This Sunday it will be our privilege to study the beautiful story of a sinful woman who had been forgiven much and thus loved Jesus much. The events take place in the home of Simon the Pharisee who demonstrates by his lack of love for Jesus that he has not yet experienced divine forgiveness.
As you read this passage there is an important interpretive question you must answer. Read the text (especially Jesus’ parable of the two debtors) very carefully. Does the woman love much in order to gain forgiveness (as some teach)? Or does she love much because she has already been forgiven much. Some translations (i.e. the New American Standard Bible) do a better job than other versions (i.e. the ESV and the KJV) of correctly translating the tense of the verb in verses 47-48 – which will have an impact upon how you interpret the passage.
This passage also challenges the reader – which debtor are you? Are you more like the sinful woman or the self-righteous Pharisee? Don’t answer too fast…
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