Luke 7:41-50

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Luke 7:36-49

When and where this passage of story happened does not appear; this evangelist does not observe order of time in his narrative so much as the other evangelists do; but it comes in here, upon occasion of Christ's being reproached as a friend to publicans and sinners, to show that it was only for their good, and to bring them to repentance, that he conversed with them; and that those whom he admitted hear him were reformed, or in a hopeful way to be so. Who this woman was that here testified so... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Luke 7:36-50

7:36-50 One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him. He went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table; and--look you--there was a woman in the town, a bad woman. She knew that he was at table in the Pharisee's house, so she took an alabaster phial of perfume and stood behind him, beside his feet, weeping. She began to wash his feet with tears, and she wiped them with the hairs of her head; and she kept kissing his feet and anointing them with the perfume. When the Pharisee, who... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Luke 7:41

There was a certain creditor ,.... All the Oriental versions premise something to this. The Syriac version reads, "Jesus said unto him". The Arabic version, "then he said". The Persic version, "Jesus said"; and the Ethiopic version, "and he said to him"; and something of this kind is understood, and to be supplied in the text: which had two debtors, the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty ; these were, as the word shows, Roman "denarii" or "pence"; the former of these sums,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Luke 7:42

And when they had nothing to pay ,.... Neither the lesser nor greater debtor; for though not alike in debt, yet both insolvent: man has run out his whole stock, which the God of nature gave him, in his original creation and primitive state; and is become a bankrupt and a beggar, is poor, wretched, and miserable; he has no money, he has nothing to offer for a composition, much less for payment; he has no righteousness, and if he had, it would be nothing to pay with; since that itself, even in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Luke 7:43

Simon answered and said ,.... Very readily, without any hesitation, not being aware of the application of it, to the instance he had been pondering in his mind: I suppose, that he to whom he forgave most ; it was his opinion, and to him a plain case, that he that owed the largest debt, and that being forgiven him fully, and freely, as he was under the greatest obligation, so as he ought, he would show the greatest love and affection to his kind and gracious creditor: and he said unto... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Luke 7:44

And he turned to the woman ,.... That stood behind him at his feet, and said to Simon, seest thou this woman ? and what she has done? pointing to her, and comparing him, and her, and their actions together, whereby he might judge of the preceding parable, and how fitly it might be applied to the present case: I entered into thine house ; not of his own accord, but by the invitation of Simon, and therefore might have expected the usual civilities: thou gavest me no water for my... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Luke 7:45

Thou gavest me no kiss ,.... A token of civility among friends, when they met together on any occasion. The Jews have a saying F2 Shemot Rabba, sect. 6. fol. 91. 3, 4. , that "all kisses are foolish, excepting three; the kiss of grandeur or dignity, as in 1 Samuel 10:1 and the kiss at parting, as in 1:14 and the kiss at meeting, as in Exodus 4:27 (of which sort this kiss may be thought to be), to which some add the kiss of consanguinity (or that used by relations to one... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Luke 7:46

Mine head with oil thou didst not anoint ,.... No not with common oil, so usually done at feasts, see Psalm 23:5 but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment ; even "with ointment" דבסמא , "of spices", as the Syriac version renders it. There is, throughout the whole account, an opposition between the conduct of Simon, and this woman: he gave him no common water to wash his feet with, she shed floods of tears, and with them bathed his feet, and then wiped them clean with the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Luke 7:47

Wherefore I say unto thee ,.... Not "for this that she hath done", as the Persic version very wrongly renders it; not because she had washed Christ's feet with tears, and wiped them with her hairs, and kissed and anointed them, therefore her sins were forgiven; nor upon this account, and for those reasons did Christ say, or declare, that they were forgiven; but ου χαριν , "for this cause", or reason, he said this to Simon the Pharisee, to remove his objections, to rectify his mistakes, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Luke 7:48

And he saith unto her ,.... Directing his discourse to the woman that now stood before him: thy sins are forgiven ; which was said, partly on account of the Pharisee, to let him see, that he knew this woman, what she was, and had been; that she had been a sinner, a great sinner, one that owed five hundred pence, but was now forgiven, washed, cleansed, sanctified, and justified, and therefore not to be shunned and avoided; and partly on the woman's account, that she might have a fresh... read more

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