We come now to the final section of this 7th chapter in the book of Luke. As we come to these last 11 verses we need to remember the context in which this section is spoken. Jesus was invited to the house of a Pharisee, who we will learn in this study is Simon, to join in a dinner. Remember we have often talked about how most religious leaders would never associate with anyone other than those that were in their circle. We may assume that this Pharisee wanted to bring Jesus to his house so that he could show off how religious and “godly” he really was. I made the point in our last study that often we see that the Pharisee were doing nothing other than trying to bring accusations against Jesus to try to prove His disobedience to the law. They looked around God’s law to their own traditions so that they could find some type of accusation against our Lord but it back fired every time.
As we will see there will be no difference in that here. The context shows us that while they were eating, there came along in the house a sinful woman, most likely a woman that was a known prostitute, came to Jesus with a repentant heart. This was shown in her crying and also in her humiliation of washing and kissing the feet of Jesus. But as always the Pharisees looked to accuse Jesus so we see in Luke 7:39 Now when the Pharisee, who had invited Him, saw this, he said to himself, saying, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”
This statement was a slam towards this woman in a sense but much more an accusation of Jesus’ knowledge of who this woman was. In other words he was saying if this man is who he says he is, he would not let a woman that commits such sinful acts to touch him. This would bring about some impure thoughts from this Pharisee about Jesus’ purity. This sets the stage for how Jesus responds to this Pharisee’s inner thoughts. This will be a moment of teaching and forgiveness that we will learn in this section. Let’s look now at our first point.
1.Jesus responds to Simon with a parable.
Look with me at Luke 7:40-43 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he graciously forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
The start of this verse makes it look as if Simon had asked Jesus a question but in reality verse 39 said that Simon had said what he said to himself. It is possible that he spoke this verbally but usually this is referenced as speaking to himself inwardly with no verbal communication. So with that we see again that Jesus knows the very thoughts of this Pharisee and looks to expose his hypocrisy.
The word answer in the Greek can also mean to take up a conversation so it is clear that Jesus is replying but is also that Jesus is wanting to talk with Simon about what he just thought. In amazement Simon accused Jesus of not knowing what sort of woman was touching Him but Jesus proved that wrong by knowing the very thoughts of Simon. Jesus tells a parable of two debtors that can easily be represented of the Pharisee which would be the debtor with 50 denarii in debts and the sinful woman with 500 denarii in debts. Notice that even though there is a distinction in the amount, these two are both debtors. The one with less debt did not get a pat on the back for not being as bad as the other but that they both had debts. This of course is representative of the sins of each person. We are all sinners but we may not be committing the same sins or the same amount of sins as others but that does not lessen the fact that we are still sinners.
In the parable Jesus says that the moneylender graciously forgave them both because they were unable to pay their debt. Just like us, we too can never pay our sin debt whether you sinned once or a million times. Now understand that Jesus is laying out a parable to get Simon to think and in no way is saying that this Pharisee has repented of his sins and is forgiven. He is speaking this in a parable to make a comparison when he says that they were both forgiven. He moves now to the point of why He spoke this to Simon by asking him So which of them will love him more?
The answer seems obvious because of the reality of the debt so we see what is said again in Luke 7:43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he graciously forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
This answer shows us that Simon knew logically who would show a love more outwardly and expressively. He knew that the one that had the most debt would be more loving and gracious. I think about it this way, if I owed someone 50 dollars and another 50,000 dollars and they both wiped that debt clean, I would be thankful for both of those people but the one that forgave that big debt would be someone I would look to pay back in some form through acts of service etc…
This brings us now to the real lesson as we move into our next point.
2.The forgiveness of the sinful woman.
Look with me at Luke 7:44-48 And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 47 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
In the 1st century it was usually common courtesy to provide water to wash the feet of a guest or provide someone to wash the feet of a guest. Some wealthy people would have servants do this for their guest. As we know they had dusty roads and this was a gesture of respect and honor to your guest. Here in our story we see that Jesus just showed Simon that he was as much in need of forgiveness as this sinful woman even though she had a quantity of sins that could have been viewed as greater. We all need forgiveness and it is with that we see Jesus turned toward the woman and then showed Simon how this woman expressed her gratitude for Jesus.
This statement Jesus speaks in verses 44-46 really exposes the hypocrisy of this Pharisee because he is condemning this woman for her actions, he is condemning Jesus for allowing her to touch him and yet he has not even done the most basic thing to show his respect for the guest he invited to his house. Now some might suggest that yes Simon maybe failed at being courteous but does this really show his sinfulness? We need to understand that Jesus shows us the contrast between the two by then saying in Luke 7:47 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.
There is no indication that Jesus tells this Pharisee that he too is forgiven but rather shows Simon that forgiveness comes to those that have expressed the need to be forgiven. This Pharisee, like all other Pharisee’s, did not see themselves as people that needed forgiveness. They felt like they had reached the pinnacle of the religious ladder and that if someone was from God, then they would surely be accepted. In reality they were so far from being able to receive forgiveness because their hearts were corrupt and callous. Their agenda was so corrupt that they failed to show love and compassion in the simplest things like providing water for the guest to wash their feet.
This point is clear here and then we see Jesus say to the woman in Luke 7:48b “Your sins have been forgiven.”
This statement gives to us a clear picture that this woman was saved at this moment. This forgiveness was not because of some personal act she had done toward Jesus but it is the forgiveness that is associated with redemption. Ephesians 1:7 says In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace.
Colossians 1:11-14 says being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 Who rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The forgiveness of sins is in connection to God’s great mercy and grace as seen in Isaiah 43:25 that says “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.
Then also Psalm 32:5 says I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not cover up; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh;” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
God is a forgiving God, but to those that do not have an attitude of the need of forgiveness will not receive forgiveness. This woman showed her need for forgiveness in spite of all that she had done. She may had been a person that lived in unadulterated sin, she may have exposed her sin in front of others which brought about shame but here she has shown her need to be forgiven and that is exactly what she receives.
This moves us to see the last two verses that first shows us the reaction of the people that heard Jesus speak to her that her sin had been forgiven. Look at this response from Luke 7:49 that says And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”
We have heard this type of question before from the scribes and Pharisee after Jesus heals a paralytic in Luke 5. In Luke 5:20 Jesus says And seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” Then the response at that time was recorded in Luke 5:21 that says The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”
The thing is they had their question right in a sense. No one other than God can forgive sins but sadly they did not make the connection that Jesus is indeed God, that He is the Son of God, that He is the incarnate God. They missed the mark and continued to find a reason to accuse instead of submitting to the Lordship of Jesus as God. So again in our Luke 7 text this same thought resurfaces which brings this question of who is this man that even forgives sin?
We do not see any dialogue concerning this question but we can only assume that some of the same conclusions are drawn here about Jesus. We know that the Pharisees do not stop at their attempts to trip Jesus up so therefore we can conclude that none of them at this point starts to follow or accept His teaching.
Lastly we see that Jesus expresses to the woman how she received this forgiveness in Luke 7:50 that says And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Now do not take out of context that Jesus says anything like what we hear the prosperity preachers in our time speak. He does not say if you have more faith then you will receive more forgiveness. He simply says that her faith is what saved her. Faith is not a work of the human will but the proof of the work of God in a person. Ephesians 2:8-9 says For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not of works, so that no one may boast.
It is this faith that a person must have in order to be saved. We can not on our own muster up this faith. Our own faith makes us think we have done enough to get the attention of God to give to us salvation but true faith is seen in the fact that the sinner recognizes their own sin and knows that they are unworthy of any forgiveness. At that point faith is birthed, grace and mercy is given and salvation is secured. Sinner, have you done this? Do you recognize your sin or are you like the Pharisee that thinks himself to be better than others? I hope that you will be as this sinful woman and receive today the forgiveness of sins needed for eternal life in Christ.
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