-THE LIFE OF CHRIST - THE GALILEAN MINISTRY

-Jesus Is Invited to the House of a Pharisee

-Luke 7:36-50

-It is interesting that, following Jesus’ words of rebuke regarding the Jewish leaders, a Pharisee
  then invited Jesus into his house for a meal.  Jesus accepted the invitation and went.

-While at the Pharisee’s home, an uninvited woman known for her sinfulness washed the feet
  of Jesus with her tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed them and anointed them with oil.

-The Pharisee thought to himself that if Jesus was a prophet, He would have known this

  woman’s manner of life and would have separated Himself from her.  Therefore, He doubted

  Christ.

-Jesus responded to Simon’s thoughts with the parable of the two debtors.

     -This parable illustrates the relationship between our love for the Saviour and our

       recognition of our need for the forgiveness of sins.

     -“We all have sin enough to destroy our souls, but many of us fail to love God as we should,

       through an insufficient sense of our sinfulness” (McGarvey/Pendleton, pg 296).

     -The Pharisee, wallowing in self-righteousness, failed to realize his need for forgiveness.  In

       his arrogance Simon showed little hospitality for the Lord, an indication of his lack of love.

-The woman was very humble and very hospitable.

-At this time, Jesus once again showed his authority to forgive sin and credited the woman’s

 forgiveness to her faith.

-A couple of notes:

     -Some regard Matthew 26:6-13 as a parallel passage.  Although there are some similarities
      (a host named Simon, a woman washing the feet of Jesus, some negative reactions), some
      study of the passages will reveal that these are not parallel.  They happened at different
      times in the life of Christ; Simon in Matthew 26 is a leper, the negative reaction is not due
      to sinfulness but perceived wastefulness.  In the passage in Luke, the negative reaction comes
      from the host.  In Matthew 26, the negative reaction comes from the disciples, namely Judas. 

    -Some have incorrectly identified the sinful woman of Luke 7 as Mary Magdalene.  The
      scriptures do not support such an identity.  For an additional comment, please see the next
      segment of notes.