The Meaning of Luke 5:12 Explained

Luke 5:12

KJV: And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

YLT: And it came to pass, in his being in one of the cities, that lo, a man full of leprosy, and having seen Jesus, having fallen on his face, he besought him, saying, 'Sir, if thou mayest will, thou art able to cleanse me;'

Darby: And it came to pass as he was in one of the cities, that behold, there was a man full of leprosy, and seeing Jesus, falling upon his face, he besought him saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou art able to cleanse me.

ASV: And it came to pass, while he was in one of the cities, behold, a man full of leprosy: and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  it came to pass,  when he  was  in  a certain  city,  behold  a man  full  of leprosy:  who  seeing  Jesus  fell  on  [his] face,  and besought  him,  saying,  Lord,  if  thou wilt,  thou canst  make  me  clean. 

What does Luke 5:12 Mean?

Study Notes

if thou will
The leper, knowing the Lord's power to heal, seems to question His willingness.

Verse Meaning

One of Luke"s purposes in his Gospel and in Acts appears to have been to show why God stopped working particularly with Israel and began working with Jews and Gentiles equally in the church. [1] The Jewish leaders" rejection of Jesus was a major reason for this change. The conflict between them is an important feature of this Gospel.
This section of the Gospel includes six incidents. In the first one Jesus served notice to the religious leaders in Jerusalem that the Messiah had arrived. In the remaining five pericopes, the Pharisees found fault with Jesus or His disciples. Mark stressed the conflict that was mounting, but Luke emphasized the positive aspects of Jesus" ministry that led to the opposition. [2]
One of the cities of Galilee is what Luke meant in view of the context. He revealed his particular interest in medical matters again by noting that leprosy covered this man completely. There could be no doubt that he was a leper. As Peter had done, this man fell on His face before Jesus (cf. Luke 5:8). As Peter, he also appealed to Jesus as "Lord" ( Luke 5:8). This address was respectful and appropriate for addressing someone with special power from God. [1] The leper was very bold in coming to Jesus since his leprosy separated him from normal social contacts. His conditional request cast doubt on Jesus" willingness to heal him, not His ability to do so. It may express his sense of unworthiness to receive such a blessing.

Context Summary

Luke 5:12-26 - Cleansing, Power And Pardon
Jesus did not hesitate to touch the leper, because He could no more be polluted by uncleanness than could a ray of light by passing through a fetid atmosphere. The question is never in can or will, as applied to Christ, but whether we will trust Him and can believe.
The Mosaic offering was a pair of birds, one of which was killed over running water; while the other, having been dipped into this mingled blood and water, was freed to fly away in its native air. Is not this the meet emblem of the forgiven and cleansed soul? See Leviticus 14:2-32.
At first the bed bore the paralytic, but after the power of Jesus had entered into him, he bore the bed. So Jesus pours His energy into our anemic natures, and we master what had mastered us. The miracle in the physical sphere, which men could test, approved His power in the realm of the spiritual, where only the forgiven one could actually know.
Do not forget to withdraw from the crowd, however eager it is, that you may pray, Luke 5:16. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 5

1  Jesus teaches the people out of Peter's ship;
4  shows how he will make them fishers of men;
12  cleanses the leper;
16  prays in the desert;
17  heals a paralytic;
27  calls Matthew the tax collector;
29  eats with sinners, as being the physician of souls;
33  foretells the fasting and afflictions of the apostles after his ascension;
36  and illustrates the matter by the parable of patches

Greek Commentary for Luke 5:12

Behold [και ιδου]
Quite a Hebraistic idiom, this use of και — kai after εγενετο — egeneto (almost like οτι — hoti) with ιδου — idou (interjection) and no verb. [source]
Full of leprosy [πληρης λεπρας]
Mark 1:40 and Matthew 8:2 have simply “a leper.” Evidently a bad case full of sores and far advanced as Luke the physician notes. The law (Leviticus 13:12.) curiously treated advanced cases as less unclean than the earlier stages.Fell on his face (πεσων επι προσωπον — pesōn epi prosōpon). Second aorist active participle of πιπτω — piptō common verb. Mark 1:40 has “kneeling” (γονυπετων — gonupetōn) and Matthew 8:2 “worshipped” (προσεκυνει — prosekunei). All three attitudes were possible one after the other. All three Synoptics quote the identical language of the leper and the identical answer of Jesus. His condition of the third class turned on the “will” (τεληις — thelēis) of Jesus who at once asserts his will (τηλω — thēlō) and cleanses him. All three likewise mention the touch (ηπσατο — hēpsato Luke 5:13) of Christ‘s hand on the unclean leper and the instantaneous cure. [source]
Fell on his face [πεσων επι προσωπον]
Second aorist active participle of πιπτω — piptō common verb. Mark 1:40 has “kneeling” All three attitudes were possible one after the other. All three Synoptics quote the identical language of the leper and the identical answer of Jesus. His condition of the third class turned on the “will” (τεληις — thelēis) of Jesus who at once asserts his will (τηλω — thēlō) and cleanses him. All three likewise mention the touch (ηπσατο — hēpsato Luke 5:13) of Christ‘s hand on the unclean leper and the instantaneous cure. [source]
Full of leprosy []
Matthew and Mark have simply a leper. The expression,full of leprosy, seems to be used here with professional accuracy. Leprosy was known among physicians under three forms: the dull white, the clear white, and the black. Luke means to describe an aggravated case. The wordfull in this connection is often used by medical writers, as, full of disease; the veins full of blood; the ears full of roaring. [source]
Make me clean [καθαρίσαι]
All three evangelists say cleanse instead of heal, because of the notion of uncleanness which specially attached to this malady. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 5:12

Mark 1:40 Kneeling down to him [και γονυπετων]
Picturesque detail omitted by some MSS. Luke 5:12 has “fell on his face.” [source]
Luke 17:12 Lepers []
See on Luke 5:12. [source]
Luke 17:12 Which stood afar off [οι ανεστησαν πορρωτεν]
The margin of Westcott and Hort reads simply εστησαν — estēsan The compound read by B means “rose up,” but they stood at a distance (Leviticus 13:45.). The first healing of a leper (Luke 5:12-16) like this is given by Luke only. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 5:12 mean?

And it came to pass in - being His one of the cities that behold a man full of leprosy having seen then - Jesus having fallen upon [his] face begged Him saying Lord if You would be willing You are able me to cleanse
Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ εἶναι αὐτὸν μιᾷ τῶν πόλεων καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ πλήρης λέπρας ἰδὼν δὲ τὸν Ἰησοῦν πεσὼν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ἐδεήθη αὐτοῦ λέγων Κύριε ἐὰν θέλῃς δύνασαί με καθαρίσαι

ἐγένετο  it  came  to  pass 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γίνομαι  
Sense: to become, i.
τῷ  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Neuter Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
εἶναι  being 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
αὐτὸν  His 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
μιᾷ  one 
Parse: Adjective, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: εἷς  
Sense: one.
τῶν  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
πόλεων  cities 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Plural
Root: πόλις  
Sense: a city.
καὶ  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: καί  
Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but.
ἰδοὺ  behold 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ἰδού  
Sense: behold, see, lo.
ἀνὴρ  a  man 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀνήρ  
Sense: with reference to sex.
πλήρης  full 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: πλήρης  
Sense: full, i.e. filled up (as opposed to empty).
λέπρας  of  leprosy 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: λέπρα  
Sense: leprosy.
ἰδὼν  having  seen 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
τὸν  - 
Parse: Article, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦν  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
πεσὼν  having  fallen 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: πίπτω 
Sense: to descend from a higher place to a lower.
ἐπὶ  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
πρόσωπον  [his]  face 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: πρόσωπον  
Sense: the face.
ἐδεήθη  begged 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: δέομαι  
Sense: to want, lack.
λέγων  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
Κύριε  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
θέλῃς  You  would  be  willing 
Parse: Verb, Present Subjunctive Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: θέλω  
Sense: to will, have in mind, intend.
δύνασαί  You  are  able 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 2nd Person Singular
Root: δύναμαι  
Sense: to be able, have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through favourable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom.
με  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
καθαρίσαι  to  cleanse 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: καθαρίζω 
Sense: to make clean, cleanse.