Charles Spurgeon Commentary Luke 7:47-48

"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. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven." — Luke 7:47-48 (ASV)

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. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

Not because she has done this, but this is an evidence that her sins are forgiven. This act of greater love is the proof that she must be conscious of the greater forgiveness: she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. It is always like that; your converted Pharisees have to be made to feel like this woman before they will render love like hers; and if Simon is ever made to feel that his sin, in a certain light, is as great as the sin of this fallen woman, then he will love as much as she does, but not until then.

Jesus said to her, Thy sins are forgiven. Oh, the marvellous music of that short sentence! If I had to choose from all language the choicest sentence that my ear could hear when under a sense of him, it would be these four words which the Master addressed to this woman who was a notable public sinner, Thy sins are forgiven.

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. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

There I see the clear run of the argument — that she is a woman who has had much forgiven by Christ, and that is the reason why she loves him so much. But, often, when an inference is very natural and plain, the Saviour leaves people to draw that one for themselves, while he draws another. He puts the same truth in another shape: Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. I am afraid that there are many professed Christians who must have had very little forgiven them, for they love Christ very little. This seems to be the age of little love to Christ.

There are a few who love the Master intensely, but, oh, how few they are! Some people think they are only very little sincere; and we are told, nowadays, what a little thing sin is, what a little place hell is, and what a very short time the punishment of sin will last. Everything is according to scale, and it must be so in religion; as you diminish the guilt of sin and the punishment of sin, you also diminish the sense of obligation in being saved from sin. Consequently, you diminish our love to Christ, and we shall gradually get less and less, I fear, until the old scale, the old balance, the old shekel of the sanctuary, shall once again be used by us.

But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

What music that sentence "Thy sins are forgiven," must have been to her! 'Ah!' says one, "I also should like to hear that sentence."

Beyond everything else in the whole world would I desire to hear Jesus say to me, 'Thy sins are forgiven.' Then put yourself in the place that this woman occupied.

When Joab clung to the horns of the altar, he had to die there, but this woman had fled to the feet of Jesus, and she did not die there; nor shall you, but at those blessed feet, weeping for sin, and trusting the great Sin-bearer, you shall receive assurance of pardon: "Thy sins are forgiven."