The Gospel of Luke
Two healings: Lk 5,12-26
The healing of the leper begins in 5,12 where we are told that Jesus is in a town or city. That may be to be provide a contrast with verse 16, but it is suprising to find the leper in such a public place. Also, Luke, typically, stresses the seriousness of the man's condition, that the man was full of leprosy.
In verse 15, Luke also stresses the size of the response - the great crowds gathering to hear Jesus and to be healed by him.
The comment about Jesus withdrawing to deserted places for prayer occurs earlier in Mark, Mk 1,35. Luke may have moved the comment to this point because Jesus now has disciples who need to learn from him.
Moving on to the second healing,5,17-26, Luke introduces both the Pharisees and scribes together. In Mark, this healing mentions only scribes (Mk 2,6) and then well into the story. Pharisees don't appear in that Gospel until after the call of Levi. Thus in Luke's account, they are taking a much more central place from the beginning, preparing for their reaction to Levi's banquet (5,30). It is also sign of Jesus' fame that they are present to hear Jesus for themselves.
We note too in verse 17 that the power of the Lord was with Jesus - not the spirit as earlier (4,14), surprisingly.
In verse 18, Luke mentions the attempts of the four men to bring the man into the house. All those Pharisees and scribes were in the way.
Only then in veres 19, do they climb onto the roof. We are told the roof has tiles, a suggestion perhaps that Luke's congregation was urban.
Jesus addresses the man in verse 20 as "Man" in place of Mark's "child". (The NRSV in its quest for inclusive language renders this as "Friend").
"Son of Man" in verse 24 is Jesus' way of speaking of himself. The OT background is found in Daniel and Ezekiel.
Unlike Mark and Matthew, here in Luke it is the man himself who glorifies or praises God and so too do the crowd. Unexpected and wonderful things have indeed happened. There is no further reaction from the scribes and Pharisees at this time.
Whilst we tend to focus on Jesus when we read these stories, we have to bear in mind other characters in the story as well. Here, there is now a split between the leaders ("He is blaspheming", verse 21) and the crowd who are open to Jesus' healings and are therefore free to glorify God. Luke has added "today", the significance of which we have seen already. Zacchaeus in 19,9 is most relevant here.
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