Luke 7:36-50 Simon the PhariseeElderly Care Ministry
Luke 7.36-50
36Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner." 40Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.
41"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
43Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
44Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
48Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
49The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
50Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
In this story, there is a man named Simon who invites Jesus to his house as a guest. He was a very religious, moral and respected person. However, he was not a good host. In that culture, it was very important to treat guests properly with respect. Typically, the host would do the following 3 things for guest:
- kiss of peace
- wash guest’s feet with cool water
- pinch of sweet –smelling incense or a drop of attar of roses on the head
He does none of that. In this story, we also read about a woman who is simply referred to as ‘a woman who had lived a sinful life.’ She was not the host, but she does all the things that a host should do, and she does it in an extravagant way.
So, let’s look at why Simon and the woman responded the way they did to Jesus.
But before we go any further, I want to go over one point. One thing we can recognize about Simon is that he has a wrong understanding of God. He says in verse 39,
“If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.” - Luke 7:39
He thinks that God can’t stand sinners, and that God does not associate in any way with them. In other words, he thinks God does not welcome sinners into his presence. Perhaps, some of us here have similarly wrong view of God. Perhaps some of us think that God does not want us to come seeking him until we clean up our lives, or get our lives straightened out. I used to think like that. I used to think I should not go to church unless I am living a respectful and descent life. God isn’t like that at all. One thing that is clear throughout the bible is that God welcomes sinners, and he invites sinners to come as they are.
So, going back to the story, we see that this woman does not hold anything back in expressing her love and gratitude to Jesus.
37When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
This perfume was probably her life saving, her most expensive possession. But she does not spare that at all. After cleaning the feet of Jesus with her tears and her hair, she breaks the jar, pours out the perfume on his feet. She seems to have forgotten that there were people watching what she was doing.
On the other hand, Simon did none of the things he was supposed to do. Jesus said to Simon:
44Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.
How do we explain this woman’s overflowing love and expression of gratitude to Jesus? Jesus explains it in verse 47:
47Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.
Is Jesus saying this woman received more forgiveness than Simon because she sinned more than him? No, that’s not what Jesus is saying.
Romans 3:23 reads,
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
The bible simply says we are all sinners, we all fell short of God’s standard of holiness. However, in our minds we think some are ‘bigger’ sinners than others. We might look at our friend, our roommate, or our neighbor, and as we compare ourselves to him/her, think to ourselves, “God, I know I am not perfect, but at least my life isn’t as messed up as my friend here. Overall, I am a descent, respectable person. I never harmed anyone. Based on these, I think I have earned the right to be received into heaven.” Simon was this sort of person.
This woman, on the other hand, knew that she was a sinner. She knew that she did not deserve to go to heaven. But when she came to Jesus as a sinner, Jesus forgave her and gave her the right to enter heaven.
At the end of the story, Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Conclusion:
What is your response to the bible’s claim that we are all sinners? Are you like Simon, who thought to himself, “I am not a sinner, and I don’t even like to associate with sinners. If God is going to accept anyone, he will accept people like me.” Or are you like this woman, who did not deny that she was a sinner, who knew she did not deserve to be accepted into heaven? Good news is that God is ready to receive people like this woman.
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