44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
In verses 44 through 47, Jesus defended the woman’s action of love. He would apply His parable to the Pharisee, who lacked understanding of the woman’s love. The religious leader needed to learn something from a sinful woman.
7:44
Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.
Simon needed to understand why Jesus forgave the immoral woman. The Lord turned the woman into an object lesson about forgiveness. Simon the Pharisee needed to change his worldview about forgiveness. He was to accept her as a woman loved by God, a woman transformed.
7:45
You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.
Jesus compared the sinful woman to the Pharisee. She loved Jesus, but the Pharisee did not. She acted more like a host than Simon in his own house. He followed social conventions by condemning the sinful woman. He did not come to grips with the fact that he was also a sinner, a self-righteous prig. He was a person who did not believe because he did not see himself in need of a Savior.
7:46
You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.
The Pharisee Simon did not anoint the head of Jesus. He did not even pour olive oil on His head, a common courtesy in that society. Simon did not follow the social convention of honoring his guest, but the woman fulfilled that role by pouring perfume on Jesus’ feet. Simon demonstrated opposite actions toward Jesus than did the prostitute.
7:47
Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.
Jesus did not deny that the woman was a sinner; her sins were “many.” He did not gloss over her sins. The Bible consistently teaches that, no matter how many or to what degree one sins, God will forgive them.
Her love did not merit or earn forgiveness. Her love was proof of God’s grace in forgiving her.
But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
The issue was whether she was a forgiven person. She was in need of God’s grace. The immoral woman had great awareness of her debt to Jesus. No matter how many times this woman sinned, God forgave her by His grace. She was forgiven much, so she loved much. Her love proved she accepted God’s forgiveness. Love responded to God’s grace.
PRINCIPLE:
Forgiveness does not come from love; instead, love comes as a result of forgiveness.
APPLICATION:
Christians love because they have been forgiven. The sinful woman loved by placing her faith in Jesus’ forgiveness for her sins. Her faith manifested itself in love. The woman’s forgiveness did not come from her act of worshipping Jesus, but her acts of worship show she was already forgiven. Her love emerged from her forgiveness. She was assured of the kind of God He is; He responds to even people of great need.
We should see people as they are rather than what they were.
