Bible Commentaries
Luke 7

Introduction

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

1 Christ findeth a greater faith in the centurion, a Gentile, than in any of the Jews:

10 healeth his servant being absent:

11 raiseth from death the widow’s son of Nain:

19 answereth John’s messengers with the declaration of his miracles:

24 testifieth to the people what opinion he held of John:

30 inveigheth against the Jews, who with neither the manners of John nor of Jesus could be won:

36 and showeth by occasion of Mary Magdalene, how he is a friend to sinners, not to maintain them in sins, but to forgive them their sins, upon their faith and repentance.

Verse 2

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

A certain centurion’s servant. — As the preceding discourse of our Lord, though in part composed of passages in the sermon on the mount, appears to have been delivered at a different time and occasion, some have thought this account of the healing of the centurion’s servant a different history from the very similar one recorded in Matthew, chap. 8. But the strong agreement of the circumstances and the speeches almost irresistibly demonstrate it to be the same miracle. Nor is there any necessity for connecting it with the preceding discourse. The first verse of this chapter may be considered as the conclusion of the narrative in which the discourse is introduced; and so this account of the centurion, as well as that of the following miracle, will be quite distinct, and in St. Luke’s manner, brought in without respect to the order of their occurrence. See the notes on this miracle, Matthew 8:5, &c. St. Luke introduces the additional circumstance of the elders of the Jews interceding with Christ on his behalf. In St. Matthew, the centurion himself is said to come. He came by proxy; and according to the Jewish saying, “every man’s proxy is as himself:” and in the Scriptures it is customary to make messengers speak as in the very words of those who send them. So James and John speak by their mother, Mark 10:35; Matthew 20:20. And Abigail answers the messengers of David as if he were present himself, 1 Samuel 25:40-41.

Verse 4

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

That he was worthy. — They did not necessarily mean that he deserved the favour; but that being a pious worshipper of the true God, a lover of the nation as having the knowledge of the true God among them — the only ground on which a Roman could love a people generally despised by his countrymen, — and one who had given proof both of his zeal and liberality, by building a synagogue at his own expense, he was a fit person to be favourably noticed; or there was great fitness in marking out such a man as a special object of regard; and our Lord allowed the force of the plea by going down immediately with them.

Verses 11-16

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

A city called Nain. — This city is fixed, both by Jerome and Eusebius, in Lower Galilee, about a mile south of Mount Tabor. This great and affecting miracle presents itself, in the account of St. Luke, under many interesting views. It was a very public one; for beside the persons attending the funeral, the disciples of Christ were with him, and much people. He was entering the gate of the city while the corpse was carried out to the place of burial without the walls; so that apparently it depended upon the mere accident of meeting it at the moment whether the dead should be raised to life, and the broken-hearted mother comforted. But with God there are no chances; and apparent accidents only the more strongly mark his interposition. The deceased was the only son of his mother, and that mother a widow, — a circumstance which appears to have excited great commiseration in the place; for much people of the city was with her. Our Lord was touched with the circumstance; and at the sight of the distressed widow, he had compassion on her: she appeared before him bereaved and childless, her quiver empty, and to use the expression of the Jews, the last coal on her hearth extinguished, having now no help or refuge in man; but “a very present help in trouble” was near, and he said unto her, Weep not. The whole manner of the miracle is overwhelming. He lays his hand upon the bier, — the funeral couch in which the dead were carried forth, without coffin, — arrests the march of the bearers, utters the words of power and authority at which death retires and life returns. Young man, I SAY UNTO THEE, Arise; and he that was dead sat up, and began to speak; and he delivered him to his mother. In how few sentences is this stupendous occurrence narrated! leaving the mind to dwell upon it without any interruption from the remarks of the narrator, and to fall under the influence of that fear which came upon all.

Verses 18-22

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

And the disciples of John, &c. — On the visit of John’s disciples to Christ, see the notes on Matthew 11:2-12. From St. Luke we learn that our Lord in the same hour, while these disciples were with him, cured many of infirmities, plagues, and evil spirits, and unto many that were blind he gave sight; which circumstance gives great force to the words which follow, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, &c.

Verse 29

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

All the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. — From this it appears that a vast body of the people of Galilee must have been baptized by John, since the whole of this promiscuous multitude now assembled to hear Christ are said to have received his baptism. The publicans are again mentioned; from which it may be inferred that John’s ministry had been eminently successful among that class of Jews, who were greatly despised because of their profession. They justified God; which cannot be taken, as by Grotius and Beza, in the sense of giving thanks to and praising God. It expresses the sentiment of those who believed in the authority of John’s mission, in opposition to the Pharisees, who rejected it. In echoing back the eulogies pronounced upon John by our Lord, they therefore vindicated his mission from the reproach and slight put upon it by the Pharisees, and acknowledged the Divine wisdom and goodness of its appointment.

Verse 30

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

Rejected the counsel of God against themselves. — Την βουλην , here is the purpose of God in the mission of John; his gracious design to bring men to repentance, and place them in a state of preparation to receive the Messiah, and all the spiritual blessings which he was appointed to impart; and as this was the design as to men in general, so to them who rejected it. Hence εις εαυτους is to be understood toward, or in respect of themselves, and so be connected with the counsel or purpose of God. But if εις be interpreted against, as in our translation, the sense is not substantially different; for unless the counsel or purpose of God had respect to their benefit, their rejection could not have been an injury to them in the way of consequence, as here represented.

Verse 31

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

Whereunto shall I liken, &c. — See the notes on Matthew 11:16.

Verse 36

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

One of the Pharisees desired that he would eat with him. — He publicly invited him to dinner, and appears also to have invited many persons to meet him. With what intent this was done does not clearly appear, except that he was far from treating our Lord with the usual marks of courteous attention shown to guests, and therefore, probably he had either a captious or a curious design. Our Lord did not decline this invitation, either that he might not give occasion to the Pharisees to take any advantage of his refusal, as though he was gloomy and morose, or that he might teach those important lessons which the circumstances of the occasion called forth.

Verse 37

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

A woman in the city which was a sinner. — Because Mary, the sister of Lazarus, anointed our Lord’s feet, in the house of Simon the leper, at Bethany, some have confounded this woman with her, and others with Mary Magdalene, because she is here called a sinner, that is, one who had offended against the laws of chastity. But it is equally unjust to the two respectable women, Mary of Bethany and Mary of Magdala, to suppose that either of them had been sinners in this sense. The demoniacal possession of the latter appears to have been her affliction, not her crime; and that the character of the whole family which “Jesus loved,” at Bethany, stood high among the respectable classes of Jews at Jerusalem, appears from the number of them who came to condole with them upon the death of Lazarus. Besides, this woman was a resident in the city, not like Mary, sister of Lazarus, the inhabitant of a village; and the city appears to have been Nain, where our Lord had recently performed the miracle; whereas, the other Mary resided at Magdala: and had it been the latter, there seems no reason why her name should not have been mentioned here, as well as on other occasions, by the evangelist. Whoever this woman was, we hear no more of her. She found mercy, she showed her grateful affection to her Saviour, she received his approbation for that act of gratitude publicly manifested; but he appears to have dismissed her into privacy, and not to have given a woman who had been a sinner, impudica, a leading place among his female disciples. All the affinity in this account, and that of the anointing of our Lord at Bethany, lies, in fact, in the mention in each of a box or vase of alabaster, and in the act of anointing; but the first was a common name for all vessels containing unguents or scents; and anointing at feasts was a customary act.

Verse 38

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

And stood at his feet, &c. — The whole picture is beautifully drawn. As our Lord was reclining in the Jewish manner upon the couch at table, his feet would be stretched out behind with sandals off. Hence the woman is said to have stood at his feet behind. She was weeping, having been probably touched by his discourses on some occasion, and brought into a state of true penitence. The washing of the feet with tears, wiping them with the hair of the head, kissing them, and anointing them, were all marks of the profoundest veneration. Washing the feet always preceded anointing. To this day among the Arabs, when the master of the family has welcomed a stranger, he washes his feet.

Verse 39

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

He spake within himself. — He reasoned in his own mind, but said nothing; and our Lord gave another proof of his omniscience, by adapting his discourse to the train of thought and the suspicions into which his host had fallen. He had the commonly received notion that a true prophet, and especially the Messiah, would know exactly the character of those who approached them; and concluded certainly, from Christ suffering this woman to touch him, that he was ignorant of her character, and wanted therefore that power to “discern spirits” which the Messiah would undoubtedly possess. The Jewish commentators interpret that passage of Isaiah respecting the Messiah, “He shall be of quick understanding; he shall know at once who is a wicked person, and who is not.”

Verse 41

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

Five hundred pence. — Five hundred denarii or Roman pence, each about sevenpence halfpenny of our money.

Verse 44

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

Thou gavest me no water for my feet. — The Pharisee is here gracefully reproved by the commendations bestowed upon the woman for his want of courtesy. — To guests at least who were received with peculiar joy and affection, it was customary to furnish water for the feet, to give the kiss of welcome, and to anoint the head. As Simon had done none of these to our Lord, he showed that he regarded him only as an indifferent person; at least these neglects proved that he loved little: while the attentions paid to him by the woman, — not only washing his feet, but doing it with tears; not wiping them with a towel, but with her hair; kissing even the feet and anointing them, as not presuming to anoint his head, — proved that she loved much. Much had been forgiven her. She was not only a penitent, but a forgiven penitent. The words of Christ which she had heard on some former but unrecorded occasion had not only touched her conscience, but led her to God and salvation. She regarded him therefore as her Saviour, and loved him much; loved him in proportion to the degradation he had pitied, and the guilt he had removed, — in a word, to the much she had had forgiven. This whole argument, be it observed, rested on two facts; that the sins of the woman were forgiven; and that Christ, to whom she had shown so much love, had forgiven her. — And that which was implied in his argument our Lord immediately publishes expressly, saying to the woman, “Thy sins are forgiven,” declaring the fact to them, and reiterating to her the assurance of her forgiveness, which must before in some way have been conveyed to her mind, because her love is accounted for by our Lord, from her consciousness that she had had much forgiven. Those who sat at meat, marking the AUTHORITATIVE mode in which this declaration of the woman’s forgiveness was made, began to object, saying, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? invading, as they affirmed in another place, the authority of God; but lest the woman herself should be disturbed by these murmurs, and to silence all, he repeats the assurance, “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”

Verse 47

Watson - Exposition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark

For she loved much. — Our translation has been thought to make the love of this woman the CAUSE of her forgiveness; but this is contrary to the whole argument, founded upon the case of the two debtors, which makes love the CONSEQUENCE of free and gratuitous forgiveness: so that the notion of the papists built upon this passage, that love is a meritorious cause of the pardon of sin, is contradicted by its whole scope. Most critics, therefore, give an illative sense to οτι , and read, “ Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; οτι , THEREFORE she loved much.” This avoids theological error; for undoubtedly the cause of her salvation, subordinate to the mercy of Christ, is said (verse 50) to have been her faith, not her love, — Thy faith hath saved thee: but there seems no reason for depriving οτι , in this place, of its usual casual sense, as will appear if we closely consider the meaning of this verse. Our Lord evidently intended to correct Simon’s notion respecting this woman, and also to prove that he himself, as he had supposed, was not at all ignorant of her character. Simon assumed her to be a sinner: Christ allows her to have been a great sinner, a debtor in five hundred pence, but declares that her many sins were forgiven, urging in proof of this, that she loved much. The argument in fact is, because she loveth much, she hath had much forgiven, so that she is no longer a polluted sinner: and this makes the words sufficiently plain, Wherefore, I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many are forgiven, because she loved much, — the fact is proved by her very love. So Wetstein well remarks, “Love indeed is naturally consequent on remission of sins; that is, she loveth much, because many sins are forgiven her. But it may be considered as the mark and token of remission; that is, as it was manifest that Christ was much beloved by her, it might be certainly thence concluded that remission of sins had followed. This Christ addressed to the Pharisee, who thought her yet a sinner.”

Both this transaction and the parable to which it gave rise, are of great theological importance. The doctrine of the parable is, that pardon of sin is wholly gratuitous, independent of any consideration of worthiness or ability in the sinner. When the debtors had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both, wholly remitted their debt and cancelled their obligation. Answering to the doctrine of the parable, is the example. A woman who was a sinner, yet being a penitent, and having faith in Christ is freely forgiven. Free and full salvation through the sole mercy of God in Christ, and by faith in his merit, is the glorious doctrine of the New Testament, nor can it lead to any abuse, rightly understood: for he that hath much forgiven will love much; and to him that loveth, “the commandments of God are not grievous.”