Lent Day 18: The Sinful Woman

Pause

Pray the prayer of Psalm 139:23-24 as you begin to study God’s Word today: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.

Read & Journal

Read Luke 7:36-50. Meditate on what you’ve read by answering the following questions:

• What does Jesus’ interaction with the woman in this passage teach you about Jesus’ character? About His mission or purpose?

• What does His interaction with the Pharisee reveal?

• What do you learn about the woman’s character in these verses—through what is said about her, but also through her actions?

• How do you see Jesus entering into brokenness in this passage?

• The woman seemed to recognize the depth of the sin from which she’d been forgiven. How do you respond when you recognize the depth of the sin from which you’ve been forgiven?

Ponder

If you pore over today’s passage, you may have questions about a lot of things, but one thing that no one questioned—not even in these verses—was the woman’s sin. She was a sinner, and neither Jesus nor Simon the Pharisee protested that fact. And the passage even goes as far as to point out that her sin was “immoral,” meaning she wasn’t just a sinner because she was ceremonially impure like tax collectors, tanners, camel drivers, custom collectors and the like.1

But unlike Simon, the woman recognized she was someone who had been forgiven much, and her response was one of worship and reverence. While Simon had neglected the welcoming acts of a host to an honored guest, the woman honored Jesus with an extraordinary act of sacrificial love.

Whether you picture yourself as the sinful woman or Simon in the passage, the truth is that each one of us comes to Jesus with our sin. It’s all we have to bring to Him. We can’t manage it, and we can’t clean ourselves up. We can pretend like the sin isn’t there, but that doesn’t mean it goes away. But Jesus has the power to forgive sin. And when we recognize the depth of sin from which He has rescued us, it calls forth a response.

Thank Him today for how He has rescued you from your sin and worship Him with extravagant love.

1.The New American Commentary: Luke, Vol. 24. Robert H. Stein. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman and Holman, 1992.