UTN uW Translation Notes:

Luke 7 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

1. Jesus does miracles in Capernaum and Nain (7:1–17)
2. Jesus responds to messengers from John the Baptist and then teaches about John (7:18–35)
3. A woman anoints Jesus with perfume (7:36–50)

Some translations set quotations from the Old Testament farther to the right on the page than the rest of the text. ULT does this with the quoted material in 7:27.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Centurion

A centurion was a Roman military commander. The centurion who asked Jesus to heal his slave (Luke 7:2) was doing some unusual things. A Roman soldier, especially an officer, would almost never go to a Jew for help, and most wealthy people did not love or care for their slaves. (See: centurion and faith)

John’s Baptism

This chapter refers again to the baptism of John (7:29). John baptized people who wanted to show that they knew they were sinners and that they were sorry for their sin. (See: repent and sin)

“Sinners”

In 7:34, Jesus describes how the Pharisees said he was a friend of “sinners.” That was the name that the Pharisees used for people whom they thought were disobeying the law of Moses. In reality, it was the Pharisees who were sinful, since they rejected Jesus, the Savior whom God had sent. This situation can be understood as irony. (See: figs-irony)

Washing feet

The feet of the people in the ancient Near East were very dirty because they wore sandals and the roads and trails were dusty in the dry season and muddy in the wet season. Only slaves washed other people’s feet. The woman who washed Jesus’ feet was showing him great honor.