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1–10. Capernaum centurion. – 11–17. Resurrection of the Nain youth. – 18–35. The disciples of John the Baptist come to Christ, Christ’s speech about the Baptist. – 36–50. The anointing of Christ by a sinner wife. Luke 7:1. When He finished all His words to the listening people, He entered Capernaum. Luke 7:2. One centurion's servant, whom he treasured, was sick and dying. Luke 7:3. Hearing about Jesus, he sent Jewish elders to Him to ask Him to come and heal his servant. Luke 7:4. And they came to Jesus and besought Him earnestly, saying, He is worthy that You should do this for him. Luke 7:5. for he loves our people and has built us a synagogue. Luke 7:6. Jesus went with them. And when He was not far from home, the centurion sent friends to Him to tell Him: Do not toil, Lord! for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; Luke 7:7. That’s why I didn’t consider myself worthy to come to You; but say the word, and my servant will be healed. Luke 7:8. For I am a subordinate man, but having soldiers under my command, I say to one: go, and he goes; and to another: come, and he comes; and to my servant: Do this, and he does. Luke 7:9. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the people following Him: I tell you that even in Israel I have not found such faith. Luke 7:10. The messengers returned to the house and found the sick servant recovered. Evangelist Luke speaks about the healing of the Capernaum servant centurion with greater detail than Matthew (Matthew 8:5–13). “He sent the elders of the Jews to him” (verse 3). In the Evangelist Matthew, the centurion himself “came up.” Obviously, Matthew considered it unnecessary to talk about the preliminary embassy of the Jewish elders and the second embassy, ​​which consisted of the centurion’s friends, while the Evangelist Luke, reporting on both, omits the message about how the centurion, probably just before Christ’s arrival at his house, himself came out to meet Him, repeating the words of his friends. “He built us a synagogue” (verse 5), of course, at his own expense. The word “himself” must be added to this expression, because in the Greek text the word αὐτός appears here. Luke 7:11. After this Jesus went to a city called Nain; and with Him went many of His disciples and a great multitude of people. Only the Evangelist Luke reports about the resurrection of the Nain youth. "Nain" is a city located near Nazareth, to the southeast. Nowadays it is a small village. “Disciples” – in the broad sense of the word (Luke 6:13). Luke 7:12. When He approached the city gates, they carried out the dead man, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and many people went with her out of the city. “They carried out the dead.” Usually, Jewish tombs were built in cliffs outside cities (cf. Matt. 8:28). Luke 7:13. Seeing her, the Lord took pity on her and told her: don’t cry. Luke 7:14. And, approaching, he touched the bed; those carrying them stopped, and He said: young man! I'm telling you, get up! Odr - in Greek σορός - something like an open box or just a stretcher. The Jews did not place their dead in coffins, but directly in a niche made in a cliff or rock, and the stretcher, obviously, served only to carry the body to the burial site. The Lord “touched” this bed in order to make those carrying it stop. Luke 7:15. The dead man got up, sat down and began to speak; and Jesus gave him to his mother. Luke 7:16. And everyone was seized with fear, and they glorified God, saying: A great prophet has arisen among us, and God has visited His people. "A great prophet has risen among us". Still, therefore, the Nain residents did not yet believe in Christ as the Messiah; for them He was only a messenger of God, a great prophet who should help the people of God. The appearance of Christ, in their opinion, is only a sign of the coming of the messianic time. Luke 7:17. This opinion about Him spread throughout Judea and throughout the surrounding area. “Throughout all Judea”, i.e. throughout Palestine (cf. Luke 4:44). “And throughout the surrounding area”, i.e. and in the neighboring countries closest to Judea. Why does the Evangelist Matthew not mention this miracle? Perhaps he was not present when this miracle was performed (Edersheim, p. 702), or perhaps because he mentioned other miracles of the resurrection of the dead (Matthew 11:5) and the miracle of the resurrection of the Nain youth did not represent for him anything unusual in the activity of Christ. Luke 7:18. And his disciples told John about all this. Luke 7:19. John, calling two of his disciples, sent to Jesus to ask: Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else? Luke 7:20. They came to Jesus and said: John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask: Are you the one who should come, or should we expect someone else? Luke 7:21. And at this time He healed many from diseases and illnesses and from evil spirits, and gave sight to many blind people. Luke 7:22. And Jesus answered them: Go, tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor are preached to the gospel; Luke 7:23. and blessed is he who is not offended because of Me! Luke 7:24. After those sent by John had departed, he began to speak to the people about John: “What did you go into the wilderness to see?” Is it a cane shaken by the wind? Luke 7:25. What did you go to see? a person dressed in soft clothes? But those who dress magnificently and live luxuriously are in the courts of kings. Luke 7:26. What did you go to see? a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. Luke 7:27. This is the one about whom it is written: Behold, I send My angel before Thy face, who will prepare Thy way before Thee. Luke 7:28. For I tell you, among those born of women there is not one prophet greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. Luke 7:29. And all the people who heard Him, and the tax collectors, gave glory to God, being baptized with the baptism of John; Luke 7:30. and the Pharisees and lawyers rejected God’s will for themselves by not being baptized by him. Luke 7:31. Then the Lord said: With whom shall I compare the people of this generation? and who are they like? Luke 7:32. They are like children who sit on the street, calling each other and saying: we played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; We sang lamentable songs to you, and you did not cry. Luke 7:33. For John the Baptist came, neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and say: he has a devil. Luke 7:34. The Son of Man came: eating and drinking; and say: Here is a man who loves to eat and drink wine, a friend of publicans and sinners. Luke 7:35. And wisdom is justified by all her children. The story of the arrival of the disciples of John the Baptist to Christ, who instructed them to ask Christ whether He was the promised Messiah, is described by the Evangelist Luke in a similar way to Matthew (Matthew 11:2–19). “They told John...” (verse 18). Evangelist Luke more precisely indicates from whom the Baptist heard about the miracles of Christ (cf. Matt. 11:2). “And at this time...” (verse 21). The Evangelist Luke notes this circumstance in order to make the following words of Christ more understandable: “Tell John what you saw...” (verse 22). Verses 29–30 represent a section of the Lord’s speech that is found only in the Evangelist Luke. Here the Lord says that the Baptist’s speech did not have the same consequences for all his listeners: ordinary people, even publicans, believed John as a prophet and glorified God for sending such a prophet, but the Pharisees and lawyers did not want to recognize him as a leader sent by God, who called them to change their way of life, and were not baptized by him (cf. Matt. 21:31–32). Verses 31–35 are a repetition of Matthew 11:16–19. Only in the Evangelist Luke this denunciation of Christ refers not to the scribes and Pharisees, but to the crowds of people present (see verses 33–34: “Speak”). Luke 7:36. One of the Pharisees asked Him to eat food with him; and He entered the house of the Pharisee and lay down. The following story of the anointing of Christ by a sinful wife is an independent story from the Evangelist Luke. It has the meaning of an illustration to the words of verse 34 about Christ: “here is a man who loves to eat and drink, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” "One of the Pharisees". Below is the name of this Pharisee - Simon (verse 40). “He asked Him to eat food with him.” Apparently, Simon received some kind of benefit from the Lord and, in gratitude for it, invited Christ to his place for dinner (cf. verses 41–42, 47). Luke 7:37. And so, a woman of that city, who was a sinner, having learned that He was reclining in the house of a Pharisee, brought an alabaster flask of ointment It would be more accurate to translate as follows: “and here is a woman who was a sinner in the city, i.e. a harlot (cf. John 8:7), having learned...” “Was” is a past imperfect tense, denoting not that the woman at that time continued her sinful life, but how she appeared in the opinion of her fellow citizens, who apparently did not yet know about her conversion to the true path. The city in which this event took place is completely unknown. This is some city in Galilee. “Alabaster vessel” (see Matthew 26:6–7). Luke 7:38. and, standing behind His feet and weeping, she began to wet His feet with tears and wipe them with the hair of her head, and kissed His feet and anointed them with myrrh. “Standing behind at His feet” (see Matt. 26:6–7). Christ, according to custom, reclined at the table with bare feet, which were stretched back from the table to the wall. “And weeping, she began to wet His feet with tears.” “When she stood behind, at the feet of Christ, bending reverently towards Him, whole rivers of tears, as if from a suddenly approaching spring cloud, refreshing the air and the earth, began to wet His feet. As if surprised and afraid that she might attract His attention or defile Him with her tears, she quickly wiped His feet with her long hair, which fell from her head while she bent down at His feet. No, she did not come to wash them with such unclean waters, but to show her grateful love and respect as best she could with her poverty and her humility. And so, when her faith became more bold in His presence, she continued to kiss those feet that brought her “good news of peace,” and anoint them from the alabaster vessel that hung around her neck” (Edersheim, p. 712). And how this woman could enter the house of the Pharisee - this can be explained by the fact that Simon probably did not prevent anyone from entering and looking at the Great Prophet who visited his house: the woman entered the house, probably with others who wanted to see Christ. Luke 7:39. Seeing this, the Pharisee who invited Him said to himself: if He were a prophet, He would know who and what kind of woman was touching Him, for she was a sinner. The Pharisee begins to come to the conviction that Christ is not a prophet, since the prophets, of course, even knew the secrets of human hearts, and Christ does not know what the whole city knows, namely, that the one who touched Him is a sinner who can defile Him with her touch. “If He were a prophet” - more precisely: “this (οὗτος; an expression of some disdain that Simon felt in his heart) if he were a prophet,” for whom I and others accepted Him. “For she” is better: “that she is a sinner.” It is remarkable that even the Pharisee here recognizes Christ as free from the slightest suspicion of any sin. Christ is so holy that no sinful creature should approach Him. Luke 7:40. Turning to him, Jesus said: Simon! I have something to tell you. He says: tell me, Teacher. Luke 7:41. Jesus said: A certain creditor had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty, Luke 7:42. but since they had nothing to pay, he forgave them both. Tell me, which of them will love him more? Luke 7:43. Simon answered: I think the one to whom he forgave more. He said to him: you judged correctly. Christ recognized the thoughts of the Pharisee and showed it to him by asking him a question. Christ puts His question, which of the two debtors will love the creditor who has forgiven both of them more, the one who owed 500 denarii (about 100 rubles 10), or the one who owed ten times less, in the form of a parable, or simply expresses it as an explanatory example for His thought. Simon understands the meaning of the question and answers it without hesitation. Luke 7:44. And turning to the woman, he said to Simon: Do you see this woman? I came to your house, and you did not give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head; Luke 7:45. You did not give Me a kiss, but she, since I came, has not stopped kissing My feet; Luke 7:46. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with ointment. Christ then contrasts the behavior of Simon and the sinner wife in relation to Him. Although the Pharisee invited Christ to his feast, he did not show Him any sign of hospitality (washing his feet - Gen. 18:4), or a sign of love (kissing - Gen. 33:4), or a sign of special respect (anointing his head with oil - Ruth. 3:3; Ps. 22:5). "I have come to your house." Here the power of thought is in the word “your.” “You” called me to yourself, says Christ to Simon, and, however, did not show me, as a guest, any special signs of honor. Simon was probably afraid with these signs of honor to give the other Pharisees a reason to think that he had already fully believed in Christ as the Messiah, which is why his attitude towards Christ was somehow vague. Moreover, these signs of respect were not, strictly speaking, obligatory - even the washing of feet, which was offered only to people who came to the house directly from a trip. Wed. John 13, where it is depicted that the Lord stood up Himself to wash the feet of the disciples, obviously not yet washed before supper. It is necessary to note the contrasts that Christ indicates here: 1) water and - tears 2) a kiss, - of course, on the mouth and - frequent kissing of the feet 3) oil for the head and - ointment on the feet. Luke 7:47. Therefore I tell you: her many sins are forgiven because she loved much, but he who is forgiven little loves little. "They say goodbye." Although the present tense is set here, this does not mean that the woman’s sins were forgiven only after she anointed the feet of Christ. As verse 50 shows, her sins had already been forgiven before because of her faith in Christ. “Because she loved much.” This is not the cause or precondition for the forgiveness of a woman’s sins, as Catholics claim, but the consequence of the woman’s previous forgiveness. The entire verse should be translated as follows: “Many sins of this woman have already been forgiven, and this is certain, because only the forgiven could show such strength of love for Me, through Whom she received forgiveness.” The Lord wants to tell Simon that the results of a merciful attitude towards sinners (verse 42) are now evident: the woman has been forgiven, and now she has shown extraordinary love and devotion to Christ because of this. So the Lord makes an application from the above comparison of two debtors 11. “And he who is forgiven little loves little.” The thought is quite clear: here is another case in which love for Christ is not manifested with such strength. But Christ does not directly mean Simon here, although he could find a lesson for himself in these words. Rather, you need to look at this saying as a simple general maxim. Luke 7:48. He said to her: Your sins are forgiven. Luke 7:49. And those reclining with Him began to say to themselves: Who is this that even forgives sins? Luke 7:50. He said to the woman: Your faith has saved you; go in peace. Having finished with Simon, the Lord now turns to the woman with the announcement that her sins have been forgiven. She already had internal confidence in this forgiveness (cf. verse 37); now Christ gives her external confidence in the forgiveness of sins, after her faith has already manifested itself in deeds. He even tells her not to be embarrassed by the objections of those present regarding Christ’s right to forgive sinners: “your faith has saved you; go in peace,” i.e. calmly (cf. Luke 2:29). Some identify the story of the anointing of Christ's feet by a sinful wife with the later anointing of Christ in Bethany (Matthew 26:6 et seq. and parallel passages). But, undoubtedly, these two events are different - both the general point of view and the individual details of both events are completely different. The similarity lies only in the name Simon - a very common name 12 - and in the anointing, but everything else is different: here it is not the head that is anointed, but the feet of Christ; a sinner appears here, and there is simply a disciple of Christ; the event itself here has an instructive meaning for Simon, and there for the disciples of Christ, etc. An amount corresponding at that time to the value of 86 g of gold. – Approx. ed. Some are confused by the fact that the word “loved” in the Greek text is placed in the aorist ἡγάπησε, which supposedly points to an event that passed quite a long time ago, and not to something that just happened - not to the anointing of the feet, but to the wife’s preliminary conversion to faith in Christ. But the aorist in the Gospels also denotes the events closest in time to the one that is being discussed. For example, aorists are used in verses 45–46, cf. John 3:16. Moreover, here the Pharisee is called simply Simon, and in the Evangelist Matthew (Matthew 26:6) - Simon the leper. You might be interested in: