Luke 7:36–50
36 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 among1 themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
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Section Overview
We see in this story the rejection of God’s purpose by Simon the Pharisee and, at the same time, the vindication of wisdom by her children (i.e., a sinful woman) when she receives Jesus’ love and forgiveness. The setting is a meal at Simon’s house. A woman known to be a sinner enters the house, and her tears fall on Jesus’ feet. She then proceeds to dry his feet with her tears, kiss his feet, and anoint them with perfume. Simon is scandalized, concluding that Jesus cannot be a prophet if he allows a sinful woman to touch him. But Jesus shows he is a prophet via the parable of the two debtors that follows, which Simon rightly interprets: the person who is forgiven the greater debt loves more. Jesus then turns to the woman, commending her for the extravagant greeting she has given to him—in contrast to Simon, who did not greet Jesus properly. Thus, Jesus declares, the woman’s sins are forgiven, while those who are not forgiven do not show such love. Jesus, as Lord and Messiah and the Son of God, turns to the woman and declares that her sins are forgiven. The people rightly ask a question about Jesus’ identity. But he addresses the woman, assuring her that she has been saved by her faith and can go in peace.
Section Outline
III. Jesus Proclaims Salvation in Galilee by the Power of the Spirit (4:14–9:50) . . .
C. Good News for the Poor (6:12–8:3) . . .
3. Receptivity to Jesus’ Message by the Lowly (7:1–8:3) . . .
d. Forgiveness of Sinful Woman (7:36–50)
Response
Luke has a keen understanding of the good news, as evident in this wonderful story. Those who are keenly aware of their many sins and receive the stunning and amazing forgiveness of Jesus are filled with joy. But those who think they are good in and of themselves see little or no need for forgiveness. They do not think grace is amazing because, like Simon, they think their own lives are rather amazing. On the other hand, the forgiveness of the sinful woman reminds us that the Lord has open arms for those who confess their sins. Our sins, which are “like scarlet,” will be “as white as snow” (Isa. 1:18). Or, as Micah says, God “will cast all our sins into the depth of the sea” (Mic. 7:19). I remember hearing or reading Corrie ten Boom say that when God throws our sins into the deepest sea, he puts up a sign: “No Fishing!” If our sins are forgiven, we are at peace, for we know that God knows all that defiles us but has removed it from us forever.
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7:36–38 Jesus is invited to a meal at the home of Simon the Pharisee, one of multiple occasions on which he eats with Pharisees (11:37; 14:1). As it is a formal meal, they recline at table, with their heads at the table and their feet behind them. Houses in Israel were not closed off as houses in the West are, and the meal may have been in the courtyard, which would be accessible to others. In any case, a notorious woman in the city finds her way into the dinner. We are not told her sin, but it is probably sexual; in the ancient world—as now—sexual sin was particularly talked about, even if the focus on sexual sin was and is overemphasized in contrast to sins such as pride or arrogance. The woman has heard about Jesus, presumably knowing that he offers repentance and forgiveness to tax collectors and sinners (5:27–32; 7:29, 34; 15:1–2; 18:9–14). Thus she seeks him out at the dinner, bringing an alabaster flask of perfume. Her bringing of the perfume shows that this is not an accidental encounter; she has planned to see Jesus.
As noted, Jesus’ feet would be stretched out behind him, and the woman begins to weep, perhaps tears of sorrow and joy at the same time, and her tears fall on Jesus’ feet. In response she uses her hair to dry his feet; the unloosing of her hair should not be interpreted as a highly sexual act, though all those watching must have been astonished. Presumably Jesus kept talking to Simon while all of this was going on! The woman then lavishes Jesus’ feet with kisses. As already seen, slaves did not even untie the sandal straps of masters (3:16), and thus the kissing of feet would have been considered incredibly uncouth. She does not just kiss Jesus’ feet, however, but also anoints them with perfume.
7:39 Simon has invited Jesus to dinner, but he is neither a disciple nor even sympathetic to Jesus. He views Jesus with suspicion, and the actions of the woman at the dinner party fuel his skepticism further. He muses that if Jesus were truly a prophet, he would know that the woman touching him was sinful; in Jewish culture one would shun the touch of a sinful person in order to avoid defilement. Since Jesus permits the woman to touch him, Simon muses, he must not know about her sordid past and thus could not be a prophet. Simon dissents, then, from what many of the people are saying about Jesus (7:16; 9:8, 19; 24:19; cf. 13:33), concluding that he is not sent by God.
7:40–42 Jesus demonstrates that he is a prophet, showing Simon that he knows both what sort of woman she is and what Simon is thinking about him. The story continues innocently enough, and it appears that Jesus is merely continuing the conversation with Simon, indicating that he has something to say to him. Simon is more than willing to listen, so Jesus proceeds to tell a parable about two debtors of a certain moneylender. One owed the lender five hundred denarii, almost two years’ wages, while the other owed fifty, about two months’ wages. Both of the debtors, lacking sufficient funds to repay the debt, were forgiven the entirety of what was owed. Given that situation, Jesus asks, which of the two would love the moneylender more?
7:43–46 Simon, as a Pharisee and a scholar, anticipates a trap and thus answers carefully and cautiously, saying that he supposes the one forgiven more would love more. Jesus concurs, confirming that Simon has landed on the right answer. Now the decisive moment in the story arrives: Jesus applies the parable to Simon and to the woman and, for the first time in the story, looks at the woman, asking if Simon has seen her. We know that Simon has seen the woman! He certainly has not overlooked her. Jesus proceeds to contrast Simon’s actions with the woman’s. It is probable, since Jesus contrasts the woman’s actions with Simon’s, that Simon failed to do what was expected as a host, confirming that he was skeptical and cautious about welcoming Jesus. Simon did not provide water for Jesus’ feet, which were grimy from walking in sandals on dirt roads in Palestine (cf. Gen. 18:4; John 13:5; 1 Tim. 5:10), but the woman washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. Simon did not give Jesus a kiss of welcome when he entered his house (cf. Rom. 16:16), presumably because he did not want to signal to his friends that he was too friendly with Jesus. The woman, by way of contrast, repeatedly kissed Jesus’ feet. Nor did Simon anoint Jesus’ head with oil (Ps. 23:5), but she anointed his feet, showing extravagant love and devotion.
7:47 Now the parable is applied to the woman and, by implication, to Simon as well. Jesus makes a dramatic pronouncement, declaring that the many sins of the woman are forgiven. They are forgiven on account of her great love. This could be interpreted to indicate that forgiveness is a consequence and result of our love. But such a reading does not fit with the parable Jesus has told, for in the parable the one forgiven of a massive debt responds with great love. Furthermore, the expressions of love from the sinful woman fit with the notion that she has experienced love and the forgiveness of her sins, and thus the declaration of forgiveness reaffirms the truth she has already experienced relationally. Furthermore, the story ends with Jesus’ saying that her faith has saved her, which fits with the idea that faith produces love (Gal. 5:6). On the other hand, the one who loves little—people like Simon—are forgiven little. We should not take this wording literally, as if Simon stood forgiven as well. In fact, the point of the story is that Simon is not forgiven at all; he has no love for Jesus in the narrative (this is obvious) because he has no sense of needing forgiveness. He is a critic of Jesus, not a recipient of his grace.
7:48–50 Jesus declares, then, to the woman that her sins are forgiven, which reflects what he said to the paralytic as well (Luke 5:20). Jesus has come as the physician to heal those who are sick, to call sinners to repent (5:31–32), since he came “to seek and to save the lost” (19:10). Thus there is joy in heaven over every sinner who repents (15:7). The question that arose when Jesus healed the paralytic arises again with those seated at table with him: who is this man who forgives sins? (5:21; cf. 4:36; 8:25). It is clear that Jesus heals on his own authority; he is not claiming that God will forgive her sins but asserting that he is the one who forgives, which means that he has the same authority as God himself. Jesus himself is concerned about the woman, and the chapter concludes with his affirmation to her. She has been saved by her faith and thus should leave “in peace.” We think of Romans 5:1, which states that those who are justified by faith have peace with God. Peace is the result and consequence of a right relationship with God. The saving here is clearly spiritual, since Jesus does not heal her of any maladies, and the theme that faith saves is a refrain in Luke (8:48; 17:19; 18:42).