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Copyright © 2012 J. Neely. All rights reserved.
Chapter 27 - Two Debtors
Luke 7:39-40
39 Now [de] when the Pharisee [Pharisaios] which [ho] had bidden [kaleo] him [autos] saw [eido] it, he spake [epo] within [en] himself [heautou] , saying [lego] , This man [houtos] , if [ei] he were [en] a prophet [prophetes] , [an] would have known [ginosko] who [tis] and [kai] what manner [potapos] of woman [gune] this is that [hostis] toucheth [haptomai] him [autos] : for [hoti] she is [esti] a sinner [hamartolos] .
40 And [kai] Jesus [Iesous] answering [apokrinomai] said [epo] unto [pros] him [autos] , Simon [Simon] , I have [echo] somewhat [tis] to say [epo] unto thee [soi] . And [de] he saith [phemi] , Master [didaskalos] , say on [epo] . KJV-Interlinear
39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.' 40 And Jesus answered and said to him, 'Simon, I have something to say to you.' And he replied, 'Say it, Teacher.' NASB
Simon is thinking to himself, but his facial expression is probably consistent with that made by hypocritical and stuffy nosed types. His hypocrisy begins to show up in our passage now.
First he invites Jesus to dinner at his home. Who is Jesus? Well, we have to look at Jesus from Simon's perspective. Jesus is a the son of a carpenter, a man who is 30 years old, walking around the countryside teaching scripture and performing various miracles. He is a man who has no apparent home, no apparent education, no apparent vocation, no apparent income - but ... Jesus has a crowd following Him and is becoming more and more and more popular.
Why would Simon invite such a man to his home in the first place? Were it not for the popularity with huge crowds, Simon wouldn't give Jesus a second glance.
Simon doesn't think much of Jesus. 'If ' this man were a prophet?? Simon doesn't even think that Jesus is a prophet, nor even knowledgeable in the scriptures.
Simon displays the attitude of Isa. 65:5.
Isa. 65:5
5 'Who say, 'Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!' These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day. NASB
Simon is holier than those around Him, or so he thinks. It would be unthinkable (of us common folks) to even approach him unless there were very special circumstances. And a woman to approach him or even be seen in public speaking with him would be totally unthinkable. A woman should know her place, after all! Remember we are looking through Simon's eyes here.
John 4:27
27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He had been speaking with a woman; yet no one said, 'What do You seek?' or, 'Why do You speak with her?' NASB
Now for a woman who had a 'reputation' to approach Him, that would be totally unthinkable.
Simon is a priest. A priests function is to be an intermediary between man and God, to make the connection for lost man and make a presentation to God in behalf of man. A priest is supposed to bring the thoughts of God to man, such that man can learn of God, understand God, know what is expected of him and so forth. If man is lost, then everyone is in effect a sinner, otherwise there would be no reason for an intermediary to gain an audience with God.
Well, we know that Jesus Christ fulfills this function, and that the Old Testament priesthood was again a teaching aid to teach the need for an intermediary between man and God. An intermediary who was both equal with God and equal with man. An intermediary who was perfect and qualified to fulfill the function of representing man to God.
That representative, the Messiah, was sitting at Simon's table. Simon was a priest, but Simon did not have a clue as to the purpose of his role of priest. He saw only his reputation and the 'luck' of life which had fallen on him giving him this obviously (in his mind) appropriate status in life. Of course he must be better than most. He was a Pharisee!
But despite his hidden attitude, he still addresses Jesus as 'teacher' even though Jesus did not have any degree from any recognized university anywhere, had no social credentials, had nothing with which Simon could rationalize up any kind of respect for Jesus. It is all for show, for the peoples attention.
But, Jesus was popular and the politically correct thing to do was to be polite (publicly) to someone who was popular. People like Simon live and die on public opinion. They panic if they perceive that they are less than popular, and will try to do whatever they can to appease everyone. Such people can never be trusted because they will sell out anyone and everyone if their popularity dictates it.
Yet, Simon had a low opinion of Jesus. He had a low opinion of the woman. Simon was superficial, a hypocrite, opinionated, shallow, and about to learn a very important lesson about judging others, responsibility, love, faith, and salvation. Things that he should already know about, but does not.
One would think that the host would be sitting side by side with his guest just leaning on every word that is spoken and with a long list of never ending questions. What would you be doing if Christ were sitting at your dinner table?
Jesus addresses Simon and now the room goes quiet as Jesus has everyone's attention. Something that Simon most probably wishes that he could do (gain everyone's attention), but with just a word, Jesus now has the floor.
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