Luke 7.36 – 8.3
“I tell you her many sins are forgiven, because she has
shown great love.”
He said to her: “Your sins are forgiven… Your faith has
saved you. Go in peace.”
In chapter four Luke has given us a programmatic statement
of what he is going to do in presenting Jesus’ Galilean ministry. He is going
to establish that Jesus fulfils Biblical prophecy, Isaiah 61.1-2
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me.
For he has anointed me to proclaim:
the good news to the wretched,
freedom for prisoners,
sight for the blind,
release for the oppressed,
the Year of the Lord’s Favour!”
Luke then presents incident after incident which fulfils
this prophecy through the words and actions of Jesus.
In our reading Jesus comes to dine in the house of Simon the
Pharisee in Capernaum by invitation. He reclines propped up on cushions and
elbows on one of the couches in the triclinium, following the
Greco-Roman custom. Sandals have been removed for dining, leaving the feet
bare. (See illustration)
First, the Pharisee.
Should we have preconceptions about this Pharisee? Yes. The story is
carefully located after earlier stories which provide extended comment on
Pharisees. They have attempted to deny Jesus’ authority to forgive, have
strongly disapproved his healing on the sabbath (This was “work) and have not
submitted (7.30) to the baptism of repentance from John. “They have rejected”, says Luke, “God’s
purpose for them”. This is just a few verses before our reading. So at 7.36 we have
every reason to suppose that the Pharisee is set to trap Jesus into some words
or actions which will embarrass and discomfort him. Simon’s complete lack of
sympathy for Jesus is also betrayed by his rudeness as a host, omitting all the
duties of host to guest – no water for Jesus to wash his feet, no kiss of
greeting, no perfumed oil for his hair.
Second, the woman.
She knows she needs the salvation offered by Jesus. Inarticulate though
she is, weeping constantly, her actions speak through a string of eight verbs
in a long sentence after the Hebraic: “behold!”, marking high drama. I
translate literally:
37: “And
behold a woman who was in the town (Capernaum), a sinner, and, having learnt
that he was reclining in the house of the Pharisee, having brought a jar
of oil of myrrh,
38: and having
stood behind [him] near his feet, weeping, she began to rain
upon his feet with tears, and she was wiping [them] off with the hair of
her head, and was kissing his feet, and was anointing [them] with
the oil of myrrh.” Luke here deliberately recalls the same odd structure at Mk.
5.25 where another unclean woman of great faith was healed by touching Jesus’
clothes, and Jesus declared to that woman (the woman with the issue of
blood):
“Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction!”
But in our own reading (Lk. 7) we can grasp a little
more about the woman. “Sinner” means that she was an adulteress or a
prostitute. In floods of tears she comes in repentance to Jesus, seeking forgiveness
from the prophet who speaks for God. To kiss his feet expresses deep gratitude.
To wash away his tears from his feet with her hair identifies her as a
prostitute, for respectable women wore their hair piled high, not hanging down
(see the illustration). Jesus makes the
same declaration to her that he made to the paralytic lowered from the roof and
to the woman with an issue of blood:
“Your sins are forgiven.”
“Your faith has saved you. Go in peace!”
Here too he fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah (above).
Third, Jesus. Equally astonishing are his perception/
understanding, his authority and his great love and compassion. Jesus does
understand that the woman weeps in repentance for her sins, and trusts in him.
He reads Simon’s thoughts, his hardheartedness, and points out to him her great
love. For the debt of sin cancelled in her case is great – v.47 “I tell you her
many sins have been forgiven – and equally great are her repentance,
gratitude and love. And this is the main point of the story. This woman
has been made whole (the term ‘peace’, Greek for shalom, implies this),
while the Pharisee remains unredeemed.
Jesus has overthrown normative values.
He has seen further, judged deeper.
He has shown compassion for the repentant sinner.
We have been presented by Luke with one more scene of Jesus’
charisma,
his authority, his healing power, his kindness.
May we too, then, admit and repent of our sins before God.
Let us forgive (unlike the Pharisee), trust and love (like
the prostitute).
For it is Christ who sets the prisoner free and releases the
oppressed.
Questions.
Q 1. What has the artist got wrong in his scene of the
‘Roman’ triclinium?
Q 2. What was the attitude of the Pharisee Simon to Jesus?
Q 3. Who loves most?
Q 4. What do we learn about Jesus from this story?
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