One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37
And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38
and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39
Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40
And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41
“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42
When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43
Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”44
Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45
You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46
You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47
Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48
And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50
And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
The beginning of this text is one of the most beautiful in all of Holy Scripture. In
a memorable way, we are reminded that no human being can sin himself or herself past the forgiveness of God. No matter how ‘lost’ we have been, when grace sets itself to rescue, the love and mercy of God will prevail! It also reminds us of how difficult it
is for people to accept that they really are great sinners, that they too have a debt that they cannot pay and are in desperate need of a great forgiveness, as we see pictured in Simon. The whole great story of human life, its tragedy and the hope of
its salvation, is found in these few verses. But that which takes center stage, which we cannot miss or fail to ponder is this dear woman’s love and devotion to Jesus.
As in all of Scripture, we are to see ourselves in her. Whenever we find the Lord complimenting a person, drawing attention to what she has done, we should want to be like that person.
Obviously, she is modeling for us first and foremost the love and the devotion that ought to mark the life of anyone who has received forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ.
Many have speculated that this account, which is found only in Luke,– comes after the account of the question sent to Jesus by John the Baptist and the Lord’s remarks about John. That
same account of John’s question and the Lord’s reply is also found in Matthew 11. But Matthew 11 ends with Jesus’ well known invitation: “Come to me all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for
I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [Matt. 11:28-29]
The speculation, or the question that is often asked is whether this woman was present when Jesus spoke those words and had it been in hearing them that her heart had been drawn to the
Savior and her heart had found peace? In any case, she knew she was a sinner, everybody else did too, and now she knew God had forgiven her. Her life had begun again. She faced the day an utterly new person with an utterly different future. And, understandably,
her heart was full!
In her mind, nothing mattered but expressing her love, devotion and gratitude to Jesus! And she would throw caution to the wind to do so. Simply, “saying the words” would not even be
close to enough, she had to DO something. So, she entered a rich man’s house uninvited; we might say that she crashed the party! She walked into that dining room, found Jesus among the guests, and began to weep – perhaps the depth of her emotion at
the sight of the Lord caught even her by surprise…so overwhelmed with love for Him! She seems to have forgotten for the moment all social decorum and convention and began wiping her tears that had fallen on His feet, with her hair. I am sure all the “hoity-toities”
looked on in various states of horror and disgust at this unacceptable display of emotion. she poured the perfume she had brought for the purpose over the Lord’s feet. Put yourself in that room, perhaps as one of the servants…what do you see? A woman, weeping,
her head down, tending to the Lord’s feet, surrounded by strangers she must have known despised her, perhaps by an embarrassed former customer or two, and of course Simon looking upon the scene appalled.
Jesus makes it clear that Simon had utterly missed the point. He didn’t understand sin, especially the full measure of his own sin; he didn’t understand God’s grace and mercy; he didn’t
understand who Jesus was or what he had come to do; and the proof of it was that his affections, his emotions were untouched. What Simon lacked was what this woman had, what she WAS, the love and devotion that is the inevitable fruit of the grace of God in
a sinner’s heart and life.
When Jesus said that this woman’s sins were forgiven
for she loved much, The reason we know Simon had no faith is that he had no love. As Paul would later write, “faith works through love.” If he had faith, he would have love, and having love he would have seen himself in that woman that night at his house.
If Simon would have understood what she was doing, he would have, as one writer put it: “…run to her and thanked her for coming without an invitation, and he would have loved her for the devotion she was showing to the Savior. He would have introduced her
to his friends as his sister in the Lord, and asked her to give her testimony in hopes that others at his table that night might be drawn to Jesus as he and she had been.”
The Christian faith in our day seems to be often received with nonchalance, or indifference, as if it were just something to be added to our life to help us on our way…like a daily vitamin,
or self-help program. I am quite certain that this woman in Simon’s house would not understand the ‘ho-humness’ (I made up that word!) that so covers Christians in our time. Have we forgotten, and do we live as though we have forgotten, that the human condition
is high tragedy; sin is ugly and its penalty is eternal death and judgment?
God’s intervention to save us is the most thrilling adventure in the history of the world, and lying behind it all is a mighty love willing to endure terrible suffering for our
sakes. If you and I really get this, knowing ourselves the beneficiary of all of this…if we know just how great a debt Jesus has taken away, a debt we could not in a thousand lifetimes repay ourselves…if we saw how marvelously breathtaking and stunning the
love of Jesus is…we would be on a daily search, as to how we might express our love to Him, regardless of what people thought of us, or how “odd” we might appear to be!
Once again, we must ask, who in this account do we most resemble? Are we often like Simon; thinking our relationship with God is a calculation, something predictable, just do the right
things and be better (in our own minds) than other people? Where in our lives do we see the devotion of this woman shining through? Where…when, are we given over to such a mighty love as this? When are we speechless at the consideration of the Divine sacrifice
and terrible self-giving on God’s part that was necessary for our being rescued? Where are our tears of joy and extravagant care free attitude in expressing our love for our Savior?
We must not leave this woman in the past. We must not think of her brave love for the Lord or her costly actions as the exaggerations of the moment. We must seek to be like her. We must
look around and ask: How might I love my Savior, throwing caution to the wind, with an extravagant display of how much He means to me?
Sometimes the Bible will tell us what it means to believe in Jesus…but sometimes it shows us as it does here. Being a Christian means that we love the Lord Jesus Christ with a
great love because He stopped at nothing, to show us just how much He loves us. The Apostle Paul concludes one of his letters, “Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus with an undying love.” (Eph. 6:24) That’s it…that is the description of a Christian…may
it be the description of our lives!
Prayer: Father, Your love for sinners is an extravagant, spare no cost love that endures forever. Contrarily, my love is shallow and forgetful. Forgive me for not basking in and living
out of the love that is mine in Christ Jesus. May I be taken, overwhelmed by Your love for me and may I find new and joyful ways of living in and expressing my love for You, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Hymn: Amazing Grace (I know…I know…you know it, but listen to these ‘different’ arrangements. No matter what culture or where you are in the world, God’s grace is the same…it is Amazing!!!)
