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Was the “Sinful Woman” in Luke Really a Prostitute?

Was the “Sinful Woman” in Luke Really a Prostitute?

Last updated on: August 7, 2026 at 10:38 pm by James F. McGrath

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Was the “Sinful Woman” in Luke Really a Prostitute? 2026-08-07T22:38:04-04:00 James F. McGrath

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A Sinful Woman

When I wrote my book What Jesus Learned from Women, I thought long and hard about Luke’s story of a sinful woman (Luke 7:36-50). Ultimately, I did not find myself able (or at least willing) to decide between a couple of different options. Is the story something Luke created, taking the story of the anointing at Bethany (which he does not narrate) and turning it into a significantly different one? Or were there two events in the life of Jesus, an anointing of his head prior to his crucifixion, and weeping at his feet at the home of Simon the Pharisee, which had similar elements that led to confusion of details between the two. The latter is suggested by the way the Gospel of John makes the feet a focus in his story, in which Mary of Bethany is the actor (John 12:1-8).

Revisiting the story this week in my Sunday school class at Crooked Creek Baptist Church, I have become more convinced that the story in Luke is about a separate event, though I am not certain. More importantly, having had time to reflect further on the story, I think that more can be said about the events Luke narrates than I did in my book. But first, as a reminder, here’s the story in the Gospel of Luke:

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and when he went into the Pharisee’s house, he reclined to dine. And a woman in the city who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.” Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

First, the fact that she is “a sinful woman” is often taken to mean that she was a prostitute. That is not said, nor implied, and it is quite implausible that a prostitute was simply allowed to wander in and hang around at this meal. That the woman was Mary Magdalene is ruled out by the fact that Mary is introduced in the next chapter and Luke says nothing to indicate that he had just told a story about her. We should assume that the woman was present at the meal because she was connected with a guest. It is unclear whether women and men typically dined together at meals with invited guests. (Romans and Greeks differed on this point, and I am not aware of clear evidence about Jewish practices in this time and place.) Either way, the woman may have been the spouse or the slave of a guest. She had been impacted by Jesus’ teaching and activity at some point in the past, and thus she brought ointment with her. Why? To pour it on him? To give it as a gift to support his work? We are not told.

In the story immediately prior to this one, which I discussed in a separate post recently, we found the focus to be on Jesus’ refusal to play the game of reciprocity with respect to communal eating. He taught people to invite those who could not repay the invitation, and he accepted invitations without committing to reciprocate. That is probably the background to the poor treatment of Jesus that Luke describes. He refrains from revealing it until the end of the story, so that the reader is liable to make judgments and then have them challenged.

I was aware, thanks to the work of Kenneth Bailey, that Simon’s refusal to offer Jesus a respectful kiss and have his feet washed could only be deliberate disrespect. Perhaps he was aware that an invitation he begrudgingly extended to Jesus would not be reciprocated. Perhaps he had heard about Jesus’ teaching about love for enemies coupled with criticism of Pharisees, and wanted to see how Jesus would respond. Perhaps he would offer an angry outburst, and lose face in the eyes of those who hold him in high esteem. Bailey said that the tension at the meal would be palpable.

Luke holds back from telling us that, because when it is revealed, what would have seemed a surprising act becomes explicable. The woman had come to the dinner aware of Jesus, and she saw the poor treatment he was subjected to. Bailey articulates her response in a more recent book, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, ‘The woman was deeply dismayed at the insult to Jesus, and said to herself, “They will not offer these courtesies! Very well, I will offer them instead!”’

She is not weeping, seeking forgiveness. She had already been forgiven, had already experienced that through Jesus’ teaching and had likely undergone baptism. She went to the meal expecting to honor Jesus, whether by pouring ointment on his hands or head to refresh him, or to give it as a gift. She did not expect to weep uncontrollably, much less to wipe his feet with her hair. These were spontaneous actions that were a direct response to how the host at the meal treated Jesus.

When we understand these elements of the cultural background, we are led to interpret the story very differently. The Pharisee views the woman as a sinner for whatever reason, but almost certainly not because she was a prostitute or a “loose woman.” Yet he had treated Jesus with disrespect while she had honored him. Jesus’ story about the two debtors, one owing more than a year’s wages, one owing a couple of months wages, pokes fun at him even though he doesn’t recognize it. His own perception of his righteousness in contrast with others he deems sinners prevents him from loving God as lavishly as God deserves.

What Jesus Learned from the Woman Who Washed His Feet/Anointed Him

What Jesus Learned from Mary of Bethany

General Christian

History and Religion

Education and Religion

About James F. McGrath

Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes. You can read more about the author here.

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