiven state, continues. Divine forgiveness, which is what Jesus offers, provides access to salvation and the full entitlement to all God's eternal blessings which this salvation entails.

soi dat. pro. "-" - to you. Dative of interest, advantage.

iv] The officials react, v21: The religious authorities immediately consider / discuss (reason, and do so falsely) Jesus' words "Your sins are forgiven". In their understanding, sickness and sin are linked. The paralytic is still obviously a sinner since he is still paralysed, so how can Jesus proclaim God's forgiveness? It is blasphemous to offer divine absolution for someone who is still obviously bound by their sin. Their logic is sound, but redundant when Jesus' actions answer their question "who is this fellow?" The Christological significance is obvious; God's anointed messiah, the Son of Man, has authority on earth, not to just offer absolution, but to actually forgive sins (and this on the basis of faith in the faithfulness of Jesus).

(dialogizomai) pres. inf. "[began] thinking to themselves" - [and the scribes and the pharisees began] to consider, reason / discuss. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "began". Mark's periphrastic imperfect constructions imply that the "thinking / reasoning" is associated with the whole occasion, whereas Luke makes the point that the negative thoughts are prompted by what Jesus has just said, so "then questions began to arise in the minds of the experts of the law and the Pharisees", Barclay.

legonteV (legw) pres. part. "-" - saying. The participle is attendant circumstance expressing action accompanying the verb "to consider / discuss"; redundant, but see legwn, 4:35. It is unclear whether the religious authorities are quietly discussing Jesus' pronouncement, or mentally considering what he has said, although, given that it is "in their hearts", v22, thoughts are likely intended. If they are considering Jesus' words, the use of the participle legwn, "saying", to introduce what they are thinking, is not unusual, cf., Zerwick #368

afeinai (afihmi) aor. inf. "[can] forgive" - [who is this who is speaking blasphemies? who is able] to forgive [sins]. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "is able". Only God can forgive an offence against him, although a messenger of God, eg. a prophet, may pronounce forgiveness on his behalf, ie. pronounce an absolution on God's behalf. Why do the Pharisees and Scribes assume that Jesus does not have this authority and is thus guilty of blasphemy? Marshall suggests it is because they believe prophecy has ceased. Yet, Danker is surely on the mark when he argues that given the link between sickness and sin ("according to the rabbis no sick man is healed until he is forgiven", Ellis) and the fact that the paralytic is still on his stretcher, proves that Jesus is acting beyond his authority. If the paralytic is truly forgiven he would not only be released from his sin, but also from his sickness.

ei mh "but [God] alone" - except [god alone]? Introducing an exceptive clause expressing a contrast by designating an exception. "Who except God alone has the power to forgive sins?" Cassirer.

v] Jesus' action, v22-24: Jesus, as usual, reads the body language of his audience. To sort out his opponents he backs them into a corner. Jesus has declared forgiveness of sins for the paralytic, but he is still on his stretcher. So, is it game over? In the end, it's easy to proclaim forgiveness, but how is it verified? It's not very easy to heal a paralytic. But here's the rub, as the religious officials would know, if you can heal a paralytic you probably also have the divine authority to pronounce the forgiveness of sins. At this point the gospel tradition actually addresses the reader; "Things turned out the way they did in order that you (the reader) should be made to realise that the Son of Man, while he is on earth, has the authority granted to him to forgive sins", v24a, Cassirer.

epignouV (epiginwskw) aor. part. "knew" - [but/and jesus] having known. The participle is adverbial, possibly causal; "because Jesus was conscious of what they were thinking, he said to them ...." Jesus again demonstrates his capacity to read his audience.

autwn gen. pro. "what they were [thinking]" - [the thoughts / discussions] of them. The NIV takes the genitive as verbal, subjective.

apokriqeiV (apokrinomai) aor. pas. part. "asked" - having answered [he said to them]. Attendant circumstance participle, "answered and said", pleonastic / redundant = "he said to them / he asked them"; See apokriqeiV, 1:19.

tiv "why" - why [are you reasoning]. Interrogative pronoun introducing an interrogative clause. Possibly a simple "why all this gossipy whispering?" Peterson, but it is more likely that Jesus "is asking why they should question him", Bock, ie., question his authority to declare God's forgiveness. "Why do you think that I don't have authority to pronounce God's forgiveness of sins and that I am therefore guilty of blasphemy?" Given Luke's pointed comment in v17 that there was an evidential presence of the power / spirit of God with Jesus on this occasion enabling his healing ministry, the evidence of which was already before the Pharisees and Scribes, Jesus is obviously somewhat surprised that they would doubt his authority to pronounce divine forgiveness.

en + dat. "in [your hearts]?" - in [the hearts of you]? Local, expressing space / place; metaphorical. "Why must you argue like this in your minds", Phillips.

eukopwteron adj. "easier" - [what is] easier labour. Predicate nominative; "Which is more easily said?" Cassirer.

epein (legw) aor. inf. "to say" - to say. This infinitive, as with the second use in the verse, is appositional, introducing a clause standing in apposition to ti, "what" = "which"; "Which of the two is easier, namely, to say 'Your sins are forgiven', or to say 'Get up and walk'?"

sou gen. pro. "your [sins]" - [the sins] of you. The genitive may be taken as adjectival, possessive, "your sins", or verbal, subjective, "the sins committed by you."

soi dat. pro. "-" - [have been forgiven] to you [or to say, get up and walk]? Dative of interest, advantage. For the answer to this question, see notes above in "Interpretation".

At this point, the NIV11 has moved from an indefinite "that you may know", to a definite "I want you to know", such that Jesus is addressing the Jewish officials (see Marshall, who argues for this the traditional understanding of the verse), or all those assembled, or even the healed man and his friends. It seems more likely that the tradition at this point contains what Nolland calls "an editorial comment to the reader." See Cerokee, Is Mark 2:10 a Saying of Jesus?, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 22, 1960 "Things turned out the way they did in order that you (the reader) should be made to realise that the Son of Man, while he is on earth, has the authority granted to him to forgive sins", Cassirer.

de "but" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative, possibly here to a parenthesis.

iJna + subj. "that" - that. This construction introduces a final clause expressing purpose; "in order that."

oJti "that" - that. Introducing an object clause / dependent statement of perception expressing what they / we should know / come to realise.

oJ uiJoV tou anqrwpou "the Son of Man" - the son of man. The genitive tou anqrwpou, "of man", is adjectival, relational. To the ears of those who heard these words, the title "Son of Man" could just mean "man", expressing nothing more than a self-designation, nothing more than "I have authority to forgive sins." Yet, there is little doubt that Jesus intends something more when he uses this title.

The glorious Son of Man: Jesus did not publicly associate himself with the accepted messianic titles of the day. Rather, he took to himself an enigmatic messianic title referred to in Daniel 7:13-14. This glorious messianic figure, as corporate Israel, comes to the right hand of the Ancient of days to claim his kingdom and with his "elect", inaugurate his eternal reign in power and glory. The extent of Jesus' parousia, "coming / appearing", before the Ancient of Days, is cosmic, engulfing the whole world of human habitation. With the role of the "Son of Man", Jesus associates the role of the Suffering Servant, again another corporate figure representing the people of God. Both together display the true nature of the Christ, the messiah.

The suffering Son of Man: Jesus identifies his messianic role as Son of Man with the Isaiah's Suffering Servant (52:13-53:12), although, according to Manson, the suffering was understood at the time to come upon the people of Israel rather than the messiah. None-the-less, there are allusions in Luke to Jesus as the Suffering Servant, cf., Lk.22:37, Acts 3:13, 8:32-33. So, the Son of Man, as corporate Israel, faces a necessary suffering and death, 18:31, but through resurrection, achieves ultimate victory for himself and his followers.

exousian (a) "authority" - [has] authority, power. Accusative direct object of the verb "to have." Possibly the authority to pronounce forgiveness, given Jesus' messianic credentials from God, but more likely the power and authority to exercise the divine prerogative to forgive sins.

epi + gen. "on" - upon. Spatial; "upon".

thV ghV "earth" - earth. What does this phrase qualify? Is it "has authority" (NIV), "to forgive sins" (so Plummer), or "the Son of Man" (cf., Mark)? The favoured view is that "the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins while on earth", reflecting his role as Suffering Servant. Nolland argues, given Luke's changed position of the phrase from that of Mark's account, that it qualifies the authority of the Son of Man. "Before the eschaton, while life on the earth goes on, (the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins)", Nolland. That is, Christ's authority to forgive extends to the day of judgment - Jesus "has the authority to announce the eschatological verdict of forgiveness", Thompson, and he does this before the eschaton. So, after the day of judgment the forgiveness of sins is unnecessary?

afienai (afihmi) pres. inf. "to forgive" - to forgive [sins]. Is the infinitive adverbial, forming a final clause expressing purpose, "in order to forgive sins", or is it epexegetic explaining the nature of Jesus' authority, an authority that gives Jesus the right to pronounce forgiveness. The latter seems best.

It seems likely that the narrative transitions at this point, although there is no transitional indicator like de or kai indicating a step in the narrative. Some translations solve the problem by treating "he said to the man who was paralysed" as if it were a parenthesis, eg. ESV. It is actually bracketed in the AV. "He then turned to the paralysed man. 'I am telling you', he said, 'rise to your feet ....'", Cassirer.

tw/ paralelumenw/ (paraluw) dat. perf. pas. part. "to the paralysed man" - [he said] to the one having been paralysed. The participle serves as a substantive, dative of indirect object.

soi dat. pro. "[I tell] you" - [i say] to you. Dative of indirect object.

araV (airw) aor. part. "take [your mat]" - [get up and] having picked up [the bed of you, go to the house of you]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the imperative verb "get up"; "get up, pick up your bedding and go home." Mark has three imperative verbs, but Luke has one imperative as an attendant circumstance participle to subordinate it to the two main imperative verbs "get up" and "go".

vi] The paralytic is healed, v25: Jesus now tells the paralytic to get up and go home. This the paralytic does with great enthusiasm. Here then is the evidence for Jesus' authority, although only those with eyes to see will see it. God does not listen to sinners, but to the righteous he hears and acts. The Pharisees and their friends have witnessed the healing, the question is, can they accept Jesus' authority?

paracrhma adv. "immediately" - [and] at once. Mark usually has euquV. The temporal sense of immediacy emphasises the effectiveness of the miracle.

anastaV (anisthmi) aor. part. "he stood up" - having got up, arisen. As with "having picked up", the participle is attendant circumstance expressing action accompanying the main verb "he went".

enwpion + gen. "in front of [them]" - before, in front of [them, having picked up the bed upon which he was lying]. Spatial preposition.

doxaqwn (doxaqw) pres. part. "praising [God]" - [he departed to the house of him] glorifying, praising, extolling [god]. The participle is adverbial, best treated as modal, expressing the manner of his going.

vii] The reaction of the crowd, v26: The response of the crowd is one of "awe" (amazement). They are shaken by this manifestation of divine presence and power, but unless their amazement moves to faith they are lost. The gospel tradition tells us that "everyone" was amazed. Did this include the religious officials? Jesus has certainly played them perfectly!

ekastasiV (iV ewV) "[was] amazed" - [and] amazement, shock, awe [took hold of, seized everyone]. Nominative subject of the verb "to take hold of." Referring to a state of intense amazement, to the point of being beside oneself with astonishment*. The reaction of amazement, awe, wonder, ..... serves as a preliminary reaction to Jesus which then moves to either faith or rejection / disbelief.

fobou (oV) gen. "[they were filled] with awe" - [and they were glorifying god and they were filled] of fear. The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / content; "filled full of fear" = "filled with fear." "Fear", as in "fear of the Lord", does not mean scared, possibly "absolutely astonished", Barclay, but better "awestruck", as NIV. "Everyone was filled with awe and reverence", Junkins.

legonteV (legw) pres. part. "and said" - saying. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to glorify"; redundant, although here this Semitic construction, introducing direct speech, is often translated, as NIV. Note that Culy and company regard this construction as adverbial, here consecutive, expressing result; see legwn, 4:35.

oJti "-" - that [we saw remarkable things today]. Here introducing a dependent statement, direct speech. "We've never seen anything like that!", Peterson.

Luke Introduction

Exposition

Exegetical Commentaries

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