Amy C Walters

A Sinful Woman Forgiven | Luke 7:36-50

Two polar opposites are at a dinner party: Simon, a religious expert and Pharisee, and an unnamed, notoriously sinful woman. Simon is clearly uncomfortable with the woman’s presence and behavior. But Jesus responds to him with a parable showing that both Simon and the woman are debtors.

In today’s story, we meet two characters who are polar opposites. We’re first introduced to Simon, a Pharisee who invited Jesus over to his house for dinner. Pharisees, as we know, are people who prided themselves on following the law.

Second is a woman who is unnamed and yet has a citywide reputation for being a sinner. She enters with an extravagant and almost embarrassing display of love for Jesus.

We’re not told a whole lot about the setting, the town that this is in, what Jesus was doing before this happened. But we know that Jesus’ pattern has been to travel from town to town, teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Simon may have been a leader in one of those synagogues and invited Jesus to his house as a common courtesy to a visiting teacher. 

When this sinful woman learns that Jesus is at Simon’s house, she comes as well, bringing a very expensive jar of perfume. She goes straight to Jesus, weeping, wetting his feet with her tears, wiping them with her hair, kissing them, and pouring perfume on them. 

Now, if you were Simon or one of the other guests at this dinner, this would feel pretty awkward, wouldn’t it? The sight, sounds, and smells would be overwhelming. Simon clearly does not approve of what’s happening because he says to himself, “If this man were really a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is, that she is a sinner.” 

What does this response from Simon tell us about him? That he thinks of himself as better than this woman. That she doesn’t belong there because she is a sinner. He belongs there because he is a Pharisee. And of course, Jesus would want to come to his house for dinner because of who Simon is and his standing in the community. 

Simon also thinks that if Jesus were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman she is. So the assumption is that a prophet would know things about people that they haven’t necessarily revealed. But there’s a second layer to this assumption: that if Jesus knew who she was, he wouldn’t allow her to touch him. That a prophet or a religious person does not associate with sinners. 

But Jesus doesn’t let Simon keep these thoughts hidden inside. He brings them to the surface and addresses Simon’s prejudices. Jesus says, “‘Simon, I have something to tell you.’ ‘Tell me.’” And Jesus tells a little parable then about two men who owed money to a moneylender.

One of the men owed 500 denarii. The other man owed 50. A denarii was a day’s worth of wages. So one man owed 500 days’ worth of pay to the moneylender. The other owed 50 days’ worth of pay. 

These are both large amounts. The 500 denarii debt is of course far more than the 50, and yet neither man had the money to pay back the moneylender. So he canceled both debts. 

Jesus then poses a question to Simon. “Which one do you think loved the moneylender more?” Simon seems reluctant to answer. He says, “I suppose the one with the bigger debt.” And Jesus said, “You have judged rightly.” 

Now we don’t know why Simon is reluctant to answer. It seems kind of like a no-brainer to us. Of course, it’s the one with the bigger debt! But Simon seems to sense that this is going to an uncomfortable place and he’s not ready to fully concede the point.

Jesus now begins to compare Simon and the woman. He turns and looks at the woman, but he says to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house.” Basically, Simon, you invited me here, and yet, “you did not give me any water for my feet. But she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but from the moment I came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet.” 

These were common signs of hospitality in their culture. It was common to provide water for a guest’s feet. It was common to greet one another with a kiss. Simon has seemed to be hospitable by having Jesus over to his house for dinner, and yet, he neglects to show these basic signs of common courtesy. 

Jesus goes on to say, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins are forgiven, for she has loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 

Here’s where the comparison comes to a point. Jesus does not brush aside the reality of the woman’s sin. He says, “her many sins.” And yet, Jesus is able to cancel that whole debt. Her many sins are forgiven, and it is evidenced by the love that she shows to Jesus. 

What does Simon’s response to Jesus tell us? He is stingy and inhospitable. He does the bare minimum. Because he doesn’t think he has that much to be forgiven of. 

But when the moneylender looks at those two debtors, he sees two people on equal footing. They both owe him money that they cannot repay. Both of them are in the same impossible situation. And the moneylender cancels both debts. 

At the end of all of this, Jesus turns to the woman and says, “Your sins are forgiven.” She got it. She knew she was a debtor, and she knew what she had been forgiven for. And her heart overflowed with love and gratitude to Jesus for forgiving her debt. 

Forgiveness is available if we just recognize that we need it. If we admit that we are in debt and cannot pay it ourselves, we need God to cancel those debts. 

Our key truth for today is that we are all debtors. Every one of us.

We may try to compare ourselves with others and think, “I’m not as bad as that person. Look at all they’ve done. How dare they do all of that?” 

But the reality is, in God’s sight, we are debtors just the same as they are. We need forgiveness every bit as much as they do because we cannot pay back our debt. No amount of good deeds will outweigh the bad that we have done.

Jesus is willing and able to cancel that debt for us if we acknowledge that we cannot pay it ourselves–he alone can do that.

If you have not done that yet, today is the day to become debt free, to have your slate wiped clean, to say, “Jesus, cancel my debt.” 

At the very end of the story, Jesus tells the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” What faith is Jesus referencing? It’s the faith to believe that Jesus could cancel her debt, that he welcomed her as she was, that she didn’t have to appear religious and holy, like this Pharisee, and Jesus would forgive her. That’s the faith that saves.

Do you have that faith today? 

For those of you who have trusted Christ, we have to watch out for judging others, don’t we? We must avoid the comparison that says, “I’m not as bad as that person.” Because that comparison makes us forget how much we owe, how much of a debtor we are ourselves, how much God has forgiven us. 

Today as you go, when you are tempted to judge other people and to say, “I can’t believe that they did that, I can’t believe what a sinner they are.” Instead of doing that, take a step back and thank God for wiping out your debt, because we are all debtors.