Jesus Treatment of Women

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t anoint his head with oil. Furthermore Jesus reminds Simon that the woman has bathed his feet with her tears and hair, hasn’t stopped kissing his feet and has anointed them with ointment. Although Jesus admits to the sinfulness of the woman he forgives her because she has shown great love unlike the Simon who loves little and thus little is forgiven.
Many of the Pharisees and those at the table began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins (NSRV)?” The final words and key verse of the passage take place in Luke 7:50, when Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

*Sinner-The nature of her sinfulness is unknown but it was sufficiently public to be known by Jesus’ host; the indefinite relative pronoun hetis also suggests “the sort of woman in the city who was a sinner. (Johnson)
*Sinner cont. - Sinner may imply that she was a prostitute, or at least a woman known to be morally loose and probably seeking something disputable (Keener 209)
*Reclined at table-They were dining in the Hellenistic manner which was to lounge on one’s side, with the feet pointing away from the table. Thus the woman could stand behind him at his feet. (Johnson)
*Touching of an unclean woman- As with table fellowship, the separation between the pure and impure had much to do with what could be touched and what not. And the woman was unclean( Lev 15: 19-32). (Johnson)
*Alabaster-p.89 Vol.1—[Mt 26: 7, Mk 14: 3, Luke 7:37] In modern mineralogy alabaster is crystalline gypsum or sulphate of lime. The Gr word alabastron or alabastos meant a stone casket or vase, alabastites was used for which the casket was made. This stone was usually crystalline stalagmitic r...