| Luke 7 | |
|---|---|
_Luc_7%2c36.37.jpg) Luke 7:36,37 onPapyrus 3, written about 6th/7th century | |
| Book | Gospel of Luke |
| Category | Gospel |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 3 |
Luke 7 is the seventh chapter of theGospel of Luke in theNew Testament of theChristianBible. It tells the records of two great miracles performed by Jesus, his reply toJohn the Baptist's question, and the anointing by a sinful woman.[1] The book containing this chapter isanonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed thatLuke the Evangelist, a companion ofPaul the Apostle on his missionary journeys,[2] composed thisGospel as well as theActs of the Apostles.[3]
The original text was written inKoine Greek.This chapter is divided into 50 verses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
Luke 7:1–10 relates that, when Jesus had "concluded all hissayings", a Romancenturion inCapernaum sent the Jewish elders to ask Jesus for help, because his servant (or slave) was ill.[5] The elders testified to the centurion's worthiness (ἄξιός,axios) but the centurion did not consider himself worthy (using the same Greek word, ηξιωσα,ēxiōsa)[6] to have Jesus come into his home to perform the healing, sending friends, possibly relatives,[7] to ask that Jesus perform the healing at a distance. Jesus concurred, and the servant was found to have been healed when the centurion's messengers returned home.
Matthew 8:5–13 records the same healing. A similar event is recounted inJohn 4:46–53, but this may refer to another event as it concerns theson of a court official.[8]
This account of a miracle by Jesus is only recorded in the Gospel of Luke.[7] Jesus, accompanied by a large crowd (verse 11), arrived at the gates of the village ofNain during the burial ceremony of the son of a widow, and raised the young man from the dead. The location is the village of Nain inGalilee, two miles south ofMount Tabor. This is the first of three miracles of Jesus in the canonical gospels in which he raises the dead, the other two being theraising of Jairus' daughter andof Lazarus.
Following the healing, Jesus' fame spread "throughout allJudea and all the surrounding region".[9] In theCambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, commentatorF. W. Farrar explains that "the notion that St Luke therefore supposed Nain to be in Judaea is quite groundless. He means that the story of the incident at Nain spread even into Judaea".[10]
Some parallels in details are noted with theraising of the son of the widow of Zarephath, by the Old Testament prophetElijah (1 Kings 17),[11] especially some verbal parallels.[12] Theraising of the son of the woman of Shunem (2 Kings 4) byElisha is also similar, including the reaction of the people, and in particular, the location of Nain is very close toShunem (identified with modernSulam), giving an example of a repeated pattern in the history ofredemption.[13]
When John the Baptist was inprison and heard of the works performed by Jesus, John sent two of his disciples as messengers to ask a question of Jesus:
Following this episode, Jesus begins to speak to the crowds about John the Baptist, describing him as the 'messenger', aprophet who was himself foretold in prophecy (Malachi 3:1).[15]
_-_interior%2c_stained_glass%2c_A_Disciple_washes_Christ%25E2%2580%2599s_feet.jpg)
APharisee namedSimon invites Jesus to eat in his house but fails to show him the usual marks ofhospitality offered to visitors—a greeting kiss (v. 45), water to wash his feet (v. 44), or oil for his head (v. 46). A "sinful woman" comes into his house during the meal andanoints Jesus' feet with perfume, wiping them dry with her hair. Simon is inwardly critical of Jesus, who, if he were a prophet, "would know what kind of sinful life she lives".[16]
Jesus then uses the story of two debtors to explain that a woman loves him more than his host, because she has been forgiven of greater sins.
Eric Franklin observes that the woman is demonstrating her love and asks whether this is "because she has already been forgiven, which is what the parable would imply?" Verse 47, "on a first reading at any rate, does not appear to support this, but rather suggests that she has been forgiven because of her love". TheRevised Standard Version and theNew King James Version can be read in this way. Franklin notes that "more recent translations, assuming a consistency in the story as a whole, take the Greek ὅτι (hoti, translated as "for" in the quoted passage above) to mean, not "because" but "with the result that", for example theRevised English Bible translates, "Her great love proves that her many sins have been forgiven". Verse 48 then proclaims her forgiveness, which this translation assumes has already been pronounced to her.[21]
| Preceded by Luke 6 | Chapters of the Bible Gospel of Luke | Succeeded by Luke 8 |