FORGIVEN MUCH—LOVING MUCH – Luke 7:36-50
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on February 6, 2011 under 2011 |
Preached Sunday, February 6, 2011
from
Luke 7:36-50
Theme: The greatness of our love for Jesus reveals how sincerely we recognize Him as the one who forgives our sins.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
Bethany Bible Church; February 6, 2011
The Gospel writer Luke tells us a story of something that happened early in the earthly ministry of our Lord. Jesus had just spoken to the Pharisees and experts in the law about their own testimony concerning Him—that, among other things, He was "a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Luke 7:35).
They, of course, didn’t mean that as a compliment. But He, nevertheless, went on to prove it to be true; because as Luke goes on to tell us;
Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.” “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace" (Luk3 7:36-50).
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Someone has suggested that this morning’s passage is the "Mona Lisa" of the Bible1. Just as Leonardo’s Mona Lisa is the most beautiful portrait of all the paintings in the Louvre, there’s no more beautiful portrait of faith in the saving grace of Jesus Christ to be found in Scripture than that of this humble woman—completely forgiven of her life of sin, and deeply in love with the One who forgave her. And I believe it’s a very good passage for us to study this morning as we prepare ourselves for the communion meal.
It’s possible, you see, for us to come to the Lord’s table in a way that is far too much like the Pharisee in the story. We might come as if we’re glad to have an opportunity to come to the table of fellowship with the Lord Jesus—but not as if we really need anything from Him. We might easily come as "righteous" people; and think that the very fact of our coming is a celebration of our own righteousness. We might easily forget that, when we come to the Lord’s table, we are coming to have fellowship with Him who was called "the Friend of sinners"—and that we truly are just the sort of helpless, needy sinners who could really use a friend like Him!
The key to this morning’s passage—and I would say a key to the right attitude in coming to the Lord’s table this morning—is Jesus’ words in verse 47. He praised the woman who came to Him, rather than the Pharisee who had invited Him, "for she loved much"; and He then added, "But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." And I suggest that the degree of passion with which we come together to the Lord’s table this morning—and the intensity of our grateful love toward Him—is an indicator of how much we sincerely recognize the love He has shown to us in forgiving our own personal sins, and in laying down His life for our own personal salvation.
The woman in this morning’s passage sets the example for us. She’s a biblical ‘portrait’ of faith in the saving grace of Jesus. And I ask that we take a closer look at her approach to the Lord Jesus, and learn how the greatness of our love for Jesus reveals how sincerely we recognize Him as the one who forgives our sins.
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The Bible tells us that she was "a woman in the city who was a sinner". Even though the Bible doesn’t come out and say what the nature of her sin was, we can make a pretty safe guess about it.
And there must have been a part of the story that isn’t told to us in the Bible. It must have been that, somewhere—shortly before the time of this story—Jesus met her, tenderly confronted her sinful lifestyle, revealed Himself to her as the Savior from sin, and—upon her faith in Him—completely forgave her. It must have been that all the horrible burden of the guilt of sin—perhaps accumulated years of guilt and shame because of the sinfulness of her vocation—was washed away; and that, for the first time in her life, she felt clean inside. It must have been that she felt free—at long last—to walk away from her life of sin, and live as the woman God made her to be.
And it must also have been that she learned that Jesus would be dining at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. The desire to go to Him and express her deep love and appreciation for what He did for her rose up within her. And so, the Bible tells us that "when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house", she "brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil" and went to where He was.
Meanwhile, there was the Pharisee. We learn from later in the story that his name was Simon. He was a religious leader and an expert in following the Old Testament law. He desired to see Jesus too. But his reason for doing so was far different from that of the woman. It was still early in Jesus’ earthly ministry; and it seems that he wanted to bring Jesus to his house—in part, at least—so that he and some of his fellow Pharisees could examine Him firsthand and see if the things that people were saying about Him were true. Was He really a prophet of God?
And so; Jesus went to eat at the house of Simon the Pharisee. In those days, people didn’t sit at a table like we do today. They reclined on a couch with their head to the table and their feet behind them; resting on their left arm and using their right hand to take food. And as Jesus reclined to eat, all of these people—the woman, the Pharisee, and the gracious Lord Jesus—were brought together so that we can learn an important lesson about forgiveness of sins and love for the Savior.
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First, consider this woman and . . .
1. HER GRATEFUL APPROACH TO JESUS (vv. 36-38).
I don’t believe personally that she would ever have done what she did, if she hadn’t first met Jesus and been forgiven by Him. The Bible tells us that "when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house", she "brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil" and came to where Jesus was.
Now; just stop and think of what an act of courage that was. She was a sinner! She wouldn’t be welcomed in the home of a righteous Pharisee! And yet, knowing that she would be looked upon with contempt, she nevertheless came. She came in spite of the condemnation she might receive from the Pharisee—the representative of the righteousness that is through the law; and went right past him to Jesus—the Forgiver of her sin according to grace.
Jesus was more obedient to the law than the Pharisee; and yet, she came, not to the Pharisee, but to Him. And she came to Him, not out of fear, but in confident love. And this reminds us that Jesus, the righteous Son of God, truly is the Friend of sinners. He gave this invitation:
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).
The woman took Him up on this offer; and came boldly and confidently to Him who gave rest to her soul. What a great example she is to us as we come to the Lord’s supper this morning!
* * * * * * * * * *
And then, she did a series of things that would have been shocking to see! She "stood at His feet behind Him weeping" . . . " Given the context, they’d have to have been tears of grateful love and joy over how much He had forgiven her. But then, "she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wipe them with the hair of her head . . ." In those days, it was a scandalous thing for a woman to even loosen her hair in public. And then, "she kissed His feet . . ." The word that’s used refers, not to just any old kiss, but to a deeply affectionate kiss. And it’s put in the form of the verb that means she was kissing His feet in this way repeatedly. And finally, she "anointed" the Lord’s feet "with the fragrant oil". The bottle she brought in was made of alabaster; and was something very precious and expensive. Once it was broken, the entire contents of the bottle had to be used immediately. And so, she emptied the entire bottle of this expensive ‘fragrant oil’ upon Jesus’ feet.
The room would have been filled with the smell of the fragrant oil—and with the sense of shock over all that was happening. This was scandalous—the way this sinful woman was touching Jesus! Her actions toward Him were very intimate and personal; and were probably making everyone else in at the table feel very uncomfortable.
But what’s wonderful is that the Lord Jesus didn’t stop her. He didn’t pull His feet away from her tears or her hair. He didn’t stop her kisses or gently push her away from His feet and say, "There there, now; you’re making a scene. A simple ‘thank you’ will do just fine." He didn’t prevent her from snapping open that very expensive bottle of fragrant oil and say, "Oh no, dear woman; you’re taking things too far. Now that you’re no longer in your former line of business, you should go out and sell that bottle; because you’ll need the money." Her expressions of gratitude to Him might have seemed weird to everyone else; but it was just right for her. And Jesus welcomed every bit of it from her.
As we draw near to the Lord’s table this morning, let’s remember what Jesus said;
"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37).
When Jesus washes us of our sins, we’re no longer "unclean" in His sight. He welcomes us just as we are, and receives our grateful expressions of love—even if others do not.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; of course, the Pharisee wasn’t seeing things this way. He had invited Jesus to his house in order to find out whether or not He was truly a prophet of God. And as far as he was concerned, this was settling the matter. He spoke to himself and said, "This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner" (v. 37). He assumed that a true man of God would never allow such a sinful woman to touch him in such an intimate way. And since Jesus was allowing it, He must not even be able to recognize what a sinner she was; and thus, He must not be a prophet at all.
But Jesus then goes on to show that He not only knew what a sinner the woman was, but also what the Pharisee was saying in his own heart! Jesus was a prophet—and more than a prophet! He, as it says in John 2:24-25, "knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man."
He clearly knew what kind of woman this was. He even admits later in this passage that her sins were "many". And this leads us, next, to consider . . .
2. JESUS’ GRACIOUS AFFIRMATION OF HER (vv. 39-47).
Jesus suddenly interrupted the Pharisee’s self-talk and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And the Pharisee—perhaps thinking that he was successfully concealing his thoughts from the Lord—said, "Teacher, say it" (v. 40).
Then Jesus went on to speak a parable that was, frankly, so obvious that it might have even insulted Simon’s intelligence. He told of a certain "creditor" who had two men in debt to him. One man owed the creditor a very large amount—"five hundred denarii". A denarii was an average working man’s daily hire; and so this would work out, in our day, to well over $100,000 of debt. The other man owed the creditor "fifty denarii"—a significant amount; but certainly much less than the other. It would work out to around $10,000. And since neither man could pay, the creditor forgave both debts.
Now; the debts of both men were equally forgiven. But both of the creditor’s acts of forgiveness were not equal—because one man’s debt was far greater than the other. "Tell Me, therefore," Jesus says to the Pharisee, "which of them will love him more?" And it may just be me; but I detect a bit of an attitude in the Pharisee when he says, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more" (v. 43). There was no "suppose" about it, of course; but as I say, the simplicity question from this Man whose "prophet-status" was now in doubt probably struck the Pharisee as a bit insulting. And Jesus told him, "You have rightly judged"—perhaps in a way that, if I may suggest it reverently, answered ‘attitude’ with ‘attitude’.
Jesus then turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?" Of course, he clearly had. But Jesus was going to contrast the Pharisee with the woman; and show how this sinful woman was shining a light on the self-righteous Pharisee’s own sin.
"I entered I entered your house," Jesus said to him. And that should ordinarily involve certain common courtesies. But Jesus says, "you gave Me no water for My feet . . ." In those days, when someone traveled across dusty roads to visit you, you showed them the courtesy of giving them water so they can wash the dust from their feet. But the Pharisee didn’t even show Jesus this common courtesy. Jesus then said, "but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head." Clearly, her expression of love for Jesus was greater than his.
"You gave Me no kiss," Jesus went on to say. This was a common form of greeting—much like a handshake or a hug today. But the Pharisee didn’t extend Jesus this common greeting. And then He says, "but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in." The word Jesus used for the expected greeting from the Pharisee was the common word for a friendly kiss; but the word He used with respect to the woman was—again—the word for a kiss of deep affection. And according to Jesus’ words, she began to kiss His feet from the moment He came in to Simon’s home, and she kept on kissing them, and was even kissing them as He was speaking to Simon!
"You did not anoint My head with oil," Jesus said. And again, this too was a common courtesy to show to a guest. It was a hot and dry place; and a little oil was a necessity for health and comfort. The Pharisee didn’t even offer to anoint His head with inexpensive oil; "but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil." She gave up something that must have been quite precious to her; and at great personal expense, anointed His feet with it!
Clearly, the actions of self-righteous Simon demonstrated that he didn’t really love Jesus very much. But the actions of the sinful woman of the city showed that she loved Jesus very much. Jesus said, "Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much." And it wasn’t that her great love for Jesus was the cause of her forgiveness, but rather the evidence of it and the further confirmation of it. And without saying a word of condemnation directly to the Pharisee, Jesus added, "But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
And all this leads me to ask: When we come to the Lord’s supper this morning, do we come more like the self-righteous Pharisee or like the sinful woman of the city? Does the way we come to the table demonstrate that we’ve been forgiven much? or little? or not at all?
Please understand; I’m not advocating that we squeeze tears out of our eyes, and come with a worked-up display of emotion. But when we take up that piece of bread, as a symbol of our Lord’s broken body, may it be that we say from the heart, "Father in heaven, my sins truly deserved the death penalty. But Jesus took my sins upon Himself and paid the death penalty for them with His own body on the cross. In taking this piece of bread, I with all my heart say, ‘Thank You.’" When we take up the cup of juice, which is a symbol of Jesus’ shed blood, may it be that we say from the heart, "Father in heaven, without the shedding of blood there is no taking away of sin. And Jesus shed His own blood on the cross to wash away my sins. In taking this cup of juice, I with all my heart say, ‘Thank You.’"
May the way we come to the table truly show that we love the Lord Jesus for what He has done for us.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; there’s one more thing to notice in all this; and that’s what Jesus says to the woman at the end of our story. He turned to her—and can’t you almost see the love in His eyes as He speaks to her?—and He tells her, "Your sins are forgiven" (v. 48). Really, the way it’s stated in the original language is stronger than that. It’s in the perfect tense of the verb; and can be better translated, "Your sins have been—as a completed act—forgiven". What a wonderful thing that must have been for her to hear!
But it wasn’t such a wonderful thing for everyone else who sat at the table. They were offended by this. ""Who is this who even forgives sins?" they were saying "to themselves" (v. 49). "Who does this Man think that He is? Only God can forgive sins! Does this Man dare to take upon Himself the role of God?—offering forgiveness for the sins of this wicked woman?"
And this leads us to a final point . . .
3. JESUS’ GREAT DECLARATION OF HIMSELF (vv. 48-50).
With all those people thinking these things in themselves—and with Jesus fully aware of it—He turns again to the woman and says, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." And clearly, her faith was in Him.
This is important for us to remember as we come to the Lord’s table this morning. Like that woman, we’re coming to One who truly does have authority to forgive our sins. He has the right to cancel out our debt, because He was the one who—Himself—willingly paid it for us. And if we come to the table of the Lord truly having our faith in Him, we can apply His words to ourselves: "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
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What a great portrait this woman’s story is of sincere faith in the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ! And who knows? Perhaps even Simon himself took note of it, repented of his self-righteous attitude, and came to embraced the faith in Jesus that was modeled by the sinful woman he once despised. We will certainly see her in heaven one day—and perhaps we’ll see them both.
But as for us, let’s be careful how we come to the Lord’s table this morning. Let’s not come as the proud, self-righteous Pharisee— glad to have an opportunity to come before the Lord Jesus; but not as if we really need anything from Him. Instead, let’s come like that sinful woman—as a sinner to "the Friend of sinners"; and deeply in love with Him for the salvation He has purchased for us with His own life.
1Darrell L. Bock, Luke (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1994), p. 144.
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