A Sinful Woman Forgiven and the Sower Parable (Luke 7:36-8:15)
A Pharisee named Simon invites Jesus to dinner. While they are reclining at the table, a woman who is known in the town as a sinner comes in. She brings an alabaster flask of expensive perfume. She stands behind Jesus, weeping, and her tears fall on His feet. She wipes them with her hair, kisses His feet, and anoints them with the perfume. Simon watches and thinks to himself: if Jesus were really a prophet, He would know what kind of woman this is.
Jesus tells Simon a short parable: a moneylender had two debtors, one who owed five hundred denarii and one who owed fifty. Neither could pay, so he cancelled both debts. Which one loved him more? Simon says, correctly, the one who had more cancelled. Jesus points to the woman. She has washed His feet with tears, dried them with her hair, and anointed them with perfume. Simon gave Jesus none of these courtesies. Then Jesus says to her, "Your sins are forgiven." And again: "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
Later, Jesus goes through towns and villages teaching, and with Him travel the twelve apostles and several women He had healed, including Mary Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out. Jesus then tells the large crowd that has gathered the Parable of the Sower: a farmer scatters seed. Some falls on a path and is trampled. Some falls on rock and dries up without moisture. Some falls among thorns that choke it. Some falls on good soil and produces a hundredfold. When the disciples ask what it means, Jesus explains: the seed is the word of God. Some people hear but the devil takes it away. Some receive it with joy but fall away under testing. Some hear but are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures. But the seed in good soil stands for those who hear the word, hold it fast with an honest and good heart, and produce fruit with patience.
A Curious Question
Jesus told Simon a story about two people whose debts were cancelled. The one who had more forgiven loved more. Then He pointed to the woman and said she loved much. The Pharisee, who thought he was living a pretty good life, had shown very little love. What do you think is the connection between knowing how much you have been forgiven and how much you love Jesus? Is it possible to love Jesus a lot without knowing you needed to be forgiven for much?
Old Testament Connection
The woman who anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume and washed them with her tears is one of the most striking images of worship in the entire New Testament. Her act echoes the heart of Old Testament worship: gratitude for grace received. In Psalm 51, David writes after his greatest moral failure: "My sacrifice is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." The woman at Simon's table had a broken and contrite heart. She did not bring an animal sacrifice. She brought herself, weeping, at the feet of the One she knew had the power to forgive.
The Parable of the Sower connects to the prophetic theme of the heart that runs throughout the Old Testament. In Jeremiah 31:33, God promised a new covenant in which He would write His law on people's hearts rather than on stone tablets. Ezekiel 36:26 promised God would give His people a new heart of flesh in place of a heart of stone. The "good soil" in Jesus' parable is that new-covenant heart: receptive, honest, willing to hold fast to the Word of God through difficulty. The seed is the same for everyone. What determines the harvest is the condition of the heart that receives it.
Discussion Questions
- The woman who anointed Jesus' feet did not say a single word in the story. Her love showed only through her actions. What do you think she was feeling? What made her care so much about Jesus when the Pharisee who invited Jesus to dinner seemed to care so little?
- In the Parable of the Sower, the worries, riches, and pleasures of life can choke out God's Word. What are some things in your own life that sometimes make it hard to think about God or pay attention to what He says?
- Jesus said the good soil represents people who hold the Word fast with an honest and good heart and produce fruit with patience. What do you think "with patience" means? Why does fruit sometimes take a long time to grow?
"So What?" What Can I Do?
Jesus said the good soil holds the Word fast with an honest heart and produces fruit with patience. This week, pick one verse from the Bible you already know and carry it with you for the whole week. Write it on an index card, put it in your pocket, and read it once in the morning and once before bed. When something hard happens, pull it out and read it again. That is what holding fast to the Word looks like. Do not try to memorize a new chapter. Just hold onto one verse and let it go deep this week.
Memorize God's Word
Luke 7:47b: "But he who is forgiven little, loves little."
Hand Motions:
- But he who is forgiven little: Hold your thumb and forefinger close together to show "a little," with a somewhat proud or self-sufficient expression.
- loves little: Cross both arms over your chest in a small, tight, closed-off posture, holding yourself back rather than opening up.
- Pause, then open both arms wide and smile, showing what it looks like when someone who knows they have been forgiven much responds with big love.
Praying with Kids
Lord Jesus, thank You for the woman who poured out everything she had at Your feet. She knew she needed forgiveness, and she knew You had it. Help us to know how much we have been forgiven too, not so we feel ashamed, but so we love You the way she loved You. And Lord, make our hearts like good soil. Help us to hear Your Word, hold onto it, and let it grow in us through the hard times and the busy times and the times when everything else is shouting for our attention. In Your name, Amen.
Craft: Four Soils Seed Tray
Children will create a divided tray representing the four soils from the parable, planting real seeds in the "good soil" section as a visual reminder of the kind of heart that produces fruit.
Materials Checklist
Instructions
- Divide each plate or tray into four sections using a marker.
- Label the four sections: "Path," "Rocky Ground," "Thorns," and "Good Soil."
- In the "Path" section, place a flat piece of cardstock or draw hard packed dirt.
- In the "Rocky Ground" section, glue or place small pebbles.
- In the "Thorns" section, coil a piece of green yarn to represent tangled plants.
- Fill the "Good Soil" section with a small amount of potting soil and press one seed into it.
- At the bottom of the plate, write the memory verse: "He who is forgiven little, loves little." Luke 7:47
- Encourage children to take the seed home in a small cup of soil and water it, watching for the fruit of God's Word in good soil.
Effective Teaching Techniques
The Simon and the woman scene is best taught as a slow, dramatic reading. Describe the setting: a formal dinner, guests reclining, everyone watching. Then describe the woman entering the room. Let children feel the social tension, the discomfort, the whispered judgments. Do not rush to the forgiveness. Let the scene build. The most powerful question to ask after the story is: "Who do you think was harder to love in that room, the sinful woman or the religious host?" Most children will get it right, and the conversation that follows is rich. For the Sower parable, bring in actual soil samples if possible: a hard compressed disk, a small plate of pebbles, a tangled nest of string or weeds, and a cup of good potting soil. Seeing and touching the four soils makes the parable concrete in a way no description can replicate. Let each child hold the good soil and ask: "What does it feel like? What makes it different?"