Job 42:2

42:2 “I know that you can do all things;

no purpose of yours can be thwarted;

Ezekiel 38:10

38:10 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind, ¹  and you will devise an evil plan.

Matthew 9:4

9:4 When Jesus saw their reaction he said, “Why do you respond with evil in your hearts?

Matthew 12:25

12:25 Now when Jesus ²  realized what they were thinking, he said to them, ³  “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, ⁴  and no town or house divided against itself will stand.

Luke 5:22

5:22 When Jesus perceived ⁵  their hostile thoughts, ⁶  he said to them, ⁷  “Why are you raising objections ⁸  within yourselves?

Luke 5:1

The Call of the Disciples

5:1 Now ⁹  Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, ¹⁰  and the crowd was pressing around him ¹¹  to hear the word of God.

Colossians 3:20

3:20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord.

Hebrews 4:12

4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart.

¹ tn Heb “words will go up upon your heart.”

² tc The majority of mss read ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsous, “Jesus”), which clarifies who is the subject of the sentence. Although the shorter text is attested in far fewer witnesses (̲¹ א B D 892* sy^s,c sa bo), both the pedigree of the mss and the strong internal evidence (viz., scribes were not prone to intentionally delete the name of Jesus) argue for the omission of Jesus’ name. The name has been included in the translation, however, for clarity.

³ sn Jesus here demonstrated the absurdity of the thinking of the religious leaders who maintained that he was in league with Satan and that he actually derived his power from the devil. He first teaches (vv. 25-28) that if he casts out demons by the ruler of the demons, then in reality Satan is fighting against himself, with the result that his kingdom has come to an end. He then teaches (v. 29) about tying up the strong man to prove that he does not need to align himself with the devil because he is more powerful. Jesus defeated Satan at his temptation (4:1-11) and by his exorcisms he clearly demonstrated himself to be stronger than the devil. The passage reveals the desperate condition of the religious leaders, who in their hatred for Jesus end up attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan (a position for which they will be held accountable, 12:31-32).

⁴ tn Or “is left in ruins.”

⁵ sn Jesus often perceived people’s thoughts in Luke; see 4:23; 6:8; 7:40; 9:47. Such a note often precedes a rebuke.

⁶ tn Grk “reasonings.” This is the noun form of the infinitive διαλογίζεσθαι (dialogizesqai, “began to reason to themselves”) used in v. 21. Jesus’ reply to them in the latter part of the present verse makes clear that these reasonings were mental and internal, so the translation “thoughts” was used here. On the hostile or evil nature of these thoughts, see G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:97.

⁷ tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation.

⁸ tn The Greek verb διαλογίζεσθε (dialogizesqe, “you reason”), used in context with διαλογισμούς (dialogismous, “reasonings”), connotes more than neutral reasoning or thinking. While the verb can refer to normal “reasoning,” “discussion,” or “reflection” in the NT, its use here in Luke 5:22, alongside the noun – which is regularly used with a negative sense in the NT (cf. Matt 15:19; Mark 7:21; Luke 2:35, 6:8, 9:47; Rom 1:21; 1 Cor 3:20; G. Schrenk, TDNT 2:96-97; D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:484) – suggests the idea of “contention.” Therefore, in order to reflect the hostility evident in the reasoning of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, the verb has been translated as “raising objections.”

⁹ tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

¹⁰ sn The Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the Sea of Galilee. Cf. the parallel in Matt 4:18.

¹¹ sn The image of the crowd pressing around him suggests the people leaning forward to catch Jesus’ every word.