Hey everyone, welcome again to logical Bible study. And this is the Catholic podcast where every day we do an exegesis of scriptures looking at the literal sense of the text. And I know so many of you have benefited from this approach to the scriptures and today will jump straight into it because we have a bit of a longer passage
in quite an interesting. In one, Luke chapter 7 verses 36 250. One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to a meal, when he arrived at the Pharisees house and took his place at table, a woman came in, who had a bad name in the town. She had heard, he was dining with the Pharisee and brought with her an alabaster jar of ointment. She waited behind him at his feet weeping, and her tears fell on his feet and she wiped them
away with her hair. Then she covered his feet with kisses and anointed them with the ointment. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself. If this man were a prophet, he would know who this woman is. That is touching him. And what a bad name she has. Then Jesus took him up and said, Simon, I have something to say to you. Speak master was the reply. There was once a creditor who had two men in his debt, one ordered him 500.
Denarii, the other 50, they were unable to pay. So he pardoned them both which of them will love him more. The one who is pardoned more? I suppose answered Simon. Jesus said you are right. Then he turned to the woman Simon. He said, you see this woman. I came into your house and you poured no water over my feet, but she has poured out her tears, over my feet and wipe them away with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she has been covering my feet with kisses ever.
Since I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil but she has anointed my feet with ointment for this reason. I tell you that her sins. Her many sins must have been forgiven her or she would not have shown such great love. It is the man who is Forgiven little who shows little love. Then he said to her, your sins are forgiven. Those who are with him at table, began to say to themselves. Who is this man that he even forgives sins. But he said to the woman, your faith has saved you go in.
Peace. So, a really interesting passage that we're looking at today and there's a lot of interesting things going on in the background. So let's start by asking what's the context? What has happened? Just prior to this. So, Jesus has been doing healings and preaching in Galilee. It's quite early in his ministry. He's already got a reputation of meeting with Sinners. And, in fact, dining, with sinners. Now, this story that we're looking at today, is unique to Luke.
You'll only find this one in Luke's gospel. Now, there is a similar one that is in the other. Schools, but it's actually occurs on a different occasion. So it's important to distinguish between the two so there is an episode later in Jesus life. Where a woman annoyance Jesus head with oil in Bethany, in the last week of his life. And in that case, the woman, anoints Jesus head. Whereas here the woman, anoints Jesus feet and it's actually a
two quite different occasions. Now the main similarity here is that oil is used by the woman in both cases and in both cases is an Unnamed woman and both women dry Jesus feet with their hair. But that's about as far as the similarities go. So, some people have confused these stories and imagine that they're the same thing. But clearly they're depicted as
different. Jesus says, quite different things on the different occasions, and they're different women doing it. So, this one that we're looking at today, happens in an unknown town with an unknown woman, and it's quite early in Jesus ministry. So verse 36, one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to a meal. Now, we later discovered that the man is called Simon though. At this stage, Luke decides to just calling her Pharisee interestingly. Jesus dines with Pharisees quite a few times in work.
In fact, three times. He dines with Pharisees in chapter 11. And in chapter 14, he will also dine with Pharisees. Verse 37, when he arrived at the Pharisees house and took his place at table. Now. This is probably a large Feast, which many members of the public are invited to. In that time. It's important to understand how they would have eaten when they were at a feast. So if it's a large important Feast, the Jews would recline on
low couches near the floor. They didn't sit on chairs in the way that we do today. So they would recline on these couches and they typically leaned Cushion on their left side and then they ate with their right hand. That was sort of how they did these big meals. So that's how Jesus is eating at this meal and then a woman comes in who had a bad name in the town now, more literally what it says. He is a sinner, our lectionary translation, avoids using the word sinner, but that's actually
what it says. She is a sinner, the King James version and other older versions. Sometimes use the phrase of ill repute. It's a woman of ill repute. Now that could be a euphemism for a prostitute. She could be a prostitute. Not necessarily though. There's nothing in the text that suggests that she's actually a prostitute. Though. Certainly. She's well known in the town for being a sinner.
And the fact that she comes in and Jesus welcomes her confirms Jesus reputation for welcoming Sinners. We saw a couple of verses earlier in verse 34. He is accused of welcoming Sinners and that's exactly right. That's what he does here. Some people have wondered how this woman even gets in in the first Place because it's unlikely that the Pharisee would have invited this woman because she's a simple woman into the
feast. Well, the best explanation of this is, it's probably one of those public feasts. They used to occasion, Pharisees, would occasionally have public events where certain people are invited to dine at the table, but the entire public is allowed to come and witness the event because there's usually some sort of important or wise dignitary. So, he's probably allowed it to be a public event. In terms of people coming to Listen to the conversation. So that's what she does.
She comes along as part of the general public. Now. This woman is not named. It seems pretty unlikely that it's Mary Magdalene a lot of in history people have sometimes assume that this is Mary Magdalene because we know that Mary Magdalene used to live quite a sinful life of some sort perhaps because she was possessed by demons. We know that for a fact from the gospels, but the gospels never say that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. And in fact, this woman is not
called a prostitute. In fact, this woman is not given a name at all. I think it's incredibly unlikely that this woman is Mary Magdalene because in the very next chapter, in fact in the very next passage straight after this Luke mentions Mary Magdalene, and she is not identified with this woman. She's identified as someone quite different. So it's not impossible that it's Mary Magdalene, but given the flow of the text, it to me.
It seems unlikely that it is Mary Magdalene, but you will encounter some traditional Scholars who tend to think that it could be me. Mary Magdalene that we're dealing with here. So, the woman had heard that he was dining with the Pharisee. So notice that she's there for Jesus. She's not there for the Pharisee. How does she know Jesus? Well, there's two options either.
She has personally encountered, Jesus earlier, and she had felt quite forgiven or quite convicted perhaps earlier, and now she's come to show her gratitude to him. Or maybe she hasn't met Jesus yet, but she's heard about Jesus, and she's heard that he's a friend of sinners. So Is come to seek him out and she's brought with her an alabaster jar of ointment or a flask of ointment.
So this would be an elegant stone jar containing Alabaster which is quite an expensive ointment and says she waited behind him at his feet. And she's so she's standing up behind his feet. It seems like a strange position, but think about it. If Jesus is eating in the
reclining position. She can stand both behind him and at his feet at the same time, you Can sort of visualize that he's Jesus is laying facing the table and she's standing behind him down the end of his feet and the woman in verse 38 is weeping. Now. What kind of weeping is that? What? We're not entirely, sure, but it seems to be some sort of Joyful or grateful weeping or perhaps, she's mourning, her old sinful
life. Certainly her weeping, is a response to the fact that Jesus has convicted her and freed her from her, sinful life, and the tears fell on his. Feet and she wiped them away with her hair. Now. It's probably not deliberate. That her tears fell on his feet. She's actually there to do the anointing with oil. That's what she's trying to do. But in the process, she was crying. And some of the tears are falling on his feet. So she drives those two years with her hair.
Why she using her hair will probably doesn't have anything else to use. Now. Some people thought that that's quite indecent because in that culture, women were not really supposed to expose their hair in public in this way, but she's so, So overcome with emotion and with gratefulness that she just wants to honor Jesus. And so she's maybe a shame that her tears are falling on his
feet. So she drives away the tears from his feet with her hair now, but this does provide evidence that Luke got this from eyewitnesses. How else would Luke know that Tears are Falling onto Jesus feet? That's quite a specific detail, isn't it? So that indicates that Luke has spoken to some people that were there. That day, it goes on. She But his feet with kisses and anointed them with the ointment. Now, this is not a sexual act or some sort of immodest act. She's not being provocative.
It's actually an act of Love anointing. His feet is kind of an act of Honor out of the gratefulness that she has for him. So she would have broken open this flask of expensive oil and then poured a little bit over the oil on him and then sort of anointed him with it. Her lavish use of ointment. Here is an expression of Contrition. She's actually going well beyond what you would normally expect as an active Hospitality even in the Middle East where they have quite elaborate Hospitality,
things. She's going above and beyond that by anointing his feet with oil, because typically, you wouldn't touch someone else's feet. They were considered to be quite dirty. You might offer water for someone to wash their feet with, but typically you wouldn't actually wash their feet. Now, there's no objection here from the crowd about the cost of the oil in the latest story. When Jesus is Anointed by a different woman. There is a complaint from Judas
about the cost of the oil. He says, we could have sold this oil and given the money to the poor. That's a different story here. There's no complaints about the oil. The focus is not actually on the oil here. The focus is on the woman. Now the Greek here indicates that the woman kept on doing these actions. So She's continually weeping wiping kiss. An anointing. She just keeps going with those four actions, the Pharisees in doing any of those things. He's not showing any particular
acts of hospitality here. What's interesting to notice about this episode is the woman doesn't say anything at all in this entire passage. It's so it's a kind of a silent prayer. And in fact, the catechism sees this woman as a model of Silent prayer. Verse 39, when the Pharisee who had invited him in saw this. Now the Pharisee is still thinking like a Pharisee here, he as part of the Pharisees belief. They believe that Holy people should not be around sinful
people. So, the Pharisees curious about Jesus, he wants to hear his wisdom. But the Pharisee is not yet repentant. He is not yet, fully understood the kingdom of God. So he's quite shocked at the Jesus would allow this sinful woman to touch him. And this is what he says to himself. If this man were a prophet, he would know who this woman is. That is touching him. And what a bad name. She has a more literally there. What it says is he would know that she is a sinner.
So the Pharisee recognizes that if Jesus was a Jew We profit. Then he could look into this woman's heart and see how sinful she is. That's what a true Prophet would be able to do. But then if he's genuinely of God, he would not allow her to touch him. That's how he's reasoning works. That's how the Pharisees thought. Anyway, Purity should not be around sinfulness. So not only does the Pharisee judge the woman? He now judges Jesus as well. Now, the Pharisee only thinks this to himself.
This is apparently a silent thought. He doesn't say it out loud, but still Jesus knows what he's thinking. Because in verse 40, the very next thing that happens, Jesus took him up or more. Literally, Jesus answered him and said, Simon. I have something to say to you. So Jesus, here's Simon's, thoughts and uses this as a teaching opportunity. So, here we learned. The Pharisees name is Simon. And so Simon Says in response speak master or what is it teacher? So that is a title of Honor.
So Simon does genuinely honor, Jesus and wants to hear from him. He acknowledges the authority of Jesus and wants to hear this wisdom that has come to present verse 41. So, Jesus, is now going to tell a kind of a mini Parable to help Simon see that it is actually appropriate for the woman to do what she's doing. And Jesus is actually considered to be the Honored wise guest at the feast. That's probably exactly why he's been invited. So it's appropriate for Jesus to
tell a little Parable like this. That would be appropriate at the feast and we'll talk more about that at the end of this exegesis. So, here's the parable. He tells there once was a creditor, who had two men in his debt? One owed him, 500. Denarii, the other 50, So, so far in the parable, we have two men who each are Adept to their Master. A Denarius is a Roman coin at that time and it's equivalent to
one day's wage. So, one of the men are, as 50 days wages and the other man are is 500 day's wages. And that difference is key in the parable. Both of them are a decent amount of money, but the 500 day's wages is considerably harder to pay back. Now here in the parable, as we'll see the master or the Creditor represents God, the debtors represent people and the desk that they owe is sin. One of the men are is more than
the other. He has committed more sins and more serious things than the other. Let's keep that in mind. One of them has committed more sins than the other often. You'll hear some Evangelical Protestants say that all sin is equal in the eyes of God. All of them deserve the same punishment, perhaps there's a way that that could be understood as correct. Usually, in the gospels. Jesus does tend to distinguish between serious sins and lesser sins. And that is certainly the case here.
And that is certainly Catholic teaching as well. Jesus continues, the parable the men were unable to pay. So the Creditor pardoned, them both now more literally there, where it says pardoned, you could translate it as forgave, the Creditor for gave both of them. Now, that's quite an act of generosity, isn't it? The man, the Creditor is very Gracious. Here. He chooses to release them from their debt, even though he doesn't have to, in fact, they
owe him a debt. So it's an incredible Act of graciousness that he chooses to forgive them their debt. The teaching here is that it's the same with God through Jesus. God is graciously forgiving, many Sinners who have rebelled against him. Some of these Sinners are repeat offenders that Jesus encounters and yet he still forgives them or in fact, God chooses to forgive them through Jesus, and that's the point the main point. Wants to Simon to understand.
So then he asked Simon a question, which of them will love him more. And Simon says the one who was pardoned more I suppose and Jesus says you are right or you have judged rightly. So Simon correctly, perceives the basic message of the parable. The one who was forgiven more is going to love the Creditor more. Notice the teaching here. The one who is pardoned by God or the one who is forgiven by God more or of more sins is going to show more love to God. It's an interesting teaching.
Isn't that? We don't often think about that. But that is the clear teaching of this. Parable. The one who is Forgiven more is going to love God more. Now some have interpreted this mini Parable. Such that Jesus is literally representing the woman and Simon. As in the woman is literally the person that owes 500. And Simon is the one that owes 50. Now, that is a possible interpretation. It might be pressing, the parable a little bit too far.
I think, to me, it seems that Jesus is making a more General point about how love and forgiveness works. We shouldn't see. These two is exactly representing the man and the woman and in Act. I think there's good reason as we'll see to say that.
The one who owes 50 is not really a good representation of the Pharisee. But it is quite an appropriate Parable for God's forgiveness because the Greek word that is used here is Theresa, my, which is translated forgiveness, now in that culture that can either refer to remitting Deaths, so literal Financial debts, that same Greek word, though can also be used for forgiving sins. And in the New Testament that Greek word Charisma. My is often used to represent.
What God what Jesus does through his sacrifice on the cross. It's often used in terms of Giving a debt or paying a financial debt. So it's quite an appropriate, Greek word to use there. In fact, you could take it even further. Remember, in chapter four, how Jesus had his mission mandate where he read from the scroll of Isaiah and he was, proclaiming Liberty. And the Jubilee year. That was what he proclaimed in the synagogue at Nazareth, that turns out to be a key speech.
That sets the foundation for everything else. That happens in Luke. Jesus has come to Proclaim, Liberty and Jubilee. And here an example of this is that Jesus is showing. He has come to cancel the debt of sin. His come to Free People of the debt or the slavery to sin verse 44. Then he turned to the woman. So Jesus isn't finished. He's now going to apply the parable directly to the woman. Keep in mind. He's still talking to Simon. He wants Simon to understand his point here.
He's going to contrast the basic actions, which would be expected from Simon as the host which with the much more extravagant. Which the woman has performed. So, he starts by saying, Simon, you see this woman. I came into your house and you poured no water over my feet. Now.
It's Simon's house. So, he should have shown honor and respect to Jesus. And the customary way to do that would be to wash the guests feet before the meal, or at least Supply water, so that the guests can wash their own feet. Simon hasn't done that though. On the other hand. The woman has poured out her tears, over my feet and wipes them away with her hair. So the woman has gone above and beyond here. She supplied, her own tears to wash Jesus feet with. So the woman has shown Jesus
respect and gratefulness. Jesus point, is that the woman the woman that Simon considers to be a sinner and far from God, while she's actually shown a much more appropriate response to Jesus and the kingdom than Simon has So Simon could learn a few Lessons From This Woman. Verse 45, you gave me no kiss, but she has been covering my feet with kisses ever. Since I came in again, in that culture.
It was customary or common to greet guests with a kiss on the cheek when they arrived into your home. Simon hasn't done that apparently, but the woman has continually kissed. Jesus verse 46. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. So again, it was customary at least in in wealthy houses to anoint the heads of guests with oil when they arrived so that was typically done on their head. The woman goes above and beyond here. Again.
She shows a lot of Courage here because she is anointing. Jesus feet to touch. Someone else's feet was, would take a lot of Courage because in that culture, the foot was considered to be dirty and smelly and you just didn't touch other people's feet to touch. Another person's Foot shows. Great humility. And Spect, which is what the woman does here. Now, they might be more great going on in the Greek here. Some Scholars have pointed out. That Luke seems to mention Jesus feet.
A lot in this passage. If you look at the Greek, the word feet keeps coming up over and over and Luke might be deliberately referencing. Isaiah chapter 52 verse 7, which is a Messianic passage and that passage says how beautiful are the feet of the one bringing? Good news announcing salvation. So in that passage in Isaiah, It's a prediction of what the Messiah is going to do. He's going to announce the good news. So maybe here this is a reference to Jesus. Maybe Luke is trying to bring
out. The fact that this passage is Connor being fulfilled here, when the woman is, showing how beautiful Jesus feet is because he's the Messiah and certainly, that would be another fulfillment of Jesus mission mandate to bring Salvation and Jubilee because he's the Messiah has come to bring the good news of God. Then Jesus says in verse 46 for this reason, and that's an important phrase in context. For this reason means since
she's doing all these things. We know that and then Jesus says her sins. Her many sins must have been forgiven her or more literally her sins are forgiven or she would not show such great love. Now. The translation here is a little confusing. What it actually says, there is for this reason. When I tell you that her sins, her many sins are forgiven for,
she loved much. So the teaching here is, the reason the woman is showing so much love to Jesus is because she has had her many sins forgiven. Jesus directly links back to the mini Parable. The woman has committed many sins in her life, but now she is been forgiven of many sins by Jesus. Just like the debtors in the parable. So that is why she's showing great love. That's the point he's making Now notice her forgiveness causes her, great love, not the other way around.
Sometimes in the Gospels. It is the focus is on the other way around. There's this idea that you need to love others in order to have true salvation, but here the focus is on the reverse because the woman has shown has been shown so much forgiveness. She is showing great, love. The New Testament, teaching would be that she needs to persist in that love in order to continue to have God's forgiveness. Jesus goes on. It is the man who is Forgiven little who shows little love or
more. Literally he who is Forgiven little loves little. Now the focus here is probably this probably a reference to Simon in here and that phrase he who is Forgiven little loves little certainly we know that Simon is showing him not much love at the moment. So the passage here either implies that Simon has not been forgiven. Not been forgiven much, or that he has not committed many sins. Now, the context seems to suggest the former. He hasn't actually repented yet.
So he hasn't been forgiven yet. He doesn't believe he needs forgiveness. So he can't yet be forgiven and he can't yet show this abundant love that. The woman has interesting point, isn't it? This is a really important theological principle and I think it deserves more attention. This is something that Jesus himself teaches those who have been worse. Sinners. Their life when they find Jesus, they experience greater
forgiveness. And therefore, they tend to be the questions that show the greatest amount of love. You might find that to be true in your own life. If you think of Christians who show exceptional love and exceptional godliness, are they the people that have had exceptional forgiveness shown to them? Were they quite simple people before they became Christian? I mean, that's possible. And that certainly seems to be
what Jesus is teaching here. Of course, there are exceptions, but the general principle here, Here, is that those who recognize how much they have been forgiven, will show the greatest amount of love, and I think that should be talked about more. Verse 48, then he said, to her, your sins are forgiven. Now. It's likely that the woman sings had already been forgiven when she accepted Jesus earlier and repented, but now Jesus makes it official and he declares it to the whole room.
This woman sins have been forgiven and it's the same phrase. He used towards a paralyzed. Man, in chapter 5 verse 49, those who are with him at table, began to say to themselves. So here we have suggested that there's probably many people at Faced some of them might have been Christians, some of Jesus own disciples, maybe were there, but certainly some of Simon the Pharisee is personal guests as well. And this is what they say to themselves. Who is this, man, that he even
forgives sins. So, of course, the Jewish belief, was that only God can forgive sins. But here, Jesus himself is forgiving. The woman's sins. It's essentially a claim to be God and that's a huge theological claim. It's not made explicit here. Here, but certainly, the Jews are starting to wonder. How can this man forgive sins? Only God can do that. And this is unpacked elsewhere in the gospels. And Jesus actually says, in one
place. I have authority to forgive sins, verse 50. He said, to the woman, your faith has saved you, go in, peace. So since the woman believed in Jesus and his message and showed repentance, she has genuine saving faith, and Jesus is able to forgive her. This is a fulfillment of what Jesus said earlier in chapter 5 verse 32. He said I have come to call Sinners to repentance and that's exactly what's happened here. And then he says, to Her Go In Peace, So he gives her a fresh start.
This is a new life for her. Those words should sound familiar to you because the same words the priest says at the end of mass go in. Peace, and it's actually the same words that are given at the end of the sacrament of penance as well and deliberately, so it's referencing this passage here. Now, for Luke's gentle readers, most of his readers were probably Gentiles.
This whole scene would have likely call to mind the idea of a Greek Symposium. And these were sometimes done in that culture and that will be where a distinguished host, invites guests to a banquet and at the banquet, there would be a chief guest who is known for having wisdom and they would all sit down together at this Symposium and then someone would trigger a discussion. And then the chief guest would get to have the Last word on the matter.
So that's an interesting map here onto the scene and that's possibly what Simon has done. Maybe Simon deliberately set out to do a symposium with Jesus here. So that ends chapter 7 which is been all about Jesus identity as a prophet. And in fact more than a prophet Saint Augustine the summarizes chapter 7 of Luke this way. The teacher of humility sat down in the house of a certain proud Pharisee called Simon and though he was sitting in his house.
There wasn't anywhere in his heart where the son of man might allay his head into the centurions house earlier in chapter 7. On the other hand. He never entered. But he took possession of his heart. This man's faith is discerned and praised in an act of humility.
So there's an interesting contrast here between the Centurion at the start of chapter 7 and Simon at the end of chapter 7, and of course, there's lessons here for all of us who are way more like Let's now turn to the catechism of the Catholic Church to see what the church teaches about this passage. What can we learn from it? Firstly paragraph 575. This is about Jesus and Israel. To be sure. Christ's relations with the Pharisees were not exclusively polemical some Pharisees, warn
him of the danger. Here was courting Jesus Praises. Some of them and dimes several times at their homes. And of course, here is one of the places where Jesus dines with the Pharisees, so it's not like Jesus doesn't associate with the Pharisees. He does, he wants to call them to repentance. Paragraph 588. Jesus scandalize the Pharisees by eating with tax collectors and sinners as familiarly as with themselves against those among them who trusted in themselves that they were
righteous and despised others. Jesus affirmed. I have not come to call the righteous, but Sinners to repentance. He went further by proclaiming, before the Pharisees that since sin is universal, those who pretend not to need salvation, a blind to themselves. Then paragraph 2616. This is about how Jesus he is prayers. And there's an interesting reference here to the woman prayer to Jesus is answered by
him. Already during his ministry through signs, that anticipate the power of his death and Resurrection. Jesus hears the prayer of faith expressed in words, from the leper gyrus, the Canaanite woman and the good thief or in Silence from the bearers of the paralytic, the woman with the Hemorrhage who touches his clothes. The tea is an ointment of the sinful woman. So the sinful woman here gets referenced in the catechism is specifically, as an example of
Silent prayer. And then lastly, paragraph 1441. It's about how God forgives sins. It says, only God, forgives sins since he is the Son of God. Jesus says of himself. The son of man has Authority on Earth to forgive sins and exercises. This divine power, your sins are forgiven. So we'll leave it there for today. It's a bit of a longer passage compared to most of the lectionary sections of Luke. Hopefully you learned something new and will continue in Luke in the coming days.