Luke 7:36-50

Let's look at Luke's Gospel, chapter 7, verse 36.

We'll start reading.

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him,

and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table.

And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner,

when she learned that he was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house,

brought an alabaster flask of ointment,

and standing behind him at his feet, weeping,

she began to wet his feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair of her head

and kissed his feet and anointed him with the ointment.

Now, when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this,

he said to himself,

If this man was a prophet,

he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,

for she is a sinner.

And Jesus answering said to him,

Simon, I have something to say to you.

And he answered,

Say it, teacher.

A certain moneylender had two debtors.

One owed 500 denarii and the other 50.

When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both.

Now, which one of them will love him more?

Simon answered,

The one, I suppose,

for whom he canceled the larger debt.

And he 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,

and you gave me no water from my feet.

But she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

You gave me no kiss.

But from the time I came in,

she has not ceased to kiss my feet.

He did not anoint my head with oil,

but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

Therefore, I tell you,

her sins, which are many,

are forgiven.

For she loved much.

But he who is forgiven little,

loves little.

And he said to her,

Your sins are forgiven.

Then those who were at the table with him

began saying among themselves,

Who is this who even forgives sins?

And he said to the woman,

Your faith has saved you.

Go in peace.

So,

again,

a very familiar text.

I hope

will speak to you in a fresh way.

I tried to really avoid

looking back at

commentaries and previous messages

just to avoid

following a familiar outline

and just

really ask God

to kind of say

these are some things

that he pointed out

to me in this text.

So,

we all know

kind of what's going on.

Jesus had just sort of started

his earthly ministry

and

he's invited

by one of the Pharisees

to come and

basically hang out

and have a meal with them.

And I don't think

it was really out of love

or hospitality,

more out of intrigue

and want to take a closer

look at this guy.

Having meals with people

like as today,

but especially back then

was a way of showing

covenant with someone,

friendship with someone,

a very,

you know,

safe context

to get to know somebody.

And,

but I really just think

they want to take

a closer look at him.

And I don't need to go

on a long spiel

about

who Pharisees are.

You definitely know that.

But

just the term Pharisee

means separated

ones.

So just keep that

in your head.

It's like this idea

of they

are completely

devoted in their mind

at least to

the law

and the book of Moses

and

following all the laws

and the rituals.

And so

dinners

back then as well,

meals with very

well-known people,

dignitaries,

famous people,

they were kind of

put on display

and people

at times

would actually come

and watch

the dinner.

So you can imagine

that

like just

they think

that you're so awesome

that people would come

and watch you

eat your food.

So

but that's kind

of what it was.

It was a social

custom to be

permitted

even for the needy

people to visit

such a banquet

to receive leftovers.

So there's a

few points

just

that really felt

would be good

to convey

from this text.

But

one,

number one,

is

there is no

sinner too

great

that forgiveness

in Christ

cannot be found.

There's no

sinner too

great

that forgiveness

in Christ

cannot be found.

And

most of us

would say,

yeah,

we know that.

But I really

want you to

examine your own

heart and think

about people

that you've

interacted with

that you may

think this

not true of.

And

we see this

in verses

37-38.

So first you

have the

identity of

the woman

that Luke

doesn't fully

disclose

exactly who

she is.

But

it's very

clear that

she has a

very stained

reputation

and

more than

likely

was a

prostitute.

We don't

know that,

but it

comes across

that way.

And

she could

just be

sleeping with

men

because she

enjoys it

and that's

a way

for her

to make

a living.

That's

definitely

it.

So some

women,

though,

however,

can be

forced into

prostitution

when they

have no

one to

protect

them or

provide

to them.

That

happens

in other

places

in the

world

even

today.

So we

don't

really know

which one

it was,

whether she

was forced

into it

or it

was just

kind of

voluntarily.

But what

Simon actually

says of her

is like,

if this

man was a

prophet,

he would

see what

sort of

woman this

is.

And that

idea of

what sort

carries this

idea of

what kind

of dirt

she comes

from,

what kind

of absolute

filth she

comes from.

And the

term sinner

in this

text denotes

a heinous,

habitual

sinner known

for being

devoted to

specific sins.

sins.

So her

presence there

would have

been a

great insult

to some

degree for

her to

kind of

not just

be a

spectator,

but for

her to

actually come

up to

Jesus,

who was

the guest.

So it

was a

title

given,

a title

particularly

given to

tax collectors,

prostitutes,

drunkards.

And it

says, I

don't know,

this was

something that

just sort

of I

thought

about,

but it

said that

she was a

woman of

the city.

And if

you think

about those

of us who

come from

small towns,

small communities,

there's kind

of an added

burden of

shame when

you live in

such close

quarters with

people and

everyone knows

who you are.

You can't

just kind of

disappear into

a crowd.

And it's

like an

extra guilt,

extra shame

that a lot

of us don't

really feel.

And some

people that

I've met

in the past

have done

such shameful

things that

they're even

scared to go

out in the

public.

And maybe

even ashamed

to kind of

go show up

in a church

building or

a church

service.

And that's

very sad,

but just a

fear of

man that

drives them

away.

And so

no doubt

she felt

great guilt

and great

shame for

the sin

that she

had committed.

Sin is not

just an

action.

It defiles

us and

makes us

unclean.

If you think

about some

things that

you've done,

how it's

brought immensely

guilt,

there's a

verse in

Ezekiel that

I really

saw a good

while back.

It just

really nails

it.

It's Ezekiel

Ezekiel 20:43

20,

verse 43.

And it

says,

this is the

Lord talking,

and there

you shall

remember your

ways and

all your

deeds with

which you

have defiled

yourselves.

And you

shall loathe

yourselves for

the evils that

you have

committed.

sin has a

way to

defile us

and cause

us to

loathe

ourselves

because of

the things

that we

have done.

And so

she really

has this

on her

shoulders.

And so

she comes

before Jesus,

she kind of

crosses the

boundary,

so to speak,

into the

actual dinner

that's taking

place as

he's reclining

at the

table.

And she

takes this

alabaster

flask,

which was

a really

soft stone

used frequently

to put

perfume in

particularly,

probably one

of the most

valuable

possessions

she had.

And you

see her

gladly

poured out

on the

feet of

Jesus.

And

almost

picturesque

of her

almost pouring

out her

spirit to

Christ.

And with

her tears,

she washed

Jesus'

feet and

wiped them

with her

hair,

which is

amazing.

Because you

know my

footophobia,

I can't

stand feet,

and this

idea that

she not

only went

that far,

that's a

great expression

of love.

So if I

ever do

anything for

your foot,

it means I

really love

you.

But she

cried

tears of

just brokenness

to Jesus

on his feet

and then

wiped them

with her

hair.

Both this

idea of

thankfulness,

just in

reverence,

just for

who Jesus

is,

and through

herself in

humility,

just at

his mercy.

And we

know this

is just so

symbolic of

what Jesus

has said

about those

who are

broken and

poor in

spirit.

In Matthew

5,

blessed are

the poor

in spirit,

for theirs

is the

kingdom of

heaven.

Blessed are

those who

mourn,

for they

should be

comforted.

And

recognizing our

great spiritual

bankruptcy before

God,

nothing to

bring to

him at

all,

how it's

really an

awareness of

our need,

our mourning,

and our

brokenness.

And this

woman definitely

has this on

her mind.

So,

does the

weight of

your sin and

shame hinder you

from coming to

Christ for

mercy,

even as a

believer?

Do you tend to

kind of stay at a

distance sometimes

before you've

done enough

acts of

penance,

where you

make yourself

feel worthy

to come

to Christ?

But,

there is no

sinner to

great.

There just

isn't.

This leads to

number two,

which we see

in verse

39.

Beware of

having higher

standards of

righteousness

than Jesus.

Beware of

having higher

standards of

righteousness

than Jesus.

and we

see that

Simon

definitely

has in his

mind,

as well,

a lot of

the other

Pharisees at

this time,

that there

are just

good people

and there

are bad

people.

And the

truth is,

there's not.

There's only

bad people

and then

Jesus.

That's it.

And we

tend to

gauge people

by that

sometimes.

And they

even look at

Jesus and

don't really

see the

righteousness

in him

at all.

And they

think that

they are

far above

this woman.

This woman

should not

even be

around.

If anybody

has a right

to be around

another righteous

person,

it's just

one of them.

And previously,

just for sake of

time,

I may not

read all this,

but just in the

previous verses

leading up to

this text in

Luke 7,

they're talking

about John

the Baptist.

And Jesus

basically tells

them,

it doesn't

matter who

God sends,

you're going

to reject

him if

he's actually

speaking the

truth to

you.

Because John

came and

he had this

very strict

religious

lifestyle.

Very strict.

He took the

Nazarite vow.

He did all

these things that

just set him

apart.

It's like very,

I don't know,

strict and

religious.

And more

than them,

probably.

Then you have

Jesus'

ministry that

was kind of

characterized by

more of a

joyous ministry.

So you have

both someone

who's very

strict and

very disciplined

characterizing

John's ministry,

if you would,

versus Jesus'

ministry.

And they're

rejecting both

of them and

just kind of

saying,

like,

we don't

believe.

We think that,

and Jesus calls

them out for

being childish

in the previous

verses.

We've done all

these things for

you and you

still don't

listen.

And so,

a small lesson

inside of this

is some

people,

no matter

what you do,

you can jump

through all

their hoops,

answer all

their questions,

but the problem

is at the end

of the day,

they just have

a wicked,

depraved heart,

and the problem

is their unbelief,

not that they

haven't been shown

enough evidence

of who God

is.

And so,

Jesus already

has his

reputation for

looking,

for hanging

out with

gluttons,

tax collectors,

and sinners.

So they have

this idea

about Jesus,

so they

really think

that they

are above

him in

some ways.

So,

beware of

like sin

becoming

academic.

That's a

new word

I've been

appreciating

lately.

And

academic

means like

you understand

what it is

on paper,

and it works

out this way,

but reality

is you don't

have any clue

at all.

Like it's

kind of like

the difference

between reading

about something

and experiencing

something.

So,

beware that

your sin

is not

academic.

You would

confess,

like,

yes,

I know

I'm a

sinner,

but like

you don't

really feel

like the

burden of

that.

And

do you,

if not on

paper,

but in

practice,

see certain

sins as

worse than

others?

And do you

believe that

such people

are beyond

the mercy

of God

and his

saving power

in Christ?

And do

you,

even as a

believer,

focus on

the sins

of others

to make

yourself

more comfortable?

in your

own

self-righteousness.

I do.

I did it

earlier this

week.

And great

conviction

followed.

But just

beware that

you're not

gazing at

Jesus or

anyone else

through the

eyes of

self-righteousness.

So,

yeah,

beware of

that.

Don't have

a higher

standard of

righteousness

because you

don't.

So,

number three,

point three.

this is a

big one.

Our love

for Christ

or lack

thereof

is directly

connected

to the

awareness

of our

own sin.

Our love

for Christ

or lack

thereof

is directly

connected

to the

awareness

of our

own sin.

And we

see this

in verses

40 through

47.

So,

Jesus knows

what's going

on.

He knows

he's

discerning

Simon's

thoughts.

And he

tells him

this parable

to teach

him a

lesson

about

sin

and about

God

and about

forgiveness

and about

who he

is.

And

500 denarii,

like both

two money

lenders,

one owned

500 and

the other

one owned

50.

500 was

the equivalent

of about

20 months

wages.

So,

that's a

long time.

50 denarii

is about

two months

wages.

So,

a lot

more,

a lot

less than

20 months

wages.

So,

but it's

meant to

depict the

reality that

unconditional

forgiveness

was expressed

by the

money lender.

He forgave

them

unconditionally,

but love

was the

result.

And we

have a

tendency

to kind

of,

as a

culture,

to disconnect

sin from

the love

of God.

And I

had a

professor

in college

that was

a

professor

of

religion

and

said that

she was

a

Christian,

but not

really.

But she

shunned me

for talking

about sin

and I

talked to her

in her

office a

lot,

just about

this kind

of stuff.

And she

just said,

you should

come to

my church

because in

my church

we talk

about the

love of

God and

how kind

God is

and how

he's our

father and

all this

stuff.

love of

love of

God and

love of

God.

You have

no idea

how loving

God is

because your

view of

yourself is

so big

and your

view of

sin is

so small.

And I

actually read

her this

passage and

she just

goes,

hmm,

interesting.

And I

really,

we have to

understand that

there's a

connection.

So this

woman's love

and faith

was expressed

by her

works.

She did

three things

that Simon

did not.

And if you

see that in

her text,

like,

she did

this,

you did

not,

Simon.

So all

these different

things demonstrated

her faith

expressed in

love and

Simon's lack

of it.

Jesus not

only approved

of the woman

kissing his

feet,

but reminded

Simon that

he had

neglected to

greet him

with a

kiss.

And what

was quite

appropriate at

that time,

it was a

welcoming

thing.

And to

not do

some of

these things

or to

wash

Jesus'

feet was

an insult.

So they

didn't even

show him

the normal

hospitality

norms at

all.

So they

really didn't

respect him.

But he

didn't make

a big deal

out of it.

He just

said,

like,

this woman

has gone

far beyond

even what

you,

what I

expected

of you.

So her

love proved

and authenticated

her faith.

love much

or love

little.

We need

to be

careful here,

but there

was Thomas

Watson,

one of my

favorite

Puritan

guys,

he said,

until sin

be bitter,

Christ will

not be

sweet.

And we

have to

understand

that there's

a direct

connection

until we

really

understand

who we

are apart

from Christ,

the intensity

of our sin,

the depth

of our

need,

the extent

of our

brokenness,

and then the

judgment that

we deserve.

We will never

see Jesus

or appreciate

him for

who he

truly is.

So,

however,

this doesn't

mean that we

merit forgiveness,

rather that

our love for

Christ is the

fruit of

forgiveness.

And the

parable itself

depicts that

forgiveness

that's given

unconditionally,

and that love

was the

response to

that.

So,

in verse

47,

where you see

this idea

of her

sins,

which are

many,

are forgiven

for she

loved much.

That's,

think of it

as like

wherefore,

like the

result of

this,

the evidence

of this

is her

love towards

me.

So,

not that she

had earned

his forgiveness

and none of

us ever

could,

that would

go against

the whole

parable,

plus what

he just

says in

the next

verse.

So,

we know

that we

can't earn

God's

forgiveness.

forgiveness.

So,

a while

back,

I read

this devotional

Future Grace

by Piper

on a

sabbatical,

and I'm

rereading it

with Adam

Dome

right now.

Such a

great reminder,

but of

course,

all of us

would say

we can't

earn forgiveness

by good

works,

by doing

good things

for people,

by attending

services.

I think we

all know

that,

but how

many of you

have ever

tried to

pay God

back with

gratitude,

or pay

God back

with love.

And,

man,

this was a

killer for

me,

because I

feel like

so much

in my

life,

I've been

saying,

God has

died for

me,

so therefore

I just

need to be

grateful and

just show

him a lot

of love.

But the

problem with

that is our

love and

our gratitude

rises and

falls every

day.

So,

the power

to live

is,

as

followers of

Jesus is

not found

in our

gratitude and

love ultimately.

Isn't that

shocking?

It is to

me.

But it

can't be

because it

just rises

and falls.

At the

end of the

day,

our gratitude

and our

love can

be motivations,

but it

really seems

to be that

scripture puts

the emphasis

on grace.

Like,

at the end

of the day,

it's still

grace that's

going to

hold you,

not your

gratitude,

not your

love.

And,

kind of,

so,

tomorrow is,

Kathleen's

going to

hit me if

I'm wrong

on this,

I think

it's my

12-year

transplant

anniversary,

where I

get my

lungs at

UAB.

So,

it's really

cool that

Wes and

Liz were

on the

day,

because they

were there,

other than

Nathan and

Sam.

But I

know that

I have

this works-based

mentality to

pay God

back for

what he's

done for

me.

And I

want to

pay him

back by

my gratitude

and my

love.

And so,

when I'm

not grateful,

and when I'm

not loving

God,

I just hate

myself.

It's a

really bad,

bad cycle.

But we

put emphasis

on what was

grace that

taught my

heart to

fear,

but we

need to

think about

it's also

grace that's

going to

lead us

home.

So,

you can't

pay God

back with

how grateful

you are.

I think

that's what

I unknowingly

was trying

to do.

Like,

God,

I'm going

to pay

you back

for the

forgiveness

you've shown

me by

being grateful.

And you

can't do it.

It's just

going to

rise and

fall.

At the end

of the day,

it's still

God's grace.

It's still

God's grace.

God's grace

towards us.

None of

us are

ever truly

aware of

how sinful

we are,

like,

ever.

We have

moments where

we're pretty

clueless and

we think

we're pretty

good people.

And other

times we're

more aware

of it.

But none

of us

have ever

been 100%

aware of

just how

truly sinful

we are.

So even

the most

devout

followers of

Jesus failed

at times to

show that.

But we

know that,

again,

it's God's

love and

God's grace

towards us.

the breadth

of it,

the intensity

of it,

is what

sustains us.

In 1 John

1 John 4:9

4,

verse 9,

it says,

And this

is the

love of

God,

was made

manifest among

us that

God sent

his only

son into

the world

so that we

might live

through him.

And this

is love,

not that we

have loved

God,

but that he

loved us

and sent

his son

to be the

repitiation

for our

sins.

It's very

great.

So,

number

four,

forgiveness

can only

be found

by faith

in Christ.

Forgiveness

can only be

found by

faith in

Christ.

And see

this in

verses 48

through 50.

Jesus

has the

authority

to forgive

sins,

which only

technically

God can

do.

Faith,

her faith

saves her,

not her

works.

So she

abandons all

any pretense

of her

own

self

righteousness

and just

clings to

Christ's

righteousness.

And all

that is

expressed in

her actions.

Think about

the faith

that it

took her

to even

show her

face there.

Like,

she must

have just

heard that

Jesus was

around.

Must have

just heard

that he

was in

the neighborhood.

And then

the stuff

that she

had heard

about him

just said,

this man

must be

a man

of mercy.

This man

might be

my only hope.

And so

she,

regardless

of what

people think

about her,

she shows

up there.

So think

about the

fear of

man that

her faith

overcame

in that

moment.

And because

she believed

that Jesus

was worth

it.

And her

faith was

expressed in

the love that

she showed

towards him.

And so,

but, you

know, Christ

told her,

hey, your

faith has

saved you.

Go in

peace.

Those are

amazing words.

Like, we all

long to kind

of hear that.

And understand,

though, that

Jesus knew

in the back

of his mind

that I'm

going to pay

the penalty

for that

woman's sins.

There's no

such thing

as pardon

without payment

of debt

in God's

eyes.

Christ had

to pay the

penalty for

our sin,

and he did,

as well as

for this

woman's sin.

Really

quickly,

flip over

to Colossians

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

Colossians

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

Colossians

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2,

and look at

verse 13.

And Paul

writes,

And you,

who were

dead in

your

trespasses,

and the

uncircumcision

of your

flesh,

God made

alive together

with him,

having forgiven

us all our

trespasses,

by canceling

the record

of debt

that stood

against us

with its

legal demands.

This,

he set

aside,

mailing it

to the

cross.

So this

idea of

a record

of debt,

all the

stuff that

you have

done and

thought that

was dishonoring

to God,

Christ paid

the price

for it,

and canceled

it by his

sacrifice on

the cross.

God

in our

story,

Jesus knows

that he's

going to

have to

do that.

He can't

just forgive

this woman

and just

go on.

But our

salvation,

our faith,

our forgiveness

of sins is

only found

by Christ

dying for

us.

So,

lastly,

verse,

this is more

of an

implication,

but because,

this is number

five,

because God

has forgiven

us in

Christ,

so we

must forgive

others.

So,

the joy

and freedom

of forgiveness

that we've

experienced in

Christ,

we must

express to

others from

the heart.

For in

that kind

of forgiveness,

people see a

picture of

Jesus.

It points

to him.

And it's

not out of

duty,

but out of

what God

has wrought

in our

hearts

through him

showing us

forgiveness.

Also,

in Colossians,

if you just

jump down

the next

chapter,

it says,

put on

then,

as God's

chosen ones,

holy and

beloved,

compassionate

hearts,

kindness,

humility,

meekness,

and patience,

bearing one

another,

and,

if one has

a complaint

against another,

forgiving each

other,

as the Lord

has forgiven

you,

so you

also must

forgive.

And so,

those of

us who

have been

set free

and forgiven

by Christ,

we should be

eager to

show that

to other

people,

for in

that they

see the

forgiveness

of Christ.

And just,

if there's

anything that

needs to be

dealt with in

your heart

today,

things that you

need to ask

the Lord for

forgiveness for,

or go to

someone that you

have sinned

against,

and say,

hey,

I need to

ask your

forgiveness,

may this

kind of be

a driving

force of

that,

but I pray

that you

would just

kind of

see the

grace and

forgiveness

of Christ

with no

strings