Those Who Are Saved by Christ Savor Christ

The Context: Jesus, Friend of Sinners

Jesus is called a "friend of sinners" not as an honorary title, but as an insult by the Pharisees. They criticized him for drinking wine, calling him a drunkard; for eating bread, calling him a glutton; and for associating with tax collectors and sinners, claiming it tainted him. They saw Jesus as corrupted by sinners, but the truth is the opposite: Jesus sanctifies sinners.

The Pharisees rejected Jesus not for who he is, but for who he isn't. In this passage, a Pharisee named Simon invites Jesus to his house. A woman known in the city as a sinner enters, and Simon is shocked—not by her, but by Jesus' acceptance of her.

Luke 7:36-50

Those saved by Christ savor Christ. This woman demonstrates it vividly. Salvation makes Jesus the center of life. There is no salvation without savoring Christ.

Her Forgiveness Precedes Her Worship

The text focuses more on her love for Jesus than her forgiveness, though Jesus addresses it. Her sins are already forgiven—perfect tense in Greek, indicating completed past action with abiding results. She comes to Jesus not to gain forgiveness, but because she has it. She savors him because she is saved.

What It Means to Savor Christ

To savor is to enjoy something deeply, like good food—chewing slowly to prolong the delight. This woman savors Jesus continuously: weeping, wiping his feet with her hair, kissing, anointing. She has not ceased. She ignores the crowd, focused solely on enjoying Christ.

Visibly

Her devotion is public, in a Pharisee's house among critics. Pharisees avoided women to protect their image—legalism maintains a public mask of righteousness for private sin. Jesus calls them whitewashed tombs, beautiful outside but dead inside (Matthew 23). She risks their judgment, showing courage born of valuing Jesus above all. It's visible: everyone sees her love.

Emotionally

She weeps torrentially, like a downpour, soaking his dusty feet clean. She uses her hair—her glory—to dry them. Pharisees valued stoic control; her emotions overflow with joy and excitement. True faith moves us uncontrollably.

Devotionally

Her acts—washing, kissing, anointing feet—are reverential worship, the work of a lowly slave. John the Baptist said he wasn't worthy to untie Jesus' sandals. She humbles herself, exalting him. Worship must be intentional, not mere tradition, lest we stifle genuine response to Christ.

As Worthy

She offers her most valuable possessions: her hair and an expensive alabaster flask of ointment, likely a heirloom. No one offers water or towel; she provides from herself. Jesus is worth more than these. What wouldn't you give up if you had only Jesus? Recognizing our forgiven debt reveals his value amid life's competing affections.

The Parable of the Debtors

Luke 7:41-43 – “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, “You have judged rightly.”

Five hundred denarii dwarfs fifty—years of wages. Neither could pay; both receive grace (same Greek word as "cancelled"). The one forgiven more loves more. The woman's many sins are forgiven, so she loves much. The Pharisee, seeing his sin as small, loves little.

This isn't about late converts loving more. All sin is a massive debt deserving judgment. Recognizing it fuels love proportional to grace received. Simon failed basic hospitality: no foot wash, no kiss, no oil. She exceeded it extravagantly.

The Measure of True Faith

The life of a true Christian consistently recognizes sin's wrongness and Jesus' righteousness, applying the gospel. It produces visible, emotional, devoted love—obsession with Jesus. An unbeliever seeing stoic "Christians" doubts salvation's reality. Be like this woman: revolutionized by Christ, who accepts even women as first-class.

Jesus saves from sin's ruin, wrath, and pain—not for vague eternity, but for the apex of pleasure: enjoying God forever.