"She Loved Much"

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. …  Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:36-38, Luke 7:44-50).

At the doorway of the home of Simon, a woman appears. What’s a woman like this doing at the Pharisee’s house? It soon becomes clear. She’s there because Jesus is there. The woman stands behind Jesus and, she wets His feet with her tears and wipes His feet with her hair.

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) helps us to better understand what happened next. He explained that she took

“the perfumed oil … she [used] to anoint herself for the pleasure of the smell and for the increase of her beauty, and now, opening it, she pours out the costliest thing she has upon his blessed feet.” 

Matthew Henry (1662-1714) wrote:

“She wiped [His feet] with her hair, as one entirely devoted to his honour. Her eyes shall yield water to wash them, and her hair be a towel to wipe them; and she anointed his feet with the ointment, owning him hereby to be the Messiah, the Anointed.” 

What was Jesus’ explanation of what the woman did that day? He said, “She loved much.” She had been forgiven much, and she loved much. This was someone who was filled to overflowing with gratitude to the One who forgives sins. No wonder that when she heard that Jesus was at Simon’s house, she was compelled to go there and sacrifice the “costliest thing she has.”

This story reminds me of what happens in the life of every person who is born again. There is an overflow of gratitude to Jesus for saving us. We were sinners, and, because of His mercy, God rescued us. We want to thank Him, to worship Him, no matter what others may say or think. If you’re a Christian, is that how you feel today? Do you have a heart of gratitude and adoration to God?

It might be helpful to reflect on what you once were before you became a Christian. There’s much in our past that brings us the kind of shame that the woman in Luke 7 must have felt. We once lived in a kingdom of sin-filled darkness. We had our favorite sins, and there were many. When we pause to seriously reflect on who we once were, it can serve to produce a fountainhead of gratitude that flows toward the One who rescued us from such a dreadful state. With cords of love, Jesus drew us to Himself. Praise the Lord for that extraordinary day when you and I were forgiven much! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5). 

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:8-9).