Luke 7:36-50
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.
Jesus often criticized the Pharisees for their pride, their self-righteousness, their hypocrisy, and their lack of mercy toward those who had fallen. In fact they were Jesus’ most prominent opponents, and they bore a considerable share of the responsibility for His crucifixion. Because of this we are inclined to think of them as bad and evil men, but that is far from the whole picture. The Pharisees were intensely religious and strove to keep every last requirement of the law. They believed that their salvation depended on keeping God’s commandments. They also believed in the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:8). Many of them were well-meaning, and some were even friendly toward Jesus. From Luke 13:31 we learn that those who warned Jesus of Herod’s intention to kill Him were Pharisees. Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night and acknowledged Him as a teacher sent from God, was also a Pharisee (John 7:45-46). And from Luke 11:37 and 14:2 we learn that the Pharisees were hospitable, and that—like Simon—they often invited Jesus to eat at their homes.
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.
The woman who burst into Simon’s house and interrupted his dinner came from the very opposite end of the social spectrum. Luke describes her as a sinner. According to church tradition she was a prostitute, but we have no biblical proof of that. Some hold that she was actually Mary Magdalene, “from whom seven demons had come out” (Luke 8:2), but there is not enough evidence for that either. In any case she pushed her way into Simon’s dining room, interrupted the conversation and the meal, and what she did would, at first glance, strike us as eccentric and extravagant to say the least. She wept uncontrollably, drenched Jesus’ feet with her tears, and wiped them with her loosened hair. On top of that she kissed His feet and anointed them with the perfume she had brought. Such an open display of feeling was downright scandalous to Simon.
Is Jesus a Prophet, or Something More?
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 host, had most likely invited Jesus to his home in order to get a closer look at the young prophet. As a rule he kept himself ritually clean, and he expected the other religious leaders to do the same. So he was disturbed by the sinful woman’s behavior, which was so foreign to him, and shocked that Jesus did nothing to push her away. Simon had allowed that Jesus might be a prophet of God, but the moment he saw Jesus tolerate this sinner, he ruled that possibility out. Simon was proud of having avoided so many of the temptations others fall into. When you strive to live a disciplined life, it makes you sensitive to the lack of discipline in others. Simon could put up with a lack of discipline in the “unclean masses,” but not in a religious leader like Jesus. He reasoned that if Jesus were a prophet, as the people took Him to be, He would recognize “who and what kind” of woman was interrupting their dinner. He took it for granted that if Jesus knew what she was, He would not allow her to behave as she did. As far as Simon was concerned, if Jesus tolerated such frivolous behavior from a sinner, He could hardly be a prophet.
Everything said so far actually prepares us to grasp the central idea of the story, which is that Jesus is not only a prophet but something more than a prophet. He is God, who forgives sins.
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said.
Simon thought that if Jesus were a prophet He would know that the woman touching Him was a sinner, and would not let her touch Him—but he never spoke this thought out loud. Jesus, however, answered Simon’s thought before he had even voiced it. By this He showed that He knew not only what the woman was, but what Simon was. Do you notice the irony in all this? Simon decides that Jesus is not a prophet because, as he sees it, Jesus does not discern what kind of woman is touching Him—and Jesus proves that He is a prophet by revealing that He knows exactly what is hidden in Simon’s heart.
Who Loves More?
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 offers Simon a parable in the form of a riddle. A creditor had two debtors. One of them owed a considerable sum—roughly two months’ average wages. The other owed ten times less. Since both were, so to speak, “insolvent,” the creditor forgave the debts of both. “Which of the two debtors will love the generous creditor more?” Jesus asks. Notice Simon’s hesitant answer: “I suppose… the one who had the bigger debt forgiven,” he says. Simon feels cornered and cannot wriggle out of his awkward position. To admit that the one forgiven the heavier debt loves more is in fact to admit the sinful woman’s moral superiority over him. For once he has made such an admission, all that is left for Jesus to do is to point out the obvious. The woman is deeply grateful and shows her love because she has been forgiven much. Simon, by contrast, is far more passive—which shows that his sins may be fewer than the sinful woman’s, but his love is smaller than hers as well.
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.
Simon judged people and treated them according to their standing in society. Jesus, by contrast, looked on people as individual persons and treated them as human beings—not as specimens of various classes. Jesus asked Simon, “Do you see this woman?” It was a rhetorical question, but if Simon had had to answer it, he would have said “No.” He saw the woman’s reputation; he saw her unusual behavior; he saw the disturber of his carefully planned dinner; he saw the young prophet’s failure to react in a fitting way. He saw a great many things, but he did not see the woman—the person who was repenting of her sins and worshiping the Son of God.
Your Sins Are Forgiven!
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?”
Those who began to ask whether Jesus had the right to forgive sins were raising a legitimate question. They knew (as we do) that only God can forgive sins. If Jesus were not acting in God’s name when He forgave the sins of this notorious sinner, then He would have crossed every allowable boundary of arrogance and blasphemy. His words were every bit as scandalous as the woman’s actions during the dinner. But Jesus is not merely a prophet. He is God.
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Faith had brought this woman to Jesus. Faith opens the door of forgiveness and salvation. Notice that Jesus did not tell Simon that he too was forgiven. Not that Simon had no need of the forgiveness of sins—but his heart was not open to receive God’s grace. This story is a reflection of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Out of shame the tax collector dared not even lift his eyes toward God, while the Pharisee thanked God that he was not like “this tax collector.” But Jesus said (Luke 18:14):
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
We must never allow ourselves to think that we are immune to spiritual pride. On the contrary, we must be careful not to catch ourselves thanking God that we are not like “those proud Pharisees”…
Five Ingredients of Active Worship
Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus into his house, but not into his heart. He was in Jesus’ presence, yet he stood by doing nothing. In his coldness and detachment he missed his fellowship with the Lord and the opportunity he had, given that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself was in his home. Jesus did not keep silent. He rebuked him, and from this we understand that God takes no pleasure in passive worship. If we set the attitude of Simon the Pharisee alongside the attitude of the repentant sinful woman toward the Lord Jesus, we can discover five ingredients of active worship.
Humility
The first of these ingredients is humility. When she realized that Jesus was in Simon’s house, the woman came to Him and took her place directly before Him. According to the customs of that day, the guests at this dinner were most likely reclining on cushions around the table, with their feet stretched out behind them, away from the food. So the woman stood “behind him, at his feet.” She did this because she was aware of her sinful condition and was humbled. Verse 38 says:
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.
In doing this work, the woman was in fact taking the position of a servant. For washing the feet of the master of the house was precisely the duty of the household servant. We find proof of this in the Old Testament as well. In 1 Samuel 25:41 Abigail bows to the ground and says to David:
41 She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, “I am your servant and am ready to serve you and wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”
Washing the feet is a gesture of voluntary submission and humility.
Unlike the woman, Simon the Pharisee did not realize that he too was a sinner, and he allowed a critical, faultfinding attitude toward Jesus to take root in himself (v. 39).
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.”
Until we humble ourselves, we cannot begin to worship God truly. Pride is always an obstacle in our relationships—both with God and with people. Pride makes us cynical and suspicious.
As host, Simon was obliged to show Jesus the ordinary gestures of attention and hospitality of that time—to give Him water to wash His feet, to greet Him with a kiss of welcome, and to anoint Him with fragrant oil to refresh Him. But Simon had withheld every one of these gestures—a neglect that showed too little respect for his guest. By washing His feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair, by anointing His feet with perfume, the “sinner” was simply correcting what the host had left undone.
Of course, Simon’s real problem was not his lack of sensitivity and tact as a host, but his spiritual pride. He had worked so hard to keep God’s laws that he no longer considered himself a sinner. He saw the distance between himself and the sinful woman, but he could not even begin to imagine the vast distance that separated him from God. And if he allowed that he did have some need of God’s grace, he thought it was so small that God would grant it to him without any trouble at all. The woman who was touching Jesus, however, appeared to Simon to be such a wretched sinner that, as far as he was concerned, there could hardly be any hope of redemption for her. What could God possibly do with such a woman? Why would He want her at all? Jesus, however, thought differently. He accepted her and forgave her sins. He would have accepted Simon too, but Simon’s pride kept him from asking for repentance.
What we can learn from Simon’s pride and the sinful woman’s humility is that we begin to worship truly only when we humble ourselves and begin to grasp the worthiness of God together with our own inadequacy and sinfulness. Whether we owe the moneylender five hundred denarii or fifty, we cannot repay them by our own strength. We are utterly insolvent with respect to sin. The only thing we can do is to humble ourselves and plead for mercy.
Feeling
The second of the five ingredients of active worship is the free expression of our feelings. This woman was truly broken over her sins and began to weep at Jesus’ feet. She gave free rein to her feelings and emotions (v. 38).
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.
Tears are an expression of feeling. The eyes of this woman, which before had been “full of adultery” and never stopped sinning (2 Peter 2:14), had now become springs of tears of repentance. Her face, which before had been covered with shadow, rouge, and makeup, was now smudged and streaked with weeping. Her hair, which before had been styled, braided, and adorned, was now turned into a towel for wiping feet. Perhaps she had grieved over her sin before, but now, having the chance to come into the presence of Christ, the wound of her heart opened afresh, and her sorrow over her sins began to pour out uncontrollably. She gave free expression to her feelings. And Jesus did not condemn her—on the contrary, He supported her.
Simon was offended by such an outburst of feeling and by the fact that Jesus allowed this sinful woman to come near Him and even to touch Him (v. 39).
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 had invited Jesus into his house, but not into his heart! He understood neither what the woman was doing nor what Jesus was doing. Those who do not understand what is really taking place in worship cannot be moved and stirred during praise. Worship cannot be active unless it flows from a burning love for God. Jesus noted of this woman that she “loved much” (v. 47). If we are to worship God truly, we too must love Him much!
What we can learn from the woman’s activity and Simon’s passivity is that our activity and emotion in worship depend on the strength of our love for God.
Reverence
The third ingredient of good worship is reverence. This woman was seeking Jesus, and when she learned where He was, she went to Him at once and fell at His feet in reverence (v. 37).
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.
The sinful woman kissed Jesus’ feet because she felt unworthy to kiss His face. This was a kiss not only of affection, but of honor and reverence. By anointing His feet with perfume, she honored Him as God’s anointed one. In 1 Corinthians 11:15 it is said that if a woman lets her hair grow long, it is her glory. By wiping the Lord’s feet with her hair, she was in fact laying her glory at His feet. And this was an act of worship.
Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus into his home, but did not show Him even the smallest gesture of respect, nor even the most basic courtesy that belonged to the hospitality of that time. Jesus did not praise him for his passivity. He praised the woman for her gestures of humility, repentance, love, and reverence (vv. 44-46).
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.”
Those who do not consider worship spiritually necessary are not in a good place. But there are others who are even worse off than they are, and those are the ones who go to church week after week yet never truly worship God from the depths of their hearts. Physically they are present at the gatherings, but mentally and spiritually they are far from God. For them worship is just one more dull, boring, tedious, uniform, and monotonous experience. Such people come to church not to seek God, but for other reasons—perhaps because it has become a tradition for them; to see their friends; or perhaps because some of their loved ones expect them to attend. Such an attitude can only be pitied. For such people do not know what they are missing!
What we can learn from the contrast between Simon’s cold passivity and the sinful woman’s warm reverence is that we begin to worship truly only when we do more than simply “invite” Jesus among us. We must not only invite Him among us—as Simon did—but also honor Him and bow before Him—as the sinful woman did.
Repentance
The fourth ingredient of active worship is repentance. The sinful woman showed by her actions that in her heart she had an attitude of repentance. Although she did not say in words, “Lord, forgive my sins!” that is exactly what she wanted in her heart. Her uncontrollable weeping and her gestures showed it. And Jesus forgave her (v. 47):
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.”
Jesus did not deny that the woman was a sinner. He knew very well what she was. But from His final words we understand that she was not merely a sinner, but a forgiven sinner. And the fact that she was a forgiven sinner implies that she had been a repentant sinner, for there is no forgiveness without repentance.
Unlike the repentant sinful woman, Simon showed by his actions that he had much still to learn about repentance. He did not realize at all that he needed to repent. He saw that the woman was a sinner, but he did not see that he too was a sinner. Jesus, however, could look through the veneer of his respectability and see his sins.
From the contrast between the forgiven sinful woman and the self-satisfied Pharisee we can learn that our worship before God, among other things, must also include repentance for our sins. It is essential if our fellowship with God is to be maintained. In 1 John 1:5–2:2 the apostle says:
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Giving
The fifth ingredient of active worship is giving. Even before Jesus had forgiven her sins, the sinful woman brought Jesus an alabaster jar of perfume, opened it, and began to pour the perfume over His feet (v. 37).
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.
You see, worship involves bringing and giving. And giving not of something cheap, but of something precious. Simon the Pharisee showed very little love in comparison with what he was able to give. He gave Jesus a dinner, and perhaps not out of love, but only to look Him over, or else to make himself look important in the eyes of others. The woman, the sinner, however, brought an “alabaster jar of perfume” and anointed Jesus’ feet with it. What does this show us about our worship? We begin to worship God truly only when, out of gratitude, we give Jesus the best we have—the best of our time, our abilities, our work, and our money.
What Is Our Worship?
Let us this morning examine our worship—is it active and true, or only a passive observation? Can we find, in the way we worship God, the five ingredients of active worship that we see in the worship of the sinful woman? Is each one of them there, or is there something we need to add? Or have we perhaps allowed within ourselves the cold and haughty inactivity of Simon the Pharisee? If so, we must repent, for from Jesus’ words to Simon we understand clearly that God takes no pleasure in passive observation. Let us not only invite Him “into our home,” but also honor Him as is fitting. For He is worthy.