Luke 7 Study Notes

7:24-28 The crowds were apparently asking Jesus why John the Baptist’s messengers had come to him. So Jesus explained the significance of John and his ministry. He was not one who fit in with current thought or comfortable surroundings, and he had nothing to do with royalty and its excesses. Instead, he was a prophet and, beyond that, the forerunner for Messiah (my messenger ahead of you; see Mal 3:1). No mere human to that point was greater than John the Baptist. However, even the least Christian of the new covenant era (the coming form of the kingdom of God), beginning with the day of Pentecost (Ac 2), would have greater spiritual resources than John due to the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

7:29-30 All of those who had repented and been baptized (see note at 3:2-3) by John acknowledged God’s way of righteousness (John’s message as forerunner to Jesus). But the Pharisees and experts in the law, who would not repent and humble themselves to be baptized by John, rejected the plan of God regarding salvation.

7:31-35 Jesus declared that it was impossible to please the people of his generation. They would not respond to the playing of a flute (a happy sound) or the singing of a lament (a sad sound). John the Baptist led a very strict lifestyle, but he was accused of having a demon. By contrast, Jesus was accused of living loosely and eating with sinners and thus was called a glutton and a drunkard.

7:35 The phrase wisdom is vindicated by all her children means that the teachings of John the Baptist and Jesus will be shown correct by all those who live (and live well) by following their teachings.

7:36-38 It is not clear whether the Pharisee who invited Jesus into his home wanted to learn from him, as did Nicodemus (Jn 3:1-2), or was seeking to trap him. The unnamed woman was probably a prostitute (sinner) who heard Jesus preach and repented. Reclining meant resting on your side, with your feet facing away from the table. Though she said nothing, her tears and her willingness to give the expensive perfume to anoint Jesus’s feet were an eloquent testimony of her gratitude to Jesus.

7:39 The Pharisee who had invited Jesus into his home could not conceive that a true prophet would associate with this kind of woman—a known sinner. Being a Pharisee required him to be separated from sin and sinners like her.

7:40-43 A denarius (plural denarii) was the wage for a day’s work in the first century. Jesus showed that he knew what Simon, the Pharisee, was thinking. The point of Jesus’s story was simple: a person who is forgiven more appreciates it more.

7:44-47 Jesus drew a contrast between the Pharisee and the woman. Simon had failed to provide water to wash his feet, had given him no kiss of hospitality, and did not anoint his head with oil—all things she had done. Jesus did not mean that the Pharisee had little sin to be forgiven but that he did not think of himself as a sinner while the woman was profoundly aware of her sinfulness.

7:48-50 Based on her actions, which reflected true repentance of sins, Jesus forgave the woman who anointed his feet. He made it clear that her faith had saved her (see Eph 2:8-9). Once again, his authority to forgive sins was questioned (see note at 5:21-25).