It takes one to know one right? In that sense, the very well educated author of Luke being a gentile convert himself does a very good job of portraying Jesus as the Perfect Man, the Perfect Sacrifice for all of human kinds’ sin in order to have his good news be inclusive to all while having a greater outlook to the Greco-Roman world. He eliminates all traces of doubt about Jesus by his mother and siblings in order to eliminate the “bad” from Mark’s narrative that would harm the image of Jesus. When Jesus does or says something in Luke, it leaves the reader in awe and amazement of how he handles the situation with his care, love and compassion. When Jesus is anointed by the sinful woman in Lk 7:36-50 he asks the questioning Pharisee the perfect question, “41 Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”. When this is thought of critically it becomes much easier to understand why the woman cried, wiped and kissed his feet. She had the biggest burden, the greater debt, whereas the Pharisee did not.
Forgiveness and acceptance. That’s what Jesus offer. This idea is found all throughout Luke in Jesus’ many parables such as the Prodigal Son which comes later on in Lk 15:11-32. It’s important to understand the separate audiences that Luke addresses, one is the physical person Theophilus in which he states in his prologue, but then there’s the audience that he addresses through Jesus’ ways and teachings. His main concern is addressing those who need Jesus but not excluding those who have him in order to emphasize salvation for all; sick and healthy, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, sinner and saint. The weaker of each set (with exception to Gentile only because they’re not primarily addressed in the faith prior to the time due to the divide with Judaism but included now with Christianity) have the biggest burden, so for the sake of Luke it’s important to address and include such audience. When looking at Mk 14:3-9 an Lks expansion of Lk 36-50, the stark contrast is that the author of Mk doesn’t label the woman as sinner whereas Lk does. Lks view of discipleship isn’t someone who’s perfect already, but by having the potential to be perfect. Luke adds his material of having the woman be sinful to broaden Jesus’ inclusiveness of those deserving for his love, that even those at the very bottom who wouldn’t otherwise have a chance can now rest at peace knowing that their savior is forgiving and loving of all.