Add parallel Print Page Options

31 Jesus[a] answered them, “Those who are well don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do.[b] 32 I have not come[c] to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”[d]

The Superiority of the New

33 Then[e] they said to him, “John’s[f] disciples frequently fast[g] and pray,[h] and so do the disciples of the Pharisees,[i] but yours continue to eat and drink.”[j]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Luke 5:31 tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  2. Luke 5:31 sn Jesus’ point is that he associates with those who are sick because they have the need and will respond to the offer of help. A person who is well (or who thinks mistakenly that he is) will not seek treatment.
  3. Luke 5:32 sn I have not come is another commission statement by Jesus; see 4:43-44.
  4. Luke 5:32 sn Though parallels exist to this saying (Matt 9:13; Mark 2:17), only Luke has this last phrase but sinners to repentance. Repentance is a frequent topic in Luke’s Gospel: 3:3, 8; 13:1-5; 15:7, 10; 16:30; 17:3-4; 24:47.
  5. Luke 5:33 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  6. Luke 5:33 tc Most mss (א*,2 A C D Θ Ψ ƒ1,13 M latt sy) read διὰ τί (dia ti, “Why do John’s…?”) here, turning the statement into a question. But such seems to be a motivated reading, assimilating the text to Mark 2:18 and Matt 9:14. The reading represented in the translation is supported by P4 א1 B L W Ξ 33 892* 1241 sa.sn John refers to John the Baptist.
  7. Luke 5:33 sn John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.
  8. Luke 5:33 tn Grk “and offer prayers,” but this idiom (δέησις + ποιέω) is often simply a circumlocution for praying.
  9. Luke 5:33 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
  10. Luke 5:33 tn Grk “but yours are eating and drinking.” The translation “continue to eat and drink” attempts to reflect the progressive or durative nature of the action described, which in context is a practice not limited to the specific occasion at hand (the banquet).

31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”(A)

Jesus Questioned About Fasting(B)

33 They said to him, “John’s disciples(C) often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”

Read full chapter