the woman had come to the house with the
special purpose of pouring fragrant oil upon the feet of her Lord.

In view of the parable the message of Jesus is plain, "Wherefore I say
unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much; but
to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." Jesus did not mean to
say that until now she had not been pardoned, nor yet that her pardon was
conditioned upon her love. He meant that her love resulted from her
pardon, and his words have been rightfully interpreted thus: "I say unto
thee that her many sins are forgiven, as thou mayest infer from this
exhibition of her love." The remainder of the sentence was devoted to
Simon, "To whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." The words do
not prove that Simon had been pardoned; they rather indicate that his lack
of love had proved his lack of penitence and so of forgiveness. Jesus then
turned to the woman with a word of benediction: "Thy sins are forgiven."
He thus assured her of the pardon previously granted, but still more he
vindicated her in the eyes of the guests and assured them of the new life
upon which the woman already had entered. They marveled as they heard him
pronouncing pardon. That is a divine function; but the ideal Man whose
sympathy Luke records was likewise the Son of God. Last of all, Jesus
turned to the woman with the final word of blessing: "Thy faith hath saved
thee; go in peace." This is a clear statement of the fact that faith had
secured pardon and pardon had awakened gratitude and gratitude had been
expressed by a deed of devoted love. Such a penitent can rightfully go
away "into peace," that is, to its present and continual enjoyment.

7. The Ministering Women. Ch. 8:1-3

1 And it came to pass soon afterwards, that he went about through
cities and villages, preaching and bringing the good tidings of
the kingdom of God, and with him the twelve, 2 and certain women
who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary that was
called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and
Joanna the wife of Chuzas Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many
others, who ministered unto them of their substance.

Luke writes the Gospel of womanhood. He alone records those tender
incidents in the lives of Elisabeth, Mary, and Anna which are associated
with the infancy of Jesus; he alone tells us of the widow of Nain whose
son Jesus restored to life; of t