Luke : Day 16

Read Luke 7: 36 - 8:3

Remember the tax collectors and other ‘undesirables’ that Jesus ate with in chapter 5? The self-righteous Pharisees were scandalised that Jesus would mix with people labelled as sinners!

So you can imagine how disgusted Simon the Pharisee was when he invited Jesus to his house to mix with all the religious bigwigs – and a woman who had ‘lived a sinful life’ showed up! It is often assumed she had been a prostitute or had a loose sexual lifestyle. Whatever her past was, everyone knew about it, and this woman would have been despised.

So what was going on with the perfume and the tears and the hair? In that culture, washing the feet of guests and anointing their heads with oil was a gesture of hospitality and respect (verses 44-46). But this was a step or two further, and Simon was appalled that Jesus would allow this woman to approach Him like this.

Jesus hit the nail on the head with a story. A person who has been let off a huge debt feels deep gratitude to the lender – more so than if they had only owed a few pounds. At some point this woman had heard Jesus’ message and had seen God’s heart for her, despite her choices to live her own way rather than the way of her Maker. She had responded by confessing her sin to God and experiencing real forgiveness and peace.

Now, she wanted to show gratitude to Jesus, and this was the only way she knew how. She didn’t earn forgiveness by her actions – she was forgiven through faith, and her actions were simply the result of a grateful heart. Jesus’ words in verses 48 and 50 confirmed to her that she was loved and accepted by her heavenly Father.

The last few verses described other women who used their money to support Jesus and the apostles. Their motivation was also gratitude towards Jesus.

However, Simon had no such gratitude, because he didn’t think he needed forgiveness – after all, he was a very religious man! But being religious cannot cancel out the sin that we all have according to the Bible*, any more than adding sugar to a bottle of poison could make it safe to drink.

“Her many sins have been forgiven – as her great love has shown.”

Luke 7:47