| “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little” (Luke 7:47). |
| The Lord Jesus said these words to a prominent Pharisee who had asked Him to come to his home for a meal. During the meal, a woman of the city came in, shed tears on the feet of the Lord Jesus, wiped them with her hair, kissed His feet, and then anointed His feet with ointment she had brought. The Pharisee knew this woman was a sinner and found fault with all this. But the Lord Jesus asked the Pharisee, “If two people each owed a debt, and one owed a large amount while the other owed a small amount, and the creditor forgave them both, which of them would love the creditor most?” The Pharisee answered correctly by saying that the one who owed the most would be the most grateful and love the creditor the most. |
| Then the Lord Jesus used this illustration to show the Pharisee that the woman, who had many sins, was more grateful than the Pharisee, who thought he was a good man. He also had not treated the Lord Jesus very well. In Jesus’ time on earth the roads were dusty, and since they wore sandals, their feet got very dirty. When you arrived at a home, there was no air conditioning, and no ice for your drink. When the Lord Jesus came to the Pharisee’s house, he did not offer to wash the Lord’s feet, or anoint his head with oil, or give him a welcoming kiss. All these courtesies were normal in the society of that day. But the woman had done all three to the Lord’s feet, because she knew her sins were forgiven. |
| The Pharisee was probably outwardly a good man, but what he did not realize was that his heart was just as bad as the heart of the woman who washed the Lord’s feet. Perhaps she was more open in the way she sinned, so that everyone knew about it, but the Pharisee’s heart was no better He too needed a Savior and should have realized that the One who could save him was sitting there in his house. Sad to say, he probably thought he was good enough for God’s presence without needing salvation, and there is no record that he ever got saved. |
| We must remember that all our hearts are the same, for “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The more we realize how much we have been forgiven, the more we will love the Lord Jesus for what He has done for us. |
