RSV ~ Luke 7 Notes

Lk 7:2 | ISB Notes

a centurion: A Roman officer in command of 100 soldiers. His non-Jewish identity is important background for this episode, and his exemplary faith looks forward to the conversion of the Gentile centurion Cornelius in Acts 10:1-48.

Lk 7:6 | ISB Notes

I am not worthy: The centurion displays humility despite the popular sentiment that he is “worthy” to receive help from Jesus (7:4). He also respects cultural sensibilities, aware that Jews are discouraged from entering Gentile homes (Acts 10:28). See note on Mt 8:8.

Lk 7:9 | ISB Notes

not even in Israel: The centurion’s faith is astonishing and foreshadows the acceptance of Gentiles into the New Covenant Church (24:47; Mt 28:19).

Lk 7:11 | ISB Notes

Nain: A small Galilean village about six miles southeast of Nazareth. It is not otherwise mentioned in the Bible.

Lk 7:12 | ISB Notes

being carried out: A funeral procession that probably involved the young man’s relatives and neighbors as well as hired mourners and musicians (Mt 9:23; Mk 5:38).

a widow: The bereaved mother faces great hardship. With the death of her only son, she is left without family or economic security. Her livelihood would depend upon the charity of others in Israel (Deut 26:12).

• Mystically (St. Ambrose, In Lucam): the widow signifies Mother Church, weeping for those who are dead in sin and carried beyond the safety of her gates. The multitudes looking on will praise the Lord when sinners rise again from death and are restored to their mother.

Lk 7:13 | ISB Notes

the Lord: One of many uses of this title for Jesus in Luke (10:1; 11:39; 12:42; 13:15). It is used repeatedly in the Greek OT to translate God’s personal name, “Yahweh”.

Lk 7:14 | ISB Notes

touched the bier: A shocking gesture. Although the Mosaic Law warns that contact with the dead renders Israelites unclean for an entire week (Num 19:11-19), Jesus reverses this expected outcome with his powerful word, arise. By bringing the dead to life again, he eliminates the very cause of legal defilement and therefore its undesired effects. Jesus elsewhere raises Jairus’ daughter (Lk 8:40-56) and Lazarus (Jn 11:17-27) as signs of the Messiah’s arrival (Lk 7:22; CCC 994).

Lk 7:16 | ISB Notes

A great prophet: A popular view of Jesus by his contemporaries (24:19; Mt 16:14; 21:11, 46; Jn 6:14).

• Jesus’ miracle parallels the mighty works of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. (1) In 1 Kings 17:17-24, Elijah resuscitates the son of the widow of Zarephath. Luke’s expression, “he gave him to his mother” (7:15), is taken verbatim from this episode. (2) In 2 Kings 4:32-37, Elisha likewise restores life to the son of a Shunammite woman.

Lk 7:20 | ISB Notes

look for another?: John knows the Messiah is coming (3:16) but is uncertain whether Jesus fits the description. He may have been influenced by popular views that the Messiah would reign as king in Jerusalem and conquer the Romans. Jesus makes no moves in this direction, and John naturally wants reassurance.

Lk 7:22 | ISB Notes

seen and heard: Jesus manifests his identity through his works. The restoration of the blind, the lame, the lepers, the deaf, and the dead together confirms that he is the Messiah (4:18-19; CCC 549).

• These miracles recall Isaian prophecy about the wonders of the messianic era (Is 35:4-6; 61:1).

Lk 7:24 | ISB Notes

A reed shaken: At one level, Jesus is speaking of the familiar reed plant that grew plentifully in the Jordan valley; on another, he is making a riddle-like comparison between a wavering reed and the immediately following image of a king living in luxury (7:25). These images come together in Herod Antipas, the chief opponent of John the Baptist. Not only was Antipas a tetrarch (ruler) who resided in the royal palaces at Tiberias, his capital city beside the Sea of Galilee, but he also commemorated the founding of Tiberias by minting coins stamped with the emblem of a reed. The contrast implied by Jesus’ questions is stark: John is an uncompromising leader and even more than a prophet, while Antipas is an accommodating leader, whose weakness of character makes him less than a king.

Lk 7:27 | ISB Notes

I send my messenger: A citation from Mal 3:1. John fulfills this prophecy as the Messiah’s forerunner (Mk 1:2).

• Malachi foresees the messenger who will prepare Israel for the Lord’s arrival. This herald closely resembles the prophet Elijah (Mal 4:5). See note on Lk 1:17.

Lk 7:28 | ISB Notes

none is greater: John the Baptist was the most illustrious prophet of the OT era (16:16). Unlike those before him, he did not merely see the blessings of the New Covenant from a distance but received them even before birth (1:15) (CCC 523, 719).

Lk 7:32 | ISB Notes

like children: Jesus compares his generation to children who complain regardless of what games are suggested by others. Both the joyousness (We piped) of Jesus’ ministry and the somberness (we wailed) of John’s preaching were invitations to the kingdom, yet both were refused.

Lk 7:35 | ISB Notes

wisdom is justified: God’s children recognize the wisdom announced by Jesus and John and welcome it as an invitation to enter the kingdom. See note on Mt 11:19.

Lk 7:36 | ISB Notes

One of the Pharisees: Three times Jesus dines with a Pharisee in Luke (11:37; 14:1).

sat at table: Jews of that time customarily reclined on low couches near the floor to eat festal and ritual meals. They leaned upon a cushion on their left side and ate with their right hand. This explains how the woman stood at Jesus’ feet while also standing behind him (7:38).

Lk 7:37 | ISB Notes

a sinner: The host and dinner guests knew the woman’s reputation, although her sins are not specified for the reader (7:39). Jesus’ own reputation in 7:34 is confirmed, since he befriends even sinners to extend them mercy (CCC 545).

alabaster flask: An elegant stone jar. The woman’s lavish use of the ointment is an expression of her courage and contrition, as she goes beyond the already extravagant norms of Eastern hospitality (7:44-46; Gen 18:4-5). A similar episode occurs in Bethany before Passion Week (Mt 26:6-13; Jn 12:1-8).

Lk 7:41 | ISB Notes

denarii: A denarius was a Roman coin equivalent to a laborer’s daily wage. Central to the parable is the considerable difference between five hundred and fifty day’s wages.

Lk 7:47 | ISB Notes

for she loved much: As illustrated by the parable (7:4143), the woman’s love was the effect of her forgiveness, not the cause of it (CCC 2712).

Lk 7:49 | ISB Notes

even forgives sins?: Jesus claims to accomplish what only God can do for sinners. .