John Calvin Commentary Luke 7:37

"And behold, a woman who was in the city, a sinner; and when she knew that he was sitting at meat in the Pharisee`s house, she brought an alabaster cruse of ointment," — Luke 7:37 (ASV)

A woman who was a sinner. The words stand literally as I have translated them (ἥτις ἧν ἁμαρτωλός). Erasmus has chosen to use the pluperfect tense, who had been a sinner,²⁴¹ so that no one should suppose that at that time she still was a sinner.

But by doing so, he departed from the natural meaning, for Luke intended to express the place the woman held in society and the opinion universally held about her.

Although her sudden conversion had made her a different person in the sight of God from what she had previously been, yet among people the disgrace attached to her former life had not yet been erased. She was, therefore, in public estimation a sinner—that is, a woman of wicked and infamous life; and this led Simon to conclude, though erroneously, that Christ did not have the Spirit of discernment, since He was unaware of that infamy that was generally known.²⁴²

²⁴¹ “Quoe fuerat peccatrix

²⁴² “Veu qu’il ne cognoist point l’infamie de la vie de ceste femme qui estoit notoire a un chacun;” — “since he does not know the infamy of the life of this woman, which was notorious to every one.”;” — “since he does not know the infamy of the life of this woman, which was notorious to every one.”