Bible Reference / Bible Book Studies / Gospel of Luke / Luke 5 / Luke 5:17-26
Quick Summary
In Luke 5:17-26, Jesus is teaching in a crowded house while Pharisees and teachers of the law from all over Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem look on. Some men arrive carrying a paralyzed friend on a bed, but the crowd blocks the door. So they climb onto the roof, remove the tiles, and lower their friend right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus says, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you" (5:20). The religious leaders are scandalized: "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (5:21). To show that "the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," Jesus tells the man to stand up, take his bed, and go home (5:24). He does, glorifying God, and the whole crowd is filled with awe.
This is the first open conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders in Luke. The question at the center of it, who has the right to forgive sins, runs through the rest of the Gospel.
Scripture Reference
Passage: Luke 5:17-26
Parallel accounts: Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12
Old Testament background: Daniel 7:13-14 (the Son of Man); Psalm 103:3; Isaiah 43:25
Setting: a house in Galilee, which Mark places in Capernaum (Mark 2:1)
Placement in Luke: after Jesus heals a leper (Luke 5:12-16) and before Jesus calls Levi the tax collector (Luke 5:27-32)
Verse-by-Verse Commentary on Luke 5:17-26
The Pharisees Arrive (Luke 5:17)
Luke sets the scene carefully. Jesus is teaching, and "Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting nearby" who had come "from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem" (5:17).
This is the first time the Pharisees appear in Luke's Gospel. The Pharisees were a lay movement devoted to careful observance of the law, and the "teachers of the law" were experts in interpreting it. That they came from every village, and even from Jerusalem, suggests word about Jesus had reached the religious leadership, and they had come to see for themselves.
Luke adds a phrase found only in his account: "the power of the Lord was with him to heal." The word for power (dynamis) ties this scene back to Jesus' return to Galilee "filled with the power of the Spirit" (4:14) and the crowd's amazement in Capernaum that he commanded unclean spirits "with authority and power" (4:36). The same power is about to be displayed in front of the most skeptical audience Jesus has yet faced.
Four Friends and a Bed (Luke 5:18)
"Just then some men came, carrying a paralyzed man on a bed" (5:18). Mark tells us there were four of them (Mark 2:3). The man could not get to Jesus on his own. Everything depended on friends willing to carry him.
Their determination to bring him to Jesus, despite the crowd, shows the kind of faith Jesus often commended. The tenacity of these friends is a model for us today. Some of us are the ones on the mat. Some of us are the ones carrying it. For more, see Bible verses about friendship.
Through the Roof (Luke 5:19)
Finding no way in because of the crowd, "they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus" (5:19).
Mark describes the friends digging through the roof (Mark 2:4), which fits the typical Galilean house: a flat roof made of wooden beams covered with branches and packed mud, reached by an outside stair. Luke says they went "through the tiles," which matches the tiled roofs familiar to his Greek and Roman readers. Either way, the picture is the same: dust falling, a hole opening above the crowd, and a man on a stretcher being lowered down on ropes, landing right at Jesus' feet.
The friends' creative solution demonstrates an active, determined faith. It echoes the woman with the hemorrhage who pushed through the crowd to touch Jesus' garment (Luke 8:43-48). Both stories show that faith is often something you do, even in the face of difficulty.
"Friend, Your Sins Are Forgiven You" (Luke 5:20)
"When he saw their faith, he said, 'Friend, your sins are forgiven you'" (5:20).
"When he saw their faith." Jesus responds to the faith of the friends, not only the paralyzed man. Faith can be shared and carried. The intercession of others matters. For more, see Bible verses about intercessory prayer.
"Friend." The Greek is simply anthrōpe, "man" or "person." Many translations soften it to "friend." It is a direct, personal address.
"Your sins are forgiven." This is not what anyone expected. Four men just tore open a roof to get their friend healed, and Jesus speaks about sin. He goes straight to the deepest need. The healing he offers is for the soul as well as the body.
The Greek verb for "forgiven" comes from the same root as aphesis, the "release" Jesus announced in Nazareth: "He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives" (Luke 4:18). Forgiveness is release. In this scene, Jesus releases a man from his sin and from his paralysis.
Jesus does not say the man's paralysis was caused by his sin. Elsewhere Jesus rejects that assumption directly, as with the man born blind (John 9) and the victims of tragedy in Luke 13:1-9. Here, Jesus simply addresses the man's need for forgiveness before his need to walk.
"Who Can Forgive Sins but God Alone?" (Luke 5:21)
"Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, 'Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?'" (5:21).
The religious leaders are right about one thing. In the Old Testament, forgiveness belongs to God. "I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake" (Isaiah 43:25). The psalmist praises the Lord, "who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases" (Psalm 103:3). For more on forgiveness in the Psalms, see Psalm 51 meaning and reflections.
Priests could declare forgiveness through the sacrificial system at the Temple, and prophets like Nathan could announcethat God had forgiven someone. But Jesus speaks on his own authority, in an ordinary house, without sacrifice or ritual.
So the leaders face the right question: "Who is this?" If Jesus is only a man, he is claiming what belongs to God, and blasphemy carried the death penalty under the law (Leviticus 24:16). If he is who he implies, everything changes. This same charge will follow Jesus all the way to his trial before the council (Luke 22:63-71).
Jesus Reads Their Thoughts (Luke 5:22)
"When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, 'Why do you raise such questions in your hearts?'" (5:22).
The leaders had not said a word out loud, but Jesus knows what they are thinking. Simeon had predicted this when he held the infant Jesus in the Temple: through this child, "the inner thoughts of many will be revealed" (Luke 2:35). John's Gospel says Jesus "knew all people" and needed no one to testify about anyone (John 2:24-25).
"Which Is Easier?" (Luke 5:23)
"Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Stand up and walk'?" (5:23).
The question is clever. In one sense, it is easier to say "your sins are forgiven," because no one can see whether it happened. Anyone can claim it. Saying "stand up and walk" is riskier, because everyone will see immediately whether it works.
Jesus is about to do the visible thing to prove the invisible one. The healing will serve as public evidence that his word of forgiveness was real.
The Son of Man Has Authority on Earth (Luke 5:24)
"'But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,' he said to the one who was paralyzed, 'I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home'" (5:24).
This is the first time Jesus calls himself "the Son of Man" in Luke, and it becomes his favorite way of referring to himself.
The phrase can simply mean "a human being," and it is often used that way in Ezekiel and the Psalms. But it also echoes Daniel's vision of "one like a human being" (traditionally "one like a son of man") coming with the clouds of heaven, who is given "dominion and glory and kingship" by God (Daniel 7:13-14). Jesus takes up that title and claims that this heavenly authority is already at work "on earth." Read more about when Daniel was written.
The authority in this verse is the same exousia the crowds noticed in Capernaum (Luke 4:32, 36). Jesus has authority over demons, over disease, and now over sin itself.
He Went Home Glorifying God (Luke 5:25)
"Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God" (5:25).
The man who was carried in walks out carrying the bed that once carried him. The healing is immediate and public, right in front of the people who doubted.
Only Luke tells us the man went home "glorifying God." Praising God is one of Luke's signature responses to Jesus' work. The shepherds glorify God after seeing the baby (Luke 2:8-20). The crowd at Nain glorifies God when Jesus raises the widow's son (Luke 7:16). The bent-over woman stands up straight and praises God (Luke 13:13). One of the ten lepers turns back praising God (Luke 17:15), and the blind beggar follows Jesus glorifying God (Luke 18:43). Even the centurion at the cross praises God (23:47).
When we encounter Jesus, the natural response is to glorify God.
"We Have Seen Strange Things Today" (Luke 5:26)
"Amazement seized all of them, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, 'We have seen strange things today'" (5:26).
The Greek word for "strange things" is paradoxa, the root of our word "paradox." It appears only here in the New Testament. It means something contrary to expectation, beyond belief. A man claims the authority of God and backs it up in front of everyone.
And notice the word "today." In Nazareth, Jesus said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (4:21). Now the crowd itself says, "We have seen strange things today." God's promised day of release has arrived, and they are watching it happen.
How Luke's Account Compares with Matthew and Mark
All three Synoptic Gospels tell this story, and each adds its own details. The table below sets them side by side.
| Detail | Matthew 9:1-8 | Mark 2:1-12 | Luke 5:17-26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setting | "His own town," Capernaum | At home in Capernaum, so crowded no one could reach the door | "One of those days," town unnamed |
| Getting to Jesus | Brought to Jesus on a bed; no roof scene | Four men remove the roof and dig through it | Let down "through the tiles" into the middle of the crowd |
| Who objects | Some of the scribes | Some of the scribes | Pharisees and teachers of the law from Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem |
| Jesus' first words | "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." | "Son, your sins are forgiven." | "Friend, your sins are forgiven you." |
| Details only here | The crowd glorifies God for giving such authority to human beings | Four carriers; Jesus was "speaking the word" to the crowd | "The power of the Lord was with him to heal"; the man goes home glorifying God |
| Crowd's response | Filled with awe; glorified God | "We have never seen anything like this!" | "We have seen strange things today." |
Quotations from the NRSV.
Luke's version is the only one that mentions Pharisees and teachers of the law from as far as Jerusalem, the only one that says "the power of the Lord was with him to heal," and the only one that says the healed man went home glorifying God. Read more about who wrote Matthew, who wrote Mark, and who wrote Luke.
The Start of Conflict with the Pharisees
Luke 5:17-26 opens a series of five conflict stories that run through Luke 6:11. Each time, the religious leaders object to something Jesus does or allows:
Forgiving sins (Luke 5:17-26), this passage.
Eating with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:27-32).
Not fasting (Luke 5:33-39).
Picking grain on the Sabbath (Luke 6:1-5).
Healing on the Sabbath (Luke 6:6-11).
The tension builds with each scene, until the leaders are "filled with fury" and begin discussing what they might do to Jesus (6:11).
Translation Comparison: Luke 5:17-26
Luke 5:19. The NRSV and ESV say "through the tiles"; the NLT says they "took off some tiles." Luke's word keramos means roof tiles, while Mark describes digging through the roof.
Luke 5:20. The NRSV says "Friend, your sins are forgiven you"; the ESV says "Man, your sins are forgiven you"; the NLT says "Young man, your sins are forgiven." The Greek anthrōpe literally means "man" or "human being."
Luke 5:24. All three say "the Son of Man," the title Jesus uses for himself, echoing Daniel 7:13-14.
Luke 5:26. The NRSV says "strange things"; the ESV says "extraordinary things"; the NLT says "amazing things." The Greek paradoxa means something beyond expectation.
Luke 5:17-26 Meaning for Today
This passage reminds us that Jesus' healing goes far beyond physical ailments. His authority to forgive sins is just as real as his power to heal the body, and even more important. For more, see Bible verses about forgiveness and Bible verses about healing.
The faith of the paralyzed man's friends shows the kind of bold, persistent belief Jesus honors. It challenges us to bring our struggles to Jesus, no matter how impossible the situation may seem, and to carry others to him when they cannot get there on their own. Sometimes that means tearing open a roof.
Just as the paralyzed man experienced both physical and spiritual healing, we too are invited to experience the fullness of Jesus' restoring power. And when we do, the natural response is the same as his: to go home glorifying God.
FAQ: Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man (Luke 5:17-26)
What happens in Luke 5:17-26? Four friends lower a paralyzed man through the roof of a crowded house to reach Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus forgives the man's sins. When religious leaders accuse him of blasphemy, Jesus heals the man to prove that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. The man walks home glorifying God.
Why did Jesus forgive the paralyzed man's sins before healing him? Jesus addressed the man's deepest need first. The healing then served as visible proof that his invisible word of forgiveness was real. Jesus did not say the paralysis was caused by sin; he showed that he has authority over both sin and sickness.
Why did the Pharisees accuse Jesus of blasphemy? In the Old Testament, only God can forgive sins. When Jesus forgave the man on his own authority, the Pharisees understood that he was claiming a right that belongs to God. If he was only a man, that would be blasphemy.
What does "Son of Man" mean in Luke 5:24? "Son of Man" is Jesus' favorite title for himself, and Luke 5:24 is its first appearance in Luke. It can simply mean "human being," but it also echoes Daniel 7:13-14, where "one like a son of man" receives authority and an everlasting kingdom from God.
Whose faith did Jesus see in Luke 5:20? Luke says Jesus saw "their faith," meaning the faith of the friends who carried the man and lowered him through the roof. The passage shows that the faith of others can bring someone to Jesus.
How did they lower the man through the roof? Houses in Galilee usually had flat roofs reached by outside stairs, made of beams covered with branches and packed clay. Mark says the friends dug through the roof; Luke describes removing roof tiles. They likely lowered the man's mat with ropes.
Where did Jesus heal the paralyzed man? Luke does not name the town, but Mark 2:1 places the story in Capernaum, possibly in the house where Jesus was staying.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Works Consulted
Darrell L. Bock, Luke (NIV Application Commentary)
Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke (New International Commentary on the New Testament)
John Nolland, Luke 1-9:20 (Word Biblical Commentary)
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke I-IX (Anchor Bible)
