Dinner at Simon’s House (Luke 7)
Introduction: Jesus was at Nain according to Luke 7:11. While He was there, He brought a dead man back to life and also reassured the disciples of John the Baptist that He was truly the Messiah, the One Who should come. After this, a Pharisee named Simon asked Jesus to have dinner and Jesus accepted. Something happened during the dinner that changed a sinful woman’s life forever!
(Full disclosure, some of this is covered in an illustration called “”Unsung heroines-the sinful woman at Simon's house”, approved by Sermon Central in 2022. This contribution is not merely a copy and paste of that illustration.)
1 The Profession of Love
Text: Luke 7:36-38, KJV: 36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. 37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38 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
Let’s begin this study with a few general remarks. First, we don’t know just where this event took place. Jesus had (recently?) been in Nain, a community south and east of the Sea of Galilee. He had only recently raised a man from the dead and no doubt, there was plenty of conversation about Who Jesus was and what He had done. This was the first person, by the way, whom Jesus had raised from the dead and it spread all over Judea (Luke 7:17). Some, like Dr. A. T. Robertson, believe this event took place in Capernaum (see the on-line notes found at https://godrules.net/library/robert/robertluk7.htm)
The “where” really doesn’t matter, though. It’s to the credit of Simon the Pharisee that he thought enough of Jesus to invite Him to share a meal. They didn’t “sit at meat”, like at a table; as many sources and Bible teachers have explained, the ones coming for the meal would take off their shoes, lie down on their left sides, and reach into a center section where the food was set out for the meal. According to some, the “meal” might last for hours so that people could speak freely about whatever topic/s they might want to share.
So Jesus did accept the invitation and went (followed Simon?) to Simon’s house. Regardless of where the house was located, the house seems to have followed the more-or-less standard floor plan or architecture of the time. There was the dining area, where Jesus, Simon, and probably others, gathered for the meal. I mentioned earlier that the ones eating would lie down on their left sides. They would also leave their feet and legs in an outer area (maybe, kind of like a “mud room” for the house) where others, not invited to the meal, could speak freely. Dr. Robertson’s comments about this verse (as mentioned above) give examples.
All right. They’ve lain down to eat the supper, all of them basically facing the center, but something unusual is about to happen. They’re about to encounter one of the first and most touching (no pun intended) professions of love anyone ever did for our Lord while He walked on this Earth.
And, would you believe, this expression of love came from a sinful woman?
We’ll never know her name down here but there are a couple of ladies whom we can say were _not_ this woman. Some think this woman was Mary Magdalene, but that’s hardly the case because even though Jesus had cast seven demons out of her, there’s no record that she was involved in any kind of prostitution or sexual misconduct. Magdala was reasonably close to both Capernaum and Nain (see https://bibleatlas.org/full/nain.htm) but, still, I doubt Mary Magdalene was the woman at Simon’s house. Ellicott’s commentary also records some who think the mystery woman of this story was Mary of Bethany, who anointed the Lord here and at Bethany (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/luke/7.htm).
So, whoever she was, we do know a few things about her. Dr. A. T. Robertson’s “Word Pictures” has the record that the people knew her and knew what she was. He also pointed out that at an unknown time, she had repented of her sins and wanted to show her gratitude to the Lord (https://godrules.net/library/robert/robertluk7.htm). Of note, this woman wasn’t the only harlot who had become a believer in the True and the Living God: think of Rahab, who protected the spies in Jericho and became a mother of the Messiah (Joshua 2,6; and Ruth 4)!
Now look at the genuine expression and profession of love this woman had for her Savior. Luke described how she came up behind Jesus, approaching Him from that outer room, for lack of a better term, so that she could see His feet but He might have a difficult time seeing her, humanly speaking. I mean, He was looking towards the “buffet” in the middle and might not even pay much attention to His feet: that is, until He noticed her three acts of love and gratitude.
First, she had brought a box, made of alabaster (a soft stone used as a vial for precious ointments, per Robertson, https://godrules.net/library/robert/robertmat26.htm). She didn’t apply the ointment at first, but rather “weeping”, so much so that there were enough tears to wash the feet of Jesus. Then she took down her hair and wiped His feet (she didn’t have access to a towel, apparently: contrast this with what Jesus Himself did in John 13). One of the sweetest and most respectable things I’ve ever heard was the testimony of a husband who said, on their wedding night, that his bride took down her hair, washed his feet, and dried them with her own hair.
After this, the woman in Simon’s house then kissed (kept on kissing, Robertson) the Lord’s feet and finally anointed His feet with the ointment from the alabaster box. Luke doesn’t record the value of the ointment but, assuming it was similar, the ointment which Mary of Bethany used on the Lord’s feet was worth nearly a year’s wages. Whoever this lady was at Simon’s house, she had no qualms about using the best she had to show her love for her Savior!
But Simon, and maybe others, had a much different reaction.
2 The Profession of Scorn
Text, Luke 7:39, KJV: 39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, 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.
It’s been said, by many people, that no good deed ever goes unpunished and whoever came up with that saying deserves a place in the philosophers’ hall of fame. Just think of how many other acts of love, even good intentions, get downplayed and even discouraged because “reasons”. Sometimes it’s because the one complaining didn’t do the contributing. But I digress.
Simon “saw” what took place and perhaps took a moment to sort it out in his mind. The word translated “saw”, in the Greek, means “having seen”. It’s the aorist participle or “past” tense of horaw—I don’t have a lower-case “omega” symbol available—see the information available online at (https://biblehub.com/greek/3708.htm). My opinion is that these things he saw really gave him something to think about.
First, he knew about the woman; to his credit, he doesn’t mention her name, what she had done before this, or publicly criticize her. He did know she was a “sinner” and what probably had happened to any number of men in the city where they were. We hear some about godly ladies who want to be the “Proverbs 31 woman”, and that’s commendable. The sad thing is that there are who known how many “Proverbs 7 women”, those who actively seek men (and, others?) for immoral purposes. If it was bad in Solomon’s day, it’s orders of magnitude worse these days.
And, Simon may have already known something about Jesus Himself. If Simon’s house was in Nain, he surely would have heard about Jesus raising a man from the dead as the corpse was being carried out of the city. Or, if Simon lived in Capernaum, he may well have heard of the Lord’s miracles there. Simon may have even heard Jesus preach or teach. At any rate, Simon had come to the conclusion that there was something different about this Man. Note that Simon wondered if Jesus was “really” a prophet. Dr. A. T. Robertson (above) noted that in the Greek, the idea is that Simon did not think Jesus was a prophet (a true prophet wouldn’t let a sinful woman like her even touch him, e.g.).
I have to wonder at Simon: after all, he was courteous enough to invite Jesus for a meal, but now, now that He has allowed a sinful woman to weep tears on His feet, to wipe His feet with her hair, and for her to lavish ointment on His feet—that may have been too much for him. He didn’t say anything out loud, but as we’ll see, the Lord Jesus already knew exactly what he was thinking.
3 The Parable and Profession of Forgiveness
Text, Luke 7:40-50, KJV: 40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? 43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. 44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
I’ve lost count of the times when Jesus knew the thoughts of someone else. Here’s one such example: He knew exactly what Simon thought of the deeds a formerly sinful woman had done for our Lord. Simon didn’t say a word; he didn’t have to; because Jesus already knew exactly what Simon was thinking.
And to make a point, the Lord used a parable or story that sometimes mirrors a given situation. Here, in what some call “The Parable of the Two Debtors”, Jesus gave a brief story about two men who each had debts that neither one could pay back. The exact amount of money, or “dollar value”, is not easy to establish but it’s clear that the one owed ten times as much as the other.
To put the amounts in perspective, 50 pence would be 50 days’ wages or nearly two months’ worth. Then, 500 pence would be, naturally, 500 days’ wages on nearly two years’ worth. Neither of them could pay back the debt, Jesus said, so the creditor “frankly (freely, in today’s terms)” forgave both. The creditor wiped out or cancelled the debts of each man.
Now, Jesus asked, who would love the creditor the most? Simon might have wondered, “Where is He going with this?” but didn’t express that thought. Simon said, “I suppose (or, I guess), the one who had been forgiven the most” which of course would be true.
It’s kind of disheartening for me, when I read Simon’s reply, because he may not have made the connection between the story Jesus told and the reality he had seen. It’s like Simon said, “I don’t know, maybe the one who had the most forgiven” or something along those lines. To refer back to Dr. Ellicott/s on-line commentary, he mentions that Simon was uneasy or perplexed about what Jesus said (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/luke/7.htm).
Jesus gave him credit for at least getting the point of the parable: the one forgiven most generally loves the most. Then Jesus shared a few things with Simon, and some of the things Simon had either deliberately or accidentally forgotten to do!
The first thing Jesus pointed out was the woman herself. He asked Simon, “Do you see this woman?” In all fairness, Simon may not have actually seen or laid eyes on or made eye contact with her, as she was standing near Jesus’ feet. Simon says nothing, but he now has to agree that yes, she’s there. Now Jesus tells Simon the first breach of hospitality—almost an insult in those days—that Simon didn’t even give Jesus any water so He could wash His own feet. Not only did the water provide relief, the water also washed away the dirt which could have made a real mess near the dining area! To this day, some houses in some parts of the world (Okinawa, for example; I’ve been there) have a step behind the door where one takes off their street shoes for either sock feet or slides/clogs/mules for wearing inside the house.
Jesus didn’t stop there. He said, “Simon, you didn’t give me any water for My feet but she did—she wept with such intensity that it was enough to make My feet clean. Plus, you didn’t give me a towel to dry My feet but she used her own hairs to do this. And, you didn’t give me the kiss of peace—but she did; she kept on kissing My feet.”
Then Jesus gave the third insult from Simon or those of his house: “You didn’t anoint My head with oil (olive oil, most likely) bur she anointed My feet with her (costly?) ointment.” We may not get the significance of this today, but in those days, under a very hot sun, the anointing oil for one’s head was a very tender way of providing some relief. Simon, incredibly, failed this very simple test of hospitality.
We’re now ready for the final pronouncement. Jesus had pointed out what the woman had done, and what Simon had failed to do. To be fair, Simon may have had a “love” for Jesus, a desire to know more about Him, perhaps to engage in dialog. Only a few people seem to have done this during our Lord’s earthly ministry, so we can be fair to Simon. The problems were that he didn’t show enough love to Jesus as he might have done to anyone else who visited him.
And Jesus then turned to the woman, who still seemed to be standing near Him as He spoke. He had known what she did—and why. He knew she had listened to the parable—but she didn’t say anything. Was she overwhelmed with what she had heard? He then turned directly to her and said some of the most joyful words in Scripture: “Your sins have been forgiven (literal translation; https://godrules.net/library/robert/robertluk7.htm).”
The woman had done what she did out of gratitude. Simon did not. Jesus said the woman’s sins were, had been, forgiven because of her faith. Jesus honored that faith, knew what was in her heart, and pronounced her forgiven. Simon—well, we don’t know what happened to him but maybe he took the lessons he learned at his house that day and believed. We can hope!
But just as sure as the woman enjoyed the forgiveness of her sins, there were some (aren’t there always some) who did not. We can see that, according to verse 49, other people had been there for the whole dinner and audience with Jesus. They asked, “Who is this that forgives sins?” Well, if they had been in Capernaum somewhat earlier, they would have seen Jesus heal a paralytic man (“taken with the palsy”, Luke 5:18, KJV).
Jesus then closed the book on this episode by reminding the woman—and the rest, by extension—“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” What comforting words!
She’s never mentioned by name in the New Testament, but her name is for certain written in the Lamb’s Book of Life! No, it wasn’t anything she did that earned her forgiveness: there aren’t enough tears, and there isn’t enough ointment to make that happen. She did all that she did because she knew Jesus had forgiven her. And He told her twice: “Your FAITH has save you. So go in peace.”
None of us need to be awful or notorious sinners; nobody needs to become a “bad boy” or “bad girl” to need salvation and forgiveness. No matter what, the Lord Jesus Christ loves you—yes, YOU—and wants to give you everlasting life! A home in Heaven, peace, rewards, and who knows what else. It’s already free for the asking. Just ask Him to save your soul today!
You’ll never be sorry and like the woman in this portion of Scripture, you too may “go in peace”.
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
