Her sins, which are many

Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." – Luke 7.44-47

Jesus was constantly seeing the unseen and unwanted people in His world. Here Jesus and disciples were gathered together for dinner at the home of a Pharisee. The topic of discussion was forgiveness. A woman was at the table. She was probably, from what we can tell, a highly paid prostitute. Suddenly she got up and went over to Jesus. The men there must have been shocked because He did not send her away. Then she bent over, weeping because she was in the presence of Jesus, washed his feet with her hair and tears, then she anointed His feet with oil.

The was scandalous..

Until Jesus spoke.

He said to Peter ‘I came into the house and you did not even give me water to wash my feet. You didn’t greet me. You didn’t anoint me. But this woman did all that and more. She loved Me much because her many sins were forgiven. Those who have little forgiven show little gratitude.’

The lesson is pretty clear. Those who realise how much is forgiven cannot help but show great gratitude. I look at my life and see how much Jesus forgave me. Does my life reflect what He has done for me? Do I show my gratitude by my service?

This woman is an example for us all. Let us remember her and what Jesus did for us and how she responded and how we are responding.