“Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” Luke 7:50
At a Pharisee’s dinner, a woman known as a sinner knelt at Jesus’s feet, washed them with her tears and anointed them. Simon judged her; Jesus forgave her.
A Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to dinner. A woman of the city, known as a sinner, heard Jesus was there and came with an alabaster box of ointment. Standing at His feet, she wept, washed His feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed them and anointed them. Simon thought to himself that if Jesus were a prophet, He would know what kind of woman was touching Him.
Jesus told Simon a story: a creditor had two debtors, one owing five hundred pence and one fifty. Neither could pay, and he freely forgave them both. Which would love him more? Simon answered, the one forgiven most. Jesus pointed out that Simon had given Him no water, no kiss and no oil, but she had done all of these. “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much.” Then He told her, “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”
Who’s who
Jesus Christ: who sees the heart and forgives
Simon: a Pharisee and the host
The woman: known as a sinner, full of love and faith
The guests: who wondered who could forgive sins
Where and when
Simon the Pharisee’s house, in a town in Galilee.
Watch for the Savior
Watch what Simon thinks, and how Jesus answers what Simon never said out loud.
Eight stops from Simon’s table to a road of peace. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
Part 2 of 7
The story, plainly
Four scenes: the street, the feet, the table talk, and the doorway. Look for the Savior in each one.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
Luke 7:36“sat down to Meaning: a meal.”
Luke 7:37“an Meaning: soft, pale stone carved into a flask. box of Meaning: perfumed oil.”
Luke 7:41“a certain Meaning: a moneylender.”
Luke 7:41“five hundred Meaning: Roman silver coins; one was a day’s wage.”
Luke 7:42“he Meaning: freely, without payment. forgave them both”
Luke 7:43“I Meaning: think, I would guess.”
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Look closer
Small details tell the story. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from Church leaders, Church resources or outside sources. Each card says which.
0 of 9 turned
All nine. The jar, the tear, the sandal, the oil, the coins, the note, the basin, the heart and the dove. Luke 7:36–50
Part 4 of 7
Where are you?
Judged, carrying a lot, judging others, or forgiven. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
Your choice is saved only on this device.
Try it
Simon or the woman?
Jesus compared what Simon did with what the woman did. Read each line and decide who it describes.
“Seest thou this woman?” Luke 7:44
Part 5 of 7
Their world, their words
A little background on dinner customs helps the story come alive. Outside sources are labeled.
Church resource · Student manual
An open door
She could enter “because of social customs that allowed people in need to visit banquets and receive leftover food.”3
She came for more than food.
Church resource · Student manual
Both owed a debt
Jesus “told a parable that presented both Simon and the woman as sinners who owed a debt to divine justice.”3
Everyone needs Him.
Church resource · Hanks
Not an excuse
Elder Marion D. Hanks: “There is here, of course, no encouragement or condoning of sin.”3
She had sorely repented.
Scripture · Matthew 20
A day’s wage
In another parable, laborers agreed to work “for a penny a day.”2
Bible Hub: “a box of alabaster.”6Outside · lexicon
A stone flask for precious ointment. She brought what was valuable to her and gave it to Him.1
Word study · Greek
dénarion δηνάριον · “pence” (Luke 7:41)
Bible Hub: “denarius (a Rom. coin).”7Outside · lexicon
The King James “penny.” Five hundred of them was more than anyone in the story could repay.2
What the text does not say
Jesus doesn’t say that Simon owed nothing, or that the woman’s sins didn’t matter. Both debtors in His story owed and couldn’t pay. He doesn’t tell her to earn forgiveness first. He says, “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”1
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Look to Him
He sees the heart, not the label. He forgives freely and sends us away in peace.
“I testify that the Savior is able and eager to forgive our sins.”
Elder Neil L. Andersen, quoted in the student manual3
“Perhaps it would be better if we sit at Jesus’s feet and plead for mercy for our own imperfections, as did the repentant woman in the Pharisee’s house.”
“When we kneel to pray, is it to replay the greatest hits of our own righteousness, or is it to confess our faults, plead for God’s mercy, and shed tears of gratitude for the amazing plan of redemption?”
The Woman Who Washed His Feet, ready to print $3.99
Everything on this page as a 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
The Woman Who Washed His Feet is part of the Scripture Story Sketch Notes for the New Testament, set alongside Come, Follow Me for February 22–28, 2027 (Matthew 8; Mark 2–4; Luke 7).
Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. The words are in Luke 7:36–50; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
