A Pharisee invited him to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” 40 Jesus said to him in reply, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. 41 “Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty. 42 Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon said in reply, “The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.” He said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. 47 So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” 48 He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The others at table said to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Jesus is dining in the home of Simon, a Pharisee, when a woman known in the city as a sinner enters and approaches Him. Luke does not tell us what her sins were, so there is no basis for identifying her as a prostitute or with Mary Magdalene. What matters is that her sinful reputation is known and that Simon judges both the woman and Jesus because Jesus allows her to approach Him.
The woman stands at Jesus’ feet weeping, bathes them with her tears, wipes them with her hair, repeatedly kisses them, and anoints them with ointment. These actions go far beyond ordinary hospitality. Simon sees only “what sort of woman” she is, but Jesus sees something Simon does not: her faith, repentance, gratitude, and love.
Jesus therefore tells Simon about two people who owe very different amounts of money. Neither is able to repay the debt, and the creditor freely forgives both. Jesus asks which debtor will love the creditor more. Simon correctly answers that it will be the one whose greater debt was forgiven. The point begins with something essential: neither debtor can repay what he owes. Forgiveness is a gift.
Jesus then applies the parable directly to the woman and Simon. Simon gave Jesus no water for His feet, no kiss, and no oil for His head. The woman, however, has washed His feet with her tears, continually kissed them, and anointed them with ointment. Her actions reveal the difference between someone who recognizes the mercy she has received and someone who does not yet recognize his own need for that mercy.
This is the meaning of Jesus’ words, “her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love” (v. 47). Here, love does not mean romantic affection or simply an emotion. It means a grateful and devoted response to the mercy she has received from God. Her love is expressed in humility, reverence, gratitude, and concrete acts of devotion toward Jesus. Her great love is therefore the response to recognizing how greatly she has been forgiven. Jesus’ parable makes the order clear: first the debt is forgiven; then the forgiven debtor responds with love. Her tears and acts of devotion show outwardly what has taken place within her.
Simon’s difficulty is therefore deeper than a failure of hospitality. He sees the woman as a sinner but does not appear to see himself as someone who also needs forgiveness. Jesus is not teaching that only people with especially notorious sins can love greatly. He is teaching that those who recognize how much they depend upon God’s mercy are able to respond to that mercy with deeper love.
Jesus then says directly to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven” (v. 48). The other guests immediately ask, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” (v. 49). Their question points beyond the woman to the identity of Jesus Himself. Earlier in Luke, the same question arose when Jesus forgave the paralytic, because forgiveness of sins belongs to God (Luke 5:20–21). Jesus is doing more than speaking about God’s forgiveness; He exercises the authority to forgive.
Finally, Jesus tells the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (v. 50). Her salvation does not come from the ointment, her tears, or the outward actions themselves. Jesus points to her faith. Her love gives visible expression to that faith, and the peace with which Jesus sends her away is the fruit of the forgiveness and salvation she has received.
The woman entered Simon’s house known simply as a sinner. She leaves having heard from Jesus Himself that she is forgiven, saved through faith, and sent forth in peace. Her story reminds us that the more clearly we recognize how much we ourselves have been forgiven, the more deeply we can love the One who forgives us.
Lord Jesus, help us to recognize our need for Your mercy and to receive Your forgiveness with faith and humility. May the mercy You give us bear fruit in greater love for You and for others, and may we live in the peace You alone can give. Amen.
______________________
Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. Notes on Luke 7:36–50.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010. 121.
- Casciaro, Jose Maria, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008. 278–279.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990. 697, paras. 99–100.
- Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: The Gospel of Luke. 149–153.
- Aguilar Chiu, Jose Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018. 1057–1058.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid, OP, and Donald Senior, CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. 3rd fully rev. ed. London: T&T Clark, 2022. 1316.
Comments