Editorial Note: This is a transcript of an audio Bible talk on Luke 7:36–50. It has been lightly edited by Claude AI for readability: misspellings corrected, paragraphs and sentences added where necessary, and informal interjections or banter marked as such. The speaker’s voice and style have been preserved throughout.
Jesus in the House of Simon the Pharisee
A Talk on Luke 7:36–50
The Contrast Being Drawn
We are looking at Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee. There has been a narrative in which a contrast is being drawn — a contrast between the publicans, those who were not kosher, the unclean, the rogues, and on the other side, the lawyers and the Pharisees.
Both groups are described as children, but one are wisdom’s children, and the others are simply rebellious children. And we know what happens to rebellious children in scripture.
The Invitation to Eat
Here we are confronted by another contrast. “And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him.” That is quite something. If you have any Muslim friends, they really cannot eat with you — if they are decent Muslims — because eating together is a kind of covenant, a covenant of salt. And if an Arab does choose to eat with you, there are certain obligations that come with it.
So this man Simon — he is pushing the boat out. He is saying, “I am going to have fellowship with this man,” obviously an incredible man, just an extraordinary man. “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.”
Jesus is a public speaker who gets invited into people’s houses. That is one way of looking at it. We can and we must relate to Jesus — but here is how: in his humanity. We cannot imitate Jesus in his divinity, because man is never a god; man is always man. We worship him in his divinity. We imitate him in his humanity.
So if he spoke publicly and was invited into people’s houses — some of them belonging to disreputable characters, formerly or perhaps presently disreputable — and he went and met with them, then this should be our policy too. Very plainly.
He ate and shared fellowship with people whose views he did not share. We tend to restrict our dining to people whose views we do share. Perhaps that is worth examining.
The Woman Who Was a Sinner
“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.” — Luke 7:37
Something strange appears here — and it seems to have been typical of Middle Eastern houses at this time: you could simply walk into a house where people were eating. Eating may have been a more public function then.
[Banter/Interjection]: That certainly would not happen in our houses today — we jolly well lock the door. Who walks in while you are having a meal? If that happened now, you would be rather alarmed. But obviously not here.
So there is something we must understand about the nature of those houses and what eating meant in that culture.
This woman was a sinner. That is the contrast: Pharisee — not a sinner. This woman — a sinner. And yet she knew herself to be a sinner. In the previous narrative, the Pharisees and lawyers had rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptised by John. They did not feel they needed a baptism of repentance. Why would they? By virtue of their group membership, they were righteous.
It was not even conceivable to them that they needed to repent. Why? Because, by setting the law of God at nothing through the traditions of men, they had moved themselves beyond good and evil — as Nietzsche said, as Emerson taught, as Hinduism teaches. Evil as God defines it simply did not exist as a category for them. Righteousness was a matter of keeping their own commandments, their own traditions.
So Simon could not effectively remain a Pharisee while seeing himself as a sinner. This woman was quite different. Very different.
At His Feet
“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.” — Luke 7:38
How does one stand at someone’s feet behind them? He was probably not seated on a chair. He was likely crouching, or perhaps reclining in the Roman fashion, with one foot extended behind him.
This is worth noting, because in those days I believe it is right to say that only kings sat in chairs — a chair was effectively a throne. Cathedra — from which we get the word cathedral — is the seat of the bishop. The bishop, being a kind of potentate, has a chair. You can see the connection: chair, cathedra, cathedral.
Genuine Emotion and Costly Giving
The previous narrative was about the affective domain — “I piped and you did not dance, I mourned and you did not weep.” That was emotion manufactured on command. What we have here is something entirely different: genuine, unregulated emotion expressed in a very costly way.
An alabaster jar of ointment would have been tremendously expensive — the real thing, no filler.
Now, this is an act of worship, an offering. It is interesting to consider — “Do not bring the price of a dog or the hire of a whore into the house of God” (cf. Deuteronomy 23:18) — in other words, the wages of prostitution were not to be used for temple offerings. And of course, Jesus himself is the temple. He said as much:
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” — John 2:19
And yet he receives this offering. Unlike the children in the marketplace who shout to one another and get no response, here we have a very real and genuinely costly display of emotion and devotion.
Costly Repentance
Thinking about Zacchaeus the tax collector — it is clear that Jesus declared salvation had come to that house because Zacchaeus made restitution. He committed to repaying those he had defrauded; the word would have gone out. Here, this woman does not make restitution as such, but she does bring an offering.
There is, I think — speaking for myself, and certainly in the wider church — very little understanding of what offerings are. We tend to see “offering” and think only: blood sacrifice of atonement. But that is only one of many kinds of offerings. This is clearly, at face value, a thank offering — a todah.
So this is a thank offering brought by a woman who was, most probably, a former prostitute who had been converted. It is a very costly gift. It is a sign of appreciation that demonstrates the genuineness of her conversion, the genuineness of her tears.
Cheap grace, cheap religion — she had none of that. Just as Zacchaeus’s repentance cost him a great deal of money, so too this woman’s cost her dearly, in a different sense. She is offering to the Lord something that cost her something. This echoes what David said at the threshing floor of Araunah:
“I will not offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing.” — 2 Samuel 24:24
There is even a prohibition against bringing a wild deer — a clean animal — as an offering, precisely because it costs you nothing to catch it in the wild. So when we think about serving the Lord, giving thank offerings above and beyond the tithe, we ought to ask: is this costing me anything? Good — then let us proceed.
People have a Neoplatonic idea that money is nothing, that what counts is either the emotions or the intellect. But scripture says something different. The whole Old Testament sacrificial system — which still applies in what the Westminster Standards call “the general equity thereof,” that is, its underlying principles still hold — requires that we give thank offerings. This is addressed in 2 Corinthians regarding superabundant giving (cf. 2 Corinthians 9:6–7), and elsewhere.
We have much to learn from this woman. The genuineness of faith is expressed in costly giving — something that costs. To a very rich man, a large gift might cost nothing. It is like the widow’s mite:
“This poor widow hath cast in more than they all.” — Luke 21:3
It cost her something. And so we must knit together in our minds and in our practice what Neoplatonic pagans dismiss as “mere matter” with what they call the “spiritual world.” Jesus knits them together — and so must we, or else we will be faulty and distorted, harbouring more than a toehold for idolatry.
Anointing: Priest and King
Anointing in scripture is associated with the king — think of Samuel anointing David — and with the priest. The anointing is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. So is this woman recognising Jesus as priest and king? Perhaps so.
The Pharisee’s Response
“Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake 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.” — Luke 7:39
This is another pattern with the Pharisees. What do they do? They watch genuine life happening from a distance and make comment on it. They did the same thing previously when Jesus was at another house — I believe it was the house where the paralysed man was let down through the roof. They observe organic life, and all they can do is comment. They cannot participate in it.
He is judging Jesus in his heart. Don’t we all do this? We judge inwardly. But Simon says it in his heart — and gets a tremendous answer.
“And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he said, Master, say on.” — Luke 7:40
[Banter/Interjection]: He is about to get the shock of his life — Jesus has been in his head. And this is a scripture thought: “Thou seest me.” The Islamic concept of God does not include a God who can see inside your head. That is a limited god. Our God sees because he made us.
The Parable of the Two Debtors
“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.” — Luke 7:41–42
We are now in the world of business and banking — the marketplace. This is Jesus speaking. There will always be creditors and debtors. And Jesus goes to the marketplace for his analogy because it is a universal experience.
[Interjection]: His mind goes to the marketplace — and should ours not also go there when looking for analogies, rather than to the Lord of the Rings or another randomly chosen pagan book? Should we not go to everyday life, the life that our congregation is actually experiencing? Yes, of course — we must do that.
“Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?” — Luke 7:42
This is the rabbinic method: ask questions. Tell me. What do you think? Which of them will love him most? In our ministry, let us not simply talk at people for hours. Let us stop for questions. Let us ask leading questions. When God confronts Adam in his sin, what does he say? Does he start with a lecture? No — he asks a question:
“Where art thou?” — Genesis 3:9
From the very beginning we have this didactic method. We should pay very close attention to the teaching methodology of Jesus, or we will end up rather limited.
“Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.” — Luke 7:43
Good. Nice and succinct. Open. No lecture.
Jesus Turns to the Woman
“And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.” — Luke 7:44
What does this tell us about the rules of hospitality? What does it tell us about this interaction? How does it inform Jesus washing the disciples’ feet (cf. John 13)? Evidently Simon thought himself very much above that. Jesus is valuing this hospitality. There is a tendency to dismiss these formalities as mere nicety, but in that time and place it would have been a genuine necessity — you would have been covered in dust from the road.
Why didn’t Simon have a servant do it? I do not know. But this woman saw the need and responded.
“Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.” — Luke 7:45
It is a contrast in which the good is set against the complete absence of the good. Of course, kissing as a greeting is not common in Anglo culture, but it is in France and the Francophone world — the bisous. It would appear it was also common in this setting.
“My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.” — Luke 7:46
Is she demonstrating some knowledge of scripture here? Could she be thinking of Isaiah’s words about the beauty of the feet of those who bring good news?
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings.” — Isaiah 52:7
Forgiveness Declared
“Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” — Luke 7:47
This is something which Jesus would later give to the disciples as an authority:
“Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them.” — John 20:23
And it raises this point: it would seem at first glance that Jesus is assessing the fruit of her conversion — listing what she did and saying wherefore. He is reading the evidence of genuine transformation. Of course, Jesus knew the heart; but here he is demonstrating publicly how genuine conversion produces genuine fruit.
And so this is a principle: there are people who have sinned much, and there are people who have sinned less. We cannot say that all sin is the same in every sense. Some sins are called abominations before God, and a sinful thought is not equivalent to a sinful action. If there are no gradations in sin, there can be no gradations in judgement — and we do acknowledge that the Lord God is just in his judgements.
“And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.” — Luke 7:48
Was this a commentary on the fact of her already-accomplished salvation, or was this the moment of her salvation by God’s decree? It would seem to be the former.
“And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” — Luke 7:49–50
Go in Peace
“Go in peace.” This belongs to the repentant sinner: peace. Jesus is not calling her to constantly dredge up the past, to endlessly go through the dirty linen and weep over it. He says: go in peace. I have given you peace. Take the peace.
If you are endlessly dredging over the past, you are effectively saying to God — who has handed you peace — “I don’t want it. I have something better. I can punish myself.” But in doing so, you are forgetting that he has already taken the punishment. That is, to say the least, impolite.
Closing Reflections
So there is much here. What strikes me most is this: the genuine emotion expressed, the genuine love, as opposed to the kind of fake religion where someone says “dance” and you dance, “cry” and you cry. That is play-acting. Hypocrisy — literally, it means putting on a mask.
Does that describe quite a lot of religion in our churches? Possibly. But here is the hard question: Are you willing to have a former prostitute into your home? At least Simon was. Are we?
At some point, the word of repentance had clearly reached this woman. The crux of the previous narrative was the accepting or rejecting of the baptism of John — a baptism of repentance — and the willingness to say, “God, you are right.” She had obviously heard that message at some point, and believed.
So there we are. Much more could be said. We thank God for the reading of his word, and I pray it will be a blessing to you.
Scriptures Referenced
| Reference | Text / Theme |
|---|---|
| Luke 7:36–50 | The primary passage — Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee |
| Deuteronomy 23:18 | Prohibition against bringing the hire of a prostitute into the house of God |
| John 2:19 | ”Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” — Jesus as the temple |
| 2 Samuel 24:24 | David at the threshing floor of Araunah — “I will not offer that which costs me nothing” |
| 2 Corinthians 9:6–7 | Superabundant / cheerful giving |
| Luke 21:3 | The widow’s mite — “This poor widow hath cast in more than they all” |
| Isaiah 52:7 | ”How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings” |
| Genesis 3:9 | God’s question to Adam — “Where art thou?” — the divine didactic method |
| John 20:23 | The authority to remit sins given to the disciples |
| John 13 | Jesus washing the disciples’ feet (allusion) |
| Luke 7:41–42 | Parable of the Two Debtors (embedded within the primary passage) |