You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. [Colossians 2:13-14 (NLT)]
In Luke 7:36-50, we find a “sinful” woman anointing Jesus with her tears and perfumed oil. Taking place in Galilee early in Jesus’ ministry, this occurs at the home of Simon the Pharisee. During a banquet at the Pharisee’s home, a “sinful” woman carrying an alabaster jar entered. Remorseful for her sins, the uninvited guest fell at Jesus’ feet, washed them with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and kissed His feet while anointing them with perfume from her jar.
To Simon, the woman’s sins contaminated Jesus and made Him ritually unclean. The Pharisee silently questioned Jesus’ credentials as a prophet. If Jesus were a real prophet, He’d know she was a sinner and never allow her presence let alone her touch! Although His host’s thoughts of judgment and disdain were unspoken, Jesus knew what he (and probably the others present) were thinking. He answered their thoughts with a parable about a money lender who forgave the debts of two debtors—one who owed just 50 denarii and the other who owed 500. When Jesus asked Simon which debtor would love the lender most, the man admitted it would be the one with the larger debt.
Comparing the woman to Simon, Jesus noted his host’s rudeness to Him. Although it was customary to anoint a guest’s head with oil as a way of saying, “You are an honored guest,” Simon had not. Nor had his host offered Jesus the foot washing ordinarily given to guests. While the woman had been sincere and respectful in her devotion, Simon had been disingenuous in his invitation and rude to his guest. To the dismay of those present, Jesus told the woman, “Your sins are forgiven…. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” [7:49,50]
While we tend to remember the unnamed “sinful” woman in Luke’s account, it is as much about Simon as it is about the sinner who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. In Jesus’ parable, just as the debtor whose massive debt was forgiven and loves greatly represents the “sinful” woman, the debtor whose love is minimal represents Simon.
The “sinful” woman knew she was unworthy, but the sanctimonious Simon didn’t recognize his unworthiness. She was fully aware of her sizeable sin debt but Simon, so focused on judgment and looking good to others, didn’t see his. The woman knew she needed saving, but the self-righteous Simon couldn’t see the need for a savior because he didn’t know he was drowning!
Knowing this woman’s past, Simon decided it determined her future. Thinking “once a sinner always a sinner,” he never wondered about her apparent change of heart. The woman, however, no longer was the sinner Simon knew. Something changed her and that something was Jesus. She didn’t anoint Jesus to earn forgiveness; she experienced Jesus’ forgiveness before entering Simon’s house. Rather than a transaction, this was a gift for the Lord coming from her faith, love, and thanksgiving.
Like one of the parable’s debtors, she knew she was forgiven much so she loved greatly. After experiencing Jesus’ love and forgiveness, she deliberately sought Him and did for Him what Simon should have done. Like her, do we fully appreciate Jesus’ forgiveness? Do we appreciate it enough to humble ourselves in the presence of others? Enough to go where we’re not welcome? Enough to publicly lavish Him with expressions of love and faith? Enough to serve the Lord wherever He takes us? We should!
Devotions of the Heart 