{In Luke 7:36-50} A Pharisee by the name of Simon had invited the Lord Jesus to eat with him. This invitation was not issued from a true and upright heart or with good intentions, but in order to find something to criticize (Psa. 41:7). But Christ triumphed by His patience with His enemies’ evil intent, and by His wisdom He shattered their cunning. So He gladly engages with this hostile host and sits down at his table.
And look! There was a sinful woman in the city. And when she learned that He was dining at the Pharisee’s house, she went there, too. When it says that this woman was a sinful woman, it is to be understood that she had previously been living in open sin and shame and had allowed a spirit of harlotry to captivate her and lead her astray. For although all men are sinners before the Lord God, as Christ demonstrates in the parable of this Gospel, not all sins are equal and alike. This is why the Scriptures especially call them sinners who plunge themselves into outward, crass sins, from an evil intention, without any shame before God or the world, who stubbornly persist in such things and give public offense to others. Genesis 15:13, “The people of Sodom were evil and sinned greatly against the Lord.” Genesis 18:20, “The outcry in Sodom is great, and their sins are very serious.” Therefore, the tax collectors and sinners are placed side by side as wicked people (Mat. 18:17, Luke 15:1). The woman in the Gospel had also previously been just such a public, contemptible sinner. But when she heard that Christ rebuked sins so harshly and zealously, while at the same time promising grace to all the poor, miserable sinners who repented, her heart was transformed by the cooperating power of the Spirit. (Sermon for Mary Magdalene-July 22, Postilla Volume 3 by Johann Gerhard, Repristination Press, page 107-108)