Luke 7:36-50

And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches him: for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto you. And he says, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, You have rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, See you this woman? I entered into your house, you gave me no water for my feet: but she has washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. You gave me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil you did not anoint: but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto you, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. And he said unto her, Your sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgives sins also? And he said to the woman, Your faith has saved you; go in peace.

— Luke 7:36-50

The deeply interesting narrative contained in these verses, is only found in the Gospel of Luke. In order to see the full beauty of the story — we should read, in connection with it, the eleventh chapter of Matthew. We shall then discover the striking fact that the woman whose conduct is here recorded, most likely owed her conversion to the well-known words, "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden — and I will give you rest."

That wondrous invitation, in all human probability — was the means of the saving of her soul, and gave her that sense of peace for which we see her so grateful. A full offer of free pardon — is generally God's chosen instrument for bringing sinners to repentance.

We see in this passage that men may show some outward respect to Christ — and yet remain unconverted. The Pharisee before us is a case in point. He showed our Lord Jesus Christ more respect than many did. He even asked Jesus to have dinner with him. Yet all this time he was profoundly ignorant of the nature of Christ's Gospel. His proud heart secretly revolted at the sight of a poor contrite sinner being allowed to wash our Lord's feet. And even the hospitality he showed, appears to have been cold and niggardly. Our Lord Himself says, "You did not give me any water for my feet. You did not give me a kiss. You did not put oil on my head." In short, in all that the Pharisee did, there was one great defect. There was outward civility — but there was no heart-love.

We shall do well to remember the case of this Pharisee. It is quite possible to have a decent form of religion — and yet to know nothing of the Gospel of Christ. It is possible to treat Christianity with respect — and yet to be utterly blind about its cardinal doctrines. It is quite possible to behave with great correctness and propriety at Church — and yet to hate justification by faith, and salvation by grace, with a deadly hatred.

Do we really feel affection toward the Lord Jesus? Can we say, "Lord, you know all things — you know that I love you!" Have we cordially embraced His whole Gospel? Are we willing to enter Heaven side by side with the chief of sinners, and to owe all our hopes to sovereign grace? These are questions which we ought to consider. If we cannot answer them satisfactorily — then we are in no respect better than Simon the Pharisee; and our Lord might say to us, "I have something to tell you."

We see, in the next place, in this passage — that grateful love is the secret of doing much for Christ. The penitent woman, in the story before us, showed far more honor to our Lord than the Pharisee had done. She "stood at His feet behind Him weeping." She "washed His feet with tears." She "wiped them with the hair of her head." She "kissed His feet, and anointed them with costly ointment." No stronger proofs of reverence and respect could she have given — and the secret of her giving such proofs, was love. She loved our Lord, and she thought nothing too much to do for Him. She felt deeply grateful to our Lord, and she thought no mark of gratitude too costly to bestow on Him.

More "doing" for Christ is the universal demand of all the Churches. It is the one point on which all are agreed. All desire to see among Christians — more good works, more self-denial, more practical obedience to Christ's commands. But what will produce these things? Nothing — nothing but love. There never will be more done for Christ — until there is more hearty love to Christ Himself. The fear of punishment, the desire of reward, the sense of duty — are all useful arguments, in their way, to persuade men to holiness. But they are all weak and powerless — until a man loves Christ. Once let that mighty principle get hold of a man — and you will see his whole life changed.

Let us never forget this. However much the world may sneer at "feelings" in religion, and however false or unhealthy religious feelings may sometimes be — the great truth still remains, that love to Jesus — is the secret of doing for Jesus. The heart must be engaged for Christ — or the hands will soon hang down. The affections must be enlisted into His service, or our obedience will soon stand still. It will always be the loving workman who will do most in the Lord's vineyard.

We see, lastly, in this passage — that a sense of having our sins forgiven is the mainspring and life-blood of love to Christ. This, beyond doubt, was the lesson which our Lord wished Simon the Pharisee to learn, when He told him the story of the two debtors. "One owed his creditor five hundred pence — and the other fifty." Both had "nothing to pay," and both were forgiven freely. And then came the searching question, "Which of them will love him most?" Here was the true explanation, our Lord told Simon, of the deep love which the penitent woman before Him had displayed. Her many tears, her deep affection, her public reverence, her action in anointing His feet — were all traceable to one cause. She had been much forgiven — and so she loved much.

Her love for Jesus, was . . .   the effect of her forgiveness — not the cause;   the consequence of her forgiveness — not the condition;   the result of her forgiveness — not the reason;   the fruit of her forgiveness — not the root.

Would the Pharisee know why this woman showed so much love? It was because she felt much forgiven. Would he know why he himself had shown his guest so little love? It was because he felt under no obligation to Jesus. He had no consciousness of having obtained forgiveness — nor any sense of debt to Christ.

Forever let the mighty principle laid down by our Lord in this passage — abide in our memories, and sink down into our hearts. It is one of the great corner-stones of the whole Gospel. It is one of the master-keys to unlock the secrets of the kingdom of God. The only way to make men holy — is to teach and preach free and full forgiveness through Jesus Christ. The secret of being holy ourselves — is to know and feel that Christ has pardoned our sins. To know that we are justified and at peace with God — is the only root that will bear the fruit of holiness.

Forgiveness, must go before sanctification. We shall do nothing — until we are reconciled to God. This is the first step in religion. We must work from life — and not for life. Our best works before we are justified, are little better than splendid sins. We must live by faith in the Son of God — and then, and not until then, we shall walk in His ways. The heart which has experienced the pardoning love of Christ — is the heart which loves Christ, and strives to glorify Him.

Let us leave the passage with a deep sense of our Lord Jesus Christ's amazing mercy and compassion to the chief of sinners. Let us see in his kindness to the woman of whom we have been reading — an encouragement to any one, however wicked he may be, to come to Him for pardon and forgiveness. That word of His shall never be broken, "The one who comes unto me — I will never cast out." Never, never need any one despair of salvation — if he will only come to Christ.

Let us ask ourselves, in conclusion: What are we doing for Christ's glory? What kind of lives are we living? What proof are we making of our love to Him who first loved us, and died for our sins? These are serious questions. If we cannot answer them satisfactorily — we may well doubt whether we are forgiven. The hope of forgiveness, which is not accompanied by love in the life — is the hope of a hypocrite, which ends only in wrath. The man whose sins are really cleansed away — will always show by his ways that he loves the Savior who cleansed them.