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Luke 7:36–50 takes us into the home of Simon, a Pharisee who has invited Jesus to share a meal. In the first-century world, eating together carried a strong sense of fellowship and acceptance, making what happens next all the more confronting. A woman from the city, publicly known as a sinner, enters carrying an alabaster flask of fragrant oil. She stands behind Jesus at His feet, weeping. Her tears fall upon His feet; she wipes them with her hair, kisses them and pours out the costly perfume. Everything about the scene is personal. This is not religious performance. It is a lavish expression of humility, repentance, devotion and love.
Simon sees something very different. Looking at the woman, he reasons within himself that if Jesus really were a prophet, surely He would know what kind of person was touching Him. Simon sees her history. He sees her reputation. He sees what she has done. Jesus not only knows the woman — He also knows what Simon is thinking. So He tells him a simple story about two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii and another fifty. Neither could repay, and the creditor freely forgave them both. Which one, Jesus asks, will love him more? Simon reluctantly gives the obvious answer: the one who was forgiven more.
Jesus then turns towards the woman while continuing to speak to Simon: “Do you see this woman?” Simon had been looking at her from the beginning, but he had not really seen her. Jesus contrasts her actions with Simon’s own welcome. Simon offered no water for His feet; she washed them with her tears. Simon gave Him no kiss; she had not ceased kissing His feet. Simon gave Him no oil; she poured expensive fragrant oil upon Him. Her actions were not purchasing forgiveness. They were revealing the heart of someone who knew that she needed mercy and had come to Christ in faith. As Jesus explains, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.” Love is the fruit of forgiveness.
That is where this passage becomes searching for us as well. Simon could see the woman only through the lens of what she had done. Jesus saw repentance, faith, love and devotion. There is a warning here against the self-righteous heart that looks at another person and quietly says, “Look at what they have done.” All of us stand as debtors before God. The difference is not that some need forgiveness while others do not; it is whether we recognise our need. When we truly begin to see Christ for who He is, we also begin to see ourselves more honestly. And when we understand how much mercy has been shown to us, love for Christ should increasingly become the response.
Jesus finally says directly to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven… Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” That is why I call this the greatest miracle in Luke 7. Earlier in the chapter we saw a servant healed and a widow’s son raised from the dead — astonishing demonstrations of Christ’s authority and compassion. Yet physical healing remains temporal, and even someone restored to earthly life will one day face death again. Forgiveness reaches into eternity. Through Christ, sin can be washed away, the guilty can be reconciled to God, and the sinner can receive everlasting life. This is the reason Jesus came. The greatest miracle is not simply what He can change around us; it is what He has done to save us.
Watch or listen to this study from Luke 7:36–50 as we consider the woman who came weeping to Jesus, the Pharisee who judged her, and the eternal miracle contained in Christ’s words: “Your sins are forgiven… Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
Scriptures Mentioned / Referenced
- Luke 7:36–50 — main passage
- Luke 5:1–11 — Peter recognising himself differently after encountering the authority of Christ
- Luke 7:1–10 — healing of the centurion’s servant
- Luke 7:11–17 — raising of the widow of Nain’s son
