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Maybe they shouldn’t be surprised any more. But here again something unique was happening. They were still trying to believe what their eyes had seen. Jesus had raised a man from the dead! And as usual, it was as if Jesus specifically went to Nain on that day at that moment so he would be going up the hill to the city gate while the funeral company was coming down! Of course his timing was always perfect. He worked this miracle days before the disciples of John came to ask him if he was truly the Messiah. Answering in the affirmative, he told them, among other things, that the dead are raised! And speaking of other things, He made some disparaging remarks about Pharisees because they rejected the purpose of God. He called them hypocritical and self-righteous.
Which is what made their present situation odd. One of the Pharisees who heard him speaking had invited them to his house for a meal. So here they were, inclining at his table with Simon. Had he extended the invitation out of obligation - he, the important man in town, was just Inviting the traveling preacher over - peer to peer? Was he curious? People were calling Jesus a prophet. 7:16,17 (Deut. 18:15). Did Simon want to investigate this claim? Or worse, Did he intend to do some damage to Jesus' reputation? So many other Pharisees had tried to trap Jesus in his words. Did Simon think he could do this?
As they had entered Simon’s home, they had all noticed that none of the basic cultural signs of hospitality and welcome had been extended to any of them - least of all Jesus. There was no kiss of greeting, washing of feet, anointing with oil. All of these were a sign of honor and affection due to a respected guest. Not following this custom would have been an attempt to shame Jesus. To make him “less than.” Simon’s discourteousness demonstrated he did not hold Jesus in high regard. The disciples knew something was up. Recently a Roman centurion had treated Jesus with more respect than this Jewish leader. Jesus had praised him for it. What would he say about Simon? Jesus did not act slighted in any way by Simon’s rudeness. He did not take offense.
The disciples didn’t have long to wonder about these questions before something startled them even more. Out of nowhere it seemed, a woman, the kind that everyone knows but no one will associate with, was standing, and then kneeling at Jesus’s feet. They could only Imagine the risk she had taken to enter this house of all houses. She had put herself in such a vulnerable place and was not crying, kissing his feet, pouring ointment on them and wiping them with her uncovered hair. Something like this had never happened before! It didn’t seem to bother Jesus at all. His responses were never quite predictable.
By contrast, Simon was furious. He was probably a bit embarrassed, wondering how she got past the servants. But he was even more aghast that Jesus was accepting this show of affection. There was also a bit of a triumphant smirk. The unexpected visit by the sinful woman played perfectly into Simon's desire to discredit Jesus. He viewed the woman with contempt and revulsion. He knew her past. Her past would always define who she was to Simon. He could use this awkward situation to prove Jesus could not be a prophet for surely a prophet would have known what kind of woman she was! Simon felt superior to Jesus. He stood above him in judgment. Simon felt smug that he would never let a woman touch him! His high standards of cleanliness were so much greater than those of Jesus!
Jesus knew what Simon was thinking. Nothing was ever hidden from his discerning wisdom. Though Simon did not say a word aloud, Jesus answered his unspoken assessment. Jesus, ever the patient teacher and respectful guest, sought permission to tell Simon a story. The disciples were used to this type of teaching. Jesus was an expert at using a parable to teach a lesson and illustrate a spiritual truth. Through a parable, he would pull back the curtain to help people see what was really going on in the heart.
The disciples were not always able to figure out his parables. Well, hardly ever really. This time, to their relief, Jesus told the parable and explained it at the same time.
“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
500 denarii was about 1 ½ years salary. 50 denarii was about 1 month's salary. There was a distinction in the amount of debt. But both debtors owed more than they had the ability to pay. For most of the disciples who had come from day labor jobs, the weight of the smaller debt would have been a crippling burden. Even Simon would have been ruined by the larger debt. How could Simon have answered so flippantly with a “I suppose.” Did his arrogance have no limits?
Caught into the story and the drama at the table, the disciples listened intently as Jesus interpreted the meaning of the parable.
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. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”**
The disciples held their collective breath. Jesus had told this parable in the culturally polite indirect way to correct Simon’s theology, gently expose his sin and bring him to repentance. Jesus patiently engaged in conversation with Simon to draw out the meaning of the parable and apply, even commending him for his correct answer. Did Simon actually hear what Jesus was saying? Did he understand the contrast Jesus was exposing between himself and the sinful woman? Did it dawn on him that Jesus was pointing out his lack of love for his fellow man, which only showed his lack of love for God? Did he feel any remorse? Did he sense his own need for forgiveness?
The whole time Jesus was speaking to Simon, he was looking at the woman. He had shifted his position from reclining at the low table to turn toward her, their faces at the same level. It was just like Jesus to do this. He was always moving toward sinners. He did not point fingers. He turned toward sinners to talk directly to them, to welcome them. The whole time he was talking to Simon, he was acknowledging the woman’s gift of love.
Her weeping gradually subsided as she realized she was being talked about. But not the way she was used to being talked about. She was not being shamed. She was being appreciated and, could it be, praised?
Now the disciples were looking at her and trying to remember if they had ever seen her before. Her actions clearly showed that she loved Jesus and wanted to be where he was. When she learned that Jesus was at Simon's house, she grabbed a gift and hurried there. She must have already heard of Jesus. Maybe she had heard him preach the sermon on the mount. Or she had heard him say, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Here was a woman who knew she was a sinner. Jesus said her actions demonstrated that she loved much because she had been forgiven much. She was Repentant. Humble. Respectful. Full of gratitude.
When Jesus spoke to her, she dared to lift her eyes to meet his. What gentleness and compassion shone from them! And his words? To her!
“I have forgiven you.” You no longer are a sinner. The past is behind you.
“Your faith has saved you.” Not your works. But your belief in who I am.
“Go” - go back to your home and live as a forgiven woman.
“Into peace” A peace with God means peace wherever you may go. A growing peace opening up before you as you move through your day and the years to come that will allow you to be at peace with your past and with others.
The disciples recognized that Jesus was making this public testimony for others to hear. Especially Simon. And that it was a public affirmation for the benefit of this woman. She came in weeping and vulnerable. She stood to leave with dignity. With a newfound confidence, she lifted a covering over her hair - the sign of a righteous woman. And she walked out of the house head high, back straight, eyes shining! Did we really hear her laughing with innocence? Lost in wonder, love and grace!
After she left, the room was quiet. Not only had Jesus demonstrated the emptiness of Simon’s love and the false sense of his worthiness, Jesus had given Simon proof that He was a prophet. He demonstrated that he had known all along what Simon was thinking and that he had known about the woman’s sinful past. Jesus gave Simon proof that He was more than a prophet because he could forgive the woman’s sins.
Blinded by arrogance, self-righteousness and hypocrisy, Simon would have none of the forgiveness Jesus offered. Jesus demonstrated his magnanimity by politely taking his leave. The disciples followed. Dishes and food left still on the table. Simon left in his own dark thoughts.
Luke was never able to track down the name of this woman. Or perhaps he didn’t include it in this recounting of the events because he wanted to put the emphasis in the story on Simon’s need. The woman was the foil to Simon. Ironically, Jesus used a nameless woman to expose the sin of a prideful man!
*******
Every woman (and man) in this world is a sinner. Some of us are better at hiding our sins than others. No one is beyond guilt. And what does every sinner need? Forgiveness! There can be no peace without forgiveness.
Forgiveness is not a trick where God pretends you didn’t do anything wrong. God is too holy to overlook affronts against his righteousness and evil done towards others.
God forgives us because the punishment we deserve was born by another. That is why Jesus came to earth. He came to live a perfect life that deserved no punishment and then die a horrible death as the punishment for us.
Jesus could forgive this woman because he knew soon he would suffer in her place. Jesus can forgive you because he has already suffered in your place.
You can do nothing to earn this forgiveness. You must only admit your need for it. The shortest prayer in the bible is the prayer of salvation, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.”
Do you want to be like this woman, to worship and serve God out of an overflow of love and not from a lifeless duty? Do you want to be lost in wonder, love and grace?
You do not have to force love - you couldn’t if you tried. Love will flow out of a heart that continues to experience his mercy and grace.
Meditate on the person and work of Jesus! Meditate on his mercy and grace to you.
“For all His resplendent glory and dazzling holiness,
his supreme uniqueness and otherness,
no one in human history has ever been more approachable than Jesus Christ. . .
Human nature dictates that the wealthier a person,
the more they tend to look down on the poor.
The more beautiful a person, the more they are put off by the ugly.”
NOT so with JESUS
Gentle and Lowly, Orlund.
There were 5 women in the genealogy of Jesus. One disguised herself as a prostitute. One was. One was an adulterer, although likely unwillingly so. Jesus was not ashamed of the scandals in his family. Jesus happily accepted the insult that he was a friend of sinners! Because Jesus came to redeem sinners.
At the end of his life Jesus will tell the Chief Priests: “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him.” Mat 21:31,32
Questions for thought:
What are things women do or say when they are weighed down by guilt?
What are some ways women try to get rid of guilt?
What are some ways women try to earn God’s favor?
Why do some women feel like the Christian life is one of duty?
Describe a time you experienced God’s merciful forgiveness.
* Though a similar story is recorded in Matt 26, Mark 14 and John12, this is not the same incident. Only Luke records this story.
Some think it is the same story because in each of the stories a woman anoints Jesus’ feet at the house of a man named Simon.
But . . .
In the three, the event happened in Bethany. Luke’s story probably took place in Capurium.
The three identify the woman as Mary (fits what we know of Lazrus’s sister)- Luke identifies her as a sinful woman.
The other event-mentioned in the other three gospels- took place at the beginning of the passion week - Luke takes place earlier in Jesus’ ministry.
There Simon is identified as “the leper” - Luke tells us Simon is a pharisee. A leper could not have become a pharisee.
The three gospels mention questions about the use of $ - Luke’s story includes a Parable about the canceling of debt
Their focus is on Christ’s death - Luke’s focus is on forgiveness and love.
**Two questions are raised:
“Her sins, which are many, are forgiven - for she loved much.” What then comes first - Love or Forgiveness?
Practice issue: If love comes first, I must wonder if I have loved enough.
Theological issue: If love comes first, my forgiveness is based on my love - not on grace. Christ’s death is not sufficient.
Textual clues that help us understand the meaning:
It is only after the debtors in the parable were both forgiven that Jesus asks who would love more.
Contextual Parallel pattern puts forgiveness first- “He who is forgiven little, loves little.” 7:47
Contextual statement: Your faith has saved you. Not your love for me. 7:50
Acceptable use of the word “for” - It can be casual, but is also used as explanatory/evidential, “this it is shown”
Broad context - “We love because he first loved us.” John 4:19
Answer to which comes first: Forgiveness of sin comes before love.
2. Do we need to sin more so that we can love more?
This could be an honest question. Does this parable mean that people saved late in life out of a life of sin can love Jesus more than anyone else?
Jesus does say that there are different amounts of sin that people are forgiven of - and this will lead to differing levels of love. So, yes, the more one is aware of their sin, their poverty of righteousness, the more one will love Jesus for forgiving them. Jesus acknowledges in the parable that there is a difference in debt.
It may be easier for the prostitute or cheat or blasphemer to see the depth of the sin. It may be easier for the thief on the cross to be amazed that Jesus would save him.
However, someone saved early in life, saved as a child brought up in a Christian family can still have their love for Jesus grow by realizing the depth of their own sin. The Lord graciously helped me to see that my self-sufficiency, my self- righteousness, my demand of control, my lack of trust in the goodness and wisdom of God - all these things were horrible affronts to who God is and required the blood of Christ to cover them. Jesus bled and died for my “acceptable sins.”
It is also important to note: Love can be a response to different kinds of grace.
Forgiveness is one kind of grace. There is also: The grace of keeping. The grace of giftedness. The grace of persevering strength.
Meditating on the grace that God gives us daily throughout our lives will also fill our hearts with love to him.
https://www.desiringgod.org/labs/forgiveness-leads-to-love
https://www.desiringgod.org/labs/gods-love-for-the-worst