Discovery BoxLuke 7:16-50
Context7:16 Fear 1 seized them all, and they began to glorify 2 God, saying, “A great prophet 3 has appeared 4 among us!” and “God has come to help 5 his people!” 7:17 This 6 report 7 about Jesus 8 circulated 9 throughout 10 Judea and all the surrounding country.
7:18 John’s 11 disciples informed him about all these things. So 12 John called 13 two of his disciples 7:19 and sent them to Jesus 14 to ask, 15 “Are you the one who is to come, 16 or should we look for another?” 7:20 When 17 the men came to Jesus, 18 they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, 19 ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’” 20 7:21 At that very time 21 Jesus 22 cured many people of diseases, sicknesses, 23 and evil spirits, and granted 24 sight to many who were blind. 7:22 So 25 he answered them, 26 “Go tell 27 John what you have seen and heard: 28 The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the 29 deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news proclaimed to them. 7:23 Blessed is anyone 30 who takes no offense at me.”
7:24 When 31 John’s messengers had gone, Jesus 32 began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness 33 to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 34 7:25 What 35 did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy 36 clothes? 37 Look, those who wear fancy clothes and live in luxury 38 are in kings’ courts! 39 7:26 What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more 40 than a prophet. 7:27 This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, 41 who will prepare your way before you.’ 42 7:28 I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater 43 than John. 44 Yet the one who is least 45 in the kingdom of God 46 is greater than he is.” 7:29 (Now 47 all the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, 48 acknowledged 49 God’s justice, because they had been baptized 50 with John’s baptism. 7:30 However, the Pharisees 51 and the experts in religious law 52 rejected God’s purpose 53 for themselves, because they had not been baptized 54 by John. 55 ) 56
7:31 “To what then should I compare the people 57 of this generation, and what are they like? 7:32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, 58
‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance; 59
we wailed in mourning, 60 yet you did not weep.’
7:33 For John the Baptist has come 61 eating no bread and drinking no wine, 62 and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ 63 7:34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him, 64 a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 65 7:35 But wisdom is vindicated 66 by all her children.” 67
7:36 Now one of the Pharisees 68 asked Jesus 69 to have dinner with him, so 70 he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. 71 7:37 Then 72 when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus 73 was dining 74 at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar 75 of perfumed oil. 76 7:38 As 77 she stood 78 behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She 79 wiped them with her hair, 80 kissed 81 them, 82 and anointed 83 them with the perfumed oil. 7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, 84 he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, 85 he would know who and what kind of woman 86 this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” 7:40 So 87 Jesus answered him, 88 “Simon, I have something to say to you.” He replied, 89 “Say it, Teacher.” 7:41 “A certain creditor 90 had two debtors; one owed him 91 five hundred silver coins, 92 and the other fifty. 7:42 When they could not pay, he canceled 93 the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 7:43 Simon answered, 94 “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” 95 Jesus 96 said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 7:44 Then, 97 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, 98 but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 7:45 You gave me no kiss of greeting, 99 but from the time I entered she has not stopped kissing my feet. 7:46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet 100 with perfumed oil. 7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; 101 but the one who is forgiven little loves little.” 7:48 Then 102 Jesus 103 said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 104 7:49 But 105 those who were at the table 106 with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 7:50 He 107 said to the woman, “Your faith 108 has saved you; 109 go in peace.”
[7:16] 1 tn Or “Awe.” Grk “fear,” but the context and the following remark show that it is mixed with wonder; see L&N 53.59. This is a reaction to God’s work; see Luke 5:9.
[7:16] 2 tn This imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.
[7:16] 3 sn That Jesus was a great prophet was a natural conclusion for the crowd to make, given the healing; but Jesus is more than this. See Luke 9:8, 19-20.
[7:16] 5 tn Grk “visited,” but this conveys a different impression to a modern reader. L&N 85.11 renders the verb, “to be present, with the implication of concern – ‘to be present to help, to be on hand to aid.’ … ‘God has come to help his people’ Lk 7:16.” The language recalls Luke 1:68, 78.
[7:17] 6 tn Grk “And this.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[7:17] 7 sn See Luke 4:14 for a similar report.
[7:17] 8 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:17] 10 tn Grk “through the whole of.”
[7:18] 11 tn Grk “And John’s.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. This is a reference to John the Baptist as the following context makes clear.
[7:18] 12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that John’s action was a result of the report he had heard.
[7:18] 13 tn Grk “And calling two of his disciples, John sent.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[7:19] 14 tc ‡ Although most
[7:19] 15 tn Grk “to Jesus, saying,” but since this takes the form of a question, it is preferable to use the phrase “to ask” in English.
[7:19] 16 sn Aspects of Jesus’ ministry may have led John to question whether Jesus was the promised stronger and greater one who is to come that he had preached about in Luke 3:15-17.
[7:20] 17 tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[7:20] 18 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:20] 19 tn Grk “to you, saying,” but since this takes the form of a question, it is preferable to use the phrase “to ask” in English.
[7:20] 20 tn This question is repeated word for word from v. 19.
[7:21] 21 tn Grk “In that hour.”
[7:21] 22 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:21] 23 tn Grk “and sicknesses,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
[7:21] 24 tn Or “and bestowed (sight) on.”
[7:22] 25 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the relationship to Jesus’ miraculous cures in the preceding sentence.
[7:22] 26 tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation to “he answered them.”
[7:22] 27 sn The same verb has been translated “inform” in 7:18.
[7:22] 28 sn What you have seen and heard. The following activities all paraphrase various OT descriptions of the time of promised salvation: Isa 35:5-6; 26:19; 29:18-19; 61:1. Jesus is answering not by acknowledging a title, but by pointing to the nature of his works, thus indicating the nature of the time.
[7:22] 29 tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
[7:24] 31 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[7:24] 32 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:24] 34 tn There is a debate as to whether one should read this figuratively (“to see someone who is easily blown over?”) or literally (Grk “to see the wilderness vegetation?…No, to see a prophet”). Either view makes good sense, but the following examples suggest the question should be read literally and understood to point to the fact that a prophet drew them to the desert.
[7:25] 35 tn Grk “But what.” Here ἀλλά (alla, a strong contrastive in Greek) produces a somewhat awkward sense in English, and has not been translated. The same situation occurs at the beginning of v. 26.
[7:25] 36 tn Or “soft”; see L&N 79.100.
[7:25] 37 sn The reference to fancy clothes makes the point that John was not rich or powerful, in that he did not come from the wealthy classes.
[7:25] 38 tn See L&N 88.253, “to revel, to carouse, to live a life of luxury.”
[7:26] 40 tn John the Baptist is “more” because he introduces the one (Jesus) who brings the new era. The term is neuter, but may be understood as masculine in this context (BDAG 806 s.v. περισσότερος b.).
[7:27] 41 tn Grk “before your face” (an idiom).
[7:27] 42 sn The quotation is primarily from Mal 3:1 with pronouns from Exod 23:20. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.
[7:28] 43 sn In the Greek text greater is at the beginning of the clause in the emphatic position. John the Baptist was the greatest man of the old era.
[7:28] 44 tc The earliest and best
[7:28] 45 sn After John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so great that the lowest member of it (the one who is least in the kingdom of God) is greater than the greatest one of the previous era.
[7:28] 46 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ proclamation. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21. It is not strictly future, though its full manifestation is yet to come. That is why membership in it starts right after John the Baptist.
[7:29] 47 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the parenthetical nature of the comment by the author.
[7:29] 48 sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.
[7:29] 49 tn Or “vindicated God”; Grk “justified God.” This could be expanded to “vindicated and responded to God.” The point is that God’s goodness and grace as evidenced in the invitation to John was justified and responded to by the group one might least expect, tax collector and sinners. They had more spiritual sensitivity than others. The contrastive response is clear from v. 30.
[7:29] 50 tn The participle βαπτισθέντες (baptisqente") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
[7:30] 51 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
[7:30] 52 tn That is, the experts in the interpretation of the Mosaic law (see also Luke 5:17, although the Greek term is not identical there, and Luke 10:25, where it is the same).
[7:30] 54 tn The participle βαπτισθέντες (baptisqente") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle; it could also be translated as means (“for themselves, by not having been baptized”). This is similar to the translation found in the NRSV.
[7:30] 55 tn Grk “by him”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:30] 56 sn Luke 7:29-30 forms something of an aside by the author. To indicate this, they have been placed in parentheses.
[7:31] 57 tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"). The comparison that follows in vv. 32-34 describes “this generation,” not Jesus and John.
[7:32] 58 tn Grk “They are like children sitting…and calling out…who say.”
[7:32] 59 sn ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance…’ The children of this generation were making the complaint (see vv. 33-34) that others were not playing the game according to the way they played the music. John and Jesus did not follow “their tune.” Jesus’ complaint was that this generation wanted things their way, not God’s.
[7:32] 60 tn The verb ἐθρηνήσαμεν (eqrhnhsamen) refers to the loud wailing and lamenting used to mourn the dead in public in 1st century Jewish culture.
[7:33] 61 tn The perfect tenses in both this verse and the next do more than mere aorists would. They not only summarize, but suggest the characteristics of each ministry were still in existence at the time of speaking.
[7:33] 62 tn Grk “neither eating bread nor drinking wine,” but this is somewhat awkward in contemporary English.
[7:33] 63 sn John the Baptist was too separatist and ascetic for some, and so he was accused of not being directed by God, but by a demon.
[7:34] 64 tn Grk “Behold a man.”
[7:34] 65 sn Neither were they happy with Jesus (the Son of Man), even though he was the opposite of John and associated freely with people like tax collectors and sinners. Either way, God’s messengers were subject to complaint.
[7:35] 66 tn Or “shown to be right.” This is the same verb translated “acknowledged… justice” in v. 29, with a similar sense – including the notion of response. Wisdom’s children are those who respond to God through John and Jesus.
[7:35] 67 tn Or “by all those who follow her” (cf. CEV, NLT). Note that the parallel in Matt 11:19 reads “by her deeds.”
[7:36] 68 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
[7:36] 69 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:36] 70 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ action was the result of the Pharisee’s invitation.
[7:36] 71 tn Grk “and reclined at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.
[7:37] 72 tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
[7:37] 73 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:37] 74 tn Grk “was reclining at table.”
[7:37] 75 sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.
[7:37] 76 tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 38 and in v. 46.
[7:38] 77 tn Grk “And standing.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[7:38] 78 tn Grk “standing”; the participle στᾶσα (stasa) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[7:38] 79 tn Grk “tears, and she.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[7:38] 80 tn Grk “with the hair of her head.”
[7:38] 81 tn Grk “and kissed,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
[7:38] 82 tn Grk “kissed his feet,” but this has been replaced by the pronoun “them” in keeping with contemporary English style.
[7:38] 83 sn The series of verbs in this verse detail the woman’s every move, much as if the onlookers were watching her every step. That she attended the meal is not so surprising, as teachers often ate an open meal where listeners were welcome, but for her to approach Jesus was unusual and took great nerve, especially given her reputation.
[7:39] 84 tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
[7:39] 85 tn This is a good example of a second class (contrary to fact) Greek conditional sentence. The Pharisee said, in effect, “If this man were a prophet (but he is not)…”
[7:39] 86 sn The Pharisees believed in a form of separationism that would have prevented them from any kind of association with such a sinful woman.
[7:40] 87 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the connection with the preceding statement recording the Pharisee’s thoughts.
[7:40] 88 tn Grk “answering, said to him.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered him.”
[7:41] 90 sn A creditor was a moneylender, whose business was to lend money to others at a fixed rate of interest.
[7:41] 91 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
[7:41] 92 tn Grk “five hundred denarii.”
[7:42] 93 tn The verb ἐχαρίσατο (ecarisato) could be translated as “forgave.” Of course this pictures the forgiveness of God’s grace, which is not earned but bestowed with faith (see v. 49).
[7:43] 94 tn Grk “answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered.”
[7:43] 95 tn Grk “the one to whom he forgave more” (see v. 42).
[7:43] 96 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[7:44] 97 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[7:44] 98 sn It is discussed whether these acts in vv. 44-46 were required by the host. Most think they were not, but this makes the woman’s acts of respect all the more amazing.
[7:45] 99 tn Grk “no kiss.” This refers to a formalized kiss of greeting, standard in that culture. To convey this to the modern reader, the words “of greeting” have been supplied to qualify what kind of kiss is meant.
[7:46] 100 sn This event is not equivalent to the anointing of Jesus that takes place in the last week of his life (Matt 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8). That woman was not a sinner, and Jesus was eating in the home of Simon the leper, who, as a leper, could never be a Pharisee.
[7:47] 101 tn Grk “for she loved much.” The connection between this statement and the preceding probably involves an ellipsis, to the effect that the ὅτι clause gives the evidence of forgiveness, not the ground. For similar examples of an “evidentiary” ὅτι, cf. Luke 1:22; 6:21; 13:2. See discussion in D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:703-5. Further evidence that this is the case here is the final statement: “the one who is forgiven little loves little” means that the one who is forgiven little is thus not able to love much. The REB renders this verse: “her great love proves that her many sins have been forgiven; where little has been forgiven, little love is shown.”
[7:48] 102 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[7:48] 103 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:48] 104 sn Jesus showed his authority to forgive sins, something that was quite controversial. See Luke 5:17-26 and the next verse.
[7:49] 105 tn Grk “And”; here καί (kai) has been translated as an adversative (contrastive).
[7:49] 106 tn Grk “were reclining at table.”
[7:50] 107 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[7:50] 108 sn On faith see Luke 5:20; 7:9; 8:25; 12:28; 17:6; 18:8; 22:32.
[7:50] 109 sn The questioning did not stop Jesus. He declared authoritatively that the woman was forgiven by God (your faith has saved you). This event is a concrete example of Luke 5:31-32.
