Luke 7:36–50
What must it be like to finally come to grips with your life and all that it has stood for? To realize the weight of your sin, the emptiness of your choices, and then, in one breath of grace, discover that God has drawn near? What must it be like to see His purpose for you, and to experience the freedom of expressing your love for Him openly, without shame?
And what a different thing it must be to reject God’s purpose, to keep Him at a safe distance, to judge His ways and His people by your own self-made standard of righteousness.
The difference between those two paths is found in one word: repentance. The one who repents sees Christ for who He is, receives His forgiveness, and responds in love. The one who refuses remains blind, cold, and unmoved. Luke 7:36–50 brings both conditions into sharp focus.
1. The Story
A Pharisee named Simon invites Jesus to dinner. In comes an uninvited woman, known to everyone in town as a sinner. She kneels at Jesus’ feet, weeping, washing them with her tears, drying them with her hair, anointing them with costly perfume.
Simon is scandalized. But Jesus sees differently. With a short parable, He shows that the depth of one’s love is tied to the depth of forgiveness received. Then He turns to the woman and says the words every sinner longs to hear: “Your sins are forgiven… Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
2. The Woman
Her actions are not a performance. They are the overflow of a heart that has been broken by sin and mended by grace. She knows her past. She knows she deserves judgment. But she has met Jesus, and her heart is undone by His mercy.
Repentance opened her eyes to see the Christ. Redemption set her free to express deep love for Him. She is living proof that experiencing Jesus’ forgiveness changes everything.
3. Simon
Simon, the religious man, cannot love Jesus because he does not think he needs forgiveness. Self-righteousness blinds him.
- No acknowledgment of sin means no repentance.
- No repentance means no true understanding of Christ.
- No understanding of Christ means no love.
- No love leaves only suspicion, judgment, and cold religion.
Simon’s heart is harder than the woman’s reputation. His “respectable” sin is more dangerous than her notorious one, because it keeps him from seeing his need for a Savior.
4. The Wisdom of God
Jesus declares in verse 35 that “wisdom is proved right by all her children.” What does He mean? The wisdom of God is not seen in lofty religion or human achievement, but in transformed lives.
- Saul of Tarsus – once a persecutor of Christians, now Paul the apostle, saved and sent by grace.
- John Newton – once a slave trader, then author of Amazing Grace, testifying that he was “a great sinner” who found “a great Savior.”
- You and me – our own stories, messy and broken, yet redeemed by Jesus’ forgiveness.
This is God’s wisdom: Jesus, the friend of sinners, changing hearts and drawing out love from the very ones the world despises.
5. “Go in Peace”
Finally, Jesus tells the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Peace here is not a shallow calm but shalom—wholeness, fullness, reconciliation with God. It is salvation. It is life as God always intended it to be.
Notice: Jesus does not shame her, push her away, or send her back to her old life. He stands with her, embraces her, and calls her His own. That is His heart toward every repentant sinner.
6. How It All Begins
- Repentance – turning from sin and facing God.
- Acknowledging God’s way – confessing that His way, not ours, is right.
- Embracing God’s purpose – a life devoted to Jesus.
And how do we show that devotion? By expressing our love and gratitude to Him. We may not wash His feet with tears and perfume, but we can give Him our obedience, our worship, our service, our hearts.
Conclusion
The woman’s tears, perfume, and kisses may have seemed excessive to Simon, but to Jesus, they were the perfect response of a forgiven heart.
Friend, have you come to grips with your sin? Have you seen Jesus for who He is—the Savior who offers forgiveness? If you have, then let your love for Him be seen. Express it freely, boldly, and joyfully. For a sinner’s truly repentant heart, made so by the friendship of Jesus, always proves itself by loving Him.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for being the friend of sinners—for seeing us in our brokenness and offering forgiveness instead of condemnation. Open our eyes to our need for You. Soften our hearts in repentance. And fill us with such gratitude that our love for You becomes clear in all that we do. In Your name we pray. Amen.
Pastor Mark
