A meal of Jesus
Dinner at Simon the Pharisee's House
A Pharisee's dinner party
Read the chapter: Luke 7
“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.”
What happened at the table
Jesus is invited to dine at the home of Simon, a Pharisee, who offers Him none of the usual courtesies. Then a woman known in the town as a sinner comes in uninvited, weeps at Jesus' feet, washes them with her tears, dries them with her hair, and pours out costly perfume. Simon is scandalized. Jesus tells a short parable about two debtors forgiven, and says her many sins are forgiven, for she loved much, and, thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
What it reveals
Two very different people are at this meal: a respectable host who feels no need, and a broken woman overflowing with love. Jesus honors the one everyone despised and gently exposes the one who thought himself righteous. The meal becomes a lesson: those who have been forgiven much love much, and those who feel little need of forgiveness love little. It is not the polished but the grateful who are near to Him.
How it leads to the Living Bread
Jesus receives the woman's extravagant love in front of the man who scorned her, and He sends her away forgiven and at peace. It is a picture of how He receives all who come to Him aware of their need, not with a lecture but with mercy. The One reclining at that table is the One who forgives sins, and He measures a person not by their reputation but by the love that pours out when they realize how much they have been forgiven.
Questions people ask
What happened at Simon the Pharisee's dinner?
In Luke 7, a woman known as a sinner wept at Jesus' feet and anointed them while Jesus dined with Simon the Pharisee. Jesus forgave her sins and said she loved much because she had been forgiven much, gently exposing Simon's cold self-righteousness.
What does the woman who anointed Jesus teach us?
That those forgiven much love much. The grateful, broken woman was closer to Jesus than the respectable host who felt no need. Jesus receives all who come aware of their sin with mercy and peace, not condemnation.