“Your Debt has been Pardoned!”

Good morning, grab your Bibles and head with me to Luke chapter 7.

Todays message is a lesson about the pardoning of our debt. Over the past few weeks we have heard much about Presidential Pardons. For some people this has been frustrating in the fact that we allow criminals to be released while yet others may possibly have done nothing wrong and they are pardoned. Nonetheless their debt has been canceled.

Presidential pardon records date back to the start of the 20th Century, when William McKinley was president. According to the Pew Research Center, of the 21 presidents who have served since 1900, Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the most pardons, a whopping 2,819.

The U.S. Supreme Court has found presidents have broad authority to issue pardons – and they use the power a lot.

Presidents have forgiven drug offenses, fraud convictions and Vietnam-era draft dodgers, among many other things. The President has the power to grant clemency and there are actually 4 different areas.

Pardon: forgives federal offenses, releases person from punishment and restores all civil liberties.

Amnesty: the same as a pardon, but it’s granted to an entire class of people instead of an individual.

Commutation: reduces penalties, but not as sweeping as a pardon.

Reprieve: delays sentencing or other punishment.

The power has its roots in English law, according to the Associated Press. The king could grant mercy to anyone, and that idea made it across the ocean to the American colonies.

Today our text explains to us how the Lord is evangelizing a Pharisee. Jesus uses the lady here as a testimony to him and others to present the truth of the power of the gospel. Jesus in fact, demonstrates his power to pardon sinners by forging their sins and transforming their lives. How many times do we see Christ do this throughout Scripture?

-Jesus transformed the life of Saul and turned him to Paul one of the greatest missionaries ever.

-Jesus changed the life of the hated tax collector Levi who was Matthew and he became a follower of Christ.

-Jesus changed the life of Zaccheus and the Samaritan woman at the well and the demon-possessed man who became sane. My point is that Jesus has the power to pardon your sin if only you would turn your heart and mind to him.

Luke 7:36–50 ESV

36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 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, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 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. 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.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 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. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

The story opens with a Pharisee requesting to have a meal with Jesus. We are not told a whole lot about this man named Simon other than the fact that he was a Pharisee and he invited Jesus to his house for a dinner. Most of the Pharisees had already made up their minds about Jesus thinking that Jesus was a blasphemer, a glutton, and a friend of sinners. They despised his message of grace, repentance, and forgiveness. They also hated him as Jesus openly rebuked these religious leaders for their hypocritical self-righteousness.

Jesus was well aware of all of these things as Simon invited him over for a meal. Jesus understood that this man’s intentions were to catch him off guard, yet the Lord graciously spent time with this lost sinner, showing him that He had the power to pardon sinners and transform lives.

There are 3 main characters and there are three important lessons that we can learn from each.

1. The repentant woman.

Luke 7:36–38 ESV

36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 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, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 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.

Our text here does not explain to us exactly what it was that this woman had done or the specific sin that she was involved in, however we come to the understanding that she was probably a prostitute. Up to this point, this woman had been living an immoral and impure life. There is no reason to say that this woman was Mary Magdalene because she is introduced just a few verses later for the first time. If she was this sinful woman Luke would have named her here and not later in verse 2 of chapter 8.

As the Lord met with Simon Luke helps us to understand here that the doors could have been left open and this event did not take place behind locked doors. This explains why this woman would have been able to approach Jesus. However in this day and age women were not invited to banquets, and Jewish rabbis did not speak to women in public, nor did they eat with them.

The more important issue here was that this woman came with a very specific plan on her mind because we know that she came with an alabaster flask of ointment as we see in verse 37. This alabaster perfume would have been very costly. The intended purpose would have been to anoint the Lord’s head with this perfume however we know of course that as she stood by the Lord she was overcome with grief and emotion and began to weep. Because of where she stood she began to wet the Lord’s feet with her tears. As this woman was bent over, she began to realize that the host had neglected to wash his guests feet and so she wiped them with the hair of her head. Remember that in this culture, washing the feet of someone else would have been considered very degrading and done by a slave. But overwhelmed with emotion this woman did not care about what others thought she only desired to worship Jesus and serve Him.

After washing the Lord’s feet, she now begins to kiss his feet. The word “kiss” here is a very serious word. We see this used in Luke 15 when the prodigal son returns home and the Father kisses his son. This would have been a very serious and striking expression of affection. It would have been at this point where she would have anointed the Lord’s feet with the perfume she had brought. All of this shows us her display of affection and love for Christ.

My point here is that this woman was truly broken over her sin and knew that Jesus had forgiven her. This was a way for her to express to her Lord how grateful and thankful she was for Christ pardoning her sin. Has this happened in your life? Has there come a time where you were truly broken over your sin? Did you weep like this woman? Did you take time to express to Christ your thankfulness for all that he has done?

We must turn from our sin, and realized that Christ alone has the power to pardon us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2. The self-righteous host.

Luke 7:39–43 ESV

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.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

As Simon watched all of this take place before his very eyes, we come to see that Simon had no spiritual discernment. His thoughts were not about this woman or even about Jesus. Simon thought to himself if only Jesus really knew about this woman and who she was. All of this was proof that Jesus could not be who he claimed to be because if this man were a prophet he would have known about this woman. Simon’s real problem was that he was spiritually blind. Jesus proved that He was indeed a prophet by reading Simon’s thoughts and revealing his needs. What we see here is that both Simon and this woman were sinners. Simon was guilty of pride and self-righteousness, while the woman was guilty of sins of the flesh. Simon’s sins were hidden to everyone except for God while this woman’s sin were clearly evident to all. Both of these people were spiritually bankrupt and could never pay back their debt that they owed to God.

The Lord now speaks to Simon with a simple illustration or parable. We see this in verse 41. “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii and the other owed 50 denarii. Of course these debts differed greatly. The five hundred denarii would have been around 2 years worth of wages while the 50 denarii would have been a few months worth of wages. The point of this illustration was the neither could repay their debt. Thankfully, the moneylender had mercy on both of these people and forgave their debt. The word forgave here in the greek is (charizomai) and is used to describe the forgiveness that God grants believers in Christ.

Romans 8:32 ESV

32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Ephesians 4:32 ESV

32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

What made this moneylender’s act so generous is that by forgiving the debt of these individuals, he incurred those debts in full. In a similar way, when God forgives a believer’s sins He incurs their debt, and Jesus Christ died to pay it.

Notice now the Lord’s question to Simon in verse 42. Which of them will love him more? Simon’s answer of course is correct, the one whom he forgave more. The principle here was rather obvious. Whoever is forgiven the most will love the most. Be aware of a self-righteous heart. Be aware of seeing your sin and realize just how much we have been forgiven.

3. The forgiving Savior.

Luke 7:44–50 ESV

44 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. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

It is interesting to note here that everyone who came to Simon’s house that night came for a feast or a party. However, this sinful woman came to see Jesus. She came because Jesus was there, and she came to worship Him. How did she worship Christ? She came to praise Him, to honor Him, to glorify Him, and to serve Him. Church when we come on Sunday’s do we come for other reasons than to worship Jesus? Is church more about you and what you can get out of it? When we come and gather for worship, do we have tears of thankfulness for what Christ has done for you and I? Do we come to give our praise and thanksgiving to Christ? What we see here is an amazing act of worship coming from a woman who had experienced extravagant grace for the forgiveness of her sins.

Notice here in verse 48 that the Lord now turns His attention toward her and tells her that her sins are forgiven. There are two kinds of people in the world. Those whose sins have been forgiven and those whose sins have not been forgiven. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who have repented of their sin and those who remain in their sin because they love the darkness more than coming to the Light of Jesus. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who love Jesus and love to follow Him and those who have never submitted to Christ as Lord and Savior.

The greatest miracle that we can ever know or understand is hearing the Lord say, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Do you know today that Jesus has forgiven you of your sins? Jesus can and will cancel your debt just like He did with this sinful woman. Jesus can forgive you of every sin that you have ever committed. The more you and I understand that, the greater love we have for Him, because He who is forgiven much loves much.

(Pray)

(Lead into Communion)