But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, answered them, “Why are you reasoning so in your hearts?
Parallel Translations
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But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, answered them, “Why are you reasoning so in your hearts?
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When Iesus perceaved their thoughtes he answered and sayde vnto them: What thinke ye in youre hertes?
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But when Iesus perceiued their reasoning, he answered, and sayd vnto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Science (1)
Historical claims about the natural world, weighed against the scientific record.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Luke 5:22 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 9:4 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?
- Luke 24:38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts?
- Psalms 139:2 You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar.
- Isaiah 66:18 “For I know their works and their thoughts. The time comes that I will gather all nations and languages, and they will come, and will see my glory.
- Matthew 12:25 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
- Mark 8:17 Jesus, perceiving it, said to them, “Why do you reason that it’s because you have no bread? Don’t you perceive yet, neither understand? Is your heart still hardened?
- Acts 5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the price of the land?
- Revelation 2:23 I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
- 1 Chronicles 28:9 You, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
- Proverbs 15:26 Yahweh detests the thoughts of the wicked, but the thoughts of the pure are pleasing.
- Ezekiel 38:10 “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “It will happen in that day that things will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.
- Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (6 sources)
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John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But when Jesus perceived their thoughts,.... Being God omniscient;
But when Jesus perceived their thoughts,.... Being God omniscient;
he answering said unto them, what reason ye in your hearts? This he said, not as being ignorant what their reasonings were, for it is before said he perceived their thoughts, but to expose the wickedness of them; in one exemplar of Beza's it is added, "evil things", as in Mat 9:4. See Gill on Mat 9:4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 22. when Jesus perceived] Rather, Jesus, recognising.
22. when Jesus perceived] Rather, Jesus, recognising.
their thoughts] Rather, their reasonings.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (22) When Jesus perceived their thoughts.—Better, their reasonings, the…
(22) When Jesus perceived their thoughts.—Better, their reasonings, the Greek noun being formed from the verb used in Luk_5:21.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The miracle:
The miracle:
v. 22. But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He, answering, said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
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v. 23. Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Else up and walk?
v. 24. But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (He said unto the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
v. 25. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
v. 26. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today.
Jesus, in His omniscience, read their thoughts as easily as though they had spoken aloud, and answered in that sense, promptly calling them to account for their condemnation of His words. He proposes a question to them as to what they believed to be easier, to say: Forgiven be thy sins; or to say: Arise and walk. The scribes and Pharisees naturally thought that the saying of the former would be the easier, since the fulfillment lay in the spiritual field and could therefore not be seen or controlled by men. That this miracle of mercy really happened at the word of Jesus they did not believe. The Lord therefore performed before their eyes what they considered the more difficult, for a testimony unto them, incidentally proving that His words to the sick man could not have been blasphemy. The fact that He, the Son of Man, actually possessed the power on earth to forgive sins, He demonstrated by saying to the paralytic: To thee I say, Arise, and pick up thy hammock, or couch, and go to thy house. And without delay, at once, the sick man got up before them all, took up the bed upon which he had been lying, and went to his home, full of praise toward God for the miracle of healing performed in his case. His faith and trust had been gloriously vindicated. Christ the Lord has power to forgive sins as the Son of Man. Had God not, in Christ, become man and reconciled the world to Himself, He would have the power to destroy the sinners, but not to save them, since His holiness must be preserved at all costs. And Christ, the Head and Lord of His Church, has given the power to forgive sins to His Church on earth. This is the peculiar church power which Christ has given to His Church on earth, which His servants administer according to His command, Joh 20:23. When the absolution is spoken by the minister of the church or by any Christian in comforting his neighbor, then we may gladly believe that such word of forgiveness is spoken down from heaven itself and is the merciful sentence of God upon us. Of this fact the people had an inkling on that occasion in Capernaum. The greatest astonishment took hold of them all, even the Pharisees that hardened their hearts against Jesus feeling something of the power of God in the incident. The people in general glorified God, being filled also with awe in the presence of such supernatural evidence. Their opinion was that they had seen strange things, such as appeared contrary to the common run and course of nature, wonders which human reason declares to be impossible.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 perceiving what they were thinking
perceiving what they were thinking
This phrase indicates that they were reasoning silently, so that Jesus sensed rather then heard what they were thinking.
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Why are you questioning this in your hearts?
This can be written as a statement. AT: "You should not argue about this in your hearts." or "You should not doubt that I have the authority to forgive sins." (See: Rhetorical Question)
in your hearts
Here "hearts" is a metonym for people's minds or inner beings. (See: Metonymy)
Which is easier to say ... walk?
Jesus uses this question to make the scribes think about what might prove whether or not he could really forgive sins. AT: "I just said 'Your sins are forgiven you.' You may think that it is harder to say 'Get up and walk,' because the proof of whether or not I can heal the man will be shown by whether or not he gets up and walks." or "You may think that it is easier to say 'Your sins are forgiven' than it is to say 'Get up and walk.'" (See: Rhetorical Question)
easier to say
The unspoken implication is that one thing is "easier to say because no one will know what has happened," but the other thing is "harder to say because everyone will know what has happened." People could not see if the man's sins were forgiven, but they would all know he was healed if he got up and walked. (See: Ellipsis)
you may know
Jesus was speaking to the scribes and Pharisees. The word "you" is plural. (See: Forms of You)
the Son of Man
Jesus was referring to himself.
I tell you
Jesus was saying this to the paralyzed man. The word "you" is singular.
translationWords
heart
Son of Man
authority
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 5:22 Jesus knew what they were thinking: While the…
5:22 Jesus knew what they were thinking: While the Pharisees were accusing Jesus of blasphemy, he was reading their minds—something only God can do.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.