Luke 7:36-49
March 5, 2025
Do you think 4 words can really make a difference in your life? Consider the following phrases made up of 4 words: “You passed, you’ll graduate;” or “I’m sorry, it’s cancer;” or “Yes, you are pregnant;” or “You are being audited.” Those phrases elicit a wide range of emotions. But there is one 4-word phrase that is more powerful than any other, because it can change you while also changing others. What are those 4 words? Your sins are forgiven. We heard those words in our Gospel reading tonight and they made a powerful impact on a sinful woman.
In our text, we see a woman who was marked by her sin, who shows up at a Pharisee’s home uninvited. We are not given the woman’s name, but her sin defined her, described her, and determined her standing within the community. A Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus over to his home for a meal, but apparently he did not think very highly of Jesus. He did not believe Jesus was the Savior of the world and did not even think very much of Jesus as the normal courtesies offered to guests – such as greeting someone with a kiss, providing water to wash their feet, and putting oil on their head as a sign of welcome were not offered to Jesus. Picture a father who refuses to shake the hand of his daughter’s boyfriend or fails to offer to take his coat when he comes over for dinner. I don’t know why Simon invited Jesus to his house if he didn’t like him, but my guess is that he wanted to observe Jesus more closely as many people were saying that Jesus was a great prophet and possibly the promised Messiah.
So when this sinful woman learned that Jesus was eating at Simon’s house, she decided to just walk in – uninvited and unwelcome. Just imagine how awkward and upsetting her mere presence must have been to Simon and the other guests, much less what she proceeds to do when she finally gets to see Jesus face to face. In verses 37-38 it says, “She brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind Jesus at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears
and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.” Verse 39 tells us that when Simon saw this he thought, “Ah-ha! Here is the proof I wanted. There is no way this Jesus is who He says He is, because if he was a prophet, he would have known what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” The implication is that if Jesus knew this woman’s reputation, He would have told her to leave.
But Jesus proves that He is much more than a prophet as He responds to Simon’s thoughts by saying, “Simon, I have something to say to you. A certain money lender had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii and the other 50. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Jesus then pointed out that what this woman was doing was a sign of love for Him, while Simon didn’t even extend some common courtesies to Him that he would normally show to guests at his house.
Simon and the others saw this woman only as an object of scorn. She was a sinner, and they saw her only as a means by which they could stand in judgment and feel better about themselves thinking, “I’m not perfect, but at least I’m not like that sinful woman.”
But Jesus saw something entirely different. He saw a woman who knew the depth of her sin and the depth of God’s grace and forgiveness. He saw a woman so moved by what He had done for her that she would spare no expense or shame or humility in order to thank Him for His unconditional love and forgiveness.
The question that Jesus asked of Simon in verse 44, “Do you see this woman?” is actually a question that is asked of anyone reading this text. Do you see yourself in that woman whose name we are not given? You should, because this woman, this person, is you and me. This person who has been forgiven much, this person who is so dependent upon the grace of God, is the person you and I see when we look in the mirror in the morning.
The problem is, sometimes we don’t see her. We get caught up in this story playing the wrong role. We play the part of Simon the Pharisee. We think too highly of ourselves, we judge people, and we overestimate our goodness. Just consider how often we focus on the sins of others without doing a reality check on ourselves. The only difference between Simon and this sinful woman was the sinful woman recognized her sin. And in recognizing this reality, she couldn’t resist the opportunity to respond to what Jesus had done for her.
She held nothing back. She gave her wealth with that alabaster jar of ointment. She gave her sorrow in her tears; and she gave her honor by using her own hair to wipe the dirt off of Jesus’ feet. She gave herself to Jesus in front of a room full of people who gossiped about her, mocked her, and looked down on her. But she didn’t care, because when any of these things are held up against the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of God, they just don’t matter.
In comparison to this woman, just consider how much we hold back from God. For some of us we hold back our time from God. We just can’t give a lot of time to God, because we’re so busy or we’re just tired. For others, we hold back our reputation by not speaking up when we have an opportunity to talk about Jesus. We hold back our blessings, the very blessings God has given to us when we do not give of ourselves to Him as we should, and do not use the gifts God gives as we should. Every one of us is guilty of holding something back from God. So every one of us needs to hear the sound of that alabaster jar breaking open, to come running to Jesus, and to remember what He has done for us.
Regardless of our failure to see Jesus for who He really is, regardless of all the times we have acted like Simon, regardless of all the times we have sinned, God has never held anything back from us. He paid for our sins on the cross and He continues to bless us each day. So hear those 4 words again tonight and use them with others. They will change your life and they will change the lives of others – Your sins are forgiven.
