Rachel Workman: 36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 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.
39 When 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.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[c] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. The Pharisee's were quick to accuse and judge Jesus. And on one hand I get it. His parables were uncommon in those times and he was the son of a carpenter after all. But others knew the minute someone spoke of Jesus that he was who they had been waiting on. I'm glad that I am like the woman in this story and not the Pharisees. I am a sinner like her and I'm in need of a savior like her. I'm glad my heart is not hardened against who Jesus is and what he has done for me.
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John Burnett:
36 When
one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the
Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a
sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came
there with an alabaster jar of perfume.38 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.
39 When
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.”
40 Jesus
answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two
people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[a] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to
pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him
more?”
43 Simon
replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” I
love Jesus for the debt that He paid for me. I feel inadequate compared
to the woman depicted here in this passage.
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
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Allen Michaels:
36 When one of the
Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s
house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who
lived a sinful life, (Some suppose this is Mary Magdalene, but we have no
evidence that this was her. In John 12:3, Mary of Bethany also anoints Jesus'
feet with oil, but this was a separate incident.), learned
that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an
alabaster jar of perfume. This tells us more than that she was a
sinner just like we are all sinners. She was a particularly notorious
sinner-most likely, a prostitute. 38 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. It was pretty bold for this woman with a
sinful reputation to come into the house of a Pharisee, but she was willing to
do anything to express her love for Jesus. Going into that house took courage
and determination. Although this woman was not an invited guest, she entered the
house anyway and knelt behind Jesus at his feet. In Jesus’ day, it was customary
to recline while eating. Dinner guests would lie on couches with their heads
near the table, propping themselves up on one elbow and stretching their feet
out behind them. The woman could easily anoint Jesus’ feet without approaching
the table.
39 When 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.” Simon the Pharisee doubted that Jesus was
a prophet because he thought that Jesus was unable to see this woman's heart.
But Jesus has no problem seeing hearts-He tells Simon the Pharisee exactly what
is on his heart.
40 Jesus answered
him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me,
teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed
money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the
other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back,
so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I
suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Jesus uses a simple and easily understood parable to
illustrate the point: the more we are forgiven, the more we should love. We
don't need to go and sin more in order to be forgiven more, thus loving God
more. All we need to do is become more sensitive to our current state of
sinfulness.
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Tomorrow’s reading for Luke 7:44-50.
44 Then
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. 45 You did not
give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped
kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has
poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many
sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been
forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then
Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The
other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives
sins?”
50 Jesus
said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
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