36 and suffering his feet to be washed and anointed by a woman who was a sinner, he shows how he is a friend to sinners, to forgive them their sins, upon their repentance.
Gr. this man. and he goeth.
When we remember the Baptist's solemn testimony to Christ, the sign from heaven, and the miraculous impulse which made him acknowledge Jesus the Messiah, we shall be constrained to think that he sent to Christ, not for his own satisfaction, but for that of his disciples.
Many have supposed that this person was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the sister of Lazarus. But there is no indication in the gospel history, that Mary Magdalene was the sister of Lazarus; but on the contrary, it would appear that they were perfectly distinct persons, the sister of Lazarus residing at Bethany, while Mary Magdalene appears to have resided at Magdala, east of Jordan, a distance of nearly ninety miles. Add to this, that our Saviour seems to have been now in or near Nain, not at Bethany; and the woman appears from the recital to have been previously unknown to him.
Torrey, R. A. "Commentary on Luke 7". "The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge". <http://classic.studylight.org/com/tsk/view.cgi?book=lu&chapter=007>.