2BeLikeChrist Bible Commentary - Luke Chapter 7
Commentary - Luke Chapter 7
Luke 7:1
Luk 7:1 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.
“His sayings” is a reference to Jesus’ teaching in chapter 6.
Jesus had just finished talking about loving enemies, judging others, He encouraged the people to be trees bearing good fruit, and He spoke to them about building their lives on a solid foundation.
He then went back into the city of Capernaum.
Luke 7:2-7
Luk 7:2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly
valued by him.
Luk 7:3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.
Luk 7:4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him,
Luk 7:5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”
Luk 7:6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.
Luk 7:7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.
In Capernaum there was a Roman Centurion who had a sick servant:
There were approximately 5,000 men in a Roman legion.
The legion was made up of 10 cohorts.
A cohort was made up of 6 centuries.
A century consisted of 80-100 men.
Centuries fought, marched, and camped together.
They carried their own provisions and weapons.
The century was then divided into 10 contubernia (8-10 men in each).
Each century was led by a centurion.
The contubernia were led by a decanus.
These leadership tiers were created by the Marian Reforms of 107 BC.
This sick servant was highly valued by the centurion and was suffering from some kind of paralyzing disease (Matthew 8:6).
Luke tells us He was at the “point of death” (Luke 7:2).
When the centurion heard Jesus was in the area, he got some of the elders of the Jews to petition Jesus to heal his servant.
The elders pleaded with Jesus.
They told Jesus the centurion was a worthy man.
That he loved the Jewish nation.
He even built their synagogue.
The relationship between this Roman centurion and the Jews of Capernaum was probably somewhat of an anomaly.
For the most part, Jews didn’t get along with Romans, and it was probably rare to see Jewish leaders go out of their way to help a Gentile.
But here we see a situation where the Jews loved this Gentile man because, according to them, he loved their nation.
The text says they pleaded with Jesus on His behalf.
APPLICATION:
We should evaluate people as individuals and be careful where/when we apply stereotypes.
Both parties would have lost out on a great relationship if they had stereotyped each other too quickly and never gotten to know each other.
Jesus went with these elders to the centurion’s house, but when He got close, the centurion sent friends out to meet Jesus.
The friends gave Jesus a message from the centurion.
He didn’t think he was worthy to accept a visit from Jesus.
He asked Jesus to just “say the word,” knowing that would be enough to accomplish the healing.
Here was a man who wasn’t a Jew, there was no Messiah in His tradition, yet he had the utmost respect for Jesus and recognized Him as someone worthy of great honor.
APPLICATION:
Notice how the Jewish elders describe the centurion, “He is a worthy man…”
Notice how the centurion describes himself, “I am not worthy to have you…”
That is a mark of an honest and God fearing man/women.
They live an upright life and others observe their virtues.
But in their own hearts they recognize how many qualities they still have to work on and how unworthy they are of Jesus’ grace.
It’s interesting that Jesus was willing to go to the homes of those who knew they were unworthy of His presents, but largely avoided the homes of those who thought themselves worthy.
He ate in the homes of tax collectors.
Was willing to go to the centurion’s house.
But He didn’t spend a lot of time in the houses of the proud and haughty.
SIDE NOTE:
In the 1st Century, Jews did not go into Gentile’s houses (Acts 10:28).
This had more to do with the Jews believing the Gentiles unworthy than the other-way-around.
I can’t find any command in the Old Testament which forbid God’s people from entering Gentile homes.
I think this rule originated in the oral traditions of the rabbis, not in God’s written Law.
Evidently, Jesus didn’t think much of this tradition, as He was completely willing to go the centurion’s house.
This detail wouldn’t have been missed by a Gentile reading Luke’s gospel.
It would have communicated something about Jesus’ view of the Gentiles.
It reveals He didn’t hold the Gentiles in contempt like many of His fellow countrymen.
Luke 7:8-10
Luk 7:8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
Luk 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
Luk 7:10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
The centurion knew the power of a word backed by authority.
Being a man of authority himself, the centurion asked Jesus to use the authority of His word to command healing.
Because of his rank, the centurion’s word was enough to bring his 80-100 men to attention and direct them anyway he wanted.
He believed Jesus’ words were enough to bring nature to attention and directed it anyway He wanted.
It isn’t uncommon for the gospels to mention people who marveled at the works of Jesus, but it’s less common for them to mention Jesus marveling at people.
Jesus marveled at the centurion’s faith and He made a rather shocking statement.
“I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
To a close-minded Jew, like the Pharisees and scribes, this probably would have been pretty offensive.
The Pharisees and scribes thought they were hot-stuff, religiously speaking.
Jesus had spent a lot of time in their presence.
But declared this man’s faith was greater than anything He had previously observed.
To the open-minded Jew, this statement would have reaffirmed a lesson taught by John when He warned the people not to think their bloodline made them right in the eyes of God (John 3:8).
It also would have been a lesson that Jews had things to learn from the piety of Gentiles.
It’s pretty incredible that the Gentile centurion was able to recognize Jesus for who He was but so many of the Jews couldn’t.
I wonder if that is because the centurion didn’t carry all the baggage of Jewish traditions and expectations around.
He didn’t have any presuppositions about who the Messiah was going to be, He just evaluated Jesus on the evidence of His life.
The Jews had all kinds of misguided expectations about the Messiah, and when Jesus made it clear He wasn’t going to fulfill their expectations, they rejected Him.
APPLICATION:
Sometimes people who have been Christians for a long time, those who are steeped in Christian tradition and doctrine, need a new Christian to come along, one who isn’t as familiar with Christianity, to help them see where their traditions have misguided them.
There is so much tradition in the church, so many long-held ways of doing things, and there is a comfort that comes along with the familiarity of those practices.
But if we aren’t careful, that familiarity can become dogmatic.
The church needs new Christians with fresh eyes on the story of Jesus to remind us where our tradition has bled into truth.
After marveling at the centurion’s faith, Jesus healed the man’s servant and the centurion’s friends returned to the house to find him well.
Luke 7:11-12
Luk 7:11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.
Luk 7:12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.
This story is very interesting and is only found here in Luke 7.
Nain was located on the northern slopes of the Hill Moreh and was 6 miles southeast of Nazareth (Lexham Geographic Commentary on the Gospels).
This is the only place Nain is mentioned in the Bible.
As Jesus was approaching the town, He was met by a funeral procession.
A young man had died and was being carried out of the town for burial.
The sorrow of the scene increases when we learn the young man’s mother was part of the procession.
The tragedy increases even further when we learn he was his mother’s only son and she was a widow.
This is especially sad considering their society didn’t offer many ways for older widows to make an income and provide for themselves, they were largely depended on the men of the household.
This woman was facing a future of destitution.
Jesus saw this scene, had compassion on the woman, and told her not to cry.
He then approached the “bier” (a stand on which a coffin or corpse is placed) and spoke to the dead body.
Incredibly, the body responded.
The young man sat up and began speaking.
The crowd could reach no other conclusion but that a “great prophet” was among them.
Observe Jesus’ pity and power, two attributes that rarely mix.
APPLICATION:
Jesus saw and cared for the sad.
His heart was stirred by human grief.
Ours ought to be as well.
A compassionless heart is not a trait we should cherish.
The news of the miracle spread throughout the entire country.
Luke 7:18-19
Luk 7:18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John,
Luk 7:19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
The discussion in verses 18-35 has a parallel in Matthew 11.
John had been in prison since chapter 3, verse 20.
Perhaps in that time some doubt had begun to creep into his mind.
He sent two of his students to ask Jesus if He was indeed the prophesied Messiah.
John’s actions may be a bit confusing to the reader because in Matthew 3, before he went to prison, John seemed to acknowledge Jesus was the Messiah and He even heard the voice from Heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).
Why was John no longer confident?
I think the answer is found in John’s circumstances.
It’s one thing to acknowledge a fact when your life is going well.
But difficulty and hardship test us, discourage us, and introduce doubts.
We don’t know how long John had been in prison, but it may have been the case that his tough circumstances led him to doubt.
Maybe he thought Jesus would have gotten him out of prison if He had had the power.
So, John sent His disciples to Jesus to confirm what he thought he knew.
APPLICATION:
Even the most convicted followers of God can struggle with doubt.
Faith doesn’t remove all doubt.
Like John, we need to go to the right source for the answers to our doubts.
Luke 7:20-22
Luk 7:20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”
Luk 7:21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight.
Luk 7:22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.
John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked Him if He was the Messiah or if they should be on the lookout for another man.
I like the way Jesus responds to them and to John.
He didn’t reprimand John for doubting.
He didn’t say, “John just needs to have more faith!”
He pointed them to the evidence.
Jesus was preaching the coming of the Kingdom.
Jesus was displaying visibly verifiable divine power.
His power was the evidence that revealed His identity.
People were being healed of diseases and plagues and evil spirits right before the eyes of anyone who cared to observe.
This would have been the equivalent of walking into the public hospital and healing all the people in front of their doctors.
APPLICATION:
Sometimes facts and hard evidence can be the most comforting thing to a person with shaken faith.
Many people view facts as cold and impersonal.
But I find that when I am emotionally a mess, sometimes what I need to right my mind is a reminder of the evidence.
Evidence that God exists.
Evidence that Jesus really died for me.
Evidence that the Bible can be verified.
This is why study in apologetics can be valuable.
We don’t serve a God who is afraid of being fact-checked.
Luke 7:23
Luk 7:23 “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
The last thing Jesus told John was that those who weren’t offended at Him would be blessed.
Many find offense rather than salvation in the words of Jesus.
Instead of making Him a foundation, a rock, on which to build their lives they stumble over Him and curse Him for being in their way.
There were many who witnessed Jesus’ miracles and still rejected Him because of some“offense.”
Maybe they didn’t like the way He looked.
Maybe they rejected Him because of His background.
Maybe His teachings stepped on their toes.
Maybe He wasn’t the Messiah they had dreamed up in their mind.
Offense: annoyance or resentment brought about by a perceived insult to or disregard for oneself or one's standards or principles.
Some people can reject the clearest conclusion of evidence when they find it “offensive” to their personal principles.
2 truths prevent many people from accepting Christ.
(1) There is a God greater than me.
(2) His principles are more important than mine.
People find God’s instructions and commands offensive because they violate their personal preferences.
This is what was going on in the first century and what is still going on today.
God and Jesus as presented in the scriptures offend people.
So they deny the true Christ and His true teaching and establish rules based on their values.
Or they reinterpret Christ to align with their principles.
Jesus was saying, “blessed is the one who doesn’t take offense at My true nature and true character.”
Blessed is the one who is willing to accept the Savior and the God who sent Him.
APPLICATION:
People can reject what is obvious if they find its implications undesirable.
Creation is a good example.
Why do people reject the idea of a Designer when the evidence of design is all around them?
In some cases, it’s because they find the Creation account “offensive.”
Maybe they don’t like the implications of believing in a creator God.
Or they take offense at God because believing in Him has been presented as the “uneducated” position in academia and they don’t want to be associated with the “uneducated.”
People sometimes reject clear evidence if its path leads to a place they don’t want to go.
Jesus was presenting clear evidence (miracles), but many weren’t interested in following where He was leading… they didn’t like the path.
We need to follow the evidence and not dismiss truth just because we find it “offensive” or don’t like it’s conclusion.
Luke 7:24-27
Luk 7:24 When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
Luk 7:25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts.
Luk 7:26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
Luk 7:27 This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
When the disciples of John turned away, Jesus turned to the audience who overheard their exchange.
What had they seen in the wilderness?
“A reed shaken by the wind?”
Answer: No!
If you’ve ever been in a marsh with reeds or a field with tall grass and the wind was blowing steadily, you will have observed the reeds/grass bending to the will of the wind.
John wasn’t a fickle man who shifted to appease the ever changing pressures of 1st Century pop-culture. He was God’s man carrying a timeless message.
Later in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, He encourages the Ephesians not to be pushed around by the winds of doctrines.
Eph 4:14 - so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Perhaps after hearing John’s question, some of the people were tempted to see John as fickle.
Jesus didn’t wish for them to see Him in that light.
APPLICATION:
A moment of doubt or a moment of weakness does not define a man/woman.
We shouldn’t judge a person’s character on one mistake or a singular faulter.
Jesus didn’t.
“A man dressed in soft clothing?”
Answer: No!
They went out in the wilderness to see a man who endured the hardships of the Old Testament prophets.
The prophets of old often taught unpopular messages to rebellious
people.
They, like John, were not reeds shaken in the wind.
Their unwavering nature didn’t allow them to play politics with those in authority or to win them comfort and ease by tickling people’s ears.
All that the prophets had foretold had come to pass or would come to pass and here Jesus affirmed the words and work of John by elevating him above the prophets (verse 26).
The prophets of the Old Testament had long desired to see the Messiah and John had the privilege of announcing His arrival.
In what way was John “more than a prophet”?
A prophet was any individual who delivered God’s message to men.
John was more than “just another prophet,” because he filled a special place sin God’s prophetic work.
John was sent to announce the coming of the Messiah and “prepare” the way.
Jesus quoted the prophecy referring to John (Mal 3:1; 4:5, see also Luke 1:17)
Mal 3:1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
Mal 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
Luke 7:28
Luk 7:28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
In my understanding, John was not the greatest servant of God because of he was less sinful than anyone else, or more steadfast than anyone else, or performed more good works than anyone else, but because of his elevated role.
He was greater than others because of the position in which God placed him.
The Jews had been waiting for the Messiah for centuries.
John was selected to the privileged position of being the herald of the King.
In the same way, those who are privileged to be part of the Kingdom of Heaven (Christians) are not greater than John because they are less sinful, more steadfast, or do more good works than John, but because of the honor of receiving the blessing of association with the Son of God.
Those in the Kingdom receive a privilege John never received (because he died before Jesus’ death and resurrection).
Luke 7:29-30
Luk 7:29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John,
Luk 7:30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
When the people heard Jesus’ testimony about John they “declared God just.”
What does that mean?
The language is difficult, but I think the general idea is that they showed their approval for the work God had done through John.
The common people and the tax collectors submitted themselves to John’s baptism and in doing so they affirmed he was a prophet of God.
They testified to the justice of God in keeping His promise to send a prophet to prepare the way for the Messiah.
The Pharisees and lawyers on the other hand, rejected the purpose of God for their nation by refusing John’s message.
KJV and ASV say they “rejected the counsel of God.”
Luke 7:31-35
Luk 7:31 And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?
Luk 7:32 They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.
Luk 7:33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.
Luk 7:34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
Luk 7:35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.
Jesus addressed “this generation,” specifically targeting those Jews who rejected John and Himself.
He said they would not have been satisfied or accepting of God’s message no matter who brought it or how it was delivered.
He compared them to children playing with their companions.
Some of the children thought their playmates would enjoy a happy tune, so they played one on their flute.
But their playmates didn’t respond.
Assuming they must be in a sorrowful mood, the children changed the happy tune to a dirge.
Dirge: a mournful song, piece of music, or poem.
But their playmates still didn’t respond.
With similar variety, John and Jesus had presented differently.
John preached the gospel while lived apart from people, in an uncomfortable wilderness, and without an abundance of food.
Jesus preached the gospel while living among people, living in town, and being willing to eat in people’s homes if invited.
But some rebellious Jews rejected the gospel preached by both.
They weren’t open to the message no matter where it came from and what the messenger looked like.
They mocked John as having a demon, probably suggesting he was a crazy person (who else would spend their time in the wilderness?).
And they accused Jesus of associating with sinners when He dined.
Nothing was good enough for them.
APPLICATION:
Some people aren’t interested in truth no matter how it is packaged.
No approach will be effective if you aren’t telling them what they want to hear.
Truth is not their greatest priority.
This is true for non-believers.
It is also true for religious people with religious bias.
APPLICATION:
If someone wants to reject God and the good news God sent into the world, they will always be able to find some “reason” to do it.
It doesn’t even need to be a good reason, just “good enough” for them.
We need to find those who have “ears to hear” (Mat 11:15).
We’ve all met people whose ears aren’t for listening, right?
The kind of person who isn’t interested in actually hearing what is said, only in responding.
The person who assumes they already know what you are about to tell them.
The person whose ears are hardened to certain messages because of past experiences.
Jesus didn’t spend all His time with those who weren’t open to hearing.
We need to pray for people’s ears to be open and search out those who are ready to listen.
Make sure not to skip over Jesus’ last statement in verse 35, “But wisdom is justified of all her children.
Matthew records the statement as followers, “Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds” (Mat 11:19).
I think what He is saying here is that the truth of His and John’s message shouldn’t be evaluated by picking apart the outward appearance of the messenger, but by an examination of the messenger’s actions and life, by the fruit they produce (deeds/children).
The Jews rejected John and Jesus because of their outer appearance.
They weren’t what the Jews expected or wanted.
So, they wrote them off.
But if they had looked at the evidence of their lives, the fruit they produced, the message they preached, and their inner godliness, they would have realized they possessed “wisdom.”
The Pharisees and lawyers thought wisdom could only be found in a person who looked a particular way, like them. \
Jesus was informing them their system for evaluating a source of wisdom was broken.
APPLICATION:
Be careful before you judge someone as unwise or “not worth listening to” because of their outer appearance.
APPLICATION:
Sometimes we look at our lives and they aren't turning out the way we thought they would.
Outwardly they are not what we dreamed up.
But as long as we are faithful to God, we can be confident that, through His actions and deeds, He will reveal He has the true wisdom!
God has confirmed His wisdom through His deeds in our personal lives and in His work throughout time.
Better to live a life guided by the wisdom of God that doesn’t turn out the way we expected, than to live a life guided by human wisdom that looks exactly like what we wanted.
How often do we assume we know who God wants us to be, just like these Jews thought they knew who God’s Messiah was going to be.
What they needed to do was open their ears and hearts to God’s wisdom.
Not resist God, believing they knew better!
Luke 7:36
Luk 7:36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.
A Pharisee named Simon (7:40) invited Jesus over to his house for a meal.
Jesus accepted the invitation, entered the house, and “reclined at table.”
In those days, they didn’t have the dining room table and chairs we are accustomed to using at meal time.
They would have had a low table surrounded by floor pillows on which the guests reclined while eating.
Luke 7:37-38
Luk 7:37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,
Luk 7:38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.
While Jesus was in the Pharisees house, a woman from the city came in with an alabaster flask of ointment.
She proceeded to wet Jesus’ feet with her tears, wash them with her hair, kiss them, and put the ointment on them.
If you’ve read the other gospels, you might think you’ve read this story before.
There is an account of a woman anointing Jesus with oil in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and John 12.
But if I understand the text correctly, this event in Luke 7 is separate from the rest.
Certain similarities lead many to believe the stories are the same:
The house was owned by a man named Simon (Matthew 26:6)
A woman anointed Jesus with ointment from an alabaster box.
But as we go through the story, you’ll notice there are significant differences.
It isn’t unreasonable to think Jesus ate in the house of two people named Simon.
Simon was a very common name.
Remember, Jesus had 2 Apostles named Simon.
Simon Peter
Simon the Zealot.
It also isn’t unreasonable to think Jesus was anointed twice.
Although anointing a person with ointment is a foreign concept to most modern readers, it was common in those days.
In Matthew 6:17, Jesus talks about anointing as if it was an everyday practice, part of making oneself presentable to go our in public.
It is possible the second woman to anoint Jesus was inspired by the first.
What is alabaster?
Alabaster is a light colored semi-translucent stone which as been used in carvings and pottery for 1,000s of years.
Alabaster is semi-soluble in water and is almost exclusively used for indoor vessels and art.
Alabaster perfume bottle from the tomb of King Tut
This woman paid Jesus a high honor by humbling herself to use her own body to honor him.
Her humility is a beautiful physical picture of Romans 12:1.
In Romans, Paul told his readers their bodies/lives were to be devoted to the Lord’s worship and service.
This woman literally gave her body to honor Jesus.
Luke 7:39
Luk 7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”
We don’t know the full heart of Simon the Pharisee.
Perhaps he invited Jesus over because he was searching for truth.
Perhaps he just wanted to bring Jesus to his home to trap Him.
But we are told he wasn’t very impressed with the way Jesus handled this situation.
He figured that if Jesus was a prophet He would turn this woman away because He would know she was a sinner.
He thought a prophet would never allow a sinful woman like this to touch Him.
This shows how unfamiliar the Pharisees were with God’s prophets in the Old Testament.
God’s prophets had never walked around all “high and mighty” as if they were worthy of great honor and couldn’t be bothered by people who lived sinful lives.
The prophets spent their time pleading with the Jewish people to repent.
Here was a woman who recognized her sin and was returning to God.
The prophets would have been thrilled if someone like this had come up to them.
In fact, the entire Jewish nation should have been where this woman was, on the floor, honoring God for sending Jesus to give them mercy.
Wherever Simon got his concept of a prophet, it wasn’t from God’s Old Testament scriptures.
Luke 7:40-43
Luk 7:40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
Luk 7:41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
Luk 7:42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Luk 7:43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
Simon hadn’t expressed his sentiment about the woman out loud but Jesus, reading his mind, confronted him about what was in his heart.
Think about this scene… Simon had just determined in his heart that Jesus wasn’t a prophet because He couldn’t decern the character of the sinful woman.
Jesus then reached into Simon’s heart, extracted the corruption of his heart, and began examining it with Simon in conversation.
Simon thought Jesus couldn’t read hearts… Jesus immediately turned to Him to address what was secretly going on in his heart.
This probably would have been a bit scary for Simon.
Jesus asked Simon to imagine a moneylender who had two debtors.
One owed 500 denarii (around 500 days wages).
The other owed 50 denarii (around 50 days wages).
One day, the moneylender decided he was going to forgive both debtors their debts.
Of the two, which would love the moneylender more?
Simon replied, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.”
Jesus confirmed the correctness of his answer.
Luke 7:44-47
Luk 7:44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
Luk 7:45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.
Luk 7:46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.
Luk 7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
Jesus pointed Simon’s attention to the woman for a comparison.
In those days, guests in a home were greeted with certain amenities.
The roads weren’t paved, they were made of dirt, so a homeowner would typically have a servant wash the feet of His guests (Jesus did this for His Apostles in John 13).
Kissing someone on the cheek was a common greeting (similar to the custom that still exists in part of Europe).
Evidently, anointing someone’s head with oil was also common (in a time before deodorant, this was probably done to give the guests an agreeable aroma).
Jesus pointed out Simon’s neglect of all these hospitalities.
He hadn’t honored Jesus as a host ought to honor a guest.
But the woman at His feet had gone above-and-beyond the typical honor.
She washed Jesus’ feet with her hair.
She kissed Him repeatedly.
She anointed his feet with ointment (which was probably more expensive than the typical anointing oil).
She expressed great love and honor for Jesus, why?
Because she knew how sinful she was.
She knew how badly she needed Jesus to forgive her.
She was like the debtor who owed 500 denarii.
Whether his lack of hospitality was intentional or accidently, Simon had expressed very little love and had given very little honor to Jesus.
Why?
He didn’t think he needed Jesus like this woman.
He didn’t think he was that sinful.
He didn’t think his debt was that great.
Which led him to “love little.”
“A man’s love to God will be in proportion to the obligation he ‘feels’ to him for forgiveness” (Barnes).
The more we grasp the depth and seriousness of our own sin, the more affection we will have towards God for saving us from it.
When the sinful woman first entered the room, Simon saw himself as a man who loved God, and her as one who dishonored God.
By the end of this short discourse, Jesus revealed to Simon he was the one who had dishonored God and she the one who loved Him the most.
APPLICATION:
If you spend all of your time looking down on others and no time mourning your own sins, you are in danger of loving God too little, loving others too little, and loving yourself too much.
… “he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
Luke 7:48-50
Luk 7:48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Luk 7:49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”
Luk 7:50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Jesus told the woman her sins were forgiven.
She knew she was sinful, she came to Jesus for the remedy, and He provided her with what she was seeking.
Jesus told her to “go in peace.”
No man has the power to forgive sins.
No man has the power to set a sinful human’s soul at peace.
Only God can forgive the sins committed against Him.
Jesus could forgive sins because He was God.
This same peace is offered by Jesus today.
Come to Him.
He will give you peace by taking away the sin that burdens your soul.
When you are united with the God who controls all things, nothing will be able to steal your peace.
The women was relieved, but the Pharisees were angry Jesus presumed to have the power to forgive sins.
Although they were angry, they had no argument against Him.
Jesus had already dealt with this issue in chapter 5 when He healed the paralyzed man who was let down through the roof (Luke 5:17-26).
