At Jesus’ Feet: Grace That Changes How We Love

Luke 7 puts Jesus at Simon’s table, but Simon’s welcome is cold. Simon gives Jesus no water for his feet, no kiss, and no oil for his head. The woman known around town as a sinner comes in with an alabaster jar, weeps at Jesus’ feet, wipes them with her hair, kisses his feet, and pours out expensive perfume. The room fills with the fragrance of her worship.

Simon sees her sin before he sees her heart. Jesus sees her fully. Jesus even hears Simon’s thoughts and answers him with the story of two debtors. One debt is huge, one is smaller, but neither person can pay. The moneylender forgives them both, and Jesus asks which one will love him more. Simon gets the answer right, but Jesus turns the question back on him: “Do you see this woman?”

Jesus shows that the woman has welcomed him more deeply than Simon has in his own home. Her tears become the water Simon withheld. Her kisses become the greeting Simon withheld. Her perfume becomes the oil Simon withheld. The woman’s actions do not earn forgiveness, because nobody can earn a place with Jesus. Her worship is the effect of grace, not the price of grace.

Romans 6 names the problem plainly: sin brings death. God’s gift, though, is eternal life in Christ Jesus. Jesus pays the tab that sinners could never afford. Jesus, who is perfect, takes sin upon himself so broken people can have relationship with God. Faith receives that gift. Faith trusts that Jesus is who he says he is and that his forgiveness is enough.

Jesus also makes it clear that “many sins” are not too many for him. Simon assumes the woman’s past should disqualify her. Jesus knows exactly who she is, exactly what she has done, and still says, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Shame does not get the last word when Jesus forgives.

Romans 6 also refuses the idea that grace gives permission to keep sinning. The woman’s love does not come from treating sin casually. Her love comes from seeing the depth of forgiveness. Simon’s danger is not that he has no need for grace, but that he thinks he has little need for grace. Jesus calls every heart to stop comparing sins with other people and start comparing life with the holiness of Christ.

Jesus leaves every person in the room with a place to stand. The woman can come with guilt and shame. Simon can repent of judgment and self-righteousness. The other guests can bring their questions about who Jesus is. Jesus invites all of them to recognize that nobody earns a place at his table, and that grace changes how forgiven people love God and love others.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Grace is received, never earned. Jesus does not forgive the woman because her perfume was expensive or her tears were dramatic. Her worship flows out of faith in the mercy of Christ. Salvation rests on what Jesus has done, not on the strength, beauty, or effort of a person’s response. [51:31]
• 2. Jesus sees beyond public shame. Jesus knows the woman’s many sins without being pushed away by them. His knowledge is not shallow approval of sin, but it is also not rejection of the sinner. His forgiveness reaches into the places people try hardest to hide. [53:51]
• 3. Comparison can hide a proud heart. Simon measures himself against the woman and assumes that he is doing fine. Jesus calls the heart away from ranking sins and toward honest self-examination before Christ. A “boring testimony” can still reveal a deep need for grace. [55:04]
• 4. Forgiveness changes the shape of love. The woman’s tears, hair, kisses, and perfume show a heart overwhelmed by mercy. Jesus connects a clear view of forgiveness with a deeper love for him. Grace does not leave a person passive; grace reshapes affection, worship, and the way others are seen.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [39:28] - Reading from Romans 6
• [41:43] - Jesus at Simon’s House
• [45:48] - The Missing Marks of Hospitality
• [47:31] - The Woman at Jesus’ Feet
• [48:48] - Simon’s Judgment and Jesus’ Reply
• [49:46] - The Parable of Two Debtors
• [50:12] - Do You See This Woman?
• [51:31] - Faith Receives Forgiveness
• [53:24] - Jesus Has Authority to Forgive
• [53:51] - No Sin Is Too Great
• [55:04] - Comparing Life to Jesus
• [56:30] - Finding Yourself in the Story
• [58:12] - Grace Changes How Love Looks
• [62:44] - Prayer and Response

Bible Reading

Luke 7:36-50
“One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 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.” [41:58]

Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [40:41]

Romans 6:1-2
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” [39:36]

Observation questions

1. What customary acts of welcome did Simon fail to offer Jesus, and how did the woman’s actions at Jesus’ feet contrast with each one? [50:12]
2. What does Simon assume about the woman and about Jesus when he sees her approach Jesus?
3. In the story of the two debtors, what do both people have in common before the moneylender forgives their debts, and what question does Jesus ask Simon afterward? [49:27]
4. What question do the other dinner guests ask after Jesus tells the woman that her sins are forgiven, and what does that question reveal about what they noticed? [53:24]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does Jesus tell Simon the story of two debtors before pointing out Simon’s lack of hospitality toward him? What does the story expose about Simon’s heart? [50:42]
2. Jesus says the woman’s faith has saved her, while her loving actions clearly follow. How does this help distinguish receiving forgiveness from trying to earn forgiveness? [51:24]
3. Romans 6 says that sin results in death, but God gives eternal life in Christ. How does that contrast help explain why neither debtor in Jesus’ story could solve the problem by trying harder? [52:31]
4. Romans 6 rejects continuing in sin so that grace may increase. How can a person take sin seriously while also trusting that no past sin is beyond Jesus’ forgiveness? [54:36]

Application questions

1. Which place in the story feels most familiar right now: the woman carrying guilt or shame, Simon judging others, or the guests still asking questions about Jesus? What makes that part of the story connect with you? [56:39]
2. Are there past failures, hidden struggles, or shame-filled memories that make it difficult to believe Jesus can truly say, “Go in peace”? What would it look like to bring those honestly to him rather than trying to hide or repay the debt? [57:14]
3. Where are you most tempted to compare yourself with someone else and think, “At least I am not like that”? How might comparing your life with Jesus, rather than with others, change the way you see your own need for grace? [55:39]
4. The woman’s worship was not the price of forgiveness but the response to forgiveness. What are some specific ways gratitude for God’s grace could reshape your worship, your time, your generosity, or your treatment of others this week? [52:52]
5. Is there someone you have been tempted to define mainly by their sin, reputation, or choices? How can you show that person both the truth that sin matters and the compassion of Jesus, who does not treat people as beyond grace? [01:04:35]
6. Romans 6 calls believers not to continue living in sin. Is there an area where grace has been treated too casually or where repentance has been delayed? What is one honest next step toward offering yourself to God in that area? [55:17]