Luke 5:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God.

NIV: Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.

NASB: And immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.

CSB: Immediately he got up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.

NLT: And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.

KJV: And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

NKJV: Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

Jesus is teaching in a crowded house in Capernaum when the ceiling breaks open. A man on a cot is lowered to the floor. The man's friends have brought him in hopes Jesus will heal his paralysis. Finding it too crowded to get through, they climbed to the roof, tore a hole, and lowered him down. In response to their faith, Jesus declares the man's sins forgiven (Luke 5:17–20).

The Pharisees and scribes in attendance silently (Mark 2:6–7) accuse Jesus of blasphemy. Jesus uses their own extra-scriptural Oral Law against them when He validates His right to forgive by healing the man (Luke 5:21–24).

The man's response is appropriate: he glorifies God. Numerous times in the psalms David either calls for God's help so that he can praise or responds to God's help with praise (Psalm 6:5; 18:3; 19:13–14; 28:6). The purpose of the praise is largely so that others will know the good that God has done. Psalm 40:3 says, "He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD."

Luke's writing includes several examples of this reaction to miraculous healing. An afflicted woman "glorified God," and the people watching soon joined her (Luke 13:10–17). One of ten men praised God when he realized he was healed of leprosy (Luke 17:11–19). Blind Bartimaeus inspired the same reaction when he was healed (Luke 18:35–43). The lame man whom Peter healed started jumping and declaring praise, and those around him praised God as well (Acts 3:8–10).

Today, we frequently take God's blessings for granted. We need to remember that our recognition of God's goodness will draw others to want to praise Him, too.

Luke 5:17–26 records Jesus' second miracle after the first call of His disciples. He has already touched a man with leprosy (Luke 5:12–16). Now, He declares a paralytic's sins are forgiven. The scribes and Pharisees question Jesus' authority; even after Jesus heals the man, separation between His followers and His detractors continues to grow. Luke follows the pattern of connecting Jesus' provocative actions with His calls to His disciples until all twelve are chosen (Luke 5:27—6:16). The healing of the paralyzed man is also in Matthew 9:1–8 and Mark 2:1–12.

Luke 5 continues Jesus' Galilean Ministry (Luke 4:14—9:50). The passage alternates calls to discipleship with miracles and teachings which demonstrate what discipleship entails. Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, and their business partners, James and John, to follow Him and make more disciples. Then Jesus makes a man with leprosy ceremonially clean. He forgives the sins of a paralytic. After He calls Levi to follow Him, Jesus celebrates instead of fasting. This draws critical questions from the crowd. The religious leaders consider Jesus' actions blasphemous. His message of forgiveness, faith, and repentance cannot be contained by their tradition.

Jesus has already proved He can expel demons, heal ailments, and reveal the kingdom of God (Luke 4:31–44). In this chapter, He begins to separate His followers from His detractors. This begins with calling the first five disciples and emphasizing faith and repentance over religious tradition. He will drive home the point by treating the Sabbath as a blessing rather than a burden (Luke 6:1–11). After formally inviting the Twelve to follow Him, Jesus will explain to a crowd what discipleship looks like and invite them to build their lives on Him (Luke 6:12–49). In chapter 7, Jesus champions Gentiles and the marginalized.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.