Man is So Much Less Forgiving and Merciful than Man is Towards Man

Now when the Pharisee [Simon] that had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have perceived who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, that she is a sinner. Luke 7.39.

This sinful woman had continually incurred the mockery and disdain of men, plunging her into self-shame. Yet here was Jesus who—so holy yet so approachable—permitted her to stand behind Him and weep at His feet. She wept as a means of pouring forth her agony due to sinning; she wept to discharge the hidden things in her heart; she wept to complain that there was no deliverer; and she wept to express her hope of a Saviour. However, her weeping did not gain Simon’s sympathy; it instead precipitated his silent criticism. Indeed, the tears of sorrow for sin was something a self-righteous Simon could never understand. But this Jesus understood! He first corrected Simon and then testified for the weeping woman, saying, “Her sins which are many are forgiven.” This forgiveness has become a gospel to many great sinners ever since.