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In this chapter we have, I. Christ confirming the doctrine he had preached in the former chapter, with two glorious miracles - the curing of one at a distance, and that was the centurion's servant (Luk 7:1-10), and the raising of one to life that was dead, the widow's son at Nain (Luk 7:11-18). II. Christ confirming the faith of John who was now in prison, and of some of his disciples, by sending him a short account of the miracles he wrought, in answer to a question he received from him (Luk 7:19-23), to which he adds an honourable testimony concerning John, and a just reproof to the men of that generation for the contempt they put upon him and his doctrine (Luk 7:24-35). III. Christ comforting a poor penitent that applied herself to him, all in tears of godly sorrow for sin, assuring her that her sins were pardoned, and justifying himself in the favour he showed her against the cavils of a proud Pharisee (Luk 7:36-50).

Now when he had ended all his sayings,.... That is, when Jesus, as the Persic version expresses it, had finished all the above sayings, doctrines, and instructions; not all that he had to say, for he said many things after this: in the audience of the people; of the common people, the multitude besides the disciples; and that openly, and publicly, and with a loud and clear voice, that all might hear: he entered into Capernaum; Jesus entered, as the Syriac version reads, into his own city, and where he had been before, and wrought miracles.

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 perfection, is due to God, and cannot discharge a former debt: sin being committed against an infinite being, is in some sense an infinite debt, and requires an infinite satisfaction, which a finite creature can never give; and he is therefore liable to a prison, and that for ever: but behold the wonderful grace of God, the creditor! he frankly forgave them both: their whole debts, without regard to any merits of theirs, which they could not have, or any motives in them, or any conditions to be performed by them, but purely of his sovereign will, free grace, and rich mercy, though not without regard to the satisfaction of his Son; which by no means hinders the frankness of the pardon, or obscures the grace of it, but increases and illustrates it; seeing this satisfaction is of God's own finding out, providing, and accepting; and is at his own expense, and without money and price, to the debtors: tell me therefore, which of them will love him most; or "ought to love him most", as the Ethiopic version. The Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, leave out the first part of this clause, "tell me".

That woman had not yet entered communion with the Word, because she was still a sinner. She paid the Master honor with what she considered the most precious thing she had, her perfume. She wiped off the remainder of the perfume with the garland of her head, her hair. She poured out upon the Lord her tears of repentance. Therefore her sins were forgiven her.This is a symbol of the Lord’s teachings and of his sufferings. The anointing of his feet with sweet-smelling myrrh suggests the divine teaching whose good smell and fame has spread to the ends of the earth. “Their sound has gone forth to the ends of the earth.” Moreover, those anointed feet of the Lord (not to be too subtle) are the apostles. The sweet odor of the myrrh prefigures their reception of the Holy Spirit. I mean that the figure of the Lord’s feet is to be understood of the apostles, who journeyed about the whole world preaching the gospel.

(ubi sup.) But to mark her own unworthiness, she stands behind with downcast eyes, and with her hair thrown about embraces His feet, and washing them with her tears, betokened a mind distressed at her state, and imploring pardon. For it follows, And standing behind, she began to wash his feet with her tears.

(Vers. 46.) Blessed is he who can and desires to anoint the feet of Christ: for Simon had not yet anointed them. But more blessed is she who anointed them with ointment; for she spreads the various sweet fragrances of many flowers collected into one. And perhaps no one else can bear this ointment except the Church alone, which has countless flowers of different scents: which rightly receives the appearance of a sinner, since Christ also assumed the form of a sinner.

Now in this place many seem to be perplexed with the question, whether the Evangelists do not appear to have differed concerning the faith. Matthew has introduced this woman as pouring ointment upon the head of Christ, and was therefore unwilling to call her a sinner, for the sinner, according to Luke, poured ointment upon the feet of Christ. She cannot then be the same, lest the Evangelists should seem to be at variance with one another. The difficulty may be also solved by the difference of merit and of time, so that the former woman may have been yet a sinner, the latter now more perfect.

Bring thou also repentance after sin. Wherever thou hearest the name of Christ, speed thither; into whatever house thou knowest that Jesus has entered, thither hasten; when thou findest wisdom, when thou findest justice sitting in any inner chamber, run to its feet, that is, seek even the lowest part of wisdom; confess thy sins with tears. Perhaps Christ washed not His own feet, that we might wash them with our tears. Blessed tears, which can not only wash away our own sin, but also water the footsteps of the heavenly Word, that His goings may abound in us. Blessed tears, in which there is not only the redemption of sinners, but the refreshing of the righteous. Throw about thy hair, scatter before Him all the graces of thy body. The hair is not to be despised which can wash the feet of Christ.

(Hom. 6. in Matt.) Thus the harlot became then more honourable than the virgins. For no sooner was she inflamed with penitence, than she burst forth in love for Christ. And these things indeed which have been spoken of were done outwardly, but those which her mind pondered within itself, were much more fervent. God alone beheld them.

Under no circumstances would any reasonable person imagine that the Lord's feet were anointed with precious ointment by the woman for the same reason that was customary for sensual, dissolute men whose banquets were such that we loathe them. In that case the good odor is the good reputation that each one will possess by the works of good life, as long as one follows the footsteps of Christ, and as it were, anoints his feet with very precious ointment. Hence what is frequently sinful in other persons is a symbol of some sublime truth in the person of God or a prophet.

(de Cons. Ev. lib. ii. c. 79.) For I think we must understand that the same Mary did this twice, once indeed as Luke has related, when at first coming with humility and weeping, she was thought worthy to receive forgiveness of sins. Hence John, when he began to speak of the resurrection of Lazarus, before he came to Bethany, says, But it was Mary who anointed our Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. (John 11:2.) Mary therefore had already done this; but what she again did in Bethany is another occurrence, which belongs not to the relation of Luke, but is equally told by the other three.

“And behold,” it says, “a woman in the town who was a sinner.” Who is this woman? Beyond any doubt, she is the church.…She heard that Christ had come to the house of the Pharisee, that is, to the synagogue. She heard that there, that is, at the Jewish Passover, he had instituted the mysteries of his passion, disclosed the sacrament of his body and blood, and revealed the secret of our redemption. She ignored the scribes like contemptible doorkeepers. “Woe to you lawyers! You who have taken away the key of knowledge.” She broke open the doors of quarrels and despised the very superiority of the Pharisaical group. Ardent, panting and perspiring, she made her way to the large inner chamber of the banquet of the law. There she learned that Christ was betrayed amid sweet cups and a banquet of love.

With her hands of good works, she holds the feet of those who preach his kingdom. She washes them with tears of charity, kisses them with praising lips, and pours out the whole ointment of mercy, until he will turn her. This means that he will come back to her and say to Simon, to the Pharisees, to those who deny, to the nation of the Jews, “I came into your house. You gave me no water for my feet.”When will he speak these words? He will speak them when he will come in the majesty of his Father and separate the righteous from the unrighteous like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. He will say, “I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and you did not take me in.” This is equivalent to saying, “But this woman, while she was bathing my feet, anointing them and kissing them, did to the servants what you did not do for the Master.” She did for the feet what you refused to the Head. She expended upon the lowliest members what you refused to your Creator. Then he will say to the church, “Your sins, many as they are, are forgiven you because you have loved much.”

She brought an alabaster jar of ointment, and standing behind at Jesus's feet, she began to wet his feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with ointment. It is clear, brothers, that this woman, previously devoted to illicit acts, had applied ointment to herself for the fragrance of her flesh. What she had shamefully used for herself, she was now offering to God in a praiseworthy manner. With her eyes she had lusted after earthly things, but now crushing them through penitence, she wept. She had used her hair for adorning her face, but now with her hair she wiped away tears. With her mouth she had spoken proud words, but kissing the Lord's feet, she pressed this same mouth to the footprints of her Redeemer. Therefore, as many pleasures as she had in herself, so many burnt offerings did she find from herself. She converted the number of her sins into virtues, so that everything which had despised God through her fault might serve God entirely in penitence.

In a mystical sense, what is expressed by the ointment except the fragrance of good reputation? Hence Paul also says: "We are the good fragrance of Christ to God in every place." If therefore we do right works by which we spread the fragrance of good reputation upon the Church, what do we pour upon the Lord's body but ointment? But the woman stood beside Jesus' feet. For we stood against the Lord's feet when, placed in sins, we were held back from his ways. But if we turn to true penitence after sins, we now stand behind beside his feet, because we follow the footsteps of him whom we opposed. The woman washes his feet with tears. This we also truly do if we bend down with the feeling of compassion to any of the least members of the Lord, if we suffer with his saints in tribulation, if we consider their sorrow our own. The woman wiped with her hair the feet she had washed. For hair is superfluous to the body. And what does abundant earthly substance represent except the appearance of hair? Which, when it is superfluous to necessary use, does not even feel it when cut off. Therefore we wipe the Lord's feet with our hair when we show mercy to his saints, with whom we suffer out of charity, even from those things which are superfluous to us, so that the mind may grieve through compassion, and the generous hand may also show the feeling of grief. For one washes the Redeemer's feet with tears but does not wipe them with hair, who somehow suffers with a neighbor's pain but nevertheless does not show mercy to them from what is superfluous to himself. One weeps and does not wipe who indeed offers words of sorrow but does not in the least cut off the force of pain by ministering what is lacking. The woman kisses the feet she wipes. This we also fully do if we lovingly cherish those whom we support with generosity, lest the need of our neighbor be burdensome to us, lest his very poverty which is sustained become onerous to us, and while the hand gives what is necessary, the soul grows cold in love. The feet can also be understood as the mystery of his incarnation, by which his divinity touched the earth, because he took on flesh. For the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Therefore we kiss the Redeemer's feet when we love the mystery of his incarnation with our whole heart. We anoint the feet with ointment when we proclaim the very power of his humanity with good report of sacred eloquence.

(in Hom. 33. in Evang.) For her eyes which once coveted after earthly things, she was now wearing out with penitential weeping. She once displayed her hair for the setting off of her face, she now wiped her tears with her hair. As it follows, And she wiped them with the hairs of her head. She once uttered proud things with her mouth, but kissing the feet of the Lord, she impressed her lips on the footsteps of her Redeemer. She once used ointment for the perfume of her body; what she had unworthily applied to herself, she now laudably offered to God. As it follows, And she anointed with ointment. As many enjoyments as she had in herself, so many offerings did she devise out of herself. She converts the number of her faults into the same number of virtues, that as much of her might wholly serve God in her penitence, as had despised God in her sin.

(ubi sup.) What else is expressed by the ointment, but the sweet savour of a good report? If then we do good works by which we may sprinkle the Church with the sweet odour of a good report, what else do we but pour ointment upon the body of our Lord? But the woman stood by His feet, for we stood over against the feet of the Lord, when yet in our sins we resisted His ways. But if we are converted from our sins to true repentance, we now again stand by His feet, for we follow His footsteps whom we before opposed.

(Hom. 33. in Evan.) For we water the feet of our Lord with tears if we are moved with compassion to any even the lowest members of our Lord. We wipe our Lord's feet with our hair, when we show pity to His saints (with whom we suffer in love) by the sacrifice of those things with which we abound.

(ubi sup.) The woman kisses the feet which she has wiped. This also we fully do when we ardently love those whom we maintain by our bounty. By the feet also may be understood the mystery itself of the Incarnation. We then kiss the feet of the Redeemer when we love with our whole heart the mystery of the Incarnation. We anoint the feet with ointment, when we proclaim the power of His humanity with the good tidings of holy eloquence.

And standing behind him at his feet, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head. And she kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. It is clear to everyone that the woman, previously engaged in illicit acts, had used the ointment for the scent of her own flesh. So what she had previously exhibited shamefully for herself, she was now offering praiseworthily to God. She had coveted earthly things with her eyes, but now, through penitence, she was weeping. She had used her hair for the composition of her face, but now she was wiping her tears with her hair. She had spoken arrogantly with her mouth, but kissing the feet of the Lord, she was now fixing this in the footsteps of her Redeemer. Therefore, as many pleasures as she had in herself, so many holocausts she found of herself. She converted the number of her crimes into a number of virtues, so that everything she had served in guilt against God, she now served in penitence for God.

The woman wiped the feet she had washed with her hair. Hair naturally abounds on the body. And what is the superfluous earthly wealth but resembles hair? It can be cut off without pain. We wipe the feet of the Lord with our hair when we extend that which is superfluous to us to His saints out of charity, so that our compassion inwardly feels pain, while our generosity outwardly shows it. The woman kissed the feet she had wiped. We also fully accomplish this if we diligently love those we support with our generosity, so that the need of our neighbor does not burden us heavily, nor does their sustained indigence become burdensome, so that when the hand gives what is necessary, the spirit does not grow slack in love.

The very mystery of his incarnation can also be understood by the feet, by which divinity touched the earth, because it assumed flesh. For the Word was made flesh, and dwelt in us (John 1). We therefore kiss the feet of the Redeemer when we love the mystery of his incarnation with all our heart. We anoint the feet with ointment when we praise the very power of his humanity with the good opinion of sacred eloquence. But the Pharisee sees this and envies. For when the Jewish people see that the gentiles preach God, their malice within melts away. But our Redeemer recounts to him the deeds of the woman, as if listing the good of the gentiles, so that he may recognize in what evil he lies. I entered into your house, you did not give water for my feet. But she has washed my feet with tears. Indeed, water is outside us, the moisture of tears is within us. For that unfaithful people never offered for the Lord even those things which were outside themselves; but the converted gentiles not only poured out the substance of things for Him, but also their blood. You did not give me a kiss. But since she entered, she has not ceased kissing my feet. For a kiss is the sign of love. And that unfaithful people did not give a kiss to God, because they did not want to love God out of charity, to whom they served out of fear. But the called gentiles do not cease to kiss the footsteps of their Redeemer, because they constantly sigh in his love. You did not anoint my head with oil. If we understand the feet of the Lord to signify the mystery of the incarnation, appropriately through his head divinity itself is designated. Hence it is said through the Apostle: the head of Christ is God (1 Cor. 11). For the Jewish people professed to believe in God and not in themselves as in a man. But it is said to the Pharisee, you did not anoint my head with oil, because he neglected to praise with due glory the very power of divinity in which the Jewish people professed to believe. But she has anointed my feet with ointment. For while the gentiles believed in his mystery of incarnation, they praised with great glory even his lowest parts. Also, the two debtors, about whom the parable of Simon is put forth, designate both peoples, namely the Jews and the gentiles, who, to one lender, that is, to their Creator, owed not material money, but the coin of their own salvation. For our Creator, whom He created to His image and likeness, elevated them almost with a loaned coin to be preserved. For the coin is usually formed with the image and name of the king. But from everyone to whom much is given, much will be required; and from him to whom they much committed, they will ask the more. And indeed, the debt of both peoples is multiplied through the number five.

Now, if someone does not wish, whether like the sinful woman to embrace the feet of Christ (Luke 7:38), or like the prodigal son to run back to Him with burning repentance [Luke 15:11ff], or like the woman with a hemorrhage and bowed with infirmity [Luke 8:43 and 13:11] even to approach Him, why does he then make excuses for his sins by saying, “Those whom He foreknew, them also“-and them alone!-“He called“? One may perhaps reasonably reply to the person so disposed that “God, Who is before eternity and Who knows all things before creating them, also knew you beforehand, knew that you would not obey Him when He called, that you would not believe in His promises and in His words, yet still, even while knowing this, He “bowed the heavens and came down” [Psalm 18:19] and became man, and for your sake has come to the place where you lie prone. Indeed, visiting you many times every day, sometimes in His own Person and sometimes as well through His servants, He exhorts you to get up from the calamity in which you lie and to follow Him Who ascends to the Kingdom of Heaven and enter it together with Him. But you, you still refuse to do it. - "Second Ethical Discourse"

(Severus Antiochenus.) For since the four Evangelists relate that Christ was anointed with ointment by a woman, I think that there were three women, differing according to the quality of each, their mode of action, and the difference of times. John, for example, relates that Mary, the sister of Lazarus, six days before the Passover, anointed the feet of Jesus in her own house; but Matthew, after that the Lord had said, You know that after two days will be the Passover, adds, that in Bethany, at the house of Simon the leper, a woman poured ointment upon the head of our Lord, but did not anoint His feet as Mary. Mark also says the same as Matthew; but Luke gives the account not near the time of the Passover, but in the middle of the Gospel. Chrysostom explains it that there were two different women, one indeed who is described in John, another who is mentioned by the three.

Christ heals the servant of a centurion, who is commended for his faith, Luk 7:1-10. Raises a widow's son to life at Nain, Luk 7:11-17. John Baptist hears of his fame, and sends two of his disciples to inquire whether he was the Christ, Luk 7:18-23. Christ's character of John, Luk 7:24-30. The obstinate blindness and capriciousness of the Jews, Luk 7:31-35. A Pharisee invites him to his house, where a woman anoints his head with oil, and washes his feet with her tears, Luk 7:36-38. The Pharisee is offended, Luk 7:39. Our Lord reproves him by a parable, and vindicates the woman, Luk 7:40-46; and pronounces her sins forgiven, Luk 7:47-50.

Stood at his feet behind him - In taking their meals, the eastern people reclined on one side; the loins and knees being bent to make the more room, the feet of each person were turned outwards behind him. This is the meaning of standing Behind at his Feet. Began to wash his feet with tears - Ηρξατο βρεχειν - τοις δακρυσι, She began to water his feet - to let a shower of tears fall on them. As the Jews wore nothing like our shoes, (theirs being a mere sole, bound about the foot and ancle with thongs), their feet being so much exposed had frequent need of washing, and this they ordinarily did before taking their meals. Kissed his feet - With affectionate tenderness, κατεφιλει, or kissed them again and again. See on Mat 26:48 (note). The kiss was used in ancient times as the emblem of love, religious reverence, subjection, and supplication. It has the meaning of supplication, in the way of adoration, accompanied with subjection, in Kg1 19:18, Whose mouths have not kissed Baal; and in Job 31:27, My mouth hath not kissed my hand; I have paid no sort of adoration to false gods; and in Psa 2:12, Kiss the Son lest he be angry, - close in with him, embrace affectionately, the offers of mercy made unto you through Christ Jesus, lest he (the Lord) be angry with you, and ye perish: which commandment this woman seems to have obeyed, both in the literal and spiritual sense. Kissing the feet was practised also among the heathens, to express subjection of spirit, and earnest supplication. See a long example in Raphelius, produced from Polybius, concerning the Carthaginian ambassadors when supplicating the Romans for peace. With an humble and abject mind, πεσοντες επι την γην, they fell down on the earth, τους ποδας καταφιλοιεν τῳ συνεδριῳ, and kissed the feet of the council. See also several examples in Kypke. Kissing the feet is a farther proof that this person had been educated a heathen. This was no part of a Jew's practice.

CENTURION'S SERVANT HEALED. (Luk 7:1-10) he was worthy--a testimony most precious, coming from those who probably were strangers to the principle from which he acted (Ecc 7:1).

at his feet behind him--the posture at meals being a reclining one, with the feet out behind. began to wash, &c.--to "water with a shower." The tears, which were quite involuntary, poured down in a flood upon His naked feet, as she bent down to kiss them; and deeming them rather fouled than washed by this, she hastened to wipe them off with the only towel she had, the long tresses of her own hair, "with which slaves were wont to wash their masters' feet" [STIER]. kissed--The word signifies "to kiss fondly, to caress," or to "kiss again and again," which Luk 7:45 shows is meant here. What prompted this? Much love, springing from a sense of much forgiveness. So says He who knew her heart (Luk 7:47). Where she had met with Christ before, or what words of His had brought life to her dead heart and a sense of divine pardon to her guilty soul, we know not. But probably she was of the crowd of "publicans and sinners" whom Incarnate Compassion drew so often around Him, and heard from His lips some of those words such as never man spake, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour," &c. No personal interview had up to this time taken place between them; but she could keep her feelings no longer to herself, and having found her way to Him (and entered along with him, Luk 7:45), they burst forth in this surpassing yet most artless style, as if her whole soul would go out to Him.