translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: LUK

label: NET study note

text: Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region. map For location see Map1-D2 ; Map2-C3 ; Map3-B2 .


text: A centurion was a noncommissioned officer in the Roman army or one of the auxiliary territorial armies, commanding a centuria of (nominally) 100 men. The responsibilities of centurions were broadly similar to modern junior officers, but there was a wide gap in social status between them and officers, and relatively few were promoted beyond the rank of senior centurion. The Roman troops stationed in Judea were auxiliaries, who would normally be rewarded with Roman citizenship after 25 years of service. Some of the centurions may have served originally in the Roman legions (regular army) and thus gained their citizenship at enlistment. Others may have inherited it, like Paul.


text: Why some Jewish elders are sent as emissaries is not entirely clear, but the centurion was probably respecting ethnic boundaries, which were important in ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish culture. The parallel account in Matt 8:5-13 does not mention the emissaries.


text: See the note on synagogues in 4:15 .


text: See the note on the word centurion in 7:2 .


text: Note the humility in the centurion’s statement I am not worthy in light of what others think (as v. 4 notes). See Luke 5:8 for a similar example of humility.


text: I say to this one, ‘ Go, ’ and he goes. The illustrations highlight the view of authority the soldier sees in the word of one who has authority. Since the centurion was a commander of a hundred soldiers, he understood what it was both to command others and to be obeyed.


text: There are two elements to the faith that Jesus commended: The man’s humility and his sense of Jesus’ authority which recognized that only Jesus’ word, not his physical presence, were required.


text: The description of the woman as a widow would mean that she was now socially alone and without protection in 1st century Jewish culture.


text: He had compassion. It is unusual for Luke to note such emotion by Jesus, though the other Synoptics tend to mention it ( Matt 14:14 ; Mark 6:34 ; Matt 15:32 ; Mark 8:2 ).


text: The act of having touched the bier would have rendered Jesus ceremonially unclean, but it did not matter to him, since he was expressing his personal concern ( Num 19:11, 16 ).


text: Although sometimes translated “coffin,” the bier was actually a stretcher or wooden plank on which the corpse was transported to the place of burial. See L&N 6.109.


text: That Jesus was a great prophet was a natural conclusion for the crowd to make, given the healing; but Jesus is more than this. See Luke 9:8, 19-20 .


text: See Luke 4:14 for a similar report .


text: Aspects of Jesus’ ministry may have led John to question whether Jesus was the promised stronger and greater one who is to come that he had preached about in Luke 3:15-17 .


text: The same verb has been translated “inform” in 7:18 .


text: What you have seen and heard. The following activities all paraphrase various OT descriptions of the time of promised salvation: Isa 35:5-6; 26:19; 29:18-19; 61:1 . Jesus is answering not by acknowledging a title, but by pointing to the nature of his works, thus indicating the nature of the time.


text: The reference to fancy clothes makes the point that John was not rich or powerful, in that he did not come from the wealthy classes.


text: The quotation is primarily from Mal 3:1 with pronouns from Exod 23:20 . Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.


text: In the Greek text greater is at the beginning of the clause in the emphatic position. John the Baptist was the greatest man of the old era.


text: After John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so great that the lowest member of it ( the one who is least in the kingdom of God ) is greater than the greatest one of the previous era.


text: The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ proclamation. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21 . It is not strictly future, though its full manifestation is yet to come. That is why membership in it starts right after John the Baptist.


text: See the note on tax collectors in 3:12 .


text: See the note on Pharisees in 5:17 .


text: Luke 7:29-30 forms something of an aside by the author. To indicate this, they have been placed in parentheses.


text: ‘ We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance… ’ The children of this generation were making the complaint (see vv. 33-34 ) that others were not playing the game according to the way they played the music. John and Jesus did not follow “their tune.” Jesus’ complaint was that this generation wanted things their way, not God’s.


text: John the Baptist was too separatist and ascetic for some, and so he was accused of not being directed by God, but by a demon .


text: Neither were they happy with Jesus (the Son of Man), even though he was the opposite of John and associated freely with people like tax collectors and sinners . Either way, God’s messengers were subject to complaint.


text: A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.


text: The series of verbs in this verse detail the woman’s every move, much as if the onlookers were watching her every step. That she attended the meal is not so surprising, as teachers often ate an open meal where listeners were welcome, but for her to approach Jesus was unusual and took great nerve, especially given her reputation.


text: The Pharisees believed in a form of separationism that would have prevented them from any kind of association with such a sinful woman .


text: A creditor was a moneylender, whose business was to lend money to others at a fixed rate of interest.


text: It is discussed whether these acts in vv. 44-46 were required by the host. Most think they were not, but this makes the woman’s acts of respect all the more amazing.


text: This event is not equivalent to the anointing of Jesus that takes place in the last week of his life ( Matt 26:6-13 ; Mark 14:3-9 ; John 12:1-8 ). That woman was not a sinner, and Jesus was eating in the home of Simon the leper, who, as a leper, could never be a Pharisee.


text: Jesus showed his authority to forgive sins , something that was quite controversial. See Luke 5:17-26 and the next verse.


text: On faith see Luke 5:20; 7:9; 8:25; 12:28; 17:6; 18:8; 22:32 .


text: The questioning did not stop Jesus. He declared authoritatively that the woman was forgiven by God ( your faith has saved you ). This event is a concrete example of Luke 5:31-32 .