Jesus and the Woman
Luke 7:36-50
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.…


There was an unrecorded history behind this manifestation. The two must have met before. This was not the first time she had seen the Lord. On some previous occasion virtue had gone out of Him to her, and had awakened new hope within her. She saw the possibility of being forgiven, even for her life of sin. She felt uprising within her the determination to become a pure and noble woman. Nay, she had the persuasion that she was already pardoned and accepted by God; and so, unmoved by all surrounding discouragements, conscious of nothing but that He was there to whom she owed her new-born blessedness, she eagerly threw herself upon His feet, and took this method of telling Him "all that was in her heart." She came to Him, not as a penitent seeking pardon, but as a sinner already forgiven; and so that which looked like extravagance to others was perfectly natural in her, and thoroughly acceptable to Him. It was but the "return and repercussion" of that love which He had already shown to her. Her tears were, as Luther calls them, ', heart-water"; they were the distillation of her gratitude. She had not come indeed to weep; she had come designing to use the ointment only. But her tears had, as it were, stolen a march upon her; they had come unbidden and unexpected, and had rather interfered with the fulfilment of her purpose. But, in order that her original intention might be thoroughly carried out, she wiped them from His feet with her flowing tresses, and then poured over Him the precious ointment, whose odour filled the house.

(W. M. Taylor, D. D.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: 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.

WEB: One of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. He entered into the Pharisee's house, and sat at the table.




Influence of Christ's Love
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