Hey everyone, welcome again to logical Bible study.
And this is the Catholic podcast where every day we do an
exegesis of scriptures looking at the literal sense of the
text. And I know so many of you have
benefited from this approach to the scriptures and today will
jump straight into it because we have a bit of a longer passage
in quite an interesting. In one, Luke chapter 7 verses 36
250. One of the Pharisees invited
Jesus to a meal, when he arrived at the Pharisees house and took
his place at table, a woman came in, who had a bad name in the
town. She had heard, he was dining
with the Pharisee and brought with her an alabaster jar of
ointment. She waited behind him at his
feet weeping, and her tears fell on his feet and she wiped them
away with her hair. Then she covered his feet with
kisses and anointed them with the ointment.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to
himself. If this man were a prophet, he
would know who this woman is. That is touching him.
And what a bad name she has. Then Jesus took him up and said,
Simon, I have something to say to you.
Speak master was the reply. There was once a creditor who
had two men in his debt, one ordered him 500.
Denarii, the other 50, they were unable to pay.
So he pardoned them both which of them will love him more.
The one who is pardoned more? I suppose answered Simon.
Jesus said you are right. Then he turned to the woman
Simon. He said, you see this woman.
I came into your house and you poured no water over my feet,
but she has poured out her tears, over my feet and wipe
them away with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she has
been covering my feet with kisses ever.
Since I came in. You did not anoint my head with
oil but she has anointed my feet with ointment for this reason.
I tell you that her sins. Her many sins must have been
forgiven her or she would not have shown such great love.
It is the man who is Forgiven little who shows little love.
Then he said to her, your sins are forgiven.
Those who are with him at table, began to say to themselves.
Who is this man that he even forgives sins.
But he said to the woman, your faith has saved you go in.
Peace. So, a really interesting passage
that we're looking at today and there's a lot of interesting
things going on in the background.
So let's start by asking what's the context?
What has happened? Just prior to this.
So, Jesus has been doing healings and preaching in
Galilee. It's quite early in his
ministry. He's already got a reputation of
meeting with Sinners. And, in fact, dining, with
sinners. Now, this story that we're
looking at today, is unique to Luke.
You'll only find this one in Luke's gospel.
Now, there is a similar one that is in the other.
Schools, but it's actually occurs on a different occasion.
So it's important to distinguish between the two so there is an
episode later in Jesus life. Where a woman annoyance Jesus
head with oil in Bethany, in the last week of his life.
And in that case, the woman, anoints Jesus head.
Whereas here the woman, anoints Jesus feet and it's actually a
two quite different occasions. Now the main similarity here is
that oil is used by the woman in both cases and in both cases is
an Unnamed woman and both women dry Jesus feet with their hair.
But that's about as far as the similarities go.
So, some people have confused these stories and imagine that
they're the same thing. But clearly they're depicted as
different. Jesus says, quite different
things on the different occasions, and they're different
women doing it. So, this one that we're looking
at today, happens in an unknown town with an unknown woman, and
it's quite early in Jesus ministry.
So verse 36, one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to a
meal. Now, we later discovered that
the man is called Simon though. At this stage, Luke decides to
just calling her Pharisee interestingly.
Jesus dines with Pharisees quite a few times in work.
In fact, three times. He dines with Pharisees in
chapter 11. And in chapter 14, he will also
dine with Pharisees. Verse 37, when he arrived at the
Pharisees house and took his place at table.
Now. This is probably a large Feast,
which many members of the public are invited to.
In that time. It's important to understand how
they would have eaten when they were at a feast.
So if it's a large important Feast, the Jews would recline on
low couches near the floor. They didn't sit on chairs in the
way that we do today. So they would recline on these
couches and they typically leaned Cushion on their left
side and then they ate with their right hand.
That was sort of how they did these big meals.
So that's how Jesus is eating at this meal and then a woman comes
in who had a bad name in the town now, more literally what it
says. He is a sinner, our lectionary
translation, avoids using the word sinner, but that's actually
what it says. She is a sinner, the King James
version and other older versions.
Sometimes use the phrase of ill repute.
It's a woman of ill repute. Now that could be a euphemism
for a prostitute. She could be a prostitute.
Not necessarily though. There's nothing in the text that
suggests that she's actually a prostitute.
Though. Certainly.
She's well known in the town for being a sinner.
And the fact that she comes in and Jesus welcomes her confirms
Jesus reputation for welcoming Sinners.
We saw a couple of verses earlier in verse 34.
He is accused of welcoming Sinners and that's exactly
right. That's what he does here.
Some people have wondered how this woman even gets in in the
first Place because it's unlikely that the Pharisee would
have invited this woman because she's a simple woman into the
feast. Well, the best explanation of
this is, it's probably one of those public feasts.
They used to occasion, Pharisees, would occasionally
have public events where certain people are invited to dine at
the table, but the entire public is allowed to come and witness
the event because there's usually some sort of important
or wise dignitary. So, he's probably allowed it to
be a public event. In terms of people coming to
Listen to the conversation. So that's what she does.
She comes along as part of the general public.
Now. This woman is not named.
It seems pretty unlikely that it's Mary Magdalene a lot of in
history people have sometimes assume that this is Mary
Magdalene because we know that Mary Magdalene used to live
quite a sinful life of some sort perhaps because she was
possessed by demons. We know that for a fact from the
gospels, but the gospels never say that Mary Magdalene was a
prostitute. And in fact, this woman is not
called a prostitute. In fact, this woman is not given
a name at all. I think it's incredibly unlikely
that this woman is Mary Magdalene because in the very
next chapter, in fact in the very next passage straight after
this Luke mentions Mary Magdalene, and she is not
identified with this woman. She's identified as someone
quite different. So it's not impossible that it's
Mary Magdalene, but given the flow of the text, it to me.
It seems unlikely that it is Mary Magdalene, but you will
encounter some traditional Scholars who tend to think that
it could be me. Mary Magdalene that we're
dealing with here. So, the woman had heard that he
was dining with the Pharisee. So notice that she's there for
Jesus. She's not there for the
Pharisee. How does she know Jesus?
Well, there's two options either.
She has personally encountered, Jesus earlier, and she had felt
quite forgiven or quite convicted perhaps earlier, and
now she's come to show her gratitude to him.
Or maybe she hasn't met Jesus yet, but she's heard about
Jesus, and she's heard that he's a friend of sinners.
So Is come to seek him out and she's brought with her an
alabaster jar of ointment or a flask of ointment.
So this would be an elegant stone jar containing Alabaster
which is quite an expensive ointment and says she waited
behind him at his feet. And she's so she's standing up
behind his feet. It seems like a strange
position, but think about it. If Jesus is eating in the
reclining position. She can stand both behind him
and at his feet at the same time, you Can sort of visualize
that he's Jesus is laying facing the table and she's standing
behind him down the end of his feet and the woman in verse 38
is weeping. Now.
What kind of weeping is that? What?
We're not entirely, sure, but it seems to be some sort of Joyful
or grateful weeping or perhaps, she's mourning, her old sinful
life. Certainly her weeping, is a
response to the fact that Jesus has convicted her and freed her
from her, sinful life, and the tears fell on his.
Feet and she wiped them away with her hair.
Now. It's probably not deliberate.
That her tears fell on his feet. She's actually there to do the
anointing with oil. That's what she's trying to do.
But in the process, she was crying.
And some of the tears are falling on his feet.
So she drives those two years with her hair.
Why she using her hair will probably doesn't have anything
else to use. Now.
Some people thought that that's quite indecent because in that
culture, women were not really supposed to expose their hair in
public in this way, but she's so, So overcome with emotion and
with gratefulness that she just wants to honor Jesus.
And so she's maybe a shame that her tears are falling on his
feet. So she drives away the tears
from his feet with her hair now, but this does provide evidence
that Luke got this from eyewitnesses.
How else would Luke know that Tears are Falling onto Jesus
feet? That's quite a specific detail,
isn't it? So that indicates that Luke has
spoken to some people that were there.
That day, it goes on. She But his feet with kisses and
anointed them with the ointment. Now, this is not a sexual act or
some sort of immodest act. She's not being provocative.
It's actually an act of Love anointing.
His feet is kind of an act of Honor out of the gratefulness
that she has for him. So she would have broken open
this flask of expensive oil and then poured a little bit over
the oil on him and then sort of anointed him with it.
Her lavish use of ointment. Here is an expression of
Contrition. She's actually going well beyond
what you would normally expect as an active Hospitality even in
the Middle East where they have quite elaborate Hospitality,
things. She's going above and beyond
that by anointing his feet with oil, because typically, you
wouldn't touch someone else's feet.
They were considered to be quite dirty.
You might offer water for someone to wash their feet with,
but typically you wouldn't actually wash their feet.
Now, there's no objection here from the crowd about the cost of
the oil in the latest story. When Jesus is Anointed by a
different woman. There is a complaint from Judas
about the cost of the oil. He says, we could have sold this
oil and given the money to the poor.
That's a different story here. There's no complaints about the
oil. The focus is not actually on the
oil here. The focus is on the woman.
Now the Greek here indicates that the woman kept on doing
these actions. So She's continually weeping
wiping kiss. An anointing.
She just keeps going with those four actions, the Pharisees in
doing any of those things. He's not showing any particular
acts of hospitality here. What's interesting to notice
about this episode is the woman doesn't say anything at all in
this entire passage. It's so it's a kind of a silent
prayer. And in fact, the catechism sees
this woman as a model of Silent prayer.
Verse 39, when the Pharisee who had invited him in saw this.
Now the Pharisee is still thinking like a Pharisee here,
he as part of the Pharisees belief.
They believe that Holy people should not be around sinful
people. So, the Pharisees curious about
Jesus, he wants to hear his wisdom.
But the Pharisee is not yet repentant.
He is not yet, fully understood the kingdom of God.
So he's quite shocked at the Jesus would allow this sinful
woman to touch him. And this is what he says to
himself. If this man were a prophet, he
would know who this woman is. That is touching him.
And what a bad name. She has a more literally there.
What it says is he would know that she is a sinner.
So the Pharisee recognizes that if Jesus was a Jew We profit.
Then he could look into this woman's heart and see how sinful
she is. That's what a true Prophet would
be able to do. But then if he's genuinely of
God, he would not allow her to touch him.
That's how he's reasoning works. That's how the Pharisees
thought. Anyway, Purity should not be
around sinfulness. So not only does the Pharisee
judge the woman? He now judges Jesus as well.
Now, the Pharisee only thinks this to himself.
This is apparently a silent thought.
He doesn't say it out loud, but still Jesus knows what he's
thinking. Because in verse 40, the very
next thing that happens, Jesus took him up or more.
Literally, Jesus answered him and said, Simon.
I have something to say to you. So Jesus, here's Simon's,
thoughts and uses this as a teaching opportunity.
So, here we learned. The Pharisees name is Simon.
And so Simon Says in response speak master or what is it
teacher? So that is a title of Honor.
So Simon does genuinely honor, Jesus and wants to hear from
him. He acknowledges the authority of
Jesus and wants to hear this wisdom that has come to present
verse 41. So, Jesus, is now going to tell
a kind of a mini Parable to help Simon see that it is actually
appropriate for the woman to do what she's doing.
And Jesus is actually considered to be the Honored wise guest at
the feast. That's probably exactly why he's
been invited. So it's appropriate for Jesus to
tell a little Parable like this. That would be appropriate at the
feast and we'll talk more about that at the end of this
exegesis. So, here's the parable.
He tells there once was a creditor, who had two men in his
debt? One owed him, 500.
Denarii, the other 50, So, so far in the parable, we have two
men who each are Adept to their Master.
A Denarius is a Roman coin at that time and it's equivalent to
one day's wage. So, one of the men are, as 50
days wages and the other man are is 500 day's wages.
And that difference is key in the parable.
Both of them are a decent amount of money, but the 500 day's
wages is considerably harder to pay back.
Now here in the parable, as we'll see the master or the
Creditor represents God, the debtors represent people and the
desk that they owe is sin. One of the men are is more than
the other. He has committed more sins and
more serious things than the other.
Let's keep that in mind. One of them has committed more
sins than the other often. You'll hear some Evangelical
Protestants say that all sin is equal in the eyes of God.
All of them deserve the same punishment, perhaps there's a
way that that could be understood as correct.
Usually, in the gospels. Jesus does tend to distinguish
between serious sins and lesser sins.
And that is certainly the case here.
And that is certainly Catholic teaching as well.
Jesus continues, the parable the men were unable to pay.
So the Creditor pardoned, them both now more literally there,
where it says pardoned, you could translate it as forgave,
the Creditor for gave both of them.
Now, that's quite an act of generosity, isn't it?
The man, the Creditor is very Gracious.
Here. He chooses to release them from
their debt, even though he doesn't have to, in fact, they
owe him a debt. So it's an incredible Act of
graciousness that he chooses to forgive them their debt.
The teaching here is that it's the same with God through Jesus.
God is graciously forgiving, many Sinners who have rebelled
against him. Some of these Sinners are repeat
offenders that Jesus encounters and yet he still forgives them
or in fact, God chooses to forgive them through Jesus, and
that's the point the main point. Wants to Simon to understand.
So then he asked Simon a question, which of them will
love him more. And Simon says the one who was
pardoned more I suppose and Jesus says you are right or you
have judged rightly. So Simon correctly, perceives
the basic message of the parable.
The one who was forgiven more is going to love the Creditor more.
Notice the teaching here. The one who is pardoned by God
or the one who is forgiven by God more or of more sins is
going to show more love to God. It's an interesting teaching.
Isn't that? We don't often think about that.
But that is the clear teaching of this.
Parable. The one who is Forgiven more is
going to love God more. Now some have interpreted this
mini Parable. Such that Jesus is literally
representing the woman and Simon.
As in the woman is literally the person that owes 500.
And Simon is the one that owes 50.
Now, that is a possible interpretation.
It might be pressing, the parable a little bit too far.
I think, to me, it seems that Jesus is making a more General
point about how love and forgiveness works.
We shouldn't see. These two is exactly
representing the man and the woman and in Act.
I think there's good reason as we'll see to say that.
The one who owes 50 is not really a good representation of
the Pharisee. But it is quite an appropriate
Parable for God's forgiveness because the Greek word that is
used here is Theresa, my, which is translated forgiveness, now
in that culture that can either refer to remitting Deaths, so
literal Financial debts, that same Greek word, though can also
be used for forgiving sins. And in the New Testament that
Greek word Charisma. My is often used to represent.
What God what Jesus does through his sacrifice on the cross.
It's often used in terms of Giving a debt or paying a
financial debt. So it's quite an appropriate,
Greek word to use there. In fact, you could take it even
further. Remember, in chapter four, how
Jesus had his mission mandate where he read from the scroll of
Isaiah and he was, proclaiming Liberty.
And the Jubilee year. That was what he proclaimed in
the synagogue at Nazareth, that turns out to be a key speech.
That sets the foundation for everything else.
That happens in Luke. Jesus has come to Proclaim,
Liberty and Jubilee. And here an example of this is
that Jesus is showing. He has come to cancel the debt
of sin. His come to Free People of the
debt or the slavery to sin verse 44.
Then he turned to the woman. So Jesus isn't finished.
He's now going to apply the parable directly to the woman.
Keep in mind. He's still talking to Simon.
He wants Simon to understand his point here.
He's going to contrast the basic actions, which would be expected
from Simon as the host which with the much more extravagant.
Which the woman has performed. So, he starts by saying, Simon,
you see this woman. I came into your house and you
poured no water over my feet. Now.
It's Simon's house. So, he should have shown honor
and respect to Jesus. And the customary way to do that
would be to wash the guests feet before the meal, or at least
Supply water, so that the guests can wash their own feet.
Simon hasn't done that though. On the other hand.
The woman has poured out her tears, over my feet and wipes
them away with her hair. So the woman has gone above and
beyond here. She supplied, her own tears to
wash Jesus feet with. So the woman has shown Jesus
respect and gratefulness. Jesus point, is that the woman
the woman that Simon considers to be a sinner and far from God,
while she's actually shown a much more appropriate response
to Jesus and the kingdom than Simon has So Simon could learn a
few Lessons From This Woman. Verse 45, you gave me no kiss,
but she has been covering my feet with kisses ever.
Since I came in again, in that culture.
It was customary or common to greet guests with a kiss on the
cheek when they arrived into your home.
Simon hasn't done that apparently, but the woman has
continually kissed. Jesus verse 46.
You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my
feet with ointment. So again, it was customary at
least in in wealthy houses to anoint the heads of guests with
oil when they arrived so that was typically done on their
head. The woman goes above and beyond
here. Again.
She shows a lot of Courage here because she is anointing.
Jesus feet to touch. Someone else's feet was, would
take a lot of Courage because in that culture, the foot was
considered to be dirty and smelly and you just didn't touch
other people's feet to touch. Another person's Foot shows.
Great humility. And Spect, which is what the
woman does here. Now, they might be more great
going on in the Greek here. Some Scholars have pointed out.
That Luke seems to mention Jesus feet.
A lot in this passage. If you look at the Greek, the
word feet keeps coming up over and over and Luke might be
deliberately referencing. Isaiah chapter 52 verse 7, which
is a Messianic passage and that passage says how beautiful are
the feet of the one bringing? Good news announcing salvation.
So in that passage in Isaiah, It's a prediction of what the
Messiah is going to do. He's going to announce the good
news. So maybe here this is a
reference to Jesus. Maybe Luke is trying to bring
out. The fact that this passage is
Connor being fulfilled here, when the woman is, showing how
beautiful Jesus feet is because he's the Messiah and certainly,
that would be another fulfillment of Jesus mission
mandate to bring Salvation and Jubilee because he's the Messiah
has come to bring the good news of God.
Then Jesus says in verse 46 for this reason, and that's an
important phrase in context. For this reason means since
she's doing all these things. We know that and then Jesus says
her sins. Her many sins must have been
forgiven her or more literally her sins are forgiven or she
would not show such great love. Now.
The translation here is a little confusing.
What it actually says, there is for this reason.
When I tell you that her sins, her many sins are forgiven for,
she loved much. So the teaching here is, the
reason the woman is showing so much love to Jesus is because
she has had her many sins forgiven.
Jesus directly links back to the mini Parable.
The woman has committed many sins in her life, but now she is
been forgiven of many sins by Jesus.
Just like the debtors in the parable.
So that is why she's showing great love.
That's the point he's making Now notice her forgiveness causes
her, great love, not the other way around.
Sometimes in the Gospels. It is the focus is on the other
way around. There's this idea that you need
to love others in order to have true salvation, but here the
focus is on the reverse because the woman has shown has been
shown so much forgiveness. She is showing great, love.
The New Testament, teaching would be that she needs to
persist in that love in order to continue to have God's
forgiveness. Jesus goes on.
It is the man who is Forgiven little who shows little love or
more. Literally he who is Forgiven
little loves little. Now the focus here is probably
this probably a reference to Simon in here and that phrase he
who is Forgiven little loves little certainly we know that
Simon is showing him not much love at the moment.
So the passage here either implies that Simon has not been
forgiven. Not been forgiven much, or that
he has not committed many sins. Now, the context seems to
suggest the former. He hasn't actually repented yet.
So he hasn't been forgiven yet. He doesn't believe he needs
forgiveness. So he can't yet be forgiven and
he can't yet show this abundant love that.
The woman has interesting point, isn't it?
This is a really important theological principle and I
think it deserves more attention.
This is something that Jesus himself teaches those who have
been worse. Sinners.
Their life when they find Jesus, they experience greater
forgiveness. And therefore, they tend to be
the questions that show the greatest amount of love.
You might find that to be true in your own life.
If you think of Christians who show exceptional love and
exceptional godliness, are they the people that have had
exceptional forgiveness shown to them?
Were they quite simple people before they became Christian?
I mean, that's possible. And that certainly seems to be
what Jesus is teaching here. Of course, there are exceptions,
but the general principle here, Here, is that those who
recognize how much they have been forgiven, will show the
greatest amount of love, and I think that should be talked
about more. Verse 48, then he said, to her,
your sins are forgiven. Now.
It's likely that the woman sings had already been forgiven when
she accepted Jesus earlier and repented, but now Jesus makes it
official and he declares it to the whole room.
This woman sins have been forgiven and it's the same
phrase. He used towards a paralyzed.
Man, in chapter 5 verse 49, those who are with him at table,
began to say to themselves. So here we have suggested that
there's probably many people at Faced some of them might have
been Christians, some of Jesus own disciples, maybe were there,
but certainly some of Simon the Pharisee is personal guests as
well. And this is what they say to
themselves. Who is this, man, that he even
forgives sins. So, of course, the Jewish
belief, was that only God can forgive sins.
But here, Jesus himself is forgiving.
The woman's sins. It's essentially a claim to be
God and that's a huge theological claim.
It's not made explicit here. Here, but certainly, the Jews
are starting to wonder. How can this man forgive sins?
Only God can do that. And this is unpacked elsewhere
in the gospels. And Jesus actually says, in one
place. I have authority to forgive
sins, verse 50. He said, to the woman, your
faith has saved you, go in, peace.
So since the woman believed in Jesus and his message and showed
repentance, she has genuine saving faith, and Jesus is able
to forgive her. This is a fulfillment of what
Jesus said earlier in chapter 5 verse 32.
He said I have come to call Sinners to repentance and that's
exactly what's happened here. And then he says, to Her Go In
Peace, So he gives her a fresh start.
This is a new life for her. Those words should sound
familiar to you because the same words the priest says at the end
of mass go in. Peace, and it's actually the
same words that are given at the end of the sacrament of penance
as well and deliberately, so it's referencing this passage
here. Now, for Luke's gentle readers,
most of his readers were probably Gentiles.
This whole scene would have likely call to mind the idea of
a Greek Symposium. And these were sometimes done in
that culture and that will be where a distinguished host,
invites guests to a banquet and at the banquet, there would be a
chief guest who is known for having wisdom and they would all
sit down together at this Symposium and then someone would
trigger a discussion. And then the chief guest would
get to have the Last word on the matter.
So that's an interesting map here onto the scene and that's
possibly what Simon has done. Maybe Simon deliberately set out
to do a symposium with Jesus here.
So that ends chapter 7 which is been all about Jesus identity as
a prophet. And in fact more than a prophet
Saint Augustine the summarizes chapter 7 of Luke this way.
The teacher of humility sat down in the house of a certain proud
Pharisee called Simon and though he was sitting in his house.
There wasn't anywhere in his heart where the son of man might
allay his head into the centurions house earlier in
chapter 7. On the other hand.
He never entered. But he took possession of his
heart. This man's faith is discerned
and praised in an act of humility.
So there's an interesting contrast here between the
Centurion at the start of chapter 7 and Simon at the end
of chapter 7, and of course, there's lessons here for all of
us who are way more like Let's now turn to the catechism of the
Catholic Church to see what the church teaches about this
passage. What can we learn from it?
Firstly paragraph 575. This is about Jesus and Israel.
To be sure. Christ's relations with the
Pharisees were not exclusively polemical some Pharisees, warn
him of the danger. Here was courting Jesus Praises.
Some of them and dimes several times at their homes.
And of course, here is one of the places where Jesus dines
with the Pharisees, so it's not like Jesus doesn't associate
with the Pharisees. He does, he wants to call them
to repentance. Paragraph 588.
Jesus scandalize the Pharisees by eating with tax collectors
and sinners as familiarly as with themselves against those
among them who trusted in themselves that they were
righteous and despised others. Jesus affirmed.
I have not come to call the righteous, but Sinners to
repentance. He went further by proclaiming,
before the Pharisees that since sin is universal, those who
pretend not to need salvation, a blind to themselves.
Then paragraph 2616. This is about how Jesus he is
prayers. And there's an interesting
reference here to the woman prayer to Jesus is answered by
him. Already during his ministry
through signs, that anticipate the power of his death and
Resurrection. Jesus hears the prayer of faith
expressed in words, from the leper gyrus, the Canaanite woman
and the good thief or in Silence from the bearers of the
paralytic, the woman with the Hemorrhage who touches his
clothes. The tea is an ointment of the
sinful woman. So the sinful woman here gets
referenced in the catechism is specifically, as an example of
Silent prayer. And then lastly, paragraph 1441.
It's about how God forgives sins.
It says, only God, forgives sins since he is the Son of God.
Jesus says of himself. The son of man has Authority on
Earth to forgive sins and exercises.
This divine power, your sins are forgiven.
So we'll leave it there for today.
It's a bit of a longer passage compared to most of the
lectionary sections of Luke. Hopefully you learned something
new and will continue in Luke in the coming days.