Luke 7:36-38 36So one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and after entering the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, after bringing an alabaster flask of perfume 38and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, 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 perfume.
It is ironic that one of the same category of people who criticized Jesus invited him for dinner. Verse 36 shows the breadth of Jesus’ ministry and contacts. He was a friend to both sinner and “saint,” though the Pharisees were plagued by many inner sins. The exact motive of the Pharisee for inviting Jesus is not stated. It could have been a test or out of curiosity. Jesus addresses the Pharisee by name in verse 40, so there was some familiarity between the two. Some Pharisees came to believe in Jesus, though many rejected him. Jesus was in Galilee, with the last stated place being the village of Nain (verse 11), though Jesus could have been anywhere in Galilee by that point. Luke is not concerned with geography for this story. This appears to be a special meal since Jesus and Simon were reclining at a table, which implied a time of fellowship.
There are several surprises in this story. One is how a sinner woman invited herself into Simon’s house and somehow went up to Jesus, the special guest. The description of this woman as a sinner connects this story to how Jesus associated with sinners in verse 34. The woman is not named, but this story has similarities to John 12:3 and the story of Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus., but the two women do not necessarily need to be the same persons or this the same situation. There is no indicator of how this woman sinned, but somehow her behavior was known to people in the city. The irony of the situation is that such a sinner woman got inside the home of the holy Pharisee.
Another surprise is what the woman did by taking an alabaster jar of perfume and pouring it on Jesus’ feet. According to Mark 14:5 and John 12:5, a jar of perfume like this was worth three hundred denarii. A denarius was the equivalent of one day’s wages. Alabaster is soft stone used to make perfume containers. It has been suggested that this woman gave her dowry to Jesus. Another possibility is that she was wealthy, since the jar was worth so much. The woman was weeping greatly and used her tears and hair to wash Jesus’ feet. People’s feet at time often were dirty and/or calloused from all the walking.
The reason for her crying is not given, though it may have been an indicator of her overwhelming emotion for being changed by Jesus or as a sign of her repentance. Women also did not let their hair down in public. Everything she did was unusual and shocking but also indicated her vulnerability and openness in the simple way she could. She was not afraid of cultural or religious taboos but came to Jesus with great faith indicated by all she did. The following verses give more information about her motives and how Jesus responded to her.
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