Luke 7:48
The context
The scene is a dinner at a Pharisee's house. A woman known in the town as a sinner has washed Jesus's feet with tears, dried them with her hair, and anointed them. Simon the host has judged both her and Jesus silently. Jesus tells a short parable about two debtors, then turns to the woman and speaks directly to her.
What it establishes
Jesus pronounces forgiveness in the present tense to a person who has said nothing and asked for nothing. The pronouncement is an act of authority: he does not pray that God would forgive her, he declares that her sins have been forgiven.
What it does not establish
It does not say her love earned the forgiveness. The parable runs the other way round, since the one forgiven much is the one who loves much. The grammar of verse 47 is disputed over whether her love is the evidence or the cause, and the parable favors evidence.
Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.
Cited in these answers
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