Lk. 7:36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him, and He went to the Pharisees’ house, and sat down to eat.
Now in this and other subsequent segments we are going to find Pharisees inviting Yeshua to dinner. This isn’t because they were being nice to Him. They are looking for opportunities to find fault in Him.
Lk. 7:37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Yeshua sat at the table in the Pharisees’ house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil.
You will note that this woman had easy access to the home of the Pharisee. Entrance was easy because of the custom of wealthy Pharisees to have their doors open during meals. M:Avoth 1:5 says, “Rabbi Yosi ben Yochanan of Jerusalem said, ‘Let your house be open to the street and let the poor be children of your house.’” So usually wealthy Pharisees had their door open so the poor could come in and get some food to eat.
Source: M:Avoth 1:5
The ancients considered alabaster to be the best material in which to preserve their ointments. The Oriental alabaster is a translucent carbonate of lime, found in the floors of limestone caves by the percolation of water. It usually clouded or banded like agate, hence it is sometimes called onyx marble.
Now we have a little surprise. In this story the Gospel writer does not identify who this woman is. But a little later on, John in his Gospel does. “Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the feet of the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick” (John 11:1, 2). Evidently Mary was a working girl who travels to a larger town where there is a larger population in which to ply her trade. Fortunately for her, this is where Yeshua changes her life. We will see this again in segment no. 117.
Source: John 11:1, 2
Lk. 7:38 And stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with fragrant oil.
In John 12:3 (segment no. 141), we find that Mary repeats the same act of great love and devotion towards Yeshua as she did just a few days ago when He changed her life in the Pharisee’s house. Now as to the perfume she put on him, there is something to note in M:Berachoth 6:6 — “The blessing is also said for the perfume although it could not be brought in until after the meal.” She probably brought the perfume in during the meal, but anointed Him afterwards in keeping with Jewish practice.
Source: John 12:3; M;Berachoth 6:6
Lk. 7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”
And so the Pharisee says to himself, “If He really is the Messiah, or at least a prophet, He would have had discerned that she was a prostitute, and would never have allowed her to do what she is doing.” The Pharisee was correct about Yeshua’s discerning powers. He just totally missed the whole concept of God’s love and redemption.
Lk. 7:40 And Yeshua answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he said, “Teacher, say it.”
Lk. 7:41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarrii, and the other fifty.”
Yeshua first of all shows the Pharisee, who is named Simon, that He is who He claims to be because He is able to read his mind and tell Simon what is going on in his head. He presents a parable to show why this woman is so lavish with her love.
Lk. 7:42 “And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”
Lk. 7:43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more,” and He said to him, “You have rightly judged.”
Lk. 7:44 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.”
What Yeshua is showing in this verse is that the Pharisee had other motives than hospitality for inviting Him to eat. He did not even extend to Yeshua the common courtesy of a host of that day, such as washing His feet, give Him a welcome kiss of greeting, or anoint His head with oil. And yet, this prostitute did all that the Pharisee failed to do, and it wasn’t even her house.
Lk. 7:45 “You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.”
Lk. 7:46 “You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.”
Lk. 7:47 “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.”
Yeshua argued that her actions were extensions of the accepted custom of greeting for an honored guest. She had been forgiven of grave wrongdoing. Simon was too religious to recognize the legitimacy of her actions. Simon had been forgiven little and did not have the same understanding of who Yeshua was. He failed to do things that showed that Yeshua was welcome in his house. This forgiven prostitute did do the things that showed that Yeshua was welcome in her heart. The Kingdom principles from the life and teachings of Yeshua demonstrated God’s love, forgiveness, and acceptance.
Lk. 7:48 And He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Lk. 7:49 “And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
In the Jewish mindset, and correctly so, only God can forgive sins. Once again, we have an instance where Yeshua is declaring Himself to be God.
Lk. 7:50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
Now, to make sure there is no misunderstanding that this person was saved because of her works, Yeshua says, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” It was the woman’s faith that was the means of her salvation, and the forgiveness of her sins. Her works of wiping the feet of Yeshua was merely the outworking of her faith. It is the principle set forth in the book of James (2:18) that you show your faith by your works. This is a very common Rabbinic teaching, and always has been.
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