Welcoming Jesus Luke 7v36-50

Starting at verse 36, it's up on the screen.

If you have the Red Church Bibles, it's on 1036.

1036.

Now, one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him.

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

When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house,

she brought an alabaster jar of perfume.

And as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears.

Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself,

If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is, that she is a sinner.

Jesus answered him,

Simon, I have something to tell you.

Tell me, teacher, he said.

Two men owed money to a certain money lender.

One owed him 500 denarii and the other 50.

Neither of them had the money to pay him back.

So he cancelled the debts of both.

Now which of them will love him more?

Simon replied,

I suppose the one who had the bigger debt cancelled.

You have judged correctly, Jesus said.

Then he turned towards the woman and said to Simon,

Do you see this woman?

I came into your house.

You did not give me any water for my feet,

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

You did not give me a kiss,

but this woman from the time I entered has not stopped kissing my feet.

You did not put oil on my head,

but she has poured perfume on my feet.

Therefore I tell you,

her many sins have been forgiven,

for she loved much.

But he who has been forgiven little,

loves little.

Then Jesus said to her,

Your sins are forgiven.

The other guests began to say among themselves,

Who is this who even forgives sins?

Jesus said to the woman,

Your faith has saved you.

Go in peace.

Thanks, Connor.

I haven't got little notes for you today,

but there are pens,

and I think Sam is going to distribute them.

If you want to take notes,

you can use the back side of your new sheet,

and write things down there if you wish.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Thanks, Sam.

Well, let's pray and ask for God's help to us.

Father, thank you for Luke,

the author of this account of the Lord Jesus.

Thank you that we have it in our language,

and that we have the freedom to meet here today,

and think about it,

reflect on it.

But we want to do more than that.

We want to encounter the Lord Jesus,

just as these people encountered you.

And as we encounter the Lord Jesus,

we want to be changed,

to be the people you have called us to be,

the people that you desire us to be.

So, Father, would you do your work in our lives today?

Do a radical transformation

in only ways that you can do.

We ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen.

The Pharisees,

they really don't like Jesus,

and they really don't like the people,

or the situations Jesus finds himself in.

Remember the people Jesus had met back in chapter 5?

You might want to look back there, chapter 5.

There were the fishermen.

Then there was the man with the skin disease

that no one could touch.

Then there was the paralytic,

left outside,

the unwelcomed ones.

And then it all boils over

in verses, chapter 5, verse 27,

when Jesus meets Levi, the tax collector,

and calls him to follow him.

Let's read verse 29.

Then Levi held a great banquet

for Jesus at his house,

and a large crowd of tax collectors

and others were eating with them.

But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law

who belonged to their sect

complained to his disciples,

Why do you eat and drink

with tax collectors and sinners?

And they kept up their complaint.

Verse 33.

They said to him, to Jesus,

that is,

John's disciples often fast and pray,

and so did the disciples of the Pharisees,

but yours go on eating and drinking.

I think it's safe to say

that the Pharisees and Jesus

are not Facebook friends.

So it comes as a surprise

when in chapter 7, verse 36,

we read

that one of the Pharisees

invited Jesus

to have dinner with him.

And perhaps even more of a surprise

that Jesus went to the Pharisees' house

and reclined at the table.

You see, the Pharisees

were good religious folk.

They were highly respected

within their communities.

They were keepers of the religious law.

And the primary way of keeping the law,

well, was to keep away from the sinners,

the outsiders,

those untouchables.

Sinners were like a contagious disease,

something to avoid at all costs.

You see,

their understanding was

if you could keep yourself pure,

uncontaminated,

then the chances are

God is going to welcome you.

God is going to bring the kingdom.

But this Jesus character

has arrived

and upset their thinking.

He's been claiming to be God.

He's breaking all their rules.

And the shocking reality is

Jesus spends all his time

with the untouchable sinners.

Rather than avoid them,

he welcomes them.

Rather than condemn and judge them,

Jesus stops,

it seems,

goes out of his way

to eat and drink with them.

In fact,

Jesus sums up

what he came to do

and what people think of him

in verse 34.

If you just go back a verse

or to chapter 7,

verse 34,

he says,

the Son of Man,

speaking about himself,

came eating and drinking.

And you say,

here is a glutton and a drunkard,

a friend of tax collectors

and sinners.

That's how Jesus summarises

his mission.

One who comes eating and drinking,

one who's a friend of tax collectors

and sinners.

Is Jesus really like this?

Have we understood correctly

what he came to do?

Well, Luke recounts this story

to tell us that this is exactly

what Jesus does.

You see,

as Luke tells this story,

as he recounts this event to us,

it's as if Luke is saying,

look,

come on,

come with me.

You're also invited

to this dinner.

I want you to accompany

the Lord Jesus

and I want you to watch

the people.

Listen to how they respond.

Listen to the conversations

that take place.

And as we sit in on this meal,

we will discover

that it's not the religious

respectable who are accepted

and welcomed,

but those who accept

and welcome Jesus.

It's not the religious

respectable who are accepted

and welcomed,

but those who accept

and welcome Jesus.

We're going to look at

three big ideas

from this dinner.

First,

the devotion Jesus deserves.

You can picture the scene here.

You've got all the honoured

and privileged guests

that's been invited

and in amongst them all

is Jesus.

He's been invited too.

As was the custom,

in those days,

people would sit on the floor

to eat their food.

You would rest in some ways,

perhaps with your head

on your left elbow,

leaning in like this,

and you would use your right hand

to use bread

and scoop it into the food

that was there

and to drink away.

And your body would be positioned

in such a way

that your feet

pointed away

from the food area.

Everything seems to be going well,

enjoying the food,

enjoying the company.

Verse 37.

When a woman

who had lived

a sinful life

in that town

learned that Jesus

was eating

at the Pharisee's house,

she brought

an alabaster jar

of perfume.

Now let's be clear.

This is not

a respectable woman.

She has lived,

we're told,

a sinful life.

Three times

we're told,

we're not even told

her name.

She's just told

that she's a sinner.

That many times

she has sinned.

The implication is

that she's a woman

who's known

in the town.

She is the town's

prostitute.

An unwelcome intruder,

if ever there was one,

to a meal

with a Pharisee.

Her very presence

contaminated the house.

Those eating

ran the risk

of becoming

impure

and unacceptable.

You can imagine

them all flinching,

moving.

But Jesus

remains unmoved.

Unflinching,

he lets this

sinful woman

touch him.

Verse 38.

And as she

stood behind him

at his feet

weeping,

she began

to wet

his feet

with her tears.

Then she

wiped them

with her hair,

kissed them

and poured

perfume on them.

The intrusion

is bad enough.

Now it's

become embarrassing.

This woman

starts crying

and wiping

the dirty dust

off Jesus'

feet with her hair.

Why doesn't

someone do

something?

perhaps they're

all afraid

to touch her.

Who knows

who she was

with last

night?

Maybe they

can't believe

Jesus'

acceptance of her.

But she's

not finished.

This woman

has spared

no expense.

She has

bought a

jar of

alabaster

perfume.

Her life

savings

from her

work.

And she

pours it

on his feet.

Why?

What's she

doing?

Well,

she's obviously

heard about

Jesus.

She knows

that Jesus

has been

invited to

his house.

She knows

that this

Jesus is

the one

who welcomes

sinners.

That's

why she

comes.

And so

this sinful

woman

pours out

her devotion

in the

only way

that she

can.

You see,

her devotion

is an

expression

of her

welcome.

She

treats

Jesus in

such a

way that

Simon the

host

should have

treated

Jesus.

Look at

verse 44.

Then

Jesus

turned

towards

the woman

and said

to Simon,

do you

see this

woman?

Well,

what an

understatement.

She

couldn't be

avoided,

could she?

I came

into

your

house.

You

did not

give me

any water

for my

feet,

but

she

wet my

feet with

her tears

and wiped

them with

her hair.

You

did not

give me

a kiss,

but this

woman,

from the

time I

entered,

has not

stopped

kissing my

feet.

You

did not

put oil

on my

head,

but she

has poured

perfume on

my feet.

feet.

You

see,

as the

host,

it was

expected

that you,

or certainly

at least

one of

your

servants,

would wash

the feet

of the

guests and

put a bit

of olive

oil,

a way of

freshening

up.

So,

perhaps this

was an

intentional

slight on

Jesus,

a kind of

social snub.

you're

invited,

Jesus,

to the

house,

but,

you know,

let's be

clear here,

you're not

welcome.

And Jesus

turns it

all on

its head,

as they

all look

at this

woman

weeping.

It's as if

Jesus is

saying to

Simon,

this is

your house.

You

invited me,

you sent

the invitation,

but see

this woman,

well,

she's acted

as the

true host.

She has

welcomed me

because she

knows who

I am.

Simon,

if you

really knew

who I

was,

well,

you would

welcome me

too.

You see,

this sinful

woman bothers

me.

Does she

bother you?

There's no

hiding who

she is.

There's no

masks,

there's no

cover-up,

the clothes

are a dead

giveaway.

She knows

that everybody

knows what

she does.

But it

doesn't stop

her.

In

shameless,

extravagant

devotion,

she welcomes

Jesus.

and it

bothers me

because

that's not

me.

Because when

I come to

Jesus,

I like to

come

presentable,

reminding

myself of

how good

I've been

and how

I've managed

not to

fail or

fall and

proud that

I haven't

slipped up

and,

well,

certainly not

in public

anyway,

and don't

have any

major sins

to confess.

But if I

am to

truly know

Jesus,

well,

then I

need to

learn to

become like

this sinful

woman,

without any

pretense,

shameless,

risking it

all,

entering into

the house

where she

could have

been kicked

out.

I need

to become

like this

sinful woman

because,

well,

you and

I,

we're all

sinful,

and we

all need

Jesus.

Second,

there's the

forgiveness

that Jesus

gives.

Simon the

Pharisee is

disgusted

with Jesus'

lack of

response.

Look at

verse 39.

When the

Pharisee who

had invited

him saw

this,

he said

to himself,

if this

man were

a prophet,

he would

know who

is touching

him and

what kind

of woman

she is,

that she's

a sinner.

It's bad

enough that

this sinful

woman has

gate-crashed

his dinner

and invaded

his privacy.

But what's

worse is

that Jesus

has done

nothing about

it.

He's been

walking around

claiming to

be God.

He should

have rebuked

her,

condemned

her,

pushed her

away.

Instead,

Jesus lets

her filthy,

dirty hands

touch him.

How dare

he?

be.

You see,

Simon is

not interested

in welcoming

Jesus.

He's more

interested in

setting a

standard that

Jesus might

take note

of.

We're

beginning to

get the

impression that

the dinner

has been

orchestrated in

such a way

to, well,

maybe teach

Jesus a

thing or

two about

how he

should behave.

If Jesus

is who he

claims to

be, well,

then he

would have

kicked her

out.

But that's

not why

Jesus has

come.

Jesus came,

remember,

to eat and

drink with

sinners because

people like

you and me

desperately

need Jesus.

So often

we can be

busy seeking

approval,

can't we?

keeping a

mental account

of how

often we've

served through

the week,

just totting it

up and all

the different

people that

we've helped

and the

money that

we've given

and the

organisations

that we've

supported and

just to make

sure we don't

forget, well,

we just kind of

accidentally let

it slip.

I've been so

busy this week,

as if busyness

equated with

holiness.

holiness.

If only

others were

like me.

Well,

Jesus comes

not for that

kind of

person,

but for

those who

live messy

and broken

lives.

For those

who fall

and can't

seem to

break their

sinful habits,

who try

harder only

to fail

again and

again.

He's not

impressed by

our approval

seeking.

He's not

impressed by

the cover-ups,

the masks

that we put

on as we

gather together

and sing our

worship songs

and the fake

smile we put

on as we

answer people's

questions.

I'm fine.

He longs to

come with

people who

come as

they are.

people who

need

forgiveness.

You see,

Jesus knows

our hearts

better than

we know

ourselves.

Look at

verse 40.

Jesus

answered him.

Well,

how did

Jesus know?

Remember,

he said it

to himself,

didn't he,

in verse 39.

Poor Simon,

he's really

on edge now,

isn't he?

Because Jesus

knows what

he's thinking.

Simon,

I have

something to

tell you.

Oh,

tell me,

teacher,

he said,

as if he

could teach

me anything.

Two men

owed money

to a certain

money lender.

One owed him

500 denarii,

about 18

months'

wages,

so a

significant

amount of

money,

and the

other 50,

about six

weeks.

Significant,

but certainly

not as much.

Neither of

them had the

money to pay

him back,

so he

cancelled the

debts of

both.

Now,

which of

them will

love him

more?

Simon replied,

well,

I suppose the

one who had

the bigger debt

cancelled.

You have

judged

correctly,

Jesus said.

it's a

simple,

simple story,

but deeply

challenging.

If someone

forgives you,

you love

them.

If someone

forgives you

a lot,

you love

them a lot.

And the

point is,

this sinful

woman loves

Jesus,

because she

has received

forgiveness.

She loves

Jesus a lot,

that explains

her devotion,

because he

has forgiven

her a lot.

Verse 47,

therefore,

I tell you,

her many

sins have

been forgiven,

for she

loved much.

But he

who has

been forgiven

little,

loves little.

Then Jesus

said to her,

your sins

are forgiven.

The other

guests began

to say

amongst

themselves,

who is

this,

who even

forgives

sins?

And Jesus

said to the

woman,

your faith

has saved

you,

go in

peace.

You see,

it's not her

devotion

that saves.

It's not her

extravagance

that saves,

as she

pours out

all that she

has for

Jesus.

It's not,

it's not just

her love

that saves.

In her

faith,

it's her

faith,

verse 50,

that Jesus

alone can

forgive

sins.

This sinful

woman knows

that Jesus

is the true

friend of

sinners.

She comes

to him

because he

is the one

who will

forgive her.

He won't

misuse her

or abuse

her.

He will

forgive her.

He won't

refuse her

or reject

her.

Jesus

will

welcome

her.

Her

love,

her

devotion,

her

extravagance

is because

she has

been forgiven.

She has

received

forgiveness

from Jesus.

Jesus.

Third,

the change

that Jesus

makes.

The story

is here

to tell us

that just

as the

woman

received

forgiveness,

we too

can all

be forgiven

of our

many sins.

The known

sins

and the

secret

sins.

The ones

we don't

want anybody

to know.

You see,

this little

story that

Jesus tells

in verses

41 to

42

about the

debts

being

cancelled.

Well,

it's a much

bigger story,

a much

bigger picture,

isn't it?

Of what

would happen

when Jesus

went to

the cross.

When Jesus

would pay

the debt

of my

sin and

your sin.

He would

take the

punishment

that you

and I

deserve.

He would

take the

hit for

you and

for me.

He would

cancel the

debt,

wipe the

slate clean

and no

longer hold

it against

us.

And in

case we're

struggling to

grasp the

enormity of

that,

let me

read to

you something

from Psalm

103.

Familiar

words.

He does

not treat

us as

our sins

deserve,

or repay

us according

to our

iniquities.

For as

high as

the heavens

are above

the earth,

so great

is his

love for

those who

fear him.

As far

as the

east is

from the

west,

an eternity

of space,

so far

as he

removed

our

transgressions

from us.

He wipes

it away,

every

deep and

secret sin,

everything

that we

think,

no,

Jesus

couldn't

deal with

that,

he deals

with at

the cross.

Now the

thing is,

if we

have received

and experienced

this forgiveness,

it will

radically

change your

life.

It will

transform you.

In some

ways it's

the tester

to know

that we

have been

forgiven.

If we've

received

forgiveness,

it will

affect us

in two

ways.

First,

you will

have a

deep

love

for others.

You will

have a

deep

love

for others.

Look at

verse 47.

Jesus

says,

Therefore I

tell you,

her many

sins have

been forgiven

for she

loved much.

But he

who has

been forgiven

little,

loves

little.

That's

the problem

with Simon,

isn't it?

He loves

little because

he's been

forgiven

little.

Not that

he just

has little

sins and

there's no

big sins

to confess.

It's because

he can't

see how

great his

sin is.

That's his

problem.

And as a

result he

has no

love for

this sinful

woman who's

come bursting

into his

house.

She's to

be avoided,

ignored,

removed,

pushed out,

given a

kick.

You see,

sinful lives

like this

sinful woman

are broken

and messy.

They're

complicated.

And when we

look out

sometimes we

think,

well,

they're the

very kind

of people

we just

want to

avoid.

because it's

messy.

And it's

going to

cost us

our time

and our

personal space

if we get

involved.

It's going

to interrupt

my plans

and the

things that

I want

to do.

But when

we have

received

forgiveness,

when we

look at the

cross and

we see

Christ

who is

hanging there

for me

and see

how God

has cancelled

my sin

debt

and I

see

the cost

of it

all,

then I

will love

much

because I

have been

forgiven

much.

We will

care

and we

will invest

our lives

intentionally

into people.

We will

give our

time and

we'll open

our homes

and we'll

welcome and

there will

be nobody

who we

will ever

refuse and

we'll never

look at

anybody and

say,

sorry,

I haven't

got the

time because

well,

it's too

messy.

Forgiven

lots

and we

will love

lots.

But there's

another way in

which it will

change us.

Not just

love for

others,

but peace

for life.

Did you

get Jesus'

words at

the end,

that final

departing

word?

It's

amazing.

Jesus said

to the

woman,

your face

has saved

you.

Go in

peace.

Think about

this woman

for a minute.

She's lived

a life of

personal guilt

and public

shame.

Guilt is

when you

live with

your own

sin.

But shame

is when

everybody else

knows about

that sin.

She

couldn't walk

down the

street in

her town

without people

passing comment.

Her life

was ruled

by what

others said

and what

others thought

of her.

God

was

forgiven.

But now

she meets

Jesus

and that

changed

everything.

Go

in peace.

No longer

burdened by

her past.

No longer

having to

sneak out

at night.

No longer

afraid of

what others

would think

or say.

Well,

she was

now forgiven.

She was a

daughter of

God,

accepted and

welcomed.

how many

of us

continue to

live with

the shame

of the

past?

Avoiding

eye contact

in case

people ask

that question?

Keeping

busy so

that we

don't have

to talk?

Afraid

to step

out and

get involved?

Always

thinking,

what if?

what if

they find

out?

You see,

when we

face up

to our

sin,

like this

woman,

when we

run to

Jesus in

extravagant

devotion,

when we

receive and

experience

his

forgiveness,

hear the

words of

Jesus,

go in

peace.

peace.

No

longer

held back

by what

others

think or

say.

No

longer

controlled

by the

sins of

past,

but now

set free

to go

and love

and care

and welcome

others.

to

peace.

This

woman

really

bothers

me

because

she does

what I

should do

and I

don't do

it.

Too

busy

hiding,

too

busy

covering

up,

afraid of

what others

will think

if I

express my

love for

Jesus in

public

and talk

about him.

I need

to look at

the cross

again and

maybe that's

where we all

need to come

and see

Christ and

see the

forgiveness

that we

have received.

For those

who are

forgiven

lots,

love

lots

and can

go in

peace

set free

from their

past,

given a

future

to go

and love

and care

and welcome.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.

Thank you.