Look Who Came To Dinner

Who is Jesus of Nazareth?

Who is He?

Well, whoever He is, He can't ride the fence.

Jesus of Nazareth calls for a response.

You will either deny Him,

whether that's blatant or not so blatant,

or you'll live for Him.

Everything you've got for Him.

Jesus calls for a response.

And to learn who Jesus of Nazareth claims to be,

we turn to the Gospels.

The Gospels are books of the Bible

that provide historical accounts

of the life, teaching, miracles,

death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

So, if we're going to ask,

who is Jesus?

We turn to the Gospels.

If you would open up your Bibles

and turn to the Gospel of Luke 7.

The Gospel of Luke 7.

This morning, I want to get you

to an unforgettable dinner party.

It's awesome.

It took place in the house of a guy named Simon.

And I want you there

because we learned the answer to the question,

who is Jesus?

Who is this Jesus of Nazareth?

And what we're also going to see

are two very different responses to Jesus.

First, let's go back to 1st century Judea.

So, turning to Luke 7.

I want to help you see some things.

What I'm going to do right now

is just kind of walk you through Luke 7.

I'm not going to read it.

I'm just going to kind of skip through it.

You just follow along with me.

You ready?

Let's go.

Now, if we showed up,

if we got in a time machine

and went back to Judea, 1st century,

we would find ourselves in an area

that was buzzing with news of Jesus.

Who is this guy?

There's a lot going on.

Well, we hear that Jesus has just heard

or healed the servant of a Roman centurion.

That's chapter 7, 1 through 10.

The servant was at the point of death

and we hear that Jesus just healed him

from a distance.

From a distance!

Who is this guy?

And then we hear that this Jesus,

while in a town called Nain,

you'll see this in chapter 7, verses 11 through 17,

he comes across a funeral procession

of a young man.

Well, he was the only son of a widow.

And so this widow's social security

just died with her boy.

So Jesus comes along this funeral procession,

sees the mom,

has compassion on her,

goes right up to this dead boy

and says,

young man,

I say to you,

arise.

And you know what happened?

The young man sits up.

It doesn't record what he said.

Who are you?

We don't know.

Are the Packers playing this afternoon?

It doesn't say that.

I'm hungry.

Can you give me something to eat?

It doesn't say anything like that.

What we do read about

is the response of everybody else.

There's a prophet among us.

God has visited us.

There's fear.

There's amazement.

Who is this guy

that just raised this young man

from the dead

and handed him back to his mother?

Who is this guy?

In Luke 7, 18-35,

we see a very interesting interaction

between Jesus

and the disciples of John the Baptist.

John the Baptist

sends a couple of his followers

to Jesus to ask him,

are you the one who is to come?

Or shall we look for another?

In other words,

who are you, Jesus?

Specifically,

are you the long-awaited Messiah?

Are you the promised one

who would deliver God's people?

And in 22 and 23,

Jesus gives an answer.

He says,

Go tell John, my cousin,

go tell him

the blind receive their sight,

the lame walk,

lepers are cleansed,

the deaf hear,

the dead are raised,

the poor hear the good news

preached to them,

blessed is the one

who is not offended by me.

Sounds like Jesus is saying,

yeah, I'm the one.

I'm the one.

I'm the long-anticipated one.

And that brings us up

to this amazing dinner party.

It's just simply amazing.

Unforgettable.

Let me read it for you.

Verses 36-50.

One of the Pharisees

asked him to eat with him,

asked Jesus to eat with him,

and Jesus went into

the Pharisee's house

and took his place at the table.

And behold,

a woman of the city

who was a sinner,

when she learned

that he was reclining

at a 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 the hair of her head

and kissed his feet

and anointed them

with the ointment.

Now when the Pharisee

who had invited him

saw this,

he said to himself,

if this man were 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 said,

say it, teacher.

A certain money lender

had two debtors.

One owed 500 denarii,

the other 50.

One that could not pay,

he canceled the debt of both.

Now which of them

will love him more?

Simon answered,

the one,

I suppose,

for whom he canceled

the larger 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?

But she has wet my feet

with her,

excuse me,

I entered your house.

You gave me no water

for 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.

You did not anoint

my head with oil,

but she has anointed

my feet with ointment.

Therefore I tell you this,

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.

We'll finish off the rest

in a little bit.

Now you've got to understand

some things culturally

about first century Judea.

Typically when a dinner guest

showed up at the home

of someone in the first century,

the guest would either

be given water

to wash his or her feet,

or there would be

a servant there

to wash his or her feet.

It was a nasty thing

walking around in sandals

in the first century.

It was pretty gross.

And so they would come in,

they would have their feet

cleansed.

It would have been

very refreshing.

It was just common courtesy

of the time.

But it didn't happen

to Jesus in Simon's house.

Typically a guest

would be greeted

with a kiss from the host.

Common courtesy.

The host is saying simply,

welcome,

you're at peace here.

We didn't see that happen

from Simon to Jesus.

And typically a guest

would be given a dab

of olive oil

on their forehead.

It was fragrant,

a gesture of welcome,

common courtesy,

but it did not happen

in Simon's house.

When Jesus showed up

to Simon's house,

it was kind of icy.

No common courtesy is here.

Simon did not welcome

Jesus into his house.

Simon's self-righteous pride

was suspicious of this Jesus.

There was a power play going on

around this table.

Simon was guarded towards Jesus.

Simon was distanced towards Jesus.

And it was not an uncommon response

to being in the presence

of Jesus of Nazareth.

But you could cut the tension

with a knife.

Now when Jesus took his place

at Simon's table,

he did not pull up a chair.

At Thanksgiving this Thursday,

probably you'll be sitting

in a chair.

Not in the first century Judea.

What they would do is

there would be these

lowered tables

and you'd walk in

and they would recline a table.

So you'd recline

on your left hand

and then you would eat

with your right feet

out away from the table

because they're usually

kind of stinky still.

And so when Jesus comes,

he takes his spot

at the table

with his feet still dirty.

Then the real controversy

breaks out.

And you thought

it was already tense.

In verse 37,

we read about someone

walking in.

She's called

a woman of the city.

Most likely

a prostitute.

She walks into the room

carrying an alabaster jar

of perfume.

She must have

already heard

Jesus preach.

She must have already

been convinced

of who this man is.

Because she comes

into this room,

Simon's house,

already believing.

She's already convinced

of this one

reclining at table

across from Simon.

She already knows

something about him.

She's already been forgiven.

She's a changed person

already.

You can see that

in what's about

to take place.

For this woman

to walk into

this man's house

was courageous.

We have a prostitute

in a Pharisee's house.

Two very different people.

very different people.

Her faith

in this man

with the dirty feet

was the reason

why she had been

cleaned from her dirt.

She was coming

to see Jesus.

She was drawn

to him.

She wanted to be

with him.

She knew something

about him

that obviously

Simon did not.

She comes in

and she stands

behind Jesus

and starts weeping.

Now it seemed

as though she walked

in with this

alabaster jar

of perfume

and her intention

was just to simply

anoint Jesus.

And so she comes up

and she comes up

behind Jesus

and she loses it.

She loses it.

She starts weeping

uncontrolled.

She loses it.

She goes to plan B.

Her big tears

are dripping

on Jesus' feet.

She's overwhelmed.

She's overwhelmed

with gratitude.

And so then

she does something

amazing.

She lets down

her hair.

Simon would have

been aghast.

What?

What is she doing?

Here's why.

First century Judea

only wives

let down their hair

for their husbands.

It was a

demonstration

of intimacy.

This woman

was just reaching

for whatever

she could grab

in order to wipe

the tears

and clean the feet

of her savior.

She had no

sexual intent.

None whatsoever.

She was using

the only thing

she had

to wipe

the dirty feet

of her savior.

Something that

Simon wasn't

intent on doing.

And then she

starts to kiss

his feet.

Keep on kissing

his feet.

Then she pours

out some of the

perfume on his

feet.

The room

would have been

filled with

the fragrance.

this woman's

overwhelming

gratitude

for what

Christ

had done

for her

brings

an

atmospheric

change

to

the room.

It's got

everything to do

with this person

Jesus.

It's got everything

to do with him.

Was this like

overly extravagant?

Was this woman

kind of over the top?

Not at all.

Not at all.

This was the

right response

of a woman

who knew

what she

had been

forgiven of

and knew

who with

some inclination

of who this

man must be.

verse 39

Simon is

taking all

of it in.

And he's

thinking to

himself

if this

man were

a prophet

he would

have known

who and

what sort

of woman

this is

who is

touching him

for she

is a

sinner.

In other

words

he should

have no

business

with her.

The irony

is in

verse 40

Jesus

knows

exactly

what he's

thinking.

He is

a prophet.

He's

more than

a prophet.

Because not

only does he

know what

this man's

thinking

he knows

everything

about this

woman.

And he

welcomes

her.

He does

not flinch

as she

cleans

his feet.

He welcomes

her.

Who is

this guy?

Who is

he?

Well

Jesus

seizes

the moment

as Simon

is

Simonizing

and he

says

hey

Simon

I have

something

to say

to you.

Go

right ahead

teacher

Simon

says

to which

Jesus

shares

a parable.

A

parable

designed

to explain

the overwhelming

gratitude

of this

woman

and it's

designed

to expose

the hardness

of heart

of Simon.

His heart

was about

as hard

as the

table

that

separated

him

from

Jesus.

Here's

the parable.

A certain

money lender

had two

debtors.

One

debtor

owed

the equivalent

of 20

months of

pay.

The other

two months

of pay.

One

owed

ten times

as much

as the

other.

To put it

in our

day

figures.

Let's

say

one

owed

$60,000

and the

other

owed

$6,000.

That's

quite a lot

of money.

60

grand.

That's

a lot

of money.

But what

we see

in verse

42

is a

very

important

point

Jesus

makes.

Both

couldn't

pay.

Both

were

insolvent.

They

didn't

have it.

They

didn't

have

the

capacity.

They

couldn't

pay

this

debt.

So

Jesus

goes

on.

He

goes

on to

share

that

the

money

lender

goes

on

to

forgive,

cancel

both

debts.

In

other

words,

debts

are

forgiven.

And

then

Jesus

in a

stroke

of

brilliance,

he's

a

teacher

unlike

any

other.

In

a

stroke

of

brilliance

he

says

to

Simon,

asks

him,

now

which

of

the

two

debtors

will

love

the

money

lender

more?

Both are

canceled.

Which one

will love

him more?

Simon responds

and you can

hear his

guardedness

in the

response.

The one,

I suppose,

who owed

the larger

debt.

That's right,

says Jesus.

And then he

turns to the

woman and

says to

Simon,

Simon,

when I

walked into

your house

you gave

me no

water for

my feet

but she

wet my

feet with

her tears

and wiped

them with

her hair.

You gave

me no

kiss but

she hasn't

stopped

kissing

my feet.

You did

not anoint

my head

with oil

but she

anointed

my feet

with perfume.

Simon,

there is a

clear difference

in the way

that you

have treated

me and

the way

that this

woman has

treated

me.

So this

morning I

want to ask

you this

question.

How do you

account for

the difference?

Why did

this Simon

respond to

Jesus his

icy hard

way and

this woman

respond to

Jesus overwhelmed?

She didn't

care who was

around.

This is

he.

Jesus spells

it out for us

in verse 7.

He says,

therefore I

tell you her

sins which are

many are

forgiven for

she loved

much but

he who is

forgiven little

loves little

Simon.

And then

Jesus says

to the

woman,

your sins

are forgiven.

Your sins

have been

forgiven,

sister.

To be

forgiven

much results

in loving

much.

To be

forgiven

little results

in loving

little.

Being forgiven

much results

in great

gratitude,

great

thanksgiving.

To be

forgiven

little results

in not

much

gratitude,

not much

thanksgiving.

You see

the issue

here is

forgiveness.

forgiveness.

Specifically,

the realization

that you

need

forgiveness.

The realization

that you

are a

sinner.

This woman

knew she

was a

sinner.

That she

needed to

be forgiven

of her

many sins.

Simon,

not so

much.

If Simon

needed to

be forgiven,

he didn't

need to be

forgiven that

much.

And he was

probably thinking

his own

righteousness

should cover

that anyway.

He didn't

see himself

as a

sinner.

What Simon

failed to

recognize was

that he

was in

debt to

God and

incapable of

paying it.

And it

showed up in

the way he

treated Jesus.

Simon didn't

need a

Savior.

He didn't

see himself

as one

needing to

be saved.

He didn't

see himself

as one who

is in debt

to God

and in

need of

God's

mercy.

His

confidence

was in

his own

self-righteousness.

If you

don't need

forgiveness,

you don't

need Jesus.

And if you

don't need

Jesus,

you treat

him like

Simon did.

You keep

him at

a distance.

Simon was

blinded to

Jesus by

his own

self-righteousness.

He who

is forgiven

little,

loves little.

But if

you know

you are a

sinner,

you know

you need a

Savior.

because you

know you

can't pay

your debt.

You need

Jesus.

And when

you experience

the forgiveness

of Jesus,

the cancellation

that he can

only provide

through his

death on

the cross,

when you

experience that,

you start to

love Jesus

like this

woman,

this prostitute

loved Jesus.

Overwhelmed

with gratitude.

You don't

care what

other people

think.

where Simon

was blinded

by his

self-righteousness.

Those who

are forgiven

much are

blinded to

what other

people think

because your

gratitude of

what Jesus

has done

for you.

You don't

give a rip.

I'm

praising

Jesus.

The one

who's forgiven

much,

loves much.

How do

we respond

to this?

How do

we respond

to God's

word this

morning?

Well, we

need to

realize three

things.

The first

is this.

We're all

debtors.

We're all

debtors.

Debtors to

God.

Incapable

of paying

our debt.

Our sins

accumulate

like debt

in God's

eyes and

we can't

pay for

it.

We all

need to be

forgiven of

our sins

and we've

all sinned

much.

So let me

ask you a

question this

morning.

How great

is your

debt?

Are you

like Simon

the Pharisee

who didn't

think he was

in debt to

God?

He didn't

think his

sins amounted

to much so

therefore there

was really no

need to be

forgiven?

Showed up in

his coolness

towards Jesus?

Or are you

more like the

woman of the

city?

Are you more

like the

prostitute?

Are you

more like

this woman

who was

thoroughly aware

of her

many sins?

She knew

she racked

up so

much debt

that there

was no

way she

could pay

it.

Her

many sins

made her

desperate.

Desperate

for a

Savior.

Desperate

for Jesus.

Her only

hope for

forgiveness

forgiveness

was Jesus.

He had

forgiven her

and there

he is

sitting at

the table.

Jesus

graciously

forgave her.

Your sins

have been

forgiven.

Jesus did

not forgive

religious

Simon

because Simon

didn't think

he needed

to be

forgiven.

Jesus

pronounced

forgiveness

for the

sinful

prostitute

because she

knew that

only Jesus

could forgive

her.

What about

you?

are you

aware this

morning of

your many

sins?

Do you

need to

be forgiven?

We are

all in debt

to God.

Only Jesus

can forgive

you.

It's only

through his

payment on

the cross

that can

pay the

debt of

our sins.

This

morning I

want you

to know

if you

are in

here and

you're

realizing

I have

not been

forgiven.

My sins

stand against

me.

This

morning

the Savior

who died

and then

was raised

is offering

you

forgiveness

in full.

All of

it.

Paid.

He's

offering it

to you.

You know

how you

respond?

You just

say I'll

take it.

I'll

take it.

There's

no way

you can

earn it.

You

receive it

by faith

and then

you

experience

the

peace

of being

forgiven

much.

All you

need to

do is

receive

this

gift

by

faith.

The

second

realization

is for

those who

have already

been forgiven.

For those

of us who

have already

received

this gift

by faith.

For those

of us who

have

recognized

our

sinfulness

and realized

we needed

a Savior

and maybe

a month ago

or years ago

you put your

faith in

Jesus.

You were

forgiven

much.

But I don't

know about

you.

But there

seems to

be a

tendency

for those

who have

been

forgiven

to get

forgetful.

Those

of us

who have

been

forgiven

we can

slowly

become

like

Simon

trusting

in our

own

righteousness

while

cooling

towards

Jesus.

Because

what can

happen is

we start

thinking we

don't need

Jesus

anymore.

He's

forgiven

us.

Big thing

done.

There can

be this

subtle yet

gradual

shift

after you're

saved.

A shift

from the

focus on

being on

Jesus to

coming off

of Jesus

and coming

on to

yourself.

Oh

forgiven

brother and

sinner who is

forgetful.

And I'm

preaching this

to myself

as much

as anybody

else in

this room.

You need

Jesus just

as much

today as

you did

the first

day you

believed in

him.

You need

him.

You'll

never outgrow

him.

You've been

forgiven.

That's where

you live.

In his

forgiveness

of you.

It's all

about him.

he is

the vine.

We are

the branches.

Apart from

him we can

do nothing.

We need

him.

And so

if you're

in the

room and

you've been

forgiven but

you get

forgetful,

remember how

much Jesus

has forgiven

you.

Do you

remember what

he's forgiven

you of?

How much

he has

forgiven you?

Maybe you're

in the

room and

you've been

raised in a

Christian home

and you're

like I

became a

Christian when

I was

four.

I don't

remember

that.

Turn to

Ephesians 2

1-3 and

ask God to

impress upon

you what

you've been

forgiven from.

What he's

delivered you

from.

Remember how

much Jesus

has forgiven

you and

then express

your gratitude

to him.

You see

gratitude is

the result of

being forgiven

not because.

There's one

more thing I

want you to

see here.

It's this.

The third

realization is

who this

Jesus of

Nazareth is.

Look at

verse 49.

After Jesus

says to the

prostitute your

sins are

forgiven,

have been

forgiven,

those around

the table

began to

say to

themselves who

is this

who even

forgives sins.

You see

what the

people around

the table

knew that

you may

not know

is this,

that only

God can

forgive people

of their

sins.

Ultimately

when we

sin,

we sin

against God

and only

God can

forgive our

sins against

Him.

So when

Jesus says

to this

woman,

your sins

are forgiven,

do you know

who he's

claiming to

be?

He's

claiming to

be God.

He's

more than

a prophet.

He's

God in

the flesh.

And he

died for

sinners like

you and

me.

His

death on

the cross

is the

only way

our debt

can be

paid in

full.

And his

resurrection

proves his

payment was

accepted.

Who is

Jesus?

He's God

in the flesh

and he's

the only

one who

can forgive

your sins

because he

is God.

It's all

about him.

We've

much to be

grateful for

this Thanksgiving,

don't we?

We live in a

wonderful country.

We've got

wonderful freedoms.

But this

Thanksgiving,

when you sit

down for

dinner,

think about

the one who

reclined a

table.

we've got a

wonderful country.

We have a

more wonderful

Savior.

We have

many freedoms,

but the

greatest freedom

of all is

being forgiven

of all your

sin.

And the

result,

gratitude.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus,

you are

awesome.

like the

prostitute,

God,

we rejoice

in you.

And we are

drawn to you,

Lord Jesus.

We want to be

around you.

God,

would you

continue to

stir up

gratitude in

our hearts?

Would you

remind us

over and

over of

being forgiven

much?

It's in your

name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.