The Savior, Simon, & The Sinner

Rocky Pugh

Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

Luke 7:36–50

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Introduction

[CIT] The one who has been forgiven much loves much; the one who has been forgiven little loves little; and the one who doesn’t love at all hasn’t been forgiven at all.

[CONTEXT] The Pharisees rejected repentance. They said that the preacher of repentance, John the Baptist, had a demon. When Jesus came preaching that same message, they said that He was a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

In the passage before us this morning, Jesus at dinner in a Pharisee’s house when a notorious sinner comes in unannounced and uninvited.

What will Jesus do? Will He please the Pharisee and shame the sinner? Or will He prove to be the friend of sinners?

[Read ]

[Pray]

Major Ideas

#1: The Love of the Sinner (Jesus loves the sinner)

Luke 7:36–38 NASB95

Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.

Luke 7:36-

Repeatedly told in this passage that this woman is a sinner (37, 39, 47, 48)

She was a prostitute.

But in Jesus she saw a Savior—one who could save her from God’s wrath, which she had earned by way of her great sinning.

[app]

Expresses great love for Jesus...

…in her courage (she had to brave to come into this Pharisee’s home)

like coming into the teeth of a judgementalism;

[app] takes bravery for known great sinners to come church/ are we a Pharisee’s house of judgment?

stop saying, “Well, well, well—look at what the cat drug in.”

start saying, “I’m glad you’re here! Sit next to me!”

…in her gift (alabaster flask of ointment/perfume)

…in her humility (she is at Jesus’ feet)

…in her tears (tears of broken joy at great sin forgiven)

…in her service (cleaning Jesus’ feet with her hair)

…in her kiss (affection)

…in her annointing

She loved like this because she had been forgiven much.

[app] I am a great sinner and so are you. WE must recognize Jesus as Savior. We must come to Him humbly, offering to Him our everything.

If we truly believe that we’ve been forgiven much, we will love Jesus like this—we ill love Him much!

The problem is we aren’t prostitutes.

#2: The Disbelief of Simon (Jesus rebukes the prideful)

Luke 7:39–50 NASB95

Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.” And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. “When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So 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 judged correctly.” 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 she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Luke 7:39-50

Simon (if he was a leper) wondered if Jesus...

…was a prophet or possibly the Christ

…could heal him of his leprosy

Simon’s greatest need, however, was not to be healed of his leprosy.

Simon’s greatest need was to be saved from God’s wrath.

But Simon didn’t believe...

...Jesus was a prophet (and he sure didn’t believe that Jesus was the Christ) because this was a woman of great sin

…that this woman was worthy of Jesus’ forgiving touch (because she was a great sinner)

…that he was a great sinner

In his mind, he had been forgiven little, so he loved little.

The only way he could love much was to understand how much he had been forgiven.

Simon’s problem was that he wasn’t a prostitute. He would have said that he was a sinner. But his sins were respectable.

[app] Through this passage Jesus asks us how we see ourselves—as Simon the respectable sinner or as the woman, the great sinner

He asks if we believe that Jesus is Savior.

He asks if we believe that every sinner needs His forgiving touch.

He asks if we believe that we have been forgiven much so that we ought to love much.

#3: The Beauty of the Savior (Jesus is beautiful)

Luke 7:48–50 NASB95

Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

This forgiven woman saw Jesus as beautiful so she bowed at his feet, poured tears onto his feet, wiped his feet with her hair, kissed his feet, and anointed his feet with perfume.

Luke 7:

This forgiven woman saw Jesus as beautiful so she bowed at his feet, poured tears onto his feet, wiped his feet with her hair, kissed his feet, and anointed his feet with perfume.

We read earlier in the service from ...

Romans 10:15 NASB95

How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

How much more beautiful are the feet of Him who is the Good News!

We see the beauty of Jesus in...

…his feet (“How beautiful are the feet of those who carry the good news”/ how much more so the feet of Him who is the Good news)

…in the forgiveness he offers (Ahhh! Relief!)

We don’t what motivated her great sinfulness. Maybe she was abused and that propelled her into a life of sexual immorality. Maybe she was desperate to survive and so did what she thought she had to do in order to survive. Or maybe she thought that kind of life would be glamorous somehow.

No matter her motivation, she now saw herself a broken sinner in need of forgiveness. She also saw Jesus as the Savior who could provide forgiveness and salvation.

…in the faith he gives ( / faith is His gift to give)

…in the peace He gives (not necessarily peace with man, but much more importantly peace with God)

[app] Is Jesus beautiful to you or is He just necessary? Is He precious or just needed so you can get into Heaven?

Understand those feet carried Him to the cross and were nailed to it for your salvation.

Conclusion

If we aren’t careful we’ll miss it.

The sinful woman had been forgiven much, so she loved much.

Jesus says that the one forgiven little loves little.

But he didn’t say that Simon had been forgiven at all.

What were the signs of the sinful woman’s great love?

Jesus said the woman’s great love could be seen in her wetting, wiping, kissing, and anointing His feet.

He also said that Simon had done none of that. Simon hadn’t even offered to Jesus the customary kiss of greeting or water to clean one’s feet. He had shown Jesus no love.

If the one who has been forgiven much loves much, and the one who has been forgiven little loves little, what are we to conclude about the one who does not love at all except that he must not be forgiven at all.

You may object, “Well, he invited Jesus into his house!” Yes, but this was obviously for the purpose of testing Jesus. He wanted to see if Jesus was a prophet. Perhaps he wanted to reveal that Jesus wasn’t a prophet. Perhaps he wanted to get something from Jesus. In any case, his invitation was not an act of faith.

He didn’t invite Jesus into his house to honor Him, to trust Him, to learn from Him. He just wanted to test Him.

We should take note: It is possible to invite Jesus in without loving Jesus.

Many people have prayed a prayer asking Jesus to “come into their hearts” but afterward great love for Jesus is noticeably absent from their lives. They prayed a prayer but...

Where’s the extravagant love for Jesus?

Where’s the humility before Jesus?

Where’s the service to Jesus?

Where’s the brokenness before Jesus?

Where’s the sacrifice for Jesus?

Where’s the bravery for Jesus?

Where’s the treasuring of Jesus?

This is the kind of love this woman showed for Jesus—a love that was brought forth by gracious forgiveness and the gift of faith.

If we are not moved to love so extravagantly, could it be that we’ve forgotten just how greatly we’ve been forgiven; just how precious a gift we’ve received in the gift of faith?

Or perhaps if we are not moved to love Jesus so extravagantly, we’ve never been forgiven at all.

If that’s you, if you examine your life right now and see that you have no love for Jesus, then I want to ask you to cry out to God for forgiveness and faith.

Your primary sin against God is unbelief. You haven’t believed what God has said about His holiness, your sin, and the need for forgiveness through faith in Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for our sin.

So, right now, ask God to give you belief—to give you the gift of faith. Ask God to forgive your unbelief and to help you see Jesus the way this sinful woman saw Jesus.

She saw Him as a treasure. She saw Him as beautiful. She saw Him as salvation.

If we see him like she did, we will love Him much because like her we’ve been forgiven much.

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