36-39 One of the Pharisees asked him over for a meal. He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him.”
40 Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Oh? Tell me.”
41-42 “Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?”
43-47 Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.”
“That’s right,” said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.”
48 Then he spoke to her: “I forgive your sins.”
49 That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: “Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!”
50 He ignored them and said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
The woman show how she loved Jesus as she had experienced a great forgiveness of her sins. She wept before Jesus and used the most precious perfume to anoint Jesus' feet. The observers, Pharisees, never experienced this kind of forgiveness and considered that the woman's response was too weird to be acceptable in their religious points of view.
My Lord, experiencing the amazing forgiveness of sins is the most desire in my heart. Am I a Christian? Yes, I do believe that my sins had been forgiven as I put my faith in Jesus. But have I completely experienced the forgiveness by Jesus? I think the answer is No. My old self is not completely dead yet. In the past, I understood the forgiveness of sins in terms of the removal of the penalty of sins - no more judgment and no more guilt before God - I am justified and saved. But God's forgiveness of sins is more than that. Jesus comes to heal the consequences and condemnation of our sins as well. He comes to reconcile us with God and also helps us to reconcile with our true self - to accept our new self in Christ. We nail our old self on the cross with Jesus but accept our new self in Christ. We love Jesus more as we experience His love more in redeeming us from our old self to a new person in Christ - experience His removal of our sins; His healing of our past wounds or hurts; His power of liberating us from the slavery; His Presence in our life; His unconditional love to us - no more guilt feeling, no more comparison with others, no more inferiority of feeling, etc.
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