Daily Bible Reading 28th June 2026 // Luke 7:36-50
36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
41 “A certain money-lender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning towards the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
There are several possible misunderstandings that could arise here, that require to be cleared up at the outset. The first is this: the woman did not receive pardon for her sins by her tears, or by her anointing and kissing of Jesus' feet. This is to misinterpret 47. It is not her love that is the ground of her forgiveness, but vice versa. It was her forgiveness that begot love for Him in her heart. We love Him because He first loved us. The whole of the Scriptures bear witness to this, as indeed does this passage itself, rightly understood. Secondly, we are not to take from the passage and from Jesus' words about the big debt and the small debt that He was suggesting to Simon, or conceding to him, that his sin was small compared with the woman's. She was not a greater sinner than he was, only a different kind. But he thought she was. This is the point. And Jesus met him there, on his own ground, so to speak. It is the sense of sin in each of them that is important. Thirdly, our Lord did not bestow the gift of forgiveness on the woman then, in Simon's house, as 47 might seem to indicate. The pronouncement of forgiveness there (47) is rather a statement of something that had taken place before that time and was a manifestation of it. This makes even more clear the truth that it was not her love that earned her forgiveness. And this is confirmed in 50 - 'thy faith hath saved thee'. This is the key to a true understanding of the parable and the passage, as of everything else in the gospel. We need this reminder in any lessons we are to draw from the story.