36-38 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him. So He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down for supper. There, a woman of the city who was a sinner, when she learned that Jesus was sitting for supper in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment, and stood behind Him at His feet, weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

39-40 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw it, he said to himself, “If this Man were a prophet, He would have known who and what kind of woman she is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” He said, “Teacher, say it.” 41-43 “A creditor had two debtors. The one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they had no money to pay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose he whom he forgave more.” He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

44-46 Then Jesus 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. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Those who sat at supper with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is He who even forgives sins?” 50 He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Modern English Version

What a wonderful incident this was in the life of Jesus. It's very likely that this woman had been a prostitute. (vs 39) We don't know if she'd personally heard Jesus preaching somewhere before, or only heard about Him from others. But what is obvious is that her act of washing His feet was one of adoration - and perhaps a silent plea for mercy. And Jesus, who knew the hearts of all, saw not only the judgemental thoughts of Simon, but also this woman's deep longing for forgiveness of her sinful past, and peace with God. And so He gave Simon a straightforward question (but a very meaningful one) about two people in debt who were both freely forgiven. A denarius was a days wage for a labourer, so 500 denarii was quite a debt!

The washing of feet, kiss of welcome and anointing of the head, were the sort of courtesy that would have been extended to a guest in those days, especially an honoured one. Yet Simon, who must've been interested in Jesus' message to have invited him to his home, had given Jesus none of those. And so it led to the amazing words where Jesus said to the woman “Your sins are forgiven, your faith has saved you – go in peace.” Are there any words in any language more comforting than those? Can you imagine the joy that must flooded into her life?

Something to think about. Can we apply the story Jesus told to our own life too? Is it possible to love Jesus less because we may think our life was ‘not all that bad'? The more we realize how sinful we are by nature, the more we would surely love Him.

And what about the woman. Did Jesus forgive her because she poured expensive oil on his feet and showed such affection? Did she earn His forgiveness and buy her way into heaven?

No, we could never buy or bribe our way into God's good books. Verse 50 is surely the key to what was going on. The oil and her tears and worship were the expression of her faith. She believed that Jesus could, and would, save someone who'd lived a life even as sinful as hers. She hoped in God's mercy, and she looked to Jesus for forgiveness. Like those debtors in the story, we too have no way of paying our debt – but God freely forgives those who believe upon His beloved Son. Faith in Jesus Christ will always lead to peace with God.