What is the significance of Jesus being anointed (Luke 7:36-50)?

Then we get Christ's answer to the woman's faith: "Thy sins are forgiven." She did not know it when she came in, but she loved Christ, she trusted Christ; and now the sins are all gone. He said to her - it was not a mere doctrine in the air, but He gives her the comfort of it - "Thy sins are forgiven." God has sent love and light here, but He has sent forgiveness here also, "according to the riches of his grace," not narrowly, closely, measuring our need. He pronounces this judgment upon her, "Thy sins are forgiven"; as He did to the thief, who was fit to go to paradise, "Verily, I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." The dying robber was bearing the fruit of his ways before man, but Christ was bearing it before God, and therefore he was a fit companion for Christ in paradise. This is true of every believer. "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light," Col. 1:12. "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified," (Heb. 10:14): this sanctification is entirely uninterrupted because Christ gives it perfection.

To His host the Lord turned and said, "Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins which are many are forgiven; for she loved much." The word "for" is sometimes a reason why, and sometimes an evidence why. In this case it is the evidential "for," not the causative. It was not because she loved much that the Lord forgave her. It was His grace that caused her love.

But there is more. "And He said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven." Without this declared to herself, how much would have been lost! It was a great thing to hear Him tell those that judged her and misjudged Him (which was far worse), "I say unto thee (Simon), Her sins, which are many, are forgiven"; but how much more when He deigned to turn round even to her and say, "Thy sins are forgiven!" And you think all this quite extraordinary; and so indeed it is. But let no one think himself a real Christian till he is in the enjoyment of this primary blessing of the gospel. For what is it but the Lord saying to you, not of course in a dream or in a transient feeling, but by the precious word which you receive from God, "Thy sins are forgiven?" How can you sing and praise with joyful heart if your sins are not forgiven? There can be no genuine thanksgiving, no cry to Abba Father, unless you know your sins forgiven. Until then, you dread God; and fear has torment; but when consciously forgiven on divine testimony, you rest on God's love to you in the Lord Jesus. Thenceforward, what matters anything the devil can insinuate? what man or woman say? or the world may frown?

"True, but one is gold, and the other is only 'I promise to pay one pound.' Now God's note is, 'Thou shalt be saved," whereas the gold might stand for 'Thou art saved.' This is just what Eph. 2:8 says, 'For by grace are ye saved, through faith.' Again in Luke 7, the Lord gave a weeping woman, like you, the knowledge of pardon, salvation, and peace, in twelve words. It was a short sermon, but what a full one! 'Thy sins are forgiven. Thy faith has saved thee; go in peace' (verses 48-50). What wondrous words, 'Thy sins are forgiven'! Are you the woman He is speaking to now?"

Throughout the Christian ages, great and successful efforts have been made by Satan to rob believers in the Lord Jesus Christ of the knowledge of forgiveness of sins. When on earth the Lord Jesus said to a man, "Thy sins are forgiven thee" (Luke 5:20); and to a woman, "Thy sins are forgiven." (Luke 7:48). These two would therefore be assured that their sins were forgiven. All true believers should possess the same assurance for it is written in the Scriptures, "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." (1 John 2:12).

Standing there behind Him, she lavished upon Him all her heart's affection - affection wrought surely by grace in the power of the Holy Spirit. She "brought an alabaster box of ointment, 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." The Lord Himself has interpreted for us the meaning of her action. Defending her from Simon's reproach, He said, "She loved much." A true penitent, as shown by her tears (and she wept doubtless because she had been made to feel her moral unsuitability to His holy presence), her heart had responded to Him and to His grace with a love that could only express itself in her tears, in her kissing His feet, and anointing them with her precious ointment.

To explain the expression, "Her sins are forgiven, for she loved much," we must distinguish between grace revealed in the person of Jesus and the pardon He announced to those whom the grace had reached. The Lord is able to make this pardon known. He reveals it to the poor woman. But it was that which she had seen in Jesus Himself which, by grace, melted her heart, and produced the love she had to Him - the seeing what He was for sinners like herself. She thinks only of Him; He has taken possession of her heart, so as to shut out other influences. Hearing that He is there, she goes into the house of this proud man, without thinking of anything but the fact that Jesus is there. His presence answered or prevented every question. She saw what He was for a sinner, and that the most wretched and disgraced found a resource in Him. She felt her sins in the way that this perfect grace, which opens the heart and wins confidence, causes them to be felt; and she loved much. Grace in Christ had produced its effect. She loved because of His love. This is the reason that the Lord says, "Her sins are forgiven, because she loved much." It was not that her love was meritorious for this, but that God revealed the glorious fact that the sins - be they ever so numerous and abominable - of one whose heart was turned to God were fully pardoned. There are many whose hearts are turned to God, and who love Jesus, that do not know this. Jesus pronounces on their case with authority, sends them away in peace. It is a revelation, an answer, to the wants and affections produced in the heart made penitent by grace revealed in the person of Christ.

Sins forgiven. — The existence of the kingdom dated, as we have seen, from a time subsequent to John the Baptist's ministry. Of blessings connected with it, viz., recovery from sickness and from death, we have read, both sickness and death being fruits of sin. Now we are to learn of another blessing connected with it, viz., plenary forgiveness of sins, and that apart from the removal of governmental dealing, of which the palsied man of chapter 5 was an example. For this we are now taken to the house of a Pharisee, named Simon, who had invited the Lord to eat with him. The Lord accepted the invitation; but Simon, whilst outwardly honouring Him by entertaining Him, did not think Him worthy of those customary proofs of courtesy — the kiss, the feet-washing, and the anointing. The Lord in humiliation was of little account in Simon's eyes. But wisdom is indeed justified of her children. For there entered the house a woman, who probably had never before crossed its threshold, and who went behind the Lord, and weeping 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 ointment. The Lord allowed all this, nay, He accepted it, Simon the Pharisee looking on, and forming a judgment of his guest adverse to His being a prophet.

No word was uttered by the host in protest against the action of that woman. One only perhaps knew what was passing in the Pharisee's mind. To the woman the Lord had as yet said nothing: no word of recognition had passed His lips. Her service He had received, and continued to receive, without any inquiry as to the reason of it. A convincing proof, thought Simon, that He was no prophet. Could He have allowed such a one to touch Him, if He knew, as well as Simon did, her character and life? To Simon's surprise, doubtless, the Lord addressed His host: "Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee." "Master (i.e. teacher), say on," was the quick reply; little thinking, we may be sure, that the parable about to be spoken, and the application of it that would follow, would answer the questioning of his heart, and demonstrate that the Lord was indeed a prophet, who could read Simon's heart, and was more fully acquainted with that woman than any one of the company.

Two debtors, so ran the parable, there were, of one creditor; one owed five hundred pence, the other but a tenth of that sum, but both were hopelessly insolvent. Having nothing to pay, the creditor frankly forgave them. Which, then, asked the Lord, would love the creditor most? "I suppose," replied Simon, "that he to whom he forgave most." Rightly had he answered. Now for the application. The woman was indeed a great sinner, and well known as such in the place. But Christ was a Saviour, and grace had reached her and attracted her to Him. How or when we know not. All that we do know, all that we need to know, is that it had then acted on her, and that the Lord did not spurn her. Why had she come there? Because she was forgiven. Why had He received her ministrations? Because she was a subject of Divine grace. What was her attraction inside that house? The presence of the Saviour. And those proofs of courtesy, withheld by Simon, were given by her, and graciously received. Little was the Lord to Simon. How much was the Lord to her! It was the offering of a willing, thankful heart that she rendered, and He accepted. And still addressing Simon, now reproved for his remissness, the Lord added: "Wherefore I say to thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little" (7:47). Love to Christ in a sinner's heart is engendered by grace shared in, forgiveness received. How was it seen that she was forgiven? She loved much, and had displayed it. That was the proof, as the last clause makes plain: "To whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." She was not forgiven because she loved: she loved because she was forgiven. How slow are men to learn this simple truth! And now, addressing her for the first time, she heard, and all heard, what the Lord said: "Thy sins are forgiven." He had first said it of her to Simon. He said it now directly to herself. She was forgiven ere she washed His feet, and before He declared it.

Verse 47. 'Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.' The Lord Himself judges here from the evidence which is available in abundance; evidence which should have spoken with equal clarity to Simon. These are Christ's last words to him; summing up the great lesson to be learnt from the parable in brief but comprehensive words. The parable was spoken directly to Simon and its interpretation is therefore also spoken to him. The great Creditor Himself gives the final word about the point at issue. 'Her sins, which are many, are forgiven.' He does not say: 'Many of her sins are forgiven.' If we were to say that as many as 90% of them were forgiven, that would mean 450 of the 500 if we keep to the numbers used in the parable. But if that were the case she would be no better off than Simon, who was still a bankrupt sinner with his 50. The expression 'her sins, which are many' means all her sins. The creditor did not forgive part of the debt, but the whole of it. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ 'we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins' (Eph. 1:7).

'For she loved much.' The thought that the woman's sins were forgiven because she did the acts that are praised by the Lord reverses the whole parable, and contradicts verse 50 which says: 'Thy faith has saved thee.' Not your love! The parable clearly teaches that before either debtor did a thing their debts were gratuitously remitted. The words 'for she loved much' do not express the cause or reason why she was forgiven, but rather the proof that made it possible for others to see that she was truly forgiven. The woman was not forgiven because of her love, rather she loved because she was forgiven.

This drew out the religious reasoning, of Simon's heart, which, like all other reasoning of the natural mind on divine things, is only infidelity. "He spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet." How hollow the fair-looking Pharisee was! He had asked the Lord there; but what was the value of the Lord in Simon's eyes? "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." Indeed, she was a sinner. This was not wrong but that. The root of the worst wrong is just that depreciation of Jesus. Simon within himself doubted that He was even a prophet. Oh, how little thought he that it was God Himself in the person of that lowly man, the Son of the Highest! Herein was the starting-point of this most fatal error. Jesus, however, proves that He was a prophet, yea, the God of the prophets; and reading the thoughts of his heart, He answers his unuttered question by the parable of the two debtors.

I will not dwell now on that which is familiar to all. Suffice it to say, that this is a scene peculiar to our gospel. Might I not ask, where possibly could it be found harmoniously except here? How admirable the choice of the Holy Ghost, thus shown in displaying Jesus according to all we have seen from the beginning of this gospel! The Lord here pronounces her sins to be forgiven; but it is well to observe, that this was at the close of the interview, and not the occasion of it. There is no ground to suppose that she knew that her sins were forgiven before. On the contrary, the point of the story appears to me lost where this is assumed. What confidence His grace gives the one that goes straight to Himself! He speaks authoritatively, and warrants forgiveness. Till Jesus said so, it would have been presumption for any soul at this time to have acted upon the certainty that his sins were forgiven. Such seems to me the express object of this history — a poor sinner truly repenting, and attracted by His grace, which draws her to Himself, and hears from Him His own direct word, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." Her sins, which were many, were forgiven. There was no hiding, therefore, the extent of her need; for she loved much. Not that I would explain this away. Her loving much was true before, as well as after, she heard the forgiveness. There was real love in her heart already. She was transported by the divine grace in His person, which inspired her by the Spirit's teaching with love through His love; but the effect of knowing from His own lips that her sins were forgiven must have been to increase that love. The Lord is here before us as One that thoroughly sounded the evil heart of unbelief, that appreciated, as truly as He had effected, the work of grace in the believer's heart, and speaks out before all the answer of peace with which He entitled such an one to depart.

(1) The forgiveness of sins (Luke 7:37-38, 48, 50). In the first chapter of the Gospel, Zacharias, in his hymn of praise, so beautifully can say, "The dayspring from on high has visited us". With the coming of Jesus the new day of grace had dawned upon the world. In the fourth chapter we learn how the Lord opened this day of grace as He quotes the prophecy of Isaiah foretelling the coming of the Lord to preach the Gospel to the poor and to heal the broken-hearted. Then the Lord can say, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears". In the seventh chapter we find this grace reaching down to a poor degraded sinner and forgiving her sins. "A woman in the city which was a sinner" finds herself in the presence of the Saviour. She realises that she is in the presence of One who knows all her sins and yet is full of grace toward her. The result is, her heart is broken and her heart is won. Her tears speak of a broken heart, and her kisses of a heart that is won. At once the Lord in His grace binds up her broken heart by saying, "Thy sins are forgiven … thy faith has saved thee, go in peace". Here then is the start of all our blessing. We are not forgiven because of anything that we have done, but because of what Christ has done, and we know we are forgiven, as the woman knew that she was forgiven, not because we believe that we are forgiven but because God says so. "In Him all that believe are justified from all things." This is indeed a great blessing, but, in the case of the woman the blessing hardly goes beyond the forgiveness of sins.