Bible Strands
Luke 5:32
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus answers the Pharisees who have questioned why his disciples eat with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:29–30). He follows his "healthy/sick" analogy in v. 31 with this direct statement of purpose.
The words — μετάνοιαν (metanoian, "repentance") is the sentence's endpoint: the call is not an open-ended invitation but a summons directed toward a specific change of mind. καλέσαι (kalesai, "to call") is an active, authoritative summons rather than a gentle request.
The thread — Luke 19:10 states the same purpose in third person ("seek and save the lost"), Luke 15:10 locates the joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, and 1 Timothy 1:15 compresses it to "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."
Why it lands — The verse forces a self-placement: you are either among the "righteous" who do not need the call, or among the "sinners" who do. It asks the reader to examine whether they have already decided they are not the target.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Cross-references
- Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
- Luke 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
- 1 Timothy 1:15 This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.
- Luke 15:7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.
- Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,
- Luke 24:47 and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- Acts 17:30 Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.
- Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
- 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.