Jesus in the House of Simon the Pharisee — Luke 7:36–50

Editor’s note: This article is a lightly edited transcript of a spoken teaching recording. The spoken cadence — including asides, self-corrections, and rhetorical questions — has been preserved deliberately. Mid-thought breaks and audience asides are marked [interjection]. Section headings have been added by the editor to aid navigation; they were not part of the original delivery.

Setting the Scene: A New Contrast

So we’re looking at Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee. So there has been a narrative in which there’s a contrast being drawn, and the contrast is between the publicans, those who were not kosher, you know, they were the unclean, they were the wrongans, and the lawyers and the Pharisees. And they’re both children, but one are children of wisdom, wisdom’s children, the other are just children, their own rebellious children.

And we know that rebellious children, what happens to rebellious children in Scripture, by the way. All right. But here we’re confronted by another contrast.

The Invitation: A Pharisee Pushes the Boat Out

And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. All right. So that’s quite something in, [interjection] if you have any Muslim friends, they really can’t eat with you if they’re decent Muslims.

Because that, it’s a kind of covenant, it’s a covenant of salt that when you eat together, and if an Arab does choose to eat with you, there are certain obligations upon. So this guy, Simon, he’s pushing the boat out. He said, okay, I’m going to have fellowship with this guy, with this man, obviously an incredible man, just an amazing man.

Jesus the Public Speaker Invited Into Homes

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 meet. Again, Jesus is, [interjection] he’s a public speaker who gets invited into people’s houses.

That’s one way of looking at it. You know, we must relate to Jesus. And we can, [interjection] we can and we must relate to Jesus.

And here’s how, in his humanity, we cannot relate to Jesus in his, [interjection] we cannot imitate Jesus in his divinity because man is never a God. Man is always man. We worship him in his divinity.

Imitating Christ’s Humanity: Eating With Those We Disagree With

We imitate him in his humanity. And so if he spoke publicly and was invited into people’s houses, some of whom were disreputable characters, you might say, at least formerly, perhaps formerly or presently disreputable, maybe they would change in time. But he went and he met with them.

And so this should be our policy too, very, very plainly. And he went and he ate, [interjection] he ate meat and shared fellowship with people whose views he did not share. And we tend to restrict the circle to people, [interjection] dining with people whose views we do share.

Perhaps that’s justified that I say that. 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 ointments. And so we have here again, something strange, which seems to be typical of Middle Eastern houses at this time, that you could simply stroll in to a house where people were eating, perhaps eating was a public function.

The Nature of First-Century Houses

But you just couldn’t do that in our houses because we jolly well locked the door. You’re gonna have to, [interjection] I mean, who walks in while you’re having a meal? If that happens, you’re like, okay, get the glock, let’s go. It’s time to rock.

But obviously not here because previously the Pharisees, they were, [interjection] they just, [interjection] they were watching from afar. Were they peering through the kitchen window, the living room window, the dining room window? I don’t think so. So there’s something here that we have to understand about the nature of the houses and what eating meant back then.

The Contrast: Pharisee and Sinner

But, okay, so this woman was a sinner. This is the contrast. Pharisee, not a sinner.

This woman, a sinner. Now, theologically, of course, we know that they were both sinners. But in the story, one is a Pharisee, the other a sinner.

She was a sinner. She knew herself to be a sinner. And in the previous narrative, the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptised of them.

Why Pharisees Saw No Need to Repent

They did not need the baptism of repentance. Why would they need the baptism of repentance? By function of the membership of their group, they were righteous. It’s ridiculous to conceive of them needing a baptism of repentance.

Why wouldn’t they need to repent? Why did they not consider themselves sinners? Because not, [interjection] because setting the law of God at nought by their traditions of men, they were beyond good and evil, as Nietzsche said, as Emerson said, as Emerson taught, as Hinduism teaches. Just evil in terms of, [interjection] real evil, as God defines it, didn’t exist as a category for them. That was old hat.

Righteousness was by virtue of the keeping of their commandments, pardon me, their traditions. So this is quite something. He couldn’t, [interjection] he was in a position where he couldn’t effectively remain as a Pharisee and see himself as a sinner.

But this woman, quite different, really very different. A woman in the city who was a sinner. They knew that Jesus sat at meat, and the Pharisees did it, brought a alabaster box of ointment.

The Woman’s Posture: Standing at His Feet

All right, so yeah, this is the contrast between a sinner, woman sinner, and these Pharisees, this Pharisee, and stood at his feet behind him, weeping. She stood at his feet, she stood at his feet behind him, stood at his feet. How do you stand at one’s feet? Behind.

He was probably not on a chair. He was probably crouching, I’m guessing, or more like perhaps in the Roman fashion. One of his feet was behind him, I’m not sure.

But this is another thing which should colour our impression, because in those days, I believe, I’m right in saying that only kings sat in chairs, a chair effectively is a throne. When a cathedra, from which we get the word cathedral, is the seat of the bishop. And the bishop is kind of a, [interjection] being a potentate of sorts, he has a chair, from which he seats chair, cathedral, you can see the relation there.

The Affective Domain: Genuine Emotion

Right, and began to wash his feet with tears, and wipe them with hers or her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. So the previous narrative was about the affective domain. It was, when I say rejoice, you rejoice.

When I say mourn, you mourn. Now this is a kind of, [interjection] the affective domain, emotion. So she is expressing emotion very freely and liberally, and expressing it in a very costly way.

The Alabaster Jar and the Wages of Sin

A jar of alabaster would be something tremendously expensive, no doubt, this would be the real stuff, no filler in this. All right, there’s things to be said. If she was a, [interjection] it’s interesting, this is an act of worship, perhaps, of the offering of alabaster.

But I wonder, I wonder, thinking about this, if this has something to do with, do not bring the price of a dog, or the hire of a whore into the house of God, you know? In other words, the wages of prostitution should not be used in, [interjection] for temple offerings, or for contribution to the temple. And of course, he is the temple, he said he was the temple. And my body would destroy this temple, and in three days, I’ll raise it up, you know? So, yes, this is interesting.

Receiving the Offering: A Genuine Display of Emotion

But, the interesting thing is that he receives this offering, as it were. And here we have, as opposed to the child, your children at the marketplace, you’re shouting to each other, I called the tune, I piped and you did not dance. What we have here instead is a very real and genuine display of emotion.

That’s not at all contrived. It’s easy to say, okay, cry, you cry. Okay, dance, you dance.

But here, it’s costly, public, although in a domestic setting, act of profound emotion, together with a valuable offering. So, how did, [interjection] speaking about Zacchaeus the tax collector, it’s clear in my mind that Jesus said today, repentance has come to this house, because he had made restitution. And, you know, we can understand that, because he had made a commitment to pay back, make restitution, that is, those whom he had defrauded, being a good tax collector, would have kept records, the word would have gotten out.

Restitution vs. Thank Offering

But here’s a woman who doesn’t make restitution as such, but does give an offering. And I think, speaking for myself at least, but certainly also in the wider church, there’s very little understanding of what the offerings are. We just see offering and we think blood sacrifice, blood sacrifice of atonement, but that’s only one of a number of kinds of offerings.

This is obviously, it would seem in the face at least, an offering of thanksgiving. So this is a thank offering given by a woman, probably a prostitute, former prostitute, who was converted and it’s a very costly gift. So this is a sign of appreciation that indicates the genuineness of her conversion, the genuineness of her tears and so on.

Cheap Grace, Costly Repentance

Cheap grace, cheap religion. She had none of that. Just as Zacchaeus, he cost himself a lot of money by his repentance.

And so too with her in a different sense. She’s offering an offering to the Lord. You know, it’s prohibited.

David at the Threshing Floor of Araunah

This is what David said at the threshing floor of Arunah. I will not, [interjection] when he’s offered it, he said, I will not offer anything to the Lord. It costs me nothing.

And there is a prohibition to bring an animal, like a deer, which is clean, for an offering because it costs you nothing. For that specific reason. And so when we think about serving the Lord, giving thanks to the Lord, giving thank offerings above and beyond the tithe, we should think, is this costing me anything? Say, okay, it’s costing me something.

Good. All right, let’s go. All right.

Money, Emotion, and the Neoplatonic Error

And people have this Neoplatonic idea that money is nothing. Money is unimportant. What counts is the emotions on the one hand, or on the other hand, what counts is the intellect.

But this says something different. What we require, [interjection] one of the things that the whole Old Testament sacrificial system, which is still extant in the, how do we say it? In the general equity thereof, that is, it still applies. How would you say it? The principles, not a great phrase, but the principles that are contained in it still apply.

Thank Offerings and Costly Giving

So we still must give thank offerings. This is covered in 1 Corinthians, about superabundant giving, or maybe it’s 2 Corinthians, maybe elsewhere as well. So we have a lot to learn from this woman.

And one of the things we have to learn is that a genuineness of faith is expressed in costly giving. Something that costs. Now, to a rich man, $100,000 gift might not cost them anything.

So it’s like the widow’s mite. She said, ah, wow, that’s great faith. Because it cost her something.

Knitting Together Matter and Spirit

And so we should be in the process of knitting together in our minds, in our practise, God’s created world, which Neoplatonic pagans call, [interjection] to dismiss as mere matter, and what might be called the spiritual world, the world of faith. Jesus knits it together. So should we, or else we will be faulty and distorted.

And frankly, we’ll have more than a toehold, a foothold, maybe a nest for idolatry in our hearts. We’ll have a stye in our eye. We’ll have a log in our eye that we’ll be able to see and judge our own behaviour or other people’s behaviour.

We’ll think, oh, it’s the heart that counts. Really? Juice to heart? Is that it? Well, no, obviously not. To anoint, of course, that has to do with anointments.

The Anointing: Priest and King

Anointing in scripture has to do with what? King is anointed. And the priest is anointed. So you could argue that, that, [interjection] of course, we think of Samuel anointing David.

Well, this is, [interjection] it’s a symbol of Holy Spirit. So you have this ointment. Okay, so is he, [interjection] is she recognising him as priest and king? Perhaps so.

But here we have genuine emotion. And again, it’s unregulated emotion. So what is the response for the Pharisee? And how do we compare that with Jesus’ response later? Okay.

[interjection: aside to a person present] It looks, oh dear, bless you. I’m not asking you to look a certain way, but he did look, I know, I know. And stood this, I’m not going to edit that out.

The Pharisee’s Reaction

And when the Pharisee, yeah, well, you have a former prostitute, probably kissing your feet. Yeah, it’s probably not the best look. So how does the Pharisee respond? Now, when the Pharisee, which had bidden him, saw it, he speak within himself, saying, this man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner.

Okay. Again, it’s interesting. This is another pattern with Pharisees.

The Pharisaical Pattern: Watching Life From a Distance

It would seem, what do they do? They’re at, [interjection] they’re watching life happen. They’re watching genuine life happen from a distance and making and observing it, making comment on it. This is what they did when Jesus was at the house previously.

Whose house was it? I can’t remember. Anyway, there was a crowd of them and then Jesus addressed them. Maybe it was the man who was healed that was let down through the roof.

Okay. So this is the Pharisee. He watches life, genuine life, organic life.

And all he can do is comment on it. He can’t participate in it. Now that might be a broad, rather broad brush statement for just one verse, but this is not the only incident.

Judging in the Heart

And he’s judging. He’s judging Jesus in his heart. Don’t we all do this? We judge in our heart.

It’s just normal. But the point is that he says it in his heart and he gets a tremendous answer. He’s saying it’s in his heart and Jesus answered.

Jesus Sees Inside the Heart

And Jesus answering, answering what? Answering whom? Answering Simon, who had just said something inside his head. [interjection: exclamation] Doggies! And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he said, Master, say on.

Oh, he’s going to get a smack then. He’s got the shock of his life. How are you going to? He realised, Jesus has been in my head.

And this is a scripture. I think it’s a scripture. Thou seest me.

A God Who Sees vs. The God of Islam

This is what we should say. Thou seest me. The Muslim concept, the Islamic concept of their God doesn’t include a God who can see inside your head.

He’s a limited God. Our God. No, our God sees because he made us.

He listens. There was a certain creditor. [interjection] Oh, creditor.

The Parable of the Two Debtors: Marketplace Imagery

We’re in the dirty world of business business and banking. Oh, creditor. That’s awful.

But this is Jesus. These are the red letters. Jesus is speaking.

There was a certain creditor which had two debtors. We’re in the dirty world of the marketplace. Stop buying.

And Jesus has brought us here because it’s a universal experience. There will always be creditors and debtors. It would seem.

The one which owed 500 pence and the other 50. They don’t say $220 and $22. I’m sure that’s different now.

Jesus’ Mind Goes to the Marketplace

And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Okay. A forgiven debt.

Again, why does this happen? It’s just, [interjection] this is the marketplace. They were calling in the marketplace previously in the parable. So Jesus’ mind is in the marketplace.

For one reason being that he would have been in the marketplace when he was a, [interjection] he would have to go literally or figuratively into the marketplace to sell the stuff that he made, whether he was a stonemason or solicit business, I don’t know, or carpenter, whatever he might’ve been. Interesting. His mind goes to the marketplace.

Drawing Analogies From Everyday Life, Not Paganism

Should we not in our mind, when looking for analogies, go not to the Lord of the Rings or another radically pagan book? Should we not go to the marketplace? Should we not go to everyday life? The life that the congregation are experiencing? Yes, of course, is the answer. We must do that. And when they had nothing to pay, frankly, he forgave them, forgave them both.

The Rabbinic Method: Teaching by Question

Tell me therefore, [interjection] oh, this is the method that we should employ too. What method? What’s called the rabbinic method. Why? Why? Who? When? What do you think? Where you ask questions.

Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? And so in our ministry, let’s not just waffle on for hours. Let’s stop for questions. Let’s ask leading questions.

Where Jesus Learned This Method

Where did he learn to do that? I guess by his time spent, humanly speaking, with the elders in Jerusalem when he went away from his parents. But he would have went to synagogue and he certainly has been in synagogues. And this is a way, [interjection] but of course, it’s the Holy Spirit.

It’s just the right way to do things. It’s the way that when God confronts Adam in his sin, what does he say? Does he start with a lecture? No, he asks a question. So from the very beginning, we have this didactic method and we should jolly well play very close attention to the teaching methodology of Jesus or else we’ll end up rather limited, to say the least.

And of course, we’ll have to substitute something in its place. Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, thou hast rightly judged.

Oh, good. That’s nice and succinct. Open, leaves it open, doesn’t give him a lecture.

The Indictment of Simon’s Hospitality

All right. And he turned unto the woman and said unto Simon. So he’s looking at the woman, but speaking to Simon.

Sayest thou this woman, I entered into thy house, and I gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. What is this telling us about the rules of hospitality? What’s this telling us about the nature of this interaction? What is it? How does this inform Jesus washing the disciples feet? Well, it’s probably Simon thought himself very much above that. That’s for one thing.

The Necessity of Foot-Washing

Jesus is valuing this hospitality. People, there’s a tendency to dismiss these formalities, you know, these niceties. And in this time, this world, it would have been very much a necessity because you would get mud all over your, [interjection] dust all over you.

And so, you know, it was just expected, I suppose. Why didn’t he have a servant do it? Perhaps that’s his point that, [interjection] I don’t know. Why didn’t he have a servant do it? Not sure.

But this woman saw the need and responded and did so. She was crying. She was weeping.

A woman, I don’t think a woman, she would hardly have been weeping silently. I don’t know. Maybe she would have stifled, stifled sobs.

I don’t know how it would have gone. They gave us me no kiss, but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. So it’s a contrast where it’s the good thing is contrasted with the absence of the good thing.

Cultural Notes on the Kiss

Now, of course, kissing is not something we do to men in righteous circles in the West, pardon me, in Anglo culture, but certainly it’s done in France and yeah, in the Francophone world. So all sorts of bisous which are given. Same to at this time, it would appear.

The Anointing of the Feet: Echoes of Isaiah?

My head with oil, thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointments. Is she saying, does she have some scripture knowledge? Is she saying, blessed or, [interjection] is it, was Isaiah, about the anointing of the blessing of those feet, which bring good news? Is this it? Does she know her scripture? Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven. And this is something which later the Jesus would give to the disciples.

Forgiveness Pronounced: Judgement on the Fruit

Whoever’s sins you remit on earth are remitted in heaven and whoever’s, [interjection] so this is a judgement on Jesus. Her conversion had come before and he is commenting by the, [interjection] assessing the fruit of the judgement, fruit of, [interjection] the fruit of, it would seem to me at first glance at least, that he is assessing by her fruit, the genuineness of the conversion. Of course, Jesus knew the heart, but here we have an indication of the, [interjection] he’s listing the things that she did and saying, wherefore, she did this, she did this, wherefore, therefore, I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, are forgiven.

Gradations of Sin and Judgement

For she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. Okay? So this is a principle and it would seem then that there are people who have sinned much. There are people who’ve sinned little and so we can’t say that, well, all sin is the same.

Some sins before God are abominations and I, [interjection] and a thought is not equivalent to an action. It’s not the same thing. It’s certainly not the same thing on the human level.

Both carry, if there are no gradations in sin, there’s no, [interjection] there can be no gradations in judgement and we acknowledge that Jesus is just, the Lord God is just in his judgement. And he said unto her, thy sins are forgiven. Okay? Right.

Commentary or Decree?

Again, was this commentary on the fact of her salvation or is this the point of her salvation by God’s decree? It would seem to be the former in my mind. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said unto the woman, thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace.

Go In Peace: The Gift of the Repentant Sinner

Okay, so it would appear that the guests, the fellow guests were of the same mind. But it’s interesting what he says, go in peace. And this is something which, [interjection] which belongs to the repentant sinner.

Peace. He is not, [interjection] he must not constantly dredge up the past and go through the past, go through the dirty linen and say, oh, and cry about it. He says, go in peace.

I’ve given you peace. Take the peace. Take the peace.

Refusing Peace as an Offence Against Christ

If you’re endlessly dredging over the past, you say to God, who’s handed you peace, say, I don’t want it. I have something better. I can punish myself.

You’re forgetting about him taking the punishment, which is a great offence. Goodness me. It’s impolite, to say the least.

Closing Reflections: Real Emotion vs. Play-Acting Religion

So there’s much here else apart from this, I’m sure, possible. But there’s much that we’ve been able to bring out in this great contrast. What strikes me is the genuine emotion that was expressed, the genuine love, as opposed to this kind of fake religion where somebody says, dance, okay, you dance.

Somebody says, cry, you cry. What is that play? It’s play acting. Hypocrisy, literally.

It’s play acting. Put on masks. Which, does that constitute quite a lot of religion in the churches? I would say probably.

The Challenge: Are You Willing?

But this is not an easy thing. Are you willing to have a prostitute into your home? At least Simon was. Are you willing to? People say, yes, this was Jesus, but I mean, I don’t have any ministry to prostitutes, but there’s some that do.

Are we? That’s quite something. But at some point, Jesus, the word, and there was a word about repentance. The crux of the previous narrative was accepting or rejecting the baptism of John, which was a baptism of repentance, and then justifying God, saying, God, we say amen to you.

You’re right. So she had obviously heard the message at one point and believed. So great.

Closing

Anyway, lots more there. We just thank God for the reading of his word. And I would pray that it would be a blessing to you.