Luke 5:17-32

5:17. And He Himself was teaching, and the Pharisees were sitting.

Around Him verily was a company of the envious, scribes, that is, and pharisees, who were spectators of His wonderful works, and listened as He taught: "and the power of God was present, it says, to heal him." Is this spoken as though God gave Him the ability to perform the miracles? Did He borrow of another the power? But who would venture to affirm this? Rather it was He Himself, working by His own power, as God and Lord, and not as partaker of some divine grace. For men indeed often, even after being counted worthy of spiritual gifts, yet sometimes occasionally prove infirm, according to the proportion known to Him Who distributes these divine graces. But in the case of the Saviour of us all, there was nought such as this; but His power to heal him was not a human power, but rather one divine and irresistible: for He was God and the Son of God.

[From Cod. D.] Christ alone teaches as being the (true) teacher, and the wisdom of the Father. For all the rest teach as receiving from Him. "And there was also, it says, the power of the Lord upon Him to heal all;" which means that His power to heal was not human, but divine and irresistible. For the rest of the saints at one time receive the power to work cures, and at another time, not: but Jesus, as being God, and the power of the Father, ever healed all.

5:18. And behold certain bringing on a bed a man who was paralytic.

[From Cod. D.] When, then, no small number, as it says, of scribes and pharisees, were assembled together, behold certain bringing upon a bed a man who was paralytic; and not being able to come in by the door, they carried him up to the roof, to attempt a strange and novel deed. For having pulled up the tiling, they removed the wood laid there: and still, while this was being done, both Jesus waited patiently, and those who were present; kept silence, watching for the result, and wishing to see what He would say and do. Having uncovered, therefore, the roof, they let down the bed, and lay the paralytic in the midst. What then does the Lord do? Having seen their faith, — not that of the paralytic, but of the bearers; for it is possible for one to be healed by the faith of others; or, perceiving that the paralytic also believed, He healed him. It is possible, however, that the place into which they let down the bed of the paralytic through the tiles was open to the air, so that they would not have at all to break up the roof. But when the Saviour says to him, "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee," He addresses this generally to mankind: for those who believe in Him, being healed of the diseases of the soul, will receive forgiveness of the sins which formerly they had committed. Or He may mean this; I must heal thy soul before I heal thy body: for if this be not done, by obtaining strength to walk, thou dost but sin the more: and even though thou hast not asked for this, yet I as God see the maladies of the soul, which brought upon thee this disease.

And as it was necessary, now that so large a number of scribes and pharisees had assembled, that some especially divine miracle should be wrought for their benefit, because of the scorn with which they regarded Him, well does the Saviour provide again for them a most wonderful deed. For there was stretched upon a bod a paralytic, overcome with an incurable disease: and as the art of the physicians had proved altogether unavailing, he was carried by his relatives to the Physician Who is from above, even from heaven. And when he was in the presence of Him Who is able to heal, his faith was accepted: and that faith can take away sin, Christ immediately shews; for He proclaims to him as he lay there, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." Now some one, I imagine, may say to this; What he wanted was to be delivered from his disease; and why, then, does Christ announce to him the forgiveness of his sin? It was that thou mayest learn that God silently and noiselessly observes the affairs of men, and watches the course of each one's life; and so it is written, "The paths of a man are before the eyes of God; and He looks at all his tracks." And as He is good, and willeth that all men should be saved, He often purifies those who are entangled in sins by inflicting sickness upon their body. For so He somewhere says by the voice of Jeremiah, "Thou shalt be taught, O Jerusalem, by labour and the scourge." And the writer of the book of Proverbs also has somewhere said, "My son, despise not thou the teaching of the Lord, nor faint when thou art convicted by Him, for whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He accepteth." Well, therefore, does Christ announce that He will cut away the cause of the disease, and the very root, as it were, of the malady, even sin: for if this be removed, necessarily must the disease which sprung from it be also at the same time taken away.

5:21. And the scribes and pharisees began to reason, saying.

He then, as was said, being endowed with a most godlike authority, declared the forgiveness of sins. But the declaration disturbs again the ignorant and envious gang of the Pharisees: for they said one to another, "Who is This That speaketh blasphemies?" But thou wouldest not have said this of Him, O Pharisee, if thou hadst known the divine Scriptures, and borne in mind the words of prophecy, and understood the adorable and mighty mystery of the incarnation. But now they involve Him in a charge of blasphemy, determining against Him the uttermost penalty, and condemning Him to death: for the law of Moses commanded that whoever spake blasphemies against God, should suffer death. But no sooner have they arrived at this height of daring, than He shews forthwith that He is God, to convict them once more of intolerable impiety. "For what, saith He, reason ye in your hearts?" If thou, therefore, O Pharisee, sayest, who can forgive sins but One, God; I will also say to thee, Who can know hearts, and see the thoughts hidden in the depth of the understanding, but God only? For He saith Himself somewhere by the voice of the prophets, "I am the Lord that searcheth hearts, and trieth reins." And David also said somewhere concerning both Him and us, "He Who singly formed their hearts." He therefore Who as God knows both the hearts and reins, as God also forgives sins.

5:24. But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power.

But inasmuch as a place still remains open for disbelief, in saying, "Thy sins be forgiven thee:" — for man sees not the forgiven sins with the eyes of the body, whereas the putting off of the disease, and the paralytic's rising up and walking carries with it a clear demonstration of a godlike power: — He adds, "Rise up and carry thy bed, and go to thine house:" and this was done, for he returned unto his house, delivered from the infirmity under which he had so long suffered. It is proved therefore by the very fact, that "the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins." But of whom says He this? Is it of Himself, or also of us? Both the one and the other are true. For He forgives sins as being the Incarnate God, the Lord of the law: and we too have received from Him this splendid and most admirable grace. For He hath crowned man's nature with this great honour also, having even said to the holy apostles, "Verily I say unto you, whatsoever things ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever things ye loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." And again, "Whosesoever sins ye remit, they shall be remitted unto them: and whosesoever ye bind shall be bound." And what is the occasion on which we find Him thus speaking unto them? It was after He had trampled upon the power of death, and risen from the grave, when He breathed upon them, and said, "Receive the Holy Ghost." For having made them partakers of His nature, and bestowed upon them the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, He also made them sharers of His glory, by giving them power both to remit and to bind sins. And as we have been commanded to perform this very act, how must not He much more Himself remit sins, when He giveth unto others authority to enable them to do so?

5:27. And He saw a publican named Levi.

For Levi was a publican, a man insatiable after filthy lucre, of unbridled covetousness, careless of justice in his eagerness after what was not his own; for such was the character of the publicans: yet was he snatched from the very workshop of iniquity, and saved beyond hope, at the call of Christ the Saviour of us all. For He said unto him, Follow Me: and he left all and followed Him," Seest thou that most wise Paul truly says, that "Christ came to save sinners?" Seest thou how the Only-begotten Word of God, having taken upon Him the flesh, transferred unto Himself the devil's goods?