Forgiven Much, Love Much
Luke 7:36–50
In one of the most tender scenes in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is invited to dinner at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. The evening is interrupted by a woman described only as “a sinner”—someone with a reputation, someone the religious world deemed unworthy. And yet she walks into the room carrying an alabaster flask, falls at Jesus’s feet, and pours out her tears, her affection, and her perfume.
Simon sees her as a problem. Jesus sees her as a person.
To reveal what’s happening in the room, Jesus tells Simon a simple story: two people owed a debt they could not pay. One large, one small—yet the moneylender forgave them both. “Which one will love him more?” Jesus asks. Simon answers, “The one who was forgiven more.” Jesus nods. He turns toward the woman. He honors her. And He names the truth: “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven.”
This moment gives us a window into something our world cannot manufacture and our own willpower cannot create: a changed heart. Psychology can help us understand ourselves. Discipline can modify our behavior. Fear can temporarily control us. But only forgiveness—real, undeserved, transforming forgiveness—can set the heart free.
Our Need for Forgiveness
We often reduce sin to isolated behaviors. But Jesus helps us see deeper. Sin is like bad soil we root ourselves in, blindness that hides the truth about ourselves, and slavery that shapes our desires and habits. The Pharisee didn’t see his own sin; the woman saw hers clearly. And that clarity led her to Jesus.
Our Resistance to Forgiveness
We resist forgiveness not because we don’t need it, but because sin often “works”—at least for a little while. It feels safe, productive, comforting, or rewarding. Like the Pharisee, we can build an entire world where we don’t need help from God. But Jesus gently exposes this illusion: those who think they are forgiven little will love little.
The Power of Forgiveness
Forgiveness transforms. The forgiven woman does three things:
She serves — washing Jesus’s feet
She loves — kissing His feet
She worships — anointing Him with costly perfume
Forgiveness turns slaves into servants, the blind into worshipers, and broken people into deeply loving people. The Pharisees asked, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” It’s the right question. Because the power of forgiveness doesn’t come from our goodness—it comes from Jesus, who took our sin, carried our shame, and loves us back to life.
May we come to him like this woman—not polished, not prideful, but honest. And may we leave with the same blessing she received:
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Reflection Questions
Where have you been relying on “bad soil”—places of trust, comfort, or identity—that cannot give you life?
How might pride, fear, or comparison be keeping you from receiving the forgiveness you actually need?
What would it look like this week to respond to Jesus with the same love, service, or worship shown by the woman in the story?
