Luke 7:36-50 // Faith that Amazes // Part 3 (10:30 am)

Jun 21, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Crashing the Table with Tears and Hair

A woman uninvited and unwanted crashes a religious dinner, her reputation trailing like smoke. She ignores sideways glances, focused only on Jesus’ feet. Her tears pool on the floor as hair becomes a towel, perfume a sacrifice. This isn’t performative repentance—it’s raw, costly surrender. Her actions reveal faith that pushes past shame to touch holiness. What keeps us from approaching Christ with this kind of unguarded boldness? [01:13:15]

“When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.”
(Luke 7:37-38, ESV)

Reflection: When have you allowed fear of others’ opinions to silence your worship? What would it look like to bring your unfiltered heart to Jesus today?

Day 2: The Alabaster Flask of No Regrets

The crack of breaking ceramic echoes as perfume worth a year’s wages spills. This isn’t measured devotion—it’s total abandonment. She gives her most valuable possession not to negotiate forgiveness, but because forgiveness has already wrecked her. True worship isn’t calculated; it’s the overflow of realizing what Christ’s mercy actually costs. [01:22:06]

“Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”
(John 12:3, ESV)

Reflection: What “expensive flask” are you clinging to instead of pouring out for Christ? How does holding back reveal unbelief in His total forgiveness?

Day 3: Seeing the Person Behind the Sin

Jesus asks Simon a dangerous question: “Do you see this woman?” Religious eyes fixate on sin labels; Christ’s eyes see the shamed human beneath. The Pharisee counts moral debts; the Savior counts broken hearts needing grace. Our judgment often masks fear—what if we’re just better at hiding our own alabaster jars of shame? [01:33:08]

“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature… For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
(1 Samuel 16:7, ESV)

Reflection: Who do you mentally label as “sinner first, person second”? How might seeing their heart change your prayers for them?

Day 4: Fifty or Five Hundred: Debt We Can’t Pay

Two debtors—one owing 50 denarii, another 500—both bankrupt. The difference isn’t the amount, but their awareness of lack. Simon’s tidy moral ledger blinds him; the woman’s notorious sin opens her to grace. All sin separates, but only confessed sin connects to the Cross. Our debt is always beyond our pay grade. [01:32:32]

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both.”
(Luke 7:41-42, ESV)

Reflection: Do you relate more to the 50 or 500 debtor today? How does comparing sins (yours or others’) block your gratitude for grace?

Day 5: Leaving Shame at His Feet, Walking in Peace

“Go in peace” isn’t a dismissal—it’s a commissioning. The woman leaves lighter, her shame absorbed by His scars. Peace comes not from perfect behavior but perfected forgiveness. Our war with God ends at His feet; the battle now is believing we’re truly unshackled. Carried shame is rebellion against the Cross. [01:42:47]

“Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’… ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’”
(Luke 7:48,50, ESV)

Reflection: What shame are you still carrying that Christ has already buried? How would walking in today’s peace change your interactions with others?

Sermon Summary

Luke tells of Jesus reclining at a Pharisee’s table when a “woman of the city” slips in and heads straight for his feet. Jesus lets the scene breathe. The cushions, the low table, the dirty roads, the hush in the room. The woman breaks. Her tears become water, her hair a towel, her kisses a welcome, her perfume pure worship. Her approach carries no excuses, only faith and repentance. Her body language says it all.

Simon’s inner monologue judges both her and Jesus. If Jesus were a prophet, he would push her away. Jesus answers Simon with a story. A moneylender cancels two debts, one large and one small. The parable calls sin what it is, debt that cannot be paid. The difference between a 50 denarii sinner and a 500 denarii sinner is not need, only awareness. One knows, the other denies. Both are broke.

Jesus turns toward the woman and speaks to Simon. “Do you see this woman?” Not her file. Her. Her tears, her shame, her love. Jesus then contrasts Simon’s bare-minimum hospitality with the woman’s costly devotion. No water, no kiss, no oil from Simon. Tears, kisses, ointment from her. Love matches the felt weight of forgiveness. He who thinks he is forgiven little will love little. But the price for both the polite sins and the public ones is the same, and none but Jesus can pay it.

Grace lands personally. Jesus does not leave it in generalities. He looks at her. “Your sins are forgiven.” Then again, over the mumbling at the table, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Faith saves. Not tears, not perfume, not performance. Those were the fruit of a heart already touched by mercy. Peace follows pardon, because sin never gives peace. Jesus does.

The call is clear. Jesus invites every sinner, 50 or 500, to come with no excuses and real repentance. He asks his people to stop merely looking and start seeing, to trade finger-pointing for intercession, contempt for compassion. And he draws forgiven hearts into a life of gratitude that spills over into costly, unashamed worship at his feet.

Key Takeaways

1. Sin reads as unpaid debt Sin is not graded on a curve. Whether the ledger shows 50 or 500, the balance is still unpayable apart from Christ. The cross cancels what effort never could, and that levels the room for both the discreet and the notorious. Gratitude grows where the true cost is faced. [86:49]
2. The forgiven love with abandon Love expands to the size of perceived mercy. Those who know how deep the rescue went stop calculating and start pouring out. Affection that looks “too much” to the proud is just right-sized gratitude to the forgiven. This is why little forgiveness breeds little love. [96:55]
3. Look past scandal to the person “Do you see this woman?” cuts through labels and reputation. Eyes that only scan behavior will miss tears, wounds, and the ache for God. Mercy starts when sight changes, when a sinner becomes a someone before Jesus. That shift turns judgment into intercession. [93:08]
4. Faith moves without excuses The woman risks rejection to get to Jesus, carrying no defense, only desire and trust. Real faith stops waiting for perfect conditions and steps toward the only Savior who can pardon and make whole. Excuses protect pride; faith lays pride down and comes near. [77:28]
5. Worship pours out what’s costly Costly love does not dab perfume; it breaks the vial. Worship that costs nothing forms no one. When Jesus is the treasure, resources, reputation, and reserve all become offerings at his feet. That kind of worship reorders a life. [82:06]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[58:44] - Honoring fathers and blessing
[65:00] - Luke 7 context and setup
[66:12] - Trusting Jesus when outcomes differ
[67:12] - The quiet pull of judgment
[70:17] - A Pharisee invites Jesus in
[72:49] - A sinful woman crashes dinner
[77:28] - No excuses, just faith and repentance
[80:44] - Costly worship and poured-out perfume
[83:44] - Simon’s silent critique exposed
[85:27] - The two debtors and unpayable sin
[86:49] - 50 versus 500 sinners today
[93:08] - “Do you see this woman?”
[96:05] - Forgiven much, loving much
[100:21] - “Your faith has saved you; go in peace”
[104:34] - Invitation to receive Christ
[107:52] - Three responses for believers
[111:22] - Closing call to wholehearted worship

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Luke 7:36-50 (ESV)
36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 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, 38 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. 39 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.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 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. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Observation questions

What specific actions did the woman perform at Jesus’ feet, and how did they contrast with Simon’s hospitality? [01:12:49]
How does Jesus use the parable of the two debtors to challenge Simon’s judgmental attitude? [01:25:27]
What does Jesus’ question, “Do you see this woman?” reveal about His perspective versus Simon’s? [01:33:08]
What two statements does Jesus make to the woman at the end of the story, and what do they emphasize about salvation? [01:40:21]

Interpretation questions

Why might Jesus have allowed the woman to approach Him in such a public, vulnerable way, despite cultural norms?
The sermon says, “Love matches the felt weight of forgiveness.” How does the woman’s response illustrate this principle? [01:36:55]
Simon’s judgment of the woman was rooted in her reputation. How does Jesus redefine what it means to truly “see” someone?
Why does Jesus emphasize faith as the source of the woman’s salvation rather than her tears or costly worship? [01:41:13]

Application questions

When was the last time your awareness of sin led to repentance without excuses, like the woman’s tears? What practical step could help you cultivate that kind of humility?
The sermon warns against “scanning behavior” instead of seeing people’s pain. Who in your life might you be judging superficially? How could you shift to intercession or compassion this week? [01:33:08]
The woman’s worship was costly and unashamed. What is one tangible way you could express “poured-out” gratitude to Jesus, even if it feels uncomfortable? [01:22:06]
Simon’s “bare-minimum” hospitality lacked love. In what relationships or routines have you been doing the “minimum,” and how could you intentionally show costly love instead?
Jesus tells the woman, “Your faith has saved you.” How does this truth free you from relying on your own efforts or performance in your walk with God?
The sermon says, “Little forgiveness breeds little love.” Where might you need to revisit the depth of God’s forgiveness to reignite your love for Him or others? [01:36:55]

Sermon Clips

39s

#ForgivenAndFree

“``She came in with so much sin in her life, but left forgiven. She came with carrying so much stuff, all of the ice and all of the condemnation of people, but she left with the approval of Jesus. So wherever you walk here today with, wherever you are carrying with you, it is my hope and my prayer that you will walk out those doors like the woman did, completely forgiven, free, whole, and with peace.”

43s

#PersonalFaithSaves

“And it's important to understand that we are saved through faith alone. And it has to be a personal faith. It was her faith that saved her. parents' faith can save you. Your friend's faith can't save you. Your pastor's faith can't save you. We all want that for you. Yes. We all will pray for you. Yes. We will fast for you. Yes. We will believe for you. Yes. But at some point, you have to be the one taking the step to say, I need God in my life.”

36s

#YourFaithHasSavedYou

“So Jesus is not gonna get into a fight with these people who are doubting again. Instead, he looks at her again, and for the third time he says, you are forgiven, you are saved, and now you can have peace. Just in case that while that that the words that have been speaking live to you are trying to be drowned by all of the chatter and all of the accusation and all of the finger pointing, let me say it again. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

42s

#HumbleWorship

“But she's weeping so much that Jesus' feet are wet because of her tears. Can you imagine that? And then she doesn't have anything. At least the the the bible tells us she doesn't have anything to dry his feet, so she uses her hair. And unless she was Rapunzel and there were, like, so many feet of rolled hair, she had to be so close to the ground, face on the ground to try to wipe his feet dry. That is a level of humbleness that we all need.”

40s

#RecognizeYourNeed

“In other words, Simon, everyone owes, she owes, you owe. And the difference between Simon and this woman isn't that one is a sinner and the other one isn't, it is the fact that one knows it and the other one doesn't. It's the one recognizes the need for forgiveness and the other one doesn't. It's that one owes 500 denarii and the other only owes 50. The one is a 500 denarii sinner and the one is a 50 denarius sinner.”

37s

#GratitudeProducesWorship

“When we are forgiven, that leads to gratitude. And gratitude leads to love, and love leads to worship. So let's live a life of worship to say, God, we are so thankful for what you have done. We are undone by your kindness and your grace and your mercy that you have lavishly poured over us. We were not worthy, but yet you did it because you love us. We once were lost, but now we are found. We were dead in our sins, but now we are alive in you.”

34s

#FoundAndThankful

“We were orphans, but now we have a good father. We were like sheep with our shepherd, but now you are the perfect shepherd that is leading us into green pastures. Let us live a life of gratitude and worship for what he has done in our lives every single day. And that is the way that we're gonna finish our service today, with a time of worship. But I don't want you to just do lip service. I don't want you to just be quiet in your worship.”

47s

#BrokenBeforeGod

“That it is not about who else is around. Our eyes are completely focused on Jesus and we are humbling ourselves saying, I am not worthy for you to even be close to me but I need you anyway. When was the last time that this thing in your life broke you this much? When was the last time that you wept because of a decision you made, because a thing that you said, because you gave in into a temptation? When was the last time that your heart broke because you broke God's heart?”

Ask a question about this sermon

Disciples Church This sermon · AI assistant

What does it mean to truly see people?

How does the debt analogy explain forgiveness?

Why is costly worship evidence of forgiveness?

Luke 7:36-50 // Faith that Amazes // Part 3 (10:30 am)

Devotional

Day 1: Crashing the Table with Tears and Hair

Day 2: The Alabaster Flask of No Regrets

Day 3: Seeing the Person Behind the Sin

Day 4: Fifty or Five Hundred: Debt We Can’t Pay

Day 5: Leaving Shame at His Feet, Walking in Peace

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Luke 7:36-50 // Faith that Amazes // Part 3 (10:30 am)

Share