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.” (Lk. 7:39 NASB)
Luke provides the “interior” speech of the Pharisee. We skip right over that because we’re so used to it in books and works of fiction. But it really should arrest our attention here. How would Luke know what the Pharisee was thinking at this event? For that detail to become part of the story of Jesus, Jesus would have had to tell the disciples. That would have happened had they asked perhaps, but they wouldn’t know to ask until after the resurrection. And after the resurrection, wouldn’t there be bigger questions to ask?
Knothole Theology 