“For this reason I say to you, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
And what did all this prove? It proved that she had good reason to be grateful to Jesus. And Jesus knew the reason why. He knew that she had been burdened down by many sins, and that on hearing His words as He proclaimed the Good News she had at some stage found forgiveness for them all. This explained her love and gratitude. Her much love proved her much forgiveness. A lesser love would have indicated that she had received a lesser forgiveness.
It should be noted that the fact that she was there at all, not saying anything but expressing genuine Christian love, indicated that she felt that she owed Jesus a debt of gratitude. Why else would she love Jesus? The kind of ‘love' she had been used to would not have been deserving of forgiveness, nor would it have been welcome to Jesus. What had happened here had to be because something that He had done or said had genuinely benefited her, and it had to have been something spectacular for her to humiliate herself like that. Furthermore she would have been in no doubt about the kind of welcome she would receive in the Pharisee's house, and yet she had come. Why? Because she had known in her heart that Jesus would not turn her away. She knew that He would welcome her because He would know that she had turned to God and had been forgiven. (She would not expect to be welcomed as a practising prostitute). Thus all points to an experience of having been cleansed for which she was grateful. And the parable confirms that Jesus was aware of it.
‘But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.' Is there a hint here of Simon's own failure. Not on a par with the woman's, but still there? He had not demonstrated great love.