Luke 5:24

5:24 Son of Man: See “The Son of Man” Theme Note.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk 5:24 . ἔγειρε καὶ ἄρας … πορεύου : by introducing the participle ἄρας Lk. improves the style as compared with Mk., but weakens the force of the utterance, “arise, take up thy bed and go”. The same remark applies to the words of the scribes, Luk 5:21 , “who is this that speaketh blasphemies?” compared with, “why doth this person speak thus? He blasphemes.” Lk.’s is secondary, the style of an editor working over a rugged, graphic, realistic text.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

take up thy couch--"sweet saying! The bed had borne the man; now the man shall bear the bed!" [BENGEL].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

24. the Son of man] Ben-Adam has a general sense of any human being (Job_25:6, &c.); in a special sense in the O. T. it is nearly 90 times applied to Ezekiel, though never used by himself of himself. In the N. T. it is 80 times used by Christ, but always by Himself, except in passages which imply His exaltation (Act_7:56; Rev_1:13-20). The Title, as distinctively Messianic, is derived from Dan_7:13, and is there Bar-Enôsh, a word descriptive of man in his humiliation. The inference seems to be that Christ used it to indicate the truth that “God highly exalted Him” because of his self-humiliation in taking our flesh (Php_2:5-11).

hath power upon earth to forgive sins] and therefore of course, a fortiori, hath power in heaven.

I say unto thee] Rather, to keep the emphatic order, To thee I say.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But that ye may know, that the son of man,.... Whom the Scribes and Pharisees took for a mere man, in which they were mistaken; for though he was really a man, and the son of man, yet he was God as well as man; he was God manifest in the flesh:

hath power upon earth to forgive sins; even in the days of his flesh, whilst he was in his humble form on earth; for he did not cease to be God by becoming man, nor lose any branch of his power, not this of forgiving sin, by appearing in the form of a servant; and, that it might be manifest,

he said unto the sick of the palsy: these are the words of the evangelist, signifying, that Christ turned himself from the Scribes and Pharisees to the paralytic man, and thus addressed him:

I say unto thee, arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

Ver. 24. {See Trapp on "Mat 9:2"} {See Trapp on "Mat 9:3"} {See Trapp on "Mar 2:5"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Son of man ... on earth. By which act, says St. Cyril, it is clear that the Son of man hath power on earth to remit sins; which he said both for himself and us. For he, as God-man, the Lord of the law, forgiveth sins; and we also have obtained by him that wonderful grace when he said to his disciples: Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them. (John xx. 23.) And how should he not be able to remit sins, who gave others the power to do the same? (Bristow)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Vers. 24, 25. That ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. The lookers-on, the curious, the cavillers, the friendly, too, as the unfriendly, who crowded that Capernaum house, could not see with their eyes the Redeemer"s remission of the palsied man"s sins. The sufferer alone was conscious that the great burden which pressed on his soul was removed at the Master"s word. But all could see the miracle which followed. Any one of those present, had he dared, might have uttered the solemn absolution. None but he could surely risk, as he risked, such words which followed, and which challenged an instant and visible fulfilment. It was a strange, great claim the Master made that day, and we may be sure it and the mighty sign which followed sank deep into many a heart. We see why the memory of this day"s work was treasured up so faithfully. He took up that whereon he lay. This could easily have been done. The bed or pallet would be nothing but a light portable framework covered with a blanket.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24. παραλελυμένῳ. This is more classical than παραλυτικῷ, which comes from the parallel passage.

24. ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Ben-Adam has a general sense of any human being (Psa 8:5; Job 25:6, &c.); in a special sense in the O.T. it is nearly 90 times applied to Ezekiel, though never used by himself of himself. In the N.T. it is 80 times used by Christ, but always by Himself, except in passages which imply His exaltation (Act 7:56; Rev 1:13-20). The Title, as distinctively Messianic, is derived from Dan 7:13, and is there Bar-Enôsh, a word descriptive of man in his humiliation. The inference seems to be that Christ used it to indicate the truth that “God highly exalted Him” because of His self-humiliation in taking our flesh (Php 2:5-11). For while ‘Son of Man’ suits His humiliation, ‘the Son of Man’ is a title by which He expresses that He was the federal head of humanity.

ἐξουσίαν ἔχει ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας. On earth; and therefore, of course, a fortiori, He hath in heaven.

σοὶ λέγω. ‘To thee I say.’ The position is emphatic.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24.] εἶπεν τῷ παρ., probably not parenthetic: see in Matt.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24. ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. This remarkable phrase in all four Gospels is invariably used by Christ of Himself; upwards of eighty times in all. The Evangelists never use it of Him, and no one ever addresses Him by this title. Yet none of the four ever directs our attention to this strict limitation in the use of the phrase, so that their agreement must be regarded as undesigned, and as evidence of their accuracy. D.C.G. art. “Son of Man.”

In O.T. we have “son of man” used in three different connexions, and it must be noted that in each case the rendering in LXX is υἰὸς ἀνθρώπου and not ὁ υἰὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. In the Psalms it is used of the ideal man: 8:4, 80:16, 144:3, 146:3. In Ezekiel it is the title by which the Prophet is addressed, 2:1, 3, 6, 8, 3:1, 3, 4, etc. etc.; upwards of eighty times in all. In Daniel’s night visions (7:13, 14), “One like a son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days,” and received a dominion which was universal and eternal. With this should be compared various passages in the Book of Enoch, of which this is specially noteworthy. “There I saw one who had a head of days, and His head was white like wool; and with Him was a Second, whose countenance was like the appearance of a man, and His countenance was full of grace, like one of the holy angels. And I asked one of the angels who were with me, and who showed me all the secrets, concerning this Son of Man, who He was, and whence He was, and why He goes with the Head of days. And he answered and said to me: This is the Son of Man who has justice, and justice dwells with Him; and all the treasures of secrecy He reveals, because the Lord of the spirits has chosen Him, and His portion overcomes all things before the Lord of the spirits in rectitude to eternity. And this Son of Man, whom thou hast seen, will arouse the kings and mighty from their couches, and the strong from their thrones, and will loosen the bands of the strong, and will break the teeth of the sinners” (46.), This Son of Man is the Messiah. He is called “the Anointed,” (48:11, 51:4), “the Righteous One” (38:2, 53:6), “the Elect One” (passim), and the Lord speaks of Him as “my Son” (105:2). That these Messianic passages in the Book of Enoch are of Christian origin is the opinion of a few critics, but it is difficult to maintain it. Everything distinctly Christian is absent. This Son of Man or Messiah is not the Word, is not God. That He has lived on the earth is nowhere intimated. Of the historical Jesus, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, or the Ascension, there is not a hint; nor yet of baptism, or of the eucharist, or of the doctrine of the Trinity. Why should a Christian write just what any Jew might accept about the Messiah and no more? But if the whole of the Book of Enoch was written before the birth of Christ, then we have sufficient evidence to show that when Christ was teaching on earth “Son of Man” was already accepted by the Jews as one title, although not a common one, for the Messiah.1 The idea of a weak and suffering Messiah was unwelcome to the Jews, and therefore a name which emphasized human weakness was not a favourite one. “But the very reason which induced them to avoid the title induced our Lord to take it. It expressed His Messiahship definitely enough for His purpose; but it expressed it In that veiled and suggestive way which characterise the whole of His teaching on His own person. At the same time, it conveyed to those who had ears to bear the whole secret of the Incarnation. That which the Jews shrank from and ignored He rather placed in the forefront of His mission” (Sanday in the Expositor, Jan. 1891, p. 30, art. “On the Title, ‘Son of Man’”).

ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. In all three accounts there is room for doubt as the words which this expression qualifies. Here either ἐξουσίαν ἔχει or ἀφιεναι ἀμαρτίας. In Mk. and Mt. it may qualify ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. It is best taken with ἐξουσίαν ἔχει. But the difference in meaning is not great.

εἶπεν τῷ παραλελυμένῳ. This is not the apodosis to iva ἵνα εἰδῆτε but a parenthesis:1 the apodosis to ἵνα εἰδῆτε is Σοὶ λέγω Note the emphasis on σοί: “to thee I say the crucial words.” Clement of Alexandria gives this address to the paralytic in singularly different language: ἀνάστα, φησὶ τῷ παρειμένῳ τὸν σκίμποδα ἐφʼ ὃν κατάκεισαι λαβὼν ἄπιθι οἴκαδε (pæd. i. 2, p. 101, ed. Potter) Probably a paraphrase. For the pres. imperat. see Blass, Gr. p. 191.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Unto thee [σοι] . Standing first for emphasis. Luke emphasizes the direct address to the man : unto thee I say, in contrast with the apparently less direct, thy sins be forgiven thee. In Jesus ' mind the connection was assumed; now he brings out the personal side of the connection. In forgiving the man's sins he had healed him radically. The command to rise and walk was of the same piece.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.