2199 Parable of the Pharisee and Sinful Woman

Sometimes, to understand the meaning of a story Jesus told, you have to back up and understand the entire scene. For today’s parable, we can’t just jump into the story without looking at what happened right before it. The situation leading up to the parable is actually the key to understanding why Jesus told it in the first place. So, before we get to the story, let’s back up a little. What was happening? Who was Jesus talking to? What had just unfolded? And what was Jesus trying to teach them? Luke 7:36–50 has four parts: the setting, the problem, the parable, and the point. And when you put all four pieces together, you see that Jesus wasn’t simply telling a story about a sinful woman and a judgmental Pharisee. He was exposing something much deeper – the condition of the human heart. Let’s start with the setting. Jesus has been invited to dinner at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. While they are eating, a woman with a reputation for being sinful enters the room. In fact, scripture calls her a “certain immoral woman”. She brings an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, stands behind Jesus, and begins to weep. Her tears fall onto His feet, and she wipes them with her hair. Then she kisses His feet and pours the perfume over them. Can you imagine the scene? This woman walks into a room where she knows she is not exactly welcome, and she goes straight to Jesus. She isn’t concerned about what everyone else thinks. She isn’t trying to defend herself or explain her past. She simply comes to Jesus with a heart full of something – love, gratitude, repentance, desperation. And she pours it all out at His feet. But the Pharisee is watching. Here’s the problem: Instead of seeing a woman who has come to Jesus, the Pharisee sees a woman who doesn’t belong in the room. It says, “When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘if this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!'” He has elevated himself to be better than this woman. Not only that, he is critical of her worship. What comes next you can’t miss. Verse 40, “Then JESUS ANSWERED HIS THOUGHTS. ‘Simon,’ he said to the Pharisee, I have something to say to you.'” Notice the Simon hadn’t spoken a word about this woman, he had only been thinking these thoughts. But Jesus KNEW his thoughts and he addressed them. My friends, it really isn’t just about what you say, it is what you think and how you feel in your heart. Jesus knows – and he has something to say about it! Now, the parable, verses 41 & 42: “Then Jesus told him a story. ‘A man loaned money to two people – 500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?’ Simon answered, ‘I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.’ ‘That’s right,’ Jesus said. Now, the point: Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, ‘Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. I tell you, her sins – and they are many – have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.’ Then Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ ———— Want to dig deeper with me? This immoral woman with a reputation is believed to perhaps be Mary Magdalene, who was likely a prostitute. It took so much courage for her to show up at a Pharisee’s house where she knew she would be judged. But absolutely nothing could stop her love for Jesus. When the Pharisee saw her, all he could see was her sin. And while Jesus was fully aware of her sin, he saw her love, her repentance and her devotion. There’s a saying that Satan knows your name but calls you by your sin – God knows your sin but calls you by your name. What a reminder for our hearts – how are we calling people? Is it all about what they’ve done, or can we remember WHO they really are? Who they were created to be. How God sees them. Jesus knew this woman. He saw her heart, just as he saw the Pharisee’s heart. Why did she love Jesus so much? Well, think about this perspective for a moment – this likely wasn’t their first encounter. Before th