She was known around the city as a sinner. Simon, the highminded Pharisee who had invited Jesus to a banquet at his house, was shocked that the Master allowed her to come near him as he ate—to wash his feet with her teardrops, dry them with her long hair, kiss them, and then tenderly pour expensive perfumed ointment over them. A man who'd let a woman with such a reputation touch him couldn't be much of a prophet, Simon thought. See Luke 7:36–50; see Harper's Bible Commentary, p. 1024 .
But Simon didn't know what had happened to the woman—what had changed. No one knew that but the Master. He alone knew what was in her heart. Was it breaking with sorrow for her past mistakes? Didn't her evident repentance show how much she wanted to start a whole new life? The overwhelming love she felt for Jesus may well have been something she'd never known before—an affection rooted in divine Love.
Then Jesus proved that he was a prophet, no matter what Simon believed, by telling a story that addressed the Pharisee's unspoken thoughts. He described two debtors who owed money to the same creditor. One owed a relatively small amount; the other owed ten times as much. Since neither debtor could pay the money back, the creditor "frankly forgave them both"—canceled out both debts.
