Which of them will love him more?

Luke 7:36-50 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ³⁷ And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, ³⁸ and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “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.”

⁴⁰ And Jesus answered 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 forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” ⁴⁴ 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.” ⁴⁹ Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

We are not told much about the identity of either the woman or the Pharisee in today’s text. We do know that their social standings were opposite one another. We can surmise that their motives for being with Jesus were very different also. The Pharisee had requested that Jesus dine with him. We are not told all of what his motive and reason for making the request was, but surely there was at least an element of ego and pride. Large crowds followed Jesus and came to where He was to listen to His teaching and to be in His healing presence. Surely the Pharisee sought after the attention that came with hosting Jesus. The woman on the other hand had probably been among that crowd. She had probably heard His teaching and certainly she had sensed His love and His grace toward sinners. The text says:   And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume,  and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.     The woman was drawn to Jesus. Far from being proud, she approached Him humbly. She didn’t seek the recognition of the crowd. She sought only the one she recognized to be her savior. Sinners are drawn to Jesus, not to remain in their sin, but rather to be freed from it, to be forgiven and redeemed.  

When the Pharisee saw what was happening his response was to judge both the woman and Jesus Himself. The text says:  Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “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.”     In 1 Samuel 16:7 it says:  “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”    Surely Jesus did know what type of woman she was. But He looked past what was in this realm. Jesus saw, with the eyes of the Spirit who this woman was in the heavenly realm, that she was a humble, repentant sinner; a child of God drawn to Jesus for His love and saving grace. In Matthew 7:1-2 Jesus says:  “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”   We see in the text that that is the result of the judgment of the Pharisee. As he judged the woman as a sinner, so was he judged as a sinner. As he judged Jesus as not seeing, his inability to see in the spiritual realm, to see as God does, was judged.   

The text ends saying:  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. You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 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.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”   James 4:6 says:  “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”   This is not to be mistaken though that Jesus or God the Father prefers sinners to religious people. The context of James 4 is this:  Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.   To remain in sin, to be a friend of the world, is to be an enemy of God.  Jesus didn’t love the sin of the woman. The woman lamented, mourned and wept over her sinfulness. She humbled herself in the sight of the Lord and indeed she was lifted up. Her sins were forgiven. Jesus said her faith saved her. He said that she had loved Him much and so was forgiven much.

God doesn’t judge as we do. Neither does He rank sins as we do. He is not concerned with whether the world sees us as the greatest or the least. Romans 6:23 says:  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.   Both the least and the greatest in the eyes of man are sinners. God looks for humble repentant hearts, ones who will weep and mourn over their sinfulness. Those He forgives. Those He redeems and those He will lift up.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You for not seeing and judging as the world does. Thank You that while we were sinners, Christ died for us, that whoever will humble themselves, repenting over their sin, believing in Jesus, will be redeemed, forgiven and lifted up, eternally saved and empowered go in peace, to live and walk in Your presence and Your will. Amen.