Discovery BoxLuke 5:20-24 
Context5:20 When 1 Jesus 2 saw their 3 faith he said, “Friend, 4 your sins are forgiven.” 5 5:21 Then 6 the experts in the law 7 and the Pharisees began to think 8 to themselves, 9 “Who is this man 10 who is uttering blasphemies? 11 Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 5:22 When Jesus perceived 12 their hostile thoughts, 13 he said to them, 14 “Why are you raising objections 15 within yourselves? 5:23 Which is easier, 16 to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 5:24 But so that you may know 17 that the Son of Man 18 has authority on earth to forgive sins” – he said to the paralyzed man 19 – “I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher 20 and go home.” 21
1 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 sn The plural pronoun their makes it clear that Jesus was responding to the faith of the entire group, not just the paralyzed man.
4 tn Grk “Man,” but the term used in this way was not derogatory in Jewish culture. Used in address (as here) it means “friend” (see BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8).
5 tn Grk “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” Luke stresses the forgiveness of sins (cf. 1:77; 3:3; 24:47). In 5:20 he uses both the perfect ἀφέωνται and the personal pronoun σοι which together combine to heighten the subjective aspect of the experience of forgiveness. The σοι has been omitted in translation in light of normal English style.
sn The passive voice here is a divine passive (ExSyn 437). It is clear that God does the forgiving.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
7 tn Or “Then the scribes.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.
8 tn Or “to reason” (in a hostile sense). See G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:97.
9 tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes, “saying”) has not been translated because it is redundant in contemporary English.
10 tn Grk “this one” (οὗτος, Joutos).
11 sn Uttering blasphemies meant to say something that dishonored God. To claim divine prerogatives or claim to speak for God when one really does not would be such an act of offense. The remark raised directly the issue of the nature of Jesus’ ministry.
12 sn Jesus often perceived people’s thoughts in Luke; see 4:23; 6:8; 7:40; 9:47. Such a note often precedes a rebuke.
13 tn Grk “reasonings.” This is the noun form of the infinitive διαλογίζεσθαι (dialogizesqai, “began to reason to themselves”) used in v. 21. Jesus’ reply to them in the latter part of the present verse makes clear that these reasonings were mental and internal, so the translation “thoughts” was used here. On the hostile or evil nature of these thoughts, see G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:97.
14 tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation.
15 tn The Greek verb διαλογίζεσθε (dialogizesqe, “you reason”), used in context with διαλογισμούς (dialogismous, “reasonings”), connotes more than neutral reasoning or thinking. While the verb can refer to normal “reasoning,” “discussion,” or “reflection” in the NT, its use here in Luke 5:22, alongside the noun – which is regularly used with a negative sense in the NT (cf. Matt 15:19; Mark 7:21; Luke 2:35, 6:8, 9:47; Rom 1:21; 1 Cor 3:20; G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:96-97; D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:484) – suggests the idea of “contention.” Therefore, in order to reflect the hostility evident in the reasoning of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, the verb has been translated as “raising objections.”
16 sn Which is easier is a reflective kind of question. On the one hand to declare sins are forgiven is easier, since one does not need to see it, unlike telling a paralyzed person to walk. On the other hand, it is harder, because for it to be true one must possess the authority to forgive the sin.
17 sn Now Jesus put the two actions together. The walking of the man would be proof (so that you may know) that his sins were forgiven and that God had worked through Jesus (i.e., the Son of Man).
18 sn The term Son of Man, which is a title in Greek, comes from a pictorial description in Dan 7:13 of one “like a son of man” (i.e., a human being). It is Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself. Jesus did not reveal the background of the term here, which mixes human and divine imagery as the man in Daniel rides a cloud, something only God does. He just used it. It also could be an idiom in Aramaic meaning either “some person” or “me.” So there is a little ambiguity in its use here, since its origin is not clear at this point. However, the action makes it clear that Jesus used it to refer to himself here.
19 tn Grk “to the one who was paralyzed”; the Greek participle is substantival and has been simplified to a simple adjective and noun in the translation.
sn Jesus did not finish his sentence with words but with action, that is, healing the paralytic with an accompanying pronouncement to him directly.
20 tn This word, κλινίδιον (klinidion), is the same as the one used in v. 19. In this context it may be translated “stretcher” (see L&N 6.107).
21 tn Grk “to your house.”
