12 And it came to pass as he was in one of the cities, that behold, there was a man full of leprosy, and seeing Jesus, falling upon his face, he besought him saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou art able to cleanse me.
And behold, a leper came up to [him] and did him homage, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou art able to cleanse me. And he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will; be cleansed. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus says to him, See thou tell no man, but go, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses ordained, for a testimony to them.
and fell on [his] face at his feet giving him thanks: and *he* was a Samaritan.
And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Whence also he is able to save completely those who approach by him to God, always living to intercede for them.
And there comes to him a leper, beseeching him, and falling on his knees to him, and saying to him, If thou wilt thou canst cleanse me. But Jesus, moved with compassion, having stretched out his hand, touched him, and says to him, I will, be thou cleansed. And as he spoke straightway the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. And having sharply charged him, he straightway sent him away, and says to him, See thou say nothing to any one, but go, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing what Moses ordained, for a testimony to them. But he, having gone forth, began to proclaim [it] much, and to spread the matter abroad, so that he could no longer enter openly into the city, but was without in desert places, and they came to him from every side.
But the leprosy of Naaman shall fasten upon thee, and upon thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence leprous, as snow.
and often it has cast him both into fire and into waters that it might destroy him: but if thou couldst [do] anything, be moved with pity on us, and help us. And Jesus said to him, The 'if thou couldst' is [if thou couldst] believe: all things are possible to him that believes. And immediately the father of the young child crying out said [with tears], I believe, help mine unbelief.
And when he was come to the house, the blind [men] came to him. And Jesus says to them, Do ye believe that I am able to do this? They say to him, Yea, Lord.
And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not fit that thou shouldest enter under my roof; but only speak a word, and my servant shall be healed. For *I* also am a man under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say to this [one], Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my bondman, Do this, and he does it.
And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Jehovah stand between the earth and the heavens, and his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem. And David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
And Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man before his master, and honourable, for by him Jehovah had given deliverance to Syria; and he was a mighty man of valour, [but] a leper.
And he said, No; for [as] captain of the army of Jehovah am I now come. Then Joshua fell upon his face to the earth, and worshipped, and said to him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou take great heed, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them shall ye take heed to do.
and the cloud departed from off the tent. And behold, Miriam was leprous as snow; and Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. Then Aaron said to Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not this sin upon us, wherein we have been foolish, and have sinned! Let her not be as one stillborn, half of whose flesh is consumed when he comes out of his mother's womb.
And there went out fire from before Jehovah, and consumed on the altar the burnt-offering, and the pieces of fat; and all the people saw it, and they shouted, and fell on their face.
And Jehovah said moreover to him, Put now thy hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom, and took it out, and behold, his hand was leprous, as snow.
And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising or a scab, or bright spot, and it become in the skin of his flesh a sore [as] of leprosy, then he shall be brought unto Aaron the priest, or unto one of his sons the priests. And when the priest looketh on the sore in the skin of the flesh, and the hair in the sore is turned white, and the sore looketh deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is the sore of leprosy; and the priest shall look on him and pronounce him unclean. But if the bright spot be white in the skin of his flesh, and look not deeper than the skin, and the hair thereof be not turned white, the priest shall shut up [him that hath] the sore seven days. And the priest shall look on him the seventh day; and behold, in his sight, the sore remaineth as it was, the sore hath not spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up seven days a second time. And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day, and behold, the sore is become pale and the sore hath not spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is a scab; and he shall wash his garments and be clean. But if the scab have spread much in the skin, after that he hath been seen by the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen by the priest again; and the priest shall look on him, and behold, the scab hath spread in the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is leprosy. When a sore [as] of leprosy is in a man, he shall be brought unto the priest; and the priest shall look on him, and behold, there is a white rising in the skin, and it hath turned the hair white, and a trace of raw flesh is in the rising: it is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh; and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and he shall not shut him up, for he is unclean. But if the leprosy break out much in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of [him that hath] the sore, from his head even to his foot, wherever the eyes of the priest look, and the priest looketh, and behold, the leprosy covereth all his flesh, he shall pronounce [him] clean [that hath] the sore; it is all turned white; he is clean. And on the day when raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean.
and he besought him much, saying, My little daughter is at extremity; [I pray] that thou shouldest come and lay thy hands upon her so that she may be healed, and may live.
And Uzziah was wroth; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of Jehovah, beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked upon him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; even he himself hasted to go out, because Jehovah had smitten him.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Luke 5
Commentary on Luke 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 5
Lu 5:1-11. Miraculous Draught of Fishes—Call of Peter, James, and John.
Not their first call, however, recorded in Joh 1:35-42; nor their second, recorded in Mt 4:18-22; but their third and last before their appointment to the apostleship. That these calls were all distinct and progressive, seems quite plain. (Similar stages are observable in other eminent servants of Christ.)
3. taught … out of the ship—(See on Mt 13:2).
4. for a draught—munificent recompense for the use of his boat.
5. Master—betokening not surely a first acquaintance, but a relationship already formed.
all night—the usual time of fishing then (Joh 21:3), and even now Peter, as a fisherman, knew how hopeless it was to "let down his net" again, save as a mere act of faith, "at His word" of command, which carried in it, as it ever does, assurance of success. (This shows he must have been already and for some time a follower of Christ.)
6. net brake—rather "was breaking," or "beginning to break," as in Lu 5:7, "beginning to sink."
8. Depart, &c.—Did Peter then wish Christ to leave him? Verily no. His all was wrapt up in Him (Joh 6:68). "It was rather, Woe is me, Lord! How shall I abide this blaze of glory? A sinner such as I am is not fit company for Thee." (Compare Isa 6:5.)
10. Simon, fear not—This shows how the Lord read Peter's speech. The more highly they deemed Him, ever the more grateful it was to the Redeemer's spirit. Never did they pain Him by manifesting too lofty conceptions of Him.
from henceforth—marking a new stage of their connection with Christ. The last was simply, "I will make you fishers."
fishers of men—"What wilt thou think, Simon, overwhelmed by this draught of fishes, when I shall bring to thy net what will beggar all this glory?" (See on Mt 4:18.)
11. forsook all—They did this before (Mt 4:20); now they do it again; and yet after the Crucifixion they are at their boats once more (Joh 21:3). In such a business this is easily conceivable. After pentecost, however, they appear to have finally abandoned their secular calling.
Lu 5:12-16. Leper Healed.
(See on Mt 8:2-4.)
15. But so, &c.—(See Mr 1:45).
Lu 5:17-26. Paralytic Healed.
(See on Mt 9:1-8).
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.
19. housetop—the flat roof.
through the tiling … before Jesus—(See on Mr 2:2).
24. take up thy couch—"sweet saying! The bed had borne the man; now the man shall bear the bed!" [Bengel].
Lu 5:27-32. Levi's Call and Feast.
(See on Mt 9:9-13; and Mr 2:14.)
30. their scribes—a mode of expression showing that Luke was writing for Gentiles.
Lu 5:33-39. Fasting.
(See on Mt 9:14-17.)
The incongruities mentioned in Lu 5:36-38 were intended to illustrate the difference between the genius of the old and new economies, and the danger of mixing up the one with the other. As in the one case supposed, "the rent is made worse," and in the other, "the new wine is spilled," so by a mongrel mixture of the ascetic ritualism of the old with the spiritual freedom of the new economy, both are disfigured and destroyed. The additional parable in Lu 5:39, which is peculiar to Luke, has been variously interpreted. But the "new wine" seems plainly to be the evangelical freedom which Christ was introducing; and the old, the opposite spirit of Judaism: men long accustomed to the latter could not be expected "straightway"—all at once—to take a liking for the former; that is, "These inquiries about the difference between My disciples and the Pharisees," and even John's, are not surprising; they are the effect of a natural revulsion against sudden change, which time will cure; the new wine will itself in time become old, and so acquire all the added charms of antiquity. What lessons does this teach, on the one hand, to those who unreasonably cling to what is getting antiquated; and, on the other, to hasty reformers who have no patience with the timidity of their weaker brethren!