What is the meaning of 'If he knew what manner of woman she was then he would not allow her to touch him'?

Answer 1

Here is the Verse from The Bible to which you refer: "And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,

And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner."

This is followed by the parable of the two debtors. "And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged."

This passage is all about sin, righteousness and how one is considered righteous by God. The plain meaning is that this woman, whom the Bible doesn't identify, had been an obvious sinner. The pharisees thought they were better than she was. They criticized Jesus for allowing her to touch Him, because the Jews believed "sinners" were unclean. They thought He must not know she was a sinner, and therefore couldn't be a prophet. The pharisees failed to understand that they themselves were sinners and unclean. They failed to understand the need for God's grace. The mystery of sin, condemnation and forgiveness is outlined in the book of Romans: * Romans 3:23. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" * Romans 6:23. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." * Romans 5:8. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." * Romans 10:9-10. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." * Romans 10:13. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

If you are talking about the woman who anointed Jesus with perfume before his death, it could have been Mary Magdalene. She had already been forgiven but the leaders of the Jews only saw what they wanted to see so they could condemn Jesus. It reminds me of an illustration Gary Chapman uses in one of his books. This couple came to him for counseling. He told the man to give his wife compliments for the whole next week and then they would come back to see him again. The following week, the counselor asked the woman how she liked all the compliments her husband had given her, and she said, "What compliments"? She only saw the negative side of her marrige, nothing else got through. This was the problem with the Pharisees etc, they didn't see God's love and grace and became hardened as a result. Mary Magdalene is mentioned several times throughout the 4 gospels. She is noted as a devoted follower of Jesus, one who was generous with her wordly possessions (Luke 8:2-3), was present at the crucifixion, and came to the tomb on Jesus' resurrection day. (Matthew 27:56, 28:1) She was the first to whom Jesus appeared after His resurrection. (Mark 16:9) The same verse also indicates Jesus had cast 7 devils out of her. She was the first to tell the other apostles about Jesus' return from the dead (John 20:1-2). While Roman Catholic tradition from the 3rd century identifies her with Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus (whom Jesus raised from the dead), and with the woman cited in your question who annointed Jesus, there is nothing in the Bible itself to indicate this. Mary Magdalene is also commonly thought to have been a prostitute, but again without biblical reference. In 591 A.D. Pope Gregory the 1st gave a sermon in which he professed belief that Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany and Luke's "sinful woman" were one and the same. He also identifies her as the adulteress of John 8. These beliefs have not been bound by the Catholic Church, and most protestants reject it.

Whether or not this woman was Mary Magdalene is actually beside the point. The reason the Pharisee thought to himself "...this man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner..." was that they believed that being touched by an obvious sinner defiled them.

So when Jesus was anointed by this woman and made no quibble about being 'defiled' as the pharisee thought, he wondered if Jesus was really a prophet.