Luke 7:36-50
36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him 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. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then 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 from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman,“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
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As we first
begin to read Luke 7:36-50, things appear rather benign. One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to dine with
him, and he accepts. But as we learn
more, we see Jesus was walking into a hostile, cross-examination of his
ministry by Pharisees, who were inclined to reject him and his message.
We learn this from the unthinkable lack of hospitality our Lord was shown by
Simon. Hospitality in Palestinian
culture was a highly held value. It was
simply expected courtesy that an invited guest, much less a visiting rabbi,
would receive the basic amenities of water to cleanse one's feet (v. 44), a
kiss---equivalent to our handshake (v. 45), and olive oil to wash and anoint
one's head (v. 46). But Jesus, the Son
of God come from heaven, is insulted by receiving none of these marks of
hospitality and welcome!
From verse 39,
we may also glean the probable purpose of this invitation. The Pharisees were going to try and determine
Jesus' credentials as a prophet, as though his public ministry in word and signs
were not enough! How hard and
unreceptive were the hearts of these men!
How fitting,
then, that a woman, whose body, like the bodies of all women, pictures the spiritual
receptivity toward God the human race lost through original sin, should show us
how we should once again respond to our gracious God.
At this display
of fallen, hard-heartedness and insult for her Lord, the woman begins to
weep. Although she came with expensive ointment
to anoint Jesus' head in gratitude for the gift of forgiveness, this lack of hospitality
brings a change of plans. Since the
Pharisee will not provide water for her Lord's feet, she will use her tears;
since the Pharisee will not provide a towel, she will use her hair; and since
her Lord's head is not available to her, probably because the lack of
hospitality has caused Jesus to recline more quickly than normal, she will use
the ointment for his feet instead.[i]
Because of her
new found identity in Christ as a forgiven sinner, the woman sides with Jesus,
despite the animosity of the gathered Pharisees. As Dietrich Bohoeffer so insightfully says,
the woman "has been swept into the messianic suffering of God in
Christ."[ii] She publicly declares her loyalty to Jesus,
though undoubtedly such loyalty will bring Pharisaical scorn.
This woman, who sometime before this occasion received forgiveness and entrance
into our Lord's kingdom, is given insight into the beauty and glory of
Christ. Surely this insight will grow
even greater, after the suffering and rejection of Christ on the cross, which
this incident with the Pharisees already foreshadows. May we, who live after the cross, pray to
receive similar insight, so that we might display the same trust, loyalty, and love
that leads this woman to identify with Jesus, even in his rejection and
suffering at the hands of a fallen world.
[i] Bailey,
Kenneth E.
Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels.
p. 243-44. Bailey explains how the
omission of hospitality causes Jesus to enter and recline first at the meal.
