Women of Faith

Heavenly Father, we don't want to be a people who preach and teach more than we have experienced from your grace.

We want to be people who are full of love, affection for you and gratefulness toward you because we understand how lavish your forgiveness for this has been.

So won't you please, by your spirit, minister to us this morning.

Convict us of our sins.

But even more, comfort us with your grace.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Luke chapter 7, verse 36 to chapter 8, verse 3.

Luke 7:36

I will read it out loud. You can follow along with me in your Bibles.

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him.

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

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

When she learned that he was reclining at 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 answered,

Say it, teacher.

A certain money lender had two debtors.

One owed 500 denarii and the other 50.

When they 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 a 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.

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,

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.

And those who were at table with him

began to say among themselves,

Who is this who even forgives sins?

And he said to the woman,

Your faith has saved you.

Go in peace.

Soon afterward,

he went on through villages,

cities and villages,

proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.

And the twelve were with him.

And also some woman

who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities.

Mary, called Magdalene,

from whom seven demons had gone out.

And Joanna, the wife of Chusa,

Herod's household manager.

And Susanna,

and many others,

who provided for them out of their means.

This is the word of the Lord.

We believe as Christians that we are saved by grace through faith.

We believe that faith is the means,

the instrument through which we will be saved.

But it's still kind of abstract, isn't it, to think about that.

We're saved by grace through faith.

What is faith?

What does saving faith look like?

And in this passage,

Luke gives us two concrete pictures

of various women of faith

in order to teach us what saving faith in Jesus looks like.

And here he first talks about how he produces love for God,

that we have to love God,

chapter 7, 36 to 50.

And then we are to serve God in chapter 8,

verses 1 to 3.

And the main point he wants to get across to us

is that God's lavish forgiveness of our sins

produces lavish love for and service to God.

God.

It's a wonderful passage.

Verse 36 tells us this.

It says,

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him,

and he went into the Pharisee's house

and reclined at table.

This is interesting because remember that

Jesus drew the ire of the Pharisees in Luke 5

because he was eating and drinking

with tax collectors and sinners.

And these Pharisees have questioned Jesus

and accused him of blasphemy,

and they have been keeping a close watch on him

so that they can trip him up

and bring a false charge against him.

And yet,

when one of their known number

invites him,

extends an invitation to him,

opens up his home,

Jesus takes the opportunity.

In spite of all of that.

This is comforting because he shows me that he's,

yes, he's a friend of sinners

and he is a friend of all kinds of sinners,

including the legalists

and the prideful people,

as long as there is an openness

and desire to humble himself before Jesus.

We'll see that this Pharisee is not quite ready all the way,

but this is still an encouraging sign.

As they are dining together,

another sinner enters the scene,

but this time a woman whose sinfulness

is widely known.

Verse 37 conveys the surprise

of seeing this woman,

and behold,

a woman of the city

who was a sinner.

When she learned that he was reclining at table

in the Pharisee's house,

she came.

So you might wonder

who opened the door for this woman,

right?

This is a dinner party.

Where are the bouncers, right?

This intruder has come in.

We can understand the situation better

by considering the cultural context.

Notice that twice,

in verses 36 to 37,

we're told that people were reclining at table

instead of sitting at a table like usual.

The word suggests that this wasn't

an ordinary family meal

where people sit around the table on chairs.

Rather, this is a banquet.

It's a special meal,

and Jesus is likely the guest of honor at this meal.

And in this kind of meal,

people actually lay down on mats or cushions

on their left side like this

with their legs out away from the table,

sporting themselves with their elbow,

and they would eat with their right hand

and drink with their right hand.

So they're all reclining,

kind of lying down.

It's a very intimate setting.

And in this kind of,

we know that this is the case

because Jesus is also addressed later

as rabbi, a teacher.

It was considered an honor

to have a teacher who's out of town

over at your house

for this kind of a banquet.

So it seems that's what is going on.

And it was customary

at a special meal like this

to leave the door open

so that uninvited guests

could enter and be flies on the wall,

observing and listening silently and respectfully

to the discourse between the host and his guest.

This was also an opportunity for the poor to enter

so that they can beg for leftovers.

This explains why this disreputable woman

was able to enter the banquet unhindered.

And this woman,

look at how she is described.

She's described specifically as a woman of the city

who was a sinner.

Being of the city and being a sinner together

suggests that this woman was known throughout the city

as a sinful person.

Many people speculate that this woman was a prostitute.

It's certainly possible that she was.

It's not certain from the text.

This sinful woman is also frequently identified

in popular culture as Mary Magdalene.

But this is due to a mistake that people made in the Middle Ages

to conflate Mary Magdalene with Mary of Bethany.

They're two different people.

Mary of Magdala and Mary of Bethany

who is the brother of Lazarus and Martha.

This is all the more confusing

because the episode where Martha anoints Jesus' feet

takes place in the house of Simon the leper.

This guy's name is Simon too,

but this is Simon the Pharisee.

It's a completely different place

at a different time of Jesus' ministry

and Jesus' teaching and response is different.

So all of this suggests that these are totally different instances.

And it makes sense because actually Mary and Simon

were very, very common names.

It's kind of like in our church we have,

I don't know how many,

we have three Daniels,

three Johns,

two Hanas.

I think it's similar.

It's statisticians who look at the names

in tombstones in the first century Israel.

They estimate that Mary among the women

was made up probably 25% of the women.

It's a hugely, wildly popular name.

And you can see that in scripture actually.

In the New Testament alone,

we find no less than six women named Mary,

which is confusing.

And then in the New Testament alone,

you find no less than nine men named Simon.

So you can see why this could be confusing,

but just don't conflate the two.

They're two different occasions.

And so here is an unnamed woman.

We don't know her name,

yet she is known throughout the city

as a sinful person.

It's public knowledge.

And Luke repeatedly draws attention

to that contrast between the sinful woman

and the respected Pharisee.

Notice just how many times

the word Pharisee is repeated.

Even when it's a little awkward,

it would make more sense to just use a pronoun.

It repeats the word.

Verse 36 to 39.

One of the Pharisee asked him to eat with him,

and he went into the Pharisee's house

and reclined the table.

And behold,

the woman of the city who was a sinner,

when she learned that he was reclining 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 wiped 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.

Four times.

Pharisee, Pharisee, Pharisee.

And two times,

sinner, sinner.

We know the name of this Pharisee,

but Luke in this section

doesn't address him by name.

Pharisee and sinner,

that's supposed to form a contrast

because the word Pharisee in Hebrew

means to separate.

These are people who separated themselves

in order to purify themselves

and to set themselves apart from sinners

like this woman.

So these two people

do not belong in the same room.

The Pharisee is moral.

The sinner is immoral.

The Pharisee is respected.

The sinner is despised.

The Pharisee is the host.

And the sinner is the intruder.

And yet Jesus will forgive

and receive the sinner

as he does over and over again

throughout the Gospel of Luke.

Because as Jesus said in Luke 5,

those who are well

have no need of a physician,

but those who are sick.

I have not come to call the righteous,

but sinners to repentance.

And this woman seems to know

about Jesus already.

She has been exposed to his teaching

before as we see later

in Jesus' response to her.

So even though she is lowly

and despised,

even though she was well aware

of her own sordid reputation

in this city,

even though she knew

that she would attract

the scorn and stares

of people

as she enters into this banquet,

she cannot pass up

this opportunity

to go and see

and honor Jesus.

Look at verses 37 to 38.

When she learned

that he was reclining at table

in the Pharisee's house,

she brought an alabaster flask

of ointment

and standing behind him

at his feet,

weeping,

she began to wet his feet

with her tears

and wiped them

with the hair of her head

and kissed his feet

and anointed them

with the ointment.

An alabaster

is a lightly colored,

translucent,

soft mineral rock

that was believed

to help preserve

perfumes and ointments.

And the word ointment

used here

is not the typical word

that refers to

the less expensive olive oil,

but this is a reference

to an expensive perfume.

She brings something

that's valuable to her

to use,

to anoint Jesus.

And it says

that this woman

stands behind Jesus

at his feet.

And as she stands

behind Jesus' feet,

she's so overcome

by this opportunity

to show her devotion

to her affection

for Jesus

that she begins

to weep.

And it's not

a quiet sniffling.

The word weep

is the same word

used to describe

a widow

who was mourning,

weeping during

the funeral process

of her only son

earlier in this chapter.

In Mark 5,

38 to 39,

the word weeping

is parallel

to wailing loudly

and making a commotion.

You've probably seen

similar reactions

to this before

in real life

or on YouTube

probably, right?

a soldier

that has been deployed

for a long time

returns home

finally

to surprise

his daughter

and she begins

to weep

with joy.

Or a little girl

hears the news

that her foster parents

will be adopting her

into their family

and then she begins

to weep

with gratitude.

It's the kind

of sob

that breaks forth

from the chest.

That's the kind

of weeping

that's pictured here.

She's not stealing

a single tear

here and there.

The word wet here

is the same word

that's used to refer

to rain showers.

There's enough tears

to douse

Jesus' feet.

That's how moved

this woman is.

Then she proceeds

to wipe the tears

on Jesus' feet

with the hair

of her head.

Remember that

Jesus lived

and ministered

in what is today

modern Israel

and Palestine.

So Jesus

would have walked

around with

open-toed sandals

in the desert region

and his feet

would have been sweaty

and coated

with dust.

And it was customary

for the host

of a party like this

to provide

for the foot washing

of his guests.

But this was actually

reserved for the slaves.

In fact,

some Jews insisted

that even slaves

if they're Jewish

should not

deign to do

such a lowly task.

They argue

that only Gentile slaves

should do such a thing.

And yet this woman

wipes Jesus' feet

with the hair

of her head.

For a woman

to let down

her hair

in polite company

was considered

humiliating.

And yet,

no matter that

the hair

is getting disheveled,

no matter that

she's getting

dirt

and sweat

on her hair,

because it's

an opportunity

to honor Jesus

whom she loves,

she does it

without hesitation.

And not only

does she wash

Jesus' feet,

afterwards,

she kissed

his feet

and anointed them

with the ointment.

In this culture,

you kissed

relatives

and friends

on the cheek

or the forehead.

Kissing someone's feet

was considered

a mark

of great respect,

usually reserved

for rulers,

because it involves

humbling yourself,

lowering yourself

before that other person.

This woman

kisses Jesus' feet,

then anoints

his feet

with this

expensive

ointment.

once again,

anointing

is something

you typically

do on the head.

Yet,

this woman

does not see herself

as worthy

of such a task.

She anoints,

stoopes to anoint

Jesus' feet

instead.

And Luke

repeatedly

emphasizes this

by repeating,

repeatedly mentioning

Jesus' feet.

Look at verse 38

one more time,

and standing behind

him at his feet,

weeping,

she began to wet

his feet

with her tears,

and wiped them

with the hair

of her head,

and kissed

his feet,

and anointed

them with the ointment.

She did all

of these things

to Jesus' feet.

Everything that

she does here

communicates

Jesus' supreme

worthiness,

and her own

unworthiness

before him.

And this

dramatic

emotional scene

featuring

the sinful woman

is unfolding

right before

the eyes

of her host,

the Pharisee.

And you wonder

what he's thinking.

Luke tells us

in verse 39,

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.

The Pharisee,

because he lives

in the city,

knows of this woman,

knows of her

public reputation

as a sinful woman

not to consort with,

and he,

as a Pharisee,

would never have

let such a woman

touch him.

And for that reason,

he assumes

that Jesus too,

as a Jewish teacher,

would never let

a sinner like her

touch him.

But since he is

letting her touch him,

he assumes

he has no idea

who this woman is.

That he can't be

a prophet.

The Pharisee is now

doubting Jesus'

credentials

because he can't

possibly be a true

prophet of the Lord

since he's

unaware of this

woman's sinfulness.

But little does he

know that

Jesus not only

knows that this

woman is a sinner,

but he also

knows exactly

what this Pharisee

is thinking

at that moment.

And so Jesus

addresses him

by name

in verses 40 to 43.

Simon,

I have something

to say to you.

And he answered,

say it, teacher.

A certain money

lender had two

debtors,

one owed

500 denarii

and the other

50.

When they 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 a larger

debt.

And he said to him,

you have judged

rightly.

The parable is

simple, right?

A denarius is a

common laborer's

day's worth

of wage.

So one has

two months

of wage

canceled,

the other

one has

almost two

years of

debt

canceled.

And when

neither of them

could pay,

this money lender

cancels the

debt of both.

That's a

shocking twist

to this story

because that's

not what

money lenders

typically do.

They might

let you finance

your loan so

that you could

get a better

interest rate.

They might

let you pay

off your loans

with years of

service instead,

maybe, for

example, like

through military

service or

being an

educator in

the public

sector.

But they

will not

cancel your

debt outright.

They will

hound you

until they

get every

penny with

interest.

That's what

money lenders

do.

Yet here,

this money

lender,

whose picture

of God,

he cancels

the debt.

And the

result is that

these debtors

love this

generous and

merciful money

lender.

And the

one who

was canceled

the larger

debt loves

him more.

Then Jesus

explains this

parable in

verses 44

to 47.

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

wet my feet

with her tears

and wiped

them with her

hair.

You gave

me no kiss.

But from

the time I

came and

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,

her sins,

which are

many,

are forgiven.

For she

loved much,

but he

was forgiven

little,

loves little.

By turning

to the

woman while

addressing

Simon,

she just

focuses

Simon's

attention

on this

woman.

And then

he proceeds

to command

the sinner

instead of

the Pharisee,

implying that

this sinner

is closer

to God

than this

Pharisee

because of

her humility.

And because

she was

fervent in

her devotion

to Jesus

in comparison

to Simon's

lukewarm

reception of

Jesus,

since he

has

neglected

to extend

the courtesy

of washing

Jesus' feet,

or giving

him a kiss

on the

cheek,

or anointing

his head

with oil.

Simon

secretly

passed

judgment

on this

woman and

despised

this sinful

woman,

but Jesus

now enjoins

him to

follow her

example

because

her sins,

which are

many,

are forgiven

for she

loved much.

Now,

this does

not mean

that our

love for

God is

the basis

for our

forgiveness.

Forgiveness

comes first

as we can

see in

Jesus'

comment

afterward.

But he

who is

forgiven

little

loves

little.

The

other

statement

is also

true.

He was

forgiven

much

loves

much.

In

other

words,

the

sinful

woman's

love

for

Jesus

gives

evidence

of the

forgiveness

that she

has

already

received.

It's

similar to

how we

might say,

hey,

it's

snowing

outside

because

the ground

has snow

on it.

the

snow on

the ground

is not

what causes

the snow

to come

down,

but it's

how we

know that

snow is

coming down

when the

flurries are

too small

and you

can't see

it.

It's

the

evidence.

So

likewise,

here,

the woman's

sins are

forgiven

for she

loved

much.

The

love that

she has

shown is

the evidence

of the

forgiveness

she has

already

received.

And

there's

a

rebuke

here for

Simon

as well,

isn't

there?

Since

according to

the

parable,

he is

the

debtor

who

is

forgiven

little

and

therefore

loves

little.

That's

not a

compliment.

Hey,

you don't

have that

many sins,

so you

only have

to be

forgiven

a little

bit.

That's

not what

Jesus

is

saying.

That's

not the

point

of this

parable.

Jesus

is

referring

to

the

fact

that

it's

not

that

he

actually

has

little

sin

to

repent

of.

It's

not

that

he's

actually

slaved.

It's

that

he does

not

recognize

how

indebted

he

really

is

because

of

his

pride.

He

sees

other

people

as

sinners

but

not

himself.

And

precisely

because

he does

not

apprehend

the

depth

of

his

own

sinfulness,

he

doesn't

appreciate

the

depth

of

God's

mercy.

Then

finally

in

verse

48

Jesus

speaks

directly

to

the

woman

herself.

She's

not

supposed

to be

part

of

this

conversation.

She's

just

the

fly

on

the

wall.

But

Jesus

turns

to

her,

speaks

to

her,

your

sins

are

forgiven.

The

verb

forgive

here

in

verse

48

as

well

as

in

verse

47

is

in

the

perfect

tense.

Her

sins

have

been

forgiven.

Jesus

referring

to

forgiveness

that's

already

been

dispensed

and

received.

He's

now

authoritatively

pronouncing

the

forgiveness

as a

confirmation

to her.

To use

the

analogy

that

Jesus

uses,

he is

giving

her

the

receipt

of

payment

for

her

debt

even

though

she

hasn't

paid

anything

back.

And

this

causes

a

stir

in

verse

49.

Then

those

who

were

at

table

with

him

began

to

say

among

themselves,

who

is

this

who

even

forgives

sin?

And

he

said

to

the

woman,

your

faith

has

saved

you.

Go

in

peace.

That's

the

key

word,

faith.

It's

not her

love

and

devotion

that

saved

her,

but her

faith

in

Jesus

Christ

and

in

his

saving

grace

that

saved

her.

The

verb

translated

as

cancel

in

verses

42

to

43,

referring

to

canceling

debt,

is

the

verbal

form

of

the

noun,

the

word

that

means

grace.

It's

the

free

bestowal

of

something,

something

unearned,

unmerited,

yet given

freely

as a

gift.

It

points

to the

spiritual

reality

that

salvation

is a

gift

from

God

and

not

that

we

are

to

receive

humbly

and

gratefully

with

empty

hands.

Salvation

is not

a wage

to be

earned

with

our

hard

work

or

our

good

works.

Verse 42

says

specifically

when

they

could

not

pay

he

canceled

the

debt

of

both.

Some

of you

are not

yet

followers

of

Jesus

Christ.

Maybe

you think

that you're

a pretty

good

person.

You

think

that by

living a

relatively

moral

life

that you

can earn

your

ticket

to

heaven

but

God's

word

tells

us

that you

owe

a

debt

that you

cannot

repay.

Every

single

one of

us

has

rebelled

against

God.

We

have

disbelieved

in

his

existence

at

one

point.

We

have

flouted

his

authority.

We

have

presumed

to be

masters

of our

own

fate

and we

have

violated

his

laws

and we

have

lived

selfishly

for

our

own

glory

instead

of

living

for

God

as

he

created

us

to

do.

I

wish

I could

convince

all of

you

you

can't

repay

the

debt

of

sin.

We

owe

too

much

money.

We

have

run

out

of

money.

Many

of us

know what

it feels

like to

have

debt

that we

will be

paying off

for many

many years

because

there's a lot

of schools

in this

area.

debt.

But not

many of

us

know

what it

feels to

be

overwhelmed

by

insurmountable

debt.

Debt

that we

have no

hope of

repaying.

Hopelessness.

Despair.

Shame.

Failure.

That's all

of us.

And where

will the

payment come

from?

Jesus

teaches us

here that

when we

cannot pay,

God

graces us

with his

lavish

forgiveness.

God

himself

assumes

our debt,

absorbs the

loss

himself.

he does

this by

sending

his only

son,

Jesus

Christ,

to die

on the

cross for

our sins,

to pay

the price

for our

forgiveness.

Then God

the Father

raises Jesus

from the

dead as

proof that

his payment

has been

accepted.

As proof

of our

forgiveness,

our freedom.

Our sins,

they are

many,

but his

mercy is

more,

as one

song says.

As Romans

5.20

says,

when sin

increased,

grace

abounded

all the

more.

Believing

this truth

and entrusting

your life to

Jesus Christ

is what we

call faith.

And those

who have

faith in

Jesus

could hear

today the

assurance that

Jesus gives

to this

sinful woman.

Your faith

has saved

you.

Go

in peace.

That's the

step that

our sister

Leah is

going to

take today

by getting

baptized.

And she'll

be able to

walk away

today hearing

those words

from our

Savior.

Your faith

has saved

you.

Go in

peace.

The biblical

concept of

peace represents

so much more

than the

absence of

conflict.

It means

reconciliation

with God.

It means

restoration to

right relationship

with him

and his

plan for

your life.

It means

rest in

the finished

work of

Jesus Christ

rather than

restlessly

trying to

save yourself

in vain.

Restlessly

trying to

find meaning

for yourself,

validation for

yourself.

Have you

experienced

this salvation?

God?

Do you

love God

as a result?

Are you

grateful to

him?

Because this

passage is

teaching us

that that's

what faith

looks like.

This passage

has wonderful

application for

those who are

already followers

of Jesus as

well.

Because God

calls us to

keep his

commandments,

yes, but he

calls us to

much more than

that.

He calls us to

love him.

That's the

greatest

commandment.

Do you

love him

with all

your heart,

all your

soul, all

your mind,

and all

your strength?

Are you

lacking in

zeal for

God?

Are you

struggling in

your acts of

devotion to

God?

Jesus teaches

us here that

a principle

that governs

the whole of

our spiritual

life.

It's God's

lavish

forgiveness

of our

sins that

produces

lavish love

and service

unto God.

Your lack

of zeal for

God, your

lukewarm

affections for

God, your

waning love

for God, it's

directly

proportionate to

your awareness

of God's

love for you

expressed in

his free

forgiveness

through Jesus

Christ.

That's why

we shouldn't

wallow in our

guilt and be

dejected by

our sins.

brothers and

sisters in

Christ.

Let your

sins drive

you toward

the bosom of

our Savior.

Because where

sin increases,

grace abounds

all the more.

I quoted

this in my

sermon last

spring, but

it's worth

quoting again.

In his

autobiography

entitled

Confessions,

the fourth

century pastor

theologian

Augustine

writes this.

He says,

the recalling

of my wicked

ways is

bitter in my

memory, but

I do it so

that you may

be sweeter

to me.

if you're a

believer, you

know what I'm

talking about.

I despise my

sins.

There's

nothing in the

world I hate

more than my

own sins to

hide the face

of God and

displeases my

Savior.

fear.

Yet in the

midst of it,

when I confess

it to the

Lord, how

sweet, how

sweet is the

grace of God

that comes to

me.

When I come

to him as

an impoverished

sinner, how

sweet is the

grace that

comes to us.

He forgives

me and

cancels all

my debt.

Does it make

you want to

pour out all

that you have

ever owned to

anoint Jesus'

feet?

Doesn't that

make you want to

embrace the

embarrassment and

dishonor of

disheveled hair,

dirt-caked hair,

for the sake of

Jesus, if it

means you can

render service to

him, honor him,

and serve him?

Isn't that the

case for you

brothers and

sisters?

brothers?

And that's

why confession

of sin is

such an

important

practice.

Because it

leads us to

Christ.

It forces us

to come to

terms with

the graveness

of our sins

and comforts

us with the

lavishness of

God's grace

and forgiveness.

That's why

later in Luke

11, 4,

Jesus teaches

us to pray

like this

daily.

He says,

forgive us

our sins,

for we

ourselves

forgive everyone

who is

indebted to

us.

If we

humble ourselves

before God

by acknowledging

our own sins,

we won't be

haughty before

other people

and stand in

sinful judgment

over them.

This was the

Pharisee's

problem.

Because he

hadn't quite

confronted his

own sinfulness,

he stood in

sinful judgment

over this woman.

and he was

unable to

anticipate the

grace of God

extended to

the sinful

woman.

So God's

lavish forgiveness

of our sins

produces lavish

love for God.

It also

produces lavish

service to

God.

And that's

what we see

in the brief

examples of

chapter 8,

verses 1 to

3.

Please read it

with me again.

Soon afterward,

he went on

through cities

and villages

proclaiming and

bringing the

good news of

the kingdom of

God.

And the 12

were with him

and also some

women who had

been healed of

evil spirits

and infirmities.

Mary, called

Magdalene, from

whom seven

demons had gone

out, and

Joanna, the

wife of

Chusa, Herod's

household manager,

and Susanna and

many others who

provided for them

out of their

means.

remember in

Luke 6, 17,

we saw three

kind of concentric

circles of

followers that

were with

Jesus.

The first, the

most smallest

and intimate

circle was the

12 apostles.

And behind

that, there

were the

larger group

of disciples,

those who

followed him

and believed

in him.

And then

larger than

that was

the crowds

that had

questions,

skeptics,

people who

don't yet

follow Jesus

as their

Lord.

And here

it seems,

we expect

to see the

12 apostles

with him,

but they

only get a

brief mention.

But Luke

specifically

notes that

there were

women among