Exegesis of Luke 7:36-50 - Essay Example

An exegesis of Luke 7:36-50 The story documented in Luke 7:36-8:3 is arguably one of the commonest gospel stories today. Maybe the popularity of the story could be based on the fact that the story is recorded by all the four gospels.1 However, the fact that this story depicts the son of God as one that accepts worship from even the sinful people could be another contributing factor to its widespread popularity. Even though Mathew, Mark and John also record this incident, the account of Luke is very distinctive. The first main difference with Luke’s account is that he has placed it very early in the gospel thereby detaching the story from the passion of the Christ. 2 3 Luke seems to be interested in using the story to portray Jesus as one that had great empathy and compassion for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.4 5 The other important fact is the setting of Luke’s account. The story is set in the house of a Jewish leader, a Pharisee. The Pharisee is an ardent observer of the Jewish customs- as was required of his office- but he had a soft spot for Jesus and that is why he invited him for a meal at his house.6 As one reads the final parts of the story, it becomes apparent that the banquet was a big event since there were quite a number of guests present. It might be unclear what kind of dinners guests reclined at but Jesus was obviously reclining at this one and it can also be seen as a social dinner .7 Reclining was a seating arrangement where each guest would have a cushion to lean on and then there would be a table in the middle that had the food. The guests sat in such a manner that the heads were facing the table that had the food while their feet were away from the circle. This would explain how the woman easily accessed the feet of Jesus without having to interfere with the seating arrangement at the table.8 As the guests are going on with the feast, a woman suddenly appears from the blues who Luke describes as a sinful woman. This was the way prostitutes were described in Luke’s time so what Luke is actually saying is that the woman was a prostitute. She had somehow learnt that Jesus was to be dining at the Pharisee’s house. It is not clear how exactly she learnt that but it could lead to the assumption that Jesus’ itinerary was not always secret to the public. 9 This prostitute showcases the most extravagant love ever recorded or witnessed anywhere else in the New Testament. She had come with her alabaster box, then she starting weeping at the feet of Jesus such that her tears bathed the feet of Jesus and then she proceeds to wipe the of Christ with her hair. The only way she could have wiped the feet of Jesus with her hair is by let down her hair. Women only let down their hair when preparing to go to bed with their husbands. Jewish women only let down their hair in private – in their bedrooms. Everything so far is profoundly sexual. Not only does she bath her feet in her tears, but she lets down her hair and sues it to wipe his feet. Then she proceeds to anoint the feet with very costly perfume and kisses her feet. All these acts can be thought of ways of depicting physical love or intimacy. It is clear that the woman wanted to express how much she loved Christ 10 However, not everyone is amused. Simon the Pharisee, at whose house this is happening gets really offended not only at the woman but also at fact that Jesus was allowing the woman to continue in her extravagance. Simon is not actually judgmental of the woman; he is kind of raising a legitimate sympathetic concern. Jesus being all knowing is immediately aware of what Simon is thinking so he invites Simon to a rabbinic dialogue - “Simon, I have something to say to you…” and to this, Simon replies, “Teacher, speak” The response of Simon is important since that can be said to be the prelude for rabbinic teachings. This means that there was a mutual respect between Simon the Pharisee and Jesus the Christ .11 It therefore means that what follows is a dialogue between two men that held the Torah and the prophets in great esteem. Since they are reclining at the table, it is highly probable that they were reclining side by side. Jesus then uses a parable as was his custom whenever he wanted to teach something.12 But from his language, it is clear that he is not just addressing Simon but all those who were present. He finishes the parable by a question, “Now, who love Him more?” It is no coincidence that Jesus uses a parable that has money. In the parable, Jesus is using the assumption that a denarius would equal wages for a day’s work for one man. This implies that fifty denarii meant wages for slightly above one month. However, 500 denarri comes to almost two years worth of work. After listening to the parable, Simon gives a respectful answer, “the one whose cancelled debt was greatest.” Jesus likes the answer that Simon gives so he invites Simon to look at the woman more closely. Since Simon was the host and Jesus was the guest of honor, it is highly likely that Simon was reclining next to him probably on his right hand. 13 14 The fact that Jesus invites Simon to see the woman makes it evident that he was not just talking about seeing the woman. 15Simon had already seen the woman and that is why he complained about what she was doing. But Jesus was challenging Simon to look beyond the sinful nature, beyond her extravagant display of love. He wanted Simon to see her spirit. He wanted Simon to understand what was really happening. That is why he begins to contract what the woman was doing with what Simon had done- or not done- for him. 16 17 Simon had not provided water for Jesus to wash his feet upon arrival as was the custom, so the woman bathed him in tears.18 Simon had not received the guest of honor with a kiss, but the woman had openly kissed the feet of Jesus. Jesus wants to draw a parallel between the woman’s actions and Simons. Simon has done a good job in making Jesus comfortable but the woman has done an extremely good job.19 And the punch line of the narration is in Jesus’ final words, “Therefore I tell you Simon, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven because she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." Some scholars believe that most important issue on the interpretation of this story is based on the Greek word oti which can be translated to mean hence although it has traditionally been translated to mean for. The verse could therefore read that “her sins have been forgiven hence (oti) she has shown great love.. 20 21 22 23This interpretation would be consistent with the parable that Jesus used. In the parable, the one that was forgiven a larger debt showed greater love than the one that had been forgiven a smaller debt.24 It is therefore safe to deduce from the parable that Jesus was outlining how the woman had shown extravagant love to Him because he had forgiven her a great number of sins. That would mean that the woman had actually been forgiven the sins prior to her coming to the banquet.25 26It appears that the whole point of this passage is to make the reader to change her perception of the sinful woman and instead appreciate her expression of love for Christ. This is clearly seen when Jesus finally stops addressing Simon and addresses the woman for the first time. Due to the seating arrangement, for Jesus to address her, he would either need to stand up or to call her into the circle.27 It is at this point that Jesus says to her openly that “your sins are forgiven.” This is the same statement Jesus made after healing the paralytic and that resulted in the Pharisees asking who he was to forgive sins since in their knowledge, only God had the power to do such a thing .28 The Pharisees have the exact same concerns in this passage but this time, Jesus concentrates on the woman and tells her to go in peace because she had been saved by her faith. Ultimately, this story reveals Gods plan for mankind. It shows that God loves sinners and that anyone can be saved by faith no matter how sinful one is. Prostitution was such a serious sin in the time of Christ that if one was caught in the act, she would be stoned to death. However, Jesus opts to extend mercy to this woman. This was to show the rest of humanity that there wasn’t any sin that was too huge for him. If he forgave one that was supposed to be killed under the Judaism dispensation, then he can forgive anyone else of any other sin. Bibliography Bock, Darrell L. Jesus According to Scripture. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002 Bock, Darrell L. and Gregory J. Herrick, eds. Jesus in Context: Background Readings for Gospel Study. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005. Constable, Thomas L.. Notes on Luke. Dallas: Dallas Theological Seminary, 2001 Elwell, Walter A. and Robert W. Yarbrough, Eds. Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey. Grand Rapids: Baker Books. 1998. Geldenhuys, Norval.. Commentary on the Gospel of Luke. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1999 Green, Joel B. The Gospel of Luke. Word Biblical Commentary series. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997. Gire, Ken. Moments with the Savior: A Devotional Life of Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998. Hendriksen, William. Exposition of the Gospel of Luke. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House. 1998. Hoehner, Harold W. Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ. Contemporary Evangelical Perspectives series. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1977. Ironside, H. A. Addresses on the Gospel of Luke. Neptune, New Jersey: Loizeaux Brothers, 2001 Kelly, William. An Exposition of the Gospel of Luke. Addison, Illinois: Bible Truth Publishers, 1998 Leon, Morris. The Gospel According to St. Luke. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries series. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974. Luck, G. Coleman. Luke. Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, n.d. Manek, J.."The New Exodus in the Books of Luke." Novum Testamentum 1995 Morgan, G. Campbell. The Gospel According to Luke. Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, n.d. Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to St. Luke. Grand Rapids,Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1975. Noland, John. Luke, 3 vols. Word Biblical Commentary series. Dallas: Word Books, Publisher, 1999. Overstreet, R. Larry. "Roman Law and the Trial of Christ." Bibliotheca Sacra 135,540 (1978):323-32. Pentecost, J. Dwight. The Words and Works of Jesus Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981. Stein, Robert H. Jesus the Messiah: A Survey of the Life of Christ. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996. Sanders, E. P. The Historical Figure of Jesus. New York: Penguin Books. 1993. Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998. Stein, Robert H. Jesus the Messiah: A Survey of the Life of Christ. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996. Van Ommeren, Nicholas M. "Was Luke an Accurate Historian?" Bibliotheca Sacra 148,589(1991):57-71. Van Ryn, August. Meditations in Luke. Neptune, New Jersey: Loizeaux Brothers, n.d. Witherington, Ben III..The Many Faces of Christ: The Christologies of the New Testament and Beyond. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company,1998 Read More