And behold, men bring on a bed a man that was palsied: and they sought to bring him in, and to lay him before him.Mark related that there were four of these who bore their friend to Jesus and recorded their breaking of the tiles. Such urgency on the part of a sufferer could have been caused only by the most overwhelming conviction on their part that Jesus could indeed heal him. read more
Luke 5:17. And the power of the Lord was present, &c.— Our Lord not only preached such awakening sermons as might have converted them to righteousness, but he was ready to perform such astonishing miracles as ought to have removed all their scruples with respect to his mission. Some suppose, that the word them refers not to the doctors and Pharisees of the law, but, in general, to those who had need of healing, and faith to be healed—the crowds, mentioned Mark 2:2. See on Matthew 9:1. read more
17. Pharisees and doctors . . . sitting by—the highest testimony yet borne to our Lord's growing influence, and the necessity increasingly felt by the ecclesiastics throughout the country of coming to some definite judgment regarding Him. power of the Lord . . . present—with Jesus. to heal them—the sick people. read more
Again Luke stressed the priority of Jesus’ teaching ministry. The Pharisees and scribes had come to hear what He was teaching. These men, first appearing in Luke here, were the guardians of Israel’s orthodoxy. The Pharisees were a political party in Israel noted for their strict observance of the Mosaic Law as traditionally interpreted by the rabbis. Some of these doctors of the law (i.e., scribes, lawyers) were probably Pharisees, but probably not all of them were. The figure is a hendiadys... read more
2. Jesus’ authority to forgive sins 5:17-26 (cf. Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12)Luke documented Jesus’ authority in yet another area of life by showing His power to forgive sins. In this incident the miracle is secondary and the issue of Jesus’ authority is primary. Jesus claimed to be God by forgiving the man’s sins. read more
This incident happened in Capernaum (Mark 2:1), though that fact was irrelevant for Luke. Other details in his account again add the touch of reality to it. read more
Miraculous Draught of Fishes. The Palsied Man1-11. First miraculous draught of fishes (peculiar to Lk). Many critics identify this incident with that recorded in Matthew 4:18 and Mark 1:16. But there are important considerations on the other side: (1) the persons are different (there four disciples, here Peter is addressed); (2) the words used, though similar in sense, are very different in form; (3) the disciples are not said to have ’left all’ in Mt, but only to have left their father in the... read more
(17-26) It came to pass . . .—See Notes on Matthew 9:1-8.Pharisees and doctors of the law.—The description of the crowd of listeners is peculiar to St. Luke. The fact that many of the doctors of the law had come from Jerusalem is obviously important in its connection with St. John’s account (John 2:5) of our Lord’s previous work in that city, and as explaining the part now taken by them.Was present to heal them.—If we retain the plural pronoun, it must be taken generally as meaning those who... read more
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Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Luke 5:17
And it came to pass on one of those days, that he was teaching; and there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, who were come out of every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was with him to heal.Here is a glimpse of the astounding effect the words and works of Jesus had already produced. The religious hierarchy were by this time fully alerted to the challenge of Jesus' life and teaching; and their hostility made itself evident at every opportunity.... read more