Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Jesus had been invited to dinner at a Pharisee’s house. While they were eating, a woman wandered in from the street and began to wash Jesus’ feet with her tears, then dried them with her hair. She then kissed His feet and poured some ointment on them.
The reaction of the Pharisee was not what we might expect. It is apparent that this woman was known to the Pharisee. He recognized her as a woman with a bad reputation, a sinner. But he did not protest her presence in his house. Nor was what she did for Jesus the most pressing issue.
The Pharisee’s biggest problem with this whole scene seemed to be with Jesus’ reaction to what the woman had done. Jesus allowed a sinful woman, potentially a prostitute, to touch Him. And that, to the Pharisee and according to the Torah, would make Jesus unclean. Something that, in his mind, a real prophet would avoid.
The Connection Between Love and Forgiveness
Jesus’ response to the Pharisee can be a bit challenging. This woman’s sins had been forgiven. But was it because she showed love in what she did? Or did she show love because she had been forgiven?
While the two are tightly connected, it would appear that her love was a response to forgiveness. Jesus went on to say that it was her faith that had saved her, not her love.
But the relationship between love and forgiveness is more than just a matter of sequence. Jesus expressed that (as a general rule) the greater my forgiveness (or my sense of forgiveness), the greater will be the love I will express.
The greater my sense of unworthiness of God’s forgiveness, the less likely I will be to view others as unworthy of His forgiveness. And the more likely it is that I will demonstrate love to all people. Not just those who are like me.
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