And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. No wonder they were startled to hear One who was reclining at the same couch, and partaking of the same hospitalities with themselves, assume the awful prerogative of 'even forgiving sins.' But so far from receding from this claim, or softening it down, our Lord only repeats it, with two precious additions: one, announcing what was the secret of the "forgiveness" she had experienced, and which carried "salvation" in its bosom-her "faith;" the other, a glorious dismissal of her in that "peace" which she had already felt, but is now assured she has His full warrant to enjoy! The expression, "in peace," is literally "into peace" х eis (G1519) eireeneen (G1515)] - 'into the assured and abiding enjoyment of the peace of a pardoned state.'
Remarks:
(1) What a glorious exhibition of the grace of the Gospel have we in this section? A woman of the class of profligates casually hears the Lord Jesus pour forth some of those wonderful words of majesty and grace, which dropped as an honey-comb. They pierce her heart; but, as they wound, they heal. Abandoned of men, she is not forsaken of God. Hers, she had thought, was a lost case; but the prodigal, she finds, has a Father still. She will arise and go to Him; and as she goes He meets her, and falls on her neck and kisses her. Light breaks into her soul, as she revolves what she heard from those Lips that spake as never man spake, and draws from them the joyful assurance of divine reconciliation for the chief of sinners, and the peace of a pardoned state. She cannot rest; she must see that wonderful One again, and testify to Him what He hath done for her soul. She inquires after His movements, as if she would say with the Spouse, "Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loveth, where Thou feedest, for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of Thy companions?" She learns where He is, and follows in His train fill she finds herself at His feet behind Him at the Pharisee's table.
At the sight of Him, her head is waters and her eyes a fountain of tears, which drop copiously on those beautiful feet. What a spectacle, which even angels might desire-end doubtless did-to look into! But, how differently is it regarded by one at least at that table! Simon the Pharisee thinks it conclusive evidence against the claims of his Guest, that He should permit such a thing to be done to Him by such a person. So the matter shall be expounded, the woman vindicated, and the Pharisee's suspicious courteously yet pointedly rebuked. And what a rich statement of Gospel truth is here conveyed in a few words. Though there be degrees of guilt, yet insolvency-or inability to wipe out the dishonour done to God by sin-is common to all sinners alike. The debtors are sinners, and sin is a debt incurred to Heaven. The debtor of "five hundred" represents the one extreme of them; the debtor of "fifty" the other-those at the bottom and those at the top of the scale of sinners, the greatest and the least sinners, the profligate and the respectable, the tax-collectors and the Pharisees.
A great difference there is between these. But it is a difference only of degree; for of both debtors alike it is said that they had nothing to pay. They were, both alike insolvent. The debtor of "fifty" could no more pay his 50 than the debtor of 500 her's. The least sinner is insolvent; the greatest is no more. "There is no difference, for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." But when they had nothing to pay, the Creditor frankly forgave them both. The least sinner to have peace with God and get to heaven, needs a frank forgiveness, and the greatest needs only that. Reputable Simon must be saved on the same terms with this once profligate and still despised woman; and she, now that she has tasted that the Lord is gracious, is on a level with every other pardoned believer. "Such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11). But the working of this doctrine of Grace comes out here as beautifully as the doctrine itself. Love to its Divine Benefactor, reigning in the heart of the pardoned believer, is seen seeking Him, finding Him, broken down at the sight of Him, embracing His very feet, and pouring out its intensest emotions in the most expressive form. Even so, "the love of Christ constraineth us ... to live not unto ourselves, but unto Him that died for us and rose again." It casts its crown at His feet. It lives for Him; and, if required, it lays down its life for Him. Thus, what law could not do love does, writing the law in the heart. But, now turning from the sinner to the Saviour,
(2) In what light does this section exhibit Christ? He plainly represents Himself here as the great Creditor to Whom is owing that debt, and Whose it is to cancel it. For, observe His argument 'The more forgiveness, the greater the debtor's love to his generous Creditor.' Such is the general principle laid down by Simon and approved by Christ. Well, then, says our Lord, let the conduct of these two be tried by this test. So He proceeds, by the woman's treatment of Himself, to show how much she loved Him and consequently how much forgiveness she felt that she had received from Him; and by the Pharisee's treatment of Him, to show what an absence of the feeling of love to Him there was, and consequently of the sense of forgiveness. The more that the structure and application of the parable of this section is studied, the more will the intelligent reader be struck with the high claim which our Lord here puts forth-a claim which would never have entered into the mind of a mere creature, with reference to the Person to whom sin lays us under obligation, and whose prerogative accordingly it is with royal "frankness" to remit the debt.
Should any hesitate about the force of this indirect-but just on that account the more striking-argument for the proper Divinity of Christ, let him look on to the close of this section, where he will find the Lord Jesus putting forth His royal prerogative of publicly pronouncing that forgiveness which had been already experienced; and when it was manifest to His fellow-guests that He was assuming a divine prerogative, and it seemed nothing short of blasphemy that one who reclined at the same table and partook of the same hospitalities with themselves, should speak and act as God, He not only did not correct them by retreating out of the supposed claim, but reiterated the august language and with even increased majesty and grace: "Thy faith hath saved thee Go in peace!" Let the Person of Christ be studied in the light of these facts.
(3) How cheering is it to be assured that love gives beauty and value, in the eye of Christ, to every the least act of His genuine people! But on this subject, see the notes at Mark 14:1-11, Remark 2.
(4) As this woman came not for the purpose of shedding tears, so neither did she come to get an assurance from Jesus of her pardon and reconciliation. But as the evidences of the change that had passed upon her flowed forth, the balm of a pronounced acceptance was poured in. And thus do the most delightful assurances of our forgiveness usually spring up unsought, in the midst of active duty and warm affections; while they fly from those who hunt for them in the interior of an anxious heart, and not finding them there go mourning and weak for want of them.