Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 22:51
And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.
51 . Suffer ye thus far ] Probably addressed to the captors, and meaning Excuse thus much resistance; or ‘Allow me liberty thus far’ free my arms a moment that I may heal this wounded man. These snatches of dialogue often of uncertain interpretation from their fragmentary character (e.g. Mar 9:23; Mat 26:50; Joh 8:25), are inimitable marks of genuineness. It was probably during this pause that ‘all His disciples’ even Peter, even John ‘forsook Him and fled.’
Verse 51. Suffer ye thus far.] Or, Suffer me to go thus far. As they had now a firm hold of Christ, Mt 26:50, he wished them to permit him to go as far as Malchus, whose ear was cut off, that he might heal it. See the objections brought against this interpretation answered by Kypke; and see the examples he produces. However, the words may be understood as an address to his disciples: Let them proceed; make no resistance; for in this way only are the Scriptures to be fulfilled. And Jesus answered and said,…. Not to the question of the disciples, but either to Peter, who had done this rash action; and so the Persic and Ethiopic versions add, “to him”; or else to the multitude,
suffer ye thus far; or to them both, to Peter to stop his hand, to proceed no further, but put up his sword; and so the Arabic version reads, “refrain thyself”; and to the multitude to be easy, and not revenge the affront that was given them: and in order to pacify them, “he went to the wounded man”, as the Persic version inserts,
and he touched his ear and healed him; which shows, that though the human nature of Christ was in a very low condition, yet he still retained the power of doing miracles; and also his great humanity, by which example be confirmed his precept of doing good to enemies; and likewise hereby gave full proof of his willingness to be apprehended by them; for otherwise, he that wrought such a miracle as this, could easily have delivered himself out of their hands; and one would have thought this would have put a stop to them, and have convinced them of the truth of his being a divine person, and the Messiah.
Suffer us thus far ( ). Present active imperative of , to allow. But the meaning is not clear. If addressed to Peter and the other disciples it means that they are to suffer this much of violence against Jesus. This is probably the idea. If it is addressed to the crowd, it means that they are to excuse Peter for his rash act. He touched his ear and healed him ( ). Whether Jesus picked up the piece of the ear and put it back is not said. He could have healed the wound without that. This miracle of surgery is given alone by Luke. Suffer ye thus far. This is variously interpreted. I think the text requires that the words should be addressed to the disciples, and taken as the answer to the question, shall we smite, etc. The meaning then is, permit them to go so far as to seize me. The expression thus corresponds with Mt 26:52. Ear [] . This time Luke uses the diminutive. Wyc., little ear. Healed. Only Luke records the healing.
1) “And Jesus answered and said,” (apokritheis de ho lesous eipen) “Then -responding Jesus said,” Joh 18:9; Joh 18:11.
2) “Suffer ye thus far.” (eate heos eouto) “You al I let this be enough,” you all have gone far enough, Mat 26:52-53; Joh 18:11. It appears that these words were spoken to His disciples who were resisting His mob seizure.
3) “And he touched his ear, and healed him.’.’ (kai hapsamenos tou otiou iasato auton) “And he (Jesus) touched the ear and cured him,” Mat 26:51, of the injury, or restored the ear that was severed or cut off; A final miracle of compassion, that men might believe that He was the Son of God, the Messiah-Redeemer, and trust Him, Joh 1:11-12; Joh 3:17; Joh 3:2; Joh 20:30-31. His pity and care reached even the camp of His enemies.
Luk 22:51
. And having touched his ear, he healed him. By his foolish zeal Peter had brought grievous reproach on his Master and his doctrine; and there can be no doubt, that this was a contrivance by which Satan attempted to involve the Gospel in eternal disgrace, as if Christ had kept company with assassins and seditious persons for revolutionary purposes. This, I think, was the reason why Christ healed the wound which Peter had inflicted. But a fearful and amazing stupidity must have seized his adversaries, who were not at all affected by having seen such a miracle. And yet there is the less reason to wonder that they did not see the power of Christ displayed in the person of another, when, after having themselves been laid prostrate by his voice, they still continued to rage, (Joh 18:6.) Such is the spirit of giddiness by which Satan maddens the reprobate, when the Lord has given them over to blindness. Above all, in the person himself who was healed, there is a striking instance of ingratitude; for neither did the divine power of Christ subdue him to repentance for his hardness, nor was he overcome by kindness so as to be changed from an enemy into a disciple. For it is a foolish imagination of the monks that he was also healed in his soul, that the work of Christ might not be left incomplete; as if the goodness of God were not every day poured out on those who are unworthy.
(51) Suffer ye thus far.The words and the incident are peculiar to St. Luke. We are. not told to whom the words were spoken. If to the disciples, they were a command to be patient, and to let things take their course. If, as is possible, to the servants and officers, they were a plea for His disciplesDo not visit them with punishment for this one act. The immediate healing of the ear is in favour of the latter view, as tending to conciliation.
51. Suffer ye thus far Addressed to the soldiers in regard to healing Malchus. Being fettered, he requests them to permit him to do that much.
‘But Jesus answered and said, “Allow them to go thus far.” And he touched his ear, and healed him.’
But Jesus stepped in on the side of the law and commanded that there be no interference with His arrest. It was after all something that they had a right to do if only they had gone about it in the correct manner. This far they must be allowed to go. And He reached out and touched the man’s ear, which was probably hanging there limply, possibly on a sliver of flesh. The result was complete healing. This would ease the situation as the sight of a wounded and bleeding man must probably have caused the Roman chiliarch to take more widespread action if he had seen it when he came up. It would have made the situation appear more immediately serious.
Luk 22:51. Suffer ye thus far. The sense which has been affixed to this passage is various. Some have understood it as a request from Jesus, that the persons who had apprehended him, would oblige him so far as to let him go to the wounded man; and the context seems to countenance this opinion, representing him as immediately touching the ear, and healing it. Others, and among them the Syriac, suppose it to be spoken to the disciples, and to contain a prohibition against their offering any more violence; in which sense they paraphrase the words, “It is enough that you have opposed their violence so far; go no farther, but stop here.” The circumstance of our Lord’s healing Malchus’s ear by touching it, seems to imply, that he created a new part in the room of that which was cut off; or if he performed the cure any other way, he equally demonstrated both his goodness and power. No wound or distemper whatever was incurable in the hand of Jesus, neither was any injury so great that he could not forgive it; and as this was an act of great compassion and forgiveness, so likewise was it an act of singular wisdom; for it would effectually prevent those reflections and censures on Jesus, which the rashness of Peter’s attack might otherwise have occasioned. See the Inferences on Mark 14.
51 And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.
Ver. 51. And he touched his ear, &c. ] After he had laid them flat on the ground. So he tried them both ways; but nothing would do.
51. ] I understand as addressed, not to the disciples, but to the multitude, or rather to those who were holding Him; His hands were held, and He says, Suffer, permit me, thus far: i.e. to touch the ear of the wounded person. If this interpretation be correct, it furnishes an additional token of the truthfulness of our narrative for the previous laying hold of Jesus has not been mentioned here, but in Matthew ( Mat 26:50 ) and Mark ( Mar 14:46 ).
Luk 22:51 . : an elliptical colloquial phrase, whose meaning might be made clear by intonation or gesture. It might be spoken either to the captors = leave me free until I have healed the wounded man, or to the disciples = let them apprehend me, or: no more use of weapons. For the various interpretations put upon the words, vide Hahn. Perhaps the most likely rendering is: “cease, it is enough,” desinite, satis est , as if it had stood, , the disciples being addressed.
healed him. Added by Luke. See on Luk 6:17.
51.] I understand as addressed, not to the disciples, but to the multitude, or rather to those who were holding Him;-His hands were held,-and He says, Suffer, permit me, thus far: i.e. to touch the ear of the wounded person. If this interpretation be correct, it furnishes an additional token of the truthfulness of our narrative-for the previous laying hold of Jesus has not been mentioned here, but in Matthew (Mat 26:50) and Mark (Mar 14:46).
Luk 22:51. , said) to Peter and all the others, Mat 26:52 [Then said Jesus unto him (Peter), Put up again thy sword into his place; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword].-, suffer ye) So Act 5:38 [ , let them alone].- , thus far) Do not go any further. So 1Ma 2:33, ; Lev 26:18, , .
Suffer: Joh 17:12, Joh 18:8, Joh 18:9
And he: Rom 12:21, 2Co 10:1, 1Pe 2:21-23
Reciprocal: Job 31:31 – the men Mat 20:34 – touched Mar 6:56 – touch Luk 9:56 – And Act 16:28 – cried Jam 5:6 – and he
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In this account Jesus said to Peter, “Suffer ye thus far,” mean ing that he should not resist the crowd that was coming to take his Master. The event is the same as recorded in Mat 26:52.
Luk 22:51. Suffer ye thus far. Probably addressed to the disciples: Let them go on and fulfil this their design of taking me. Ft is a mild reproof of the hasty use of the sword, and thus agrees with Mat 26:52; Joh 18:11. Were the sense: Let them go thus far (and no further), we would find a different expression here. Others suppose the soldiers were addressed, and that the sense is: Let me go, until I have healed this man, or Let me go as far as this man. This is grammatically probable, but opposed by the phrase answered.
Touched his ear, etc. Luke, the physician, alone mentions this. The passage does not clearly indicate how the healing took place: Whether at our Lords touch the ear was wholly restored, or merely the wound healed, or whether the piece cut off was taken up and restored to its place in the body. The last is least likely, as the passage contains no hint of picking up. The first seems more in keeping with the occasion, representing our Lord as making good the loss occasioned by the hasty zeal of Peter.
Jesus rebuked Peter’s aggressive defensive measure. This is more probable than that He spoke to the soldiers and requested permission to heal the servant. [Note: Henry Alford, The Greek Testament, 1:649.] Another improbable interpretation is that Jesus meant that the disciples should let the soldiers have their way with Him. [Note: Creed, p. 274; Marshall, The Gospel . . ., p. 837; and Morris, p. 313.] Jesus then reversed the damage done by healing the servant. He did what He had previously told the disciples to do, namely, do good to their enemies rather than evil. Again Luke noted Jesus’ compassion even for those who sought to kill Him. Jesus did not rely on the sword nor did He base His kingdom on the use of physical force.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
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Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
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Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)