Luke 7:47 Meaning and Explanation
“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →This saying answers a searching question raised by the scene at Simon's table: how can a person with a known sinful past draw near to Jesus? The woman's tears, kisses, and ointment might look excessive to an onlooker. Jesus reads them as the fruit of forgiveness. He also turns the moment toward Simon, inviting him to measure love by gratitude rather than by public reputation.
Jesus declares that the woman's many sins are forgiven, and her lavish love displays the grateful response of one who has received great mercy. His comparison exposes Simon's small response to grace.
The Context of Luke 7:47
Luke 7 has shown Jesus healing, raising the dead, answering John the Baptist's question through works of mercy, and receiving criticism for fellowship with publicans and sinners. A Pharisee named Simon invites Jesus to eat. A woman known in the city as a sinner comes into the house and ministers to Jesus at his feet with tears, her hair, kisses, and ointment. Simon silently doubts Jesus' discernment. Jesus answers with a parable of two debtors whose creditor freely forgives unequal debts. After Simon judges that the larger debtor will love more, Jesus compares Simon's sparse hospitality with the woman's devoted welcome.
What Does Luke 7:47 Mean?
"Wherefore" draws Jesus' conclusion from the parable and from the visible actions before them. He plainly acknowledges that the woman's sins are "many." Mercy does not require pretending that sin is small, unnamed, or harmless. Yet Jesus also says, "are forgiven," speaking with authority and certainty. Her love is extensive: she has wept at his feet, wiped them with her hair, kissed them continually, and anointed them with ointment. These costly acts fit a heart deeply moved by mercy. Jesus sees the whole person before him, including her past, her present faith, and the love now expressed in humble service.
The creditor in Jesus' story forgave because both debtors had nothing to pay. That setting guards the meaning of verse 47. The woman's love does not purchase forgiveness; it shows the grateful response that forgiveness awakens. Verse 50 makes the chapter's emphasis still clearer when Jesus speaks to her of faith and peace. Simon has correctly answered the parable, yet his treatment of Jesus reveals how little the lesson has entered his own heart. Jesus addresses Simon directly, while turning toward the woman. His judgment gives her dignity in a room where she has been reduced to a label, and it calls Simon to recognize the mercy he also needs.
The chapter repeatedly presents Jesus as one whose word brings healing, life, and assurance. Here he does what the guests themselves recognize as weighty: he forgives sins. Their question in verse 49 presses readers to consider who can rightly speak such a word. Jesus' welcome of the woman accords with his public association with sinners earlier in the chapter. Her love has a concrete shape, offered through her body, tears, possessions, and presence. In the wider witness of Scripture, those who receive God's mercy are drawn into love for God and for others. Gratitude is therefore more than a private feeling; it becomes a lived answer to grace.
Bible Verses Related to Luke 7:47
“And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?”
- Luke 7:42
“And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”
- Luke 7:50
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
- Psalm 103:12
“We love him, because he first loved us.”
- 1 John 4:19
Where Luke 7:47 Echoes in Scripture
1 John 4:19 gives a strong later echo: love arises in response to God's prior love. Luke 7:47 shows that pattern in a particular encounter. Jesus announces forgiveness, and the woman's actions reveal a heart awakened to mercy. The echo helps us read her love as a response to divine initiative while preserving the chapter's own emphasis on her faith, forgiveness, and peace.
How to Apply Luke 7:47 Today
This verse invites honest remembrance of mercy. We may bring our actual history before Christ without disguising it, trusting him to name sin truthfully and to extend forgiveness according to his grace. Gratitude can take ordinary forms: receiving a burdened person with honor, using possessions generously, serving quietly, praying with attention, or repairing a neglected relationship. Simon's example also calls us to examine restrained hospitality toward Christ and toward people he receives. A sense of personal need can make our love more tender, humble, and practical.
Reflection & Prayer
Where has gratitude for God's mercy become faint or merely familiar in our lives? We can also ask whether we are seeing people chiefly through an old label, as Simon saw this woman, or through the possibility of God's restoring work. Suggested prayer: "Lord Jesus, give us truthful hearts about our sin, faith to receive thy mercy, and love that expresses gratitude in faithful service. Teach us to welcome those whom thou dost receive."