Sometimes the ‘titles’ the NIV (and other translations) give to passages can be really helpful. Other times, not so much. This one falls firmly into the latter category. It risks our framing the passage in a profoundly unhelpful way, and maybe even in a way that obscures what’s going on. Take a step back, and ask yourself who is sinful in the passage? It is ‘just’ the woman? Clearly she is a sinner... but is she any worse a sinner than Simon, the self-righteous Pharisee? Is Jesus’ parable aimed at Simon, or at the women by His feet? By the end of the passage, we might feel we would want a better title over these verses?
It turns out that how we see ourselves shapes how we see Jesus. The unnamed woman who enters Simon’s house uninvited, and whose extravagant, reckless love for Jesus has been incorporated into the Gospel story, knew she was a sinner. It seems that is how everyone else saw her (Lk.7:37), and it seems that is how she saw herself. Emboldened by hope and the prospect of grace, she violates any number of social conventions, and bestows on Jesus an act of such indiscreet intimacy and audacious affection that we may feel unsure that it is entirely appropriate? She sees Jesus as a Saviour, a Redeemer, One who has the authority to forgive sin, and the compassion to want to. Does she know that in order to bestow such forgiveness will commit Christ to the cross? She sees herself as a sinner, and Jesus as a Saviour. And she treats Him as such.
How does Simon the Pharisee see Jesus? His perception of Jesus is also shaped by how he sees himself. Unlike the woman in the passage, the Pharisee emphatically does not see himself as a sinner. OK, well maybe a bit sinful. But not really. And certainly not a sinner like ‘her’. And he certainly doesn’t need a Saviour. Maybe someone who can touch up his own righteousness; but not a Saviour. And because of how Simon sees himself, he sees Jesus differently. He sees an intellectual curiosity, Someone to be assessed, judged, critically engaged with. But not bowed before... apparently not even treated with common cultural courtesy (vv.44-46). He likely thought Jesus should feel honoured to have been invited to dinner with him.
But it is the woman who goes home that night forgiven and at peace. By the end of the story, Simon is all but forgotten in his own home. The guests are focussed on Jesus (v.49), and the question of authority lingers in the air. And Jesus, He is focussed on the woman and her faith in Him. That is what captivates His vision.
Questions:
What happens when we lose the love we had at first (Rev.2:4)? How does that change our experience of being a disciple?
Can we be a disciple without love for Jesus? Does it have to be the extravagant kind of love we see in this woman?
Would you want to cultivate this reckless kind of love? Why might some Christians be fearful of this?
How can we avoid the self-righteousness of Simon? Based on this passage, what are the tell-tale signs of that self-righteousness? How would you counsel someone if you saw this developing in them?
Read Jesus’ parable in Luke 7:41-42 (&47) again.
Is Jesus teaching that we can only really love Him if we have a sordidly sinful past? What about those who became Christians at a very young age? ...or who have never committed ‘big’ sins?
Is Jesus teaching that some people’s history of sin is worse than others?
Who do you think is the person with the ‘bigger debt’ in this passage?
Can some people love Jesus more than others? What provokes that greater love?
What do you think Luke is hoping to achieve in telling the story of these events? Why does he include it here in his Gospel?
