Forgiveness, How Sweet It Is

“Forgiveness, How Sweet It Is”

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Do we have any artist in the room? Anybody who loves to paint? If you were going to paint a picture of forgiveness what would it look like?

I am not a painter, but if I were going to paint a picture of forgiveness it would be like this picture in . There are actually three characters in this picture that is painted by Luke.

Jesus, a Pharisee named Simon, a sinful woman.

There may be a painting of this scene, I don’t know that much about art. But this is a beautiful portrait of the love and gratitude of a person who is experienced the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus!

Let me see if I can paint this picture on the canvas of your mind: In V:36-39, there is not a word spoken; because sometimes a picture is worth 1000 words.

Simon the Pharisee has invited Jesus to his home, not all the Pharisees were hostile toward Jesus. We don’t know why Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to his home; it could’ve been out of curiosity, or he may have been seeking to trap Jesus. But he is not committed, are convinced that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus accepted his invitation; it is well-known that Jesus kept company with sinners; but Jesus also kept company with Pharisees; because Jesus loves all kinds of people; and wants them to trust in him as their Savior and Lord.

I picture Simon’s beautiful home, and Jesus arriving there to have dinner.

Simon’s home, like homes in this era, had a large courtyard, with a fountain in the middle, and in warm weather they would eat outside. The table would be a low-lying table in a horseshoe shape; the people would not sit in a chair as we do, but they would lay on their side, propped up by their left hand, if they were right-handed; and vice versa if they were left-handed. Their feet would stick out behind them, because feet were considered unclean and offensive by nature. Do you have the picture in your mind?

In Bible days the meals would be semi-public occasions, more like a block party than a private party. There were only so many invited people to recline at the table and eat; but other people would come in and out of the courtyard, to visit, see what was going on, our to meet a famous person like Jesus. So there were people sitting around the edge of the courtyard, while Jesus and Simon and the others enjoyed the meal.

Then it happens! Into the courtyard comes a sinful woman, the language implies that she was a woman of the streets, a prostitute. We are not given her name, the only thing we know about her is that she was a notorious sinner in that city.

Were told three times that she was a sinner:

· By Luke, V:37-“Which was a sinner…

· By Simon, V:39-“For she is a sinner…

· By Jesus, V:47-“Her sins which are many…

There’s no doubt that she was a sinner, and everybody knew she was a sinner! But she also knew that Jesus was a friend of sinners, and she knew that Jesus forgave sinners, because he had forgiven her. Can you see her in the picture,V:38, she comes and stands at the feet of Jesus, she begins to weep, washing his feet with her tears, then she does the unthinkable, she lets down her hair and begins to wipe Jesus feet with the hair of her head. In that culture for a woman to let down her hair in public was taboo! When a woman was married, she put up her hair, and never took her hair down in public, only in private for husband. Then she began to kiss Jesus feet; she had an alabaster box of ointment and she poured that ointment on Jesus feet. Only slaves would care for someone’s feet, but this woman is taken the position of a slave, trusting Jesus as her master. She is worshiping Jesus, who had forgiven her of her sins! She is overcome with emotion; she probably told herself not to cry, but somehow she couldn’t help it.

It’s not very pretty when a woman cries.

I’m not saying it’s any prettier when a man cries.

But when a woman cries, she has the ability to get everything, everywhere, in a very short period of time! This is not an erotic scene, this woman is a mess, her mascara is running, her nose is running, her hair is wet with tears and dirt, she has dirt on her lips, oil in her hair. This woman is a self-forgetful worshiper of Jesus!

She doesn’t care what anybody thinks about her, she is opening her heart, and pouring out her soul in worship to Jesus who had forgiven her! She is overwhelmed by the grace, love, and forgiveness of Jesus. Her tears were tears of love and gratitude for what Jesus had done for her!

This is a picture of forgiveness; a person who has experienced the forgiveness of their sins, loves Jesus was all there mind, body and emotions! Jesus desires the affection of our hearts as well as the faith of our minds; we must never become cold, calculated, and logical. Forgetting to be warm, loving, grateful worshipers of Jesus! Jesus was not put off by the woman’s past life, or her display of love; he never attempted to stop her.

In our portrait we see Jesus, and the woman, but there’s another character in the picture, and that is Simon. Notice what Simon is thinking as he watches this woman pour out her worship on Jesus.

V:39-Read. Simon is talking to himself.

Simon is clearly embarrassed about what is taking place! And it’s here that we learn that Simon wasn’t sure about Jesus being a prophet, much less being the son of God. He says 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!

Spoken like a true Pharisee!

In the painting, make sure that you paint Simon’s face with a scowl on it. He is not happy about what’s taking place! His attitude is judgmental, critical and harsh. He saw her as a sinner, but he thought he was righteous. He thought Jesus was ignorant of who this woman was, but Jesus saw her heart, and knew that she had turned from her sins. Simon misunderstood everything that day.

He misunderstood the woman, he misunderstood Jesus, and he misunderstood himself. Simon said Jesus can’t be a prophet, or a righteous man, letting this woman touch him like that. He had no clue why Jesus, the righteous son of God had come to this earth! Nothing would have made Simon happier than for Jesus to kick this woman out! And send her back to her sin and misery. He thought he was maintaining high moral standards, but in fact he was graceless, merciless, and loveless!

He had a heart that had never experienced the grace and forgiveness of God.

Kent Hughes said he had, “an Arctic heart, a permafrost of the soul”.

In this picture, you see a person who has experience the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus, and a person who has not. Which one of these people are you? Are you more like the woman who came to Jesus with love and gratitude for the forgiveness of sins, or more like Simon, who thought some people are not good enough to be forgiven? One way to test our grasp of the grace of God is to see how we respond to people we think of as sinners.

That’s the picture of forgiveness that is painted in V:36-39, without a word being spoken. What a contrast between Simon and the woman.

Now in V:40-43, Jesus is going to tell a parable about forgiveness. In this parable were going to learn why the woman responded as she did to Jesus, and why Simon responded as he did. It is because the woman understood forgiveness, and Simon didn’t. But Jesus in his grace and mercy, tells this story to Simon, to teach three great truths about forgiveness. Jesus wants Simon, and everyone to experience forgiveness, like this woman had.

We learn three great truths from this parable;

Truth #1:

1. Forgiveness is Your Greatest Need!

V:40-42-Read.

When Jesus got through telling this parable; which was about Simon and the woman, and who loves Jesus the most. Simon is getting the picture, Jesus not only knows who the woman is; he knows who I am. He knows her past, and he is reading my mind. When Jesus asked Simon, V:42-“tell me which one of these two will love him most?

I imagine Simon, being like my little grandson maverick when he drops something; uh oh!

And he answered Jesus hesitantly:

V:43-“I suppose he who was forgiven most”.

Suppose nothing Simon; the guy who was forgiven the most, would appreciate, love and be more grateful!

One guy owed 500 denarii, and the other owed 50 denarii. And neither one of them could pay their debt. And the moneylender counseled both of their debts. The one who was forgiven the most loves the most. Jesus was not talking about economics; he was talking about the great debt of our sin, and about the forgiveness that every person needs!

The two debtors, or an illustration of the woman and Simon; and all sinners.

One debtor owed 50 working days’ worth of money, and the other owed 500 working days of money.

These were incredible debts, and they had no way of paying them back. What Jesus was pointing out was according to the outward lifestyle of the woman, she was a “500 sinner” and Simon was a “50 sinner”

But both of them were sinners, and both of them owed a debt that they could never pay, and both of them needed forgiveness.

The woman had her sins, but Simon had his sins as well. You think because you don’t sleep around, do drugs, steal, and kill you’re not a sinner; you are wrong. Hers were the sins of the flesh, his were the sins of the spirit. Simon was guilty of self-righteousness, hypocrisy and pride. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their covetousness of money and of position and the praise of men. They practice their religion only to be seen of men. Being religious can often cover up the sin lurking in your own heart. Jesus knew this woman was a sinner, but so was Simon. She was guilty of the sins of the flesh, he was guilty of the sins of the spirit. There’s no such thing as sins in good standing; sin, is sin and you need forgiveness! There are not two kinds of sinners, there’s one kind of sinner- A SINNER.

All of us are guilty sinners, regardless of the outward condition of our lives.

There the sins of commission and the sins of omission.

Simon knew what this woman had done, but forgot what he himself had not done. V:44-46-Read.

Simon had done almost nothing for Jesus, he did not even do the common courtesies that were expected in that culture. No water for Jesus feet, no greeting with a kiss, no oil on the head. This rude response shows that Simon had as much contempt for Jesus as he had for the sinful woman. Rather than honoring Jesus with common courtesy, Simon treated him with indifference. He may have been religious, but he had no love for Jesus! He had religion, but no relationship with Jesus, the son of God! Simon was living in sin, and did not know it! He had omitted trusting in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of his sin! Everybody at the feast knew who the woman was and what she had done with her life, her sins were open. But only Jesus, knew the sins in Simon’s life, because Jesus sees men’s hearts. One of the words for sin in the Bible means, to miss the mark.

Simon had missed the mark, he had fallen short of the glory of God; he had never experienced the forgiveness of sins.

It is important to realize this morning, they we are all guilty sinners whether we feel like it or not. The point of the parable is both debtors could never dig their way out from underneath their guilt, and the debt of sin they owed. This woman understood her guilt and need for forgiveness, but Simon did not.

Listen, the high-class moralist, is just as much a guilty sinner before God, as a low class prostitute.

And both are unable to pay the great debt for their sin; and forgiveness is your greatest need!

Do you think there is any way that you can pay the debt of your sin, that you might be pardoned and go free? What currency do you think God would accept for the debt of your sin?

· The currency of integrity.

I’m a man of my word, I’m a man of character and honesty. People know they can count on me, I have a moral compass, and I treat people right.

· The currency of family life.

In this X-rated world, my life is a G. rated. I am faithful to my wife, I love my children, I am good husband, father and son. That counts for something.

· The currency charity, social work.

I give money to the needy, I volunteer at the pregnancy care center, I’m really colorblind, and the world needs more people like me. I feed the hungry, cloth the destitute, I’m a good person.

· The currency of church membership.

I go to church faithfully, I am a member, I’ve been baptized, and I give my money, surely God will count that. These are all wonderful things, but they can never pay the debt of sin that you owe. We are all broke, bankrupt, and unable to pay the cost required by God for our sin. That’s what the cross is all about!

Truth #1: Forgiveness is Your Greatest Need!

Truth #2:

1. Forgiveness is by God’s Grace!

V:42-“And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both…

This moneylender frankly/freely for gave them their debt. Forgiveness of sin is not something we can purchase or earn, because we are bankrupt; we have nothing with which to pay.

-“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God”. The difference between the Pharisee and the prostitute; he thinks he can earn forgiveness through his good works. She knows that forgiveness comes only by the grace of the Lord Jesus.

The Pharisee had never experienced forgiveness; because he hadn’t humbled himself and received it by grace.

The woman had experienced forgiveness, because she knew she was bankrupt; and had received God’s forgiveness by grace through faith in Jesus!

The only way you can be saved is by God’s grace! You are too bankrupt to purchase or earn salvation in any other way. I need to tell you; this woman was not saved because she shed tears, are poured ointment on Jesus feet.

She did all those things, because she had already experienced the forgiveness of sins from Jesus. She was not saved by her good works, love, and service to Jesus that day.

She was saved the same way anybody is saved; through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior! Jesus told her, your sins are forgiven; past tense, she had already been saved before this day.

V:50-“Your faith has saved you, go in peace”

This woman loved Jesus, and Jesus loved her; but nobody is saved by God’s love alone.

God loves the whole world, and yet the whole world is not saved. Sinners are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It was not faith in faith; it was faith in Jesus Christ that saved her.

When you place your faith in Jesus Christ, he forgive your sin.

V:48-“Jesus said to her, your sins are forgiven”

Jesus did not say, your sins will be forgiven, if you live right and never sin; no! He said your sins are forgiven. If you asked her a week later, how do you know your sins are forgiven? She would have said, because Jesus said so. The assurance of your salvation comes from the word of God in your hand, the Holy Spirit of God in your heart.

How is it that this moneylender, who represents Jesus, forgive these debtors, which represents sinners? How did he in one stroke forgive us all our debt? Did he just dismissed their debt? Did their debt just disappear? NO!

Since the debtors were bankrupt and could not pay, and he forgave them their debt; he had to pay the price of their debt. He had to absorb the debt! It cost the moneylender to pay this debt!

How is it that the Lord Jesus Christ could pay our sin debt? Jesus Christ absorbed our sin, Jesus Christ paid the debt of our sin by his on death on the cross! Salvation is free, but is not cheap! Jesus Christ went to the cross, and bled and died to provide forgiveness of our sins. Jesus didn’t just dismiss the debt; Jesus himself paid the debt!

The difference between Simon and this woman, is not that one is a sinner and one is not. The difference is one has experience forgiveness and one has not.

This woman is filled with love and gratitude and worship because she has experienced the forgiveness of sins, and Simon has not.

Truth #3:

2. Forgiveness Changes Your Life Forever!

V:44-“Jesus said to Simon, do you see this woman? This woman loves me more than you because she has been forgiven…

V:47-“Her sins which are many have been forgiven, that’s why she loves much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.

The implication there is, that you love little Simon, she did all these things to me; you did nothing for me. You see her, as a sinner/prostitute; but I see her as a forgiven Saint of God.

The forgiveness of God had changed her life!

The person who understands forgiveness best, loves best. The parable is not teaching us that she was a greater sinner in the eyes of God that Simon.

It’s teaching they were both equally bankrupt sinners; she was conscious of her sin and had experience forgiveness, and he had not.

You don’t have to become an outlaw, murder, prostitute, to understand the depravity, and sin in your heart. The depth of our love and gratitude to Jesus, depends on clearly seeing you’re on personal guilt, sin and the forgiveness you have in Jesus.

Why do some Christians show so little love for Jesus? Because they have never truly seen what great sinners they are; and the great price Jesus has paid for their forgiveness!

The more you understand the sin of your on heart, and the forgiveness of Jesus Christ, the more you will love, and the more gratitude and service you will pour out on Jesus!

Jesus said you see this woman, weeping, washing my feet, wiping them with her hair, kissing them, and anointing them with this expensive perfume?

She understands how much she’s been forgiven, and she loves much!

If you asked her that day; why are you crying? She would say these are happy tears, joyful tears, I’ve been forgiven of my sins!

“You asked me why I’m happy, and I will tell you why, because they’re gone, my sins are gone. And when I meet the scoffers who has where they are I say, my sins are gone. There underneath the blood of the cross of Calvary. As far removed as darkness is from light in the sea of God’s forgetfulness that’s good enough for me, praise God, my sins are gone”.

She was no longer a lost sinner, she was no longer in bandage to her sin; she has a new heart and a new life through Jesus!

-“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things passed away, behold all things become new”.

She has a new love in her life, a love for the Lord Jesus. She had been forgiven much, and she loved much! This woman was not ashamed to show her love for Jesus openly and publicly. She had experienced great forgiveness, and she had great love for Jesus.

This woman demonstrated extravagant love for Jesus; she wasn’t trying to see how little she could do, or give. She responded to Jesus with great love and gratitude for his forgiveness! When we have a deep sense of our on sin, and see the wonderful grace of God to forgive us; we can’t help but respond in love, sacrifice and worship! This lady is weeping tears of joy, pouring out her all on Jesus, giving her best at the feet of Jesus. She would not offer Jesus something that cost her nothing. She had not received cheap forgiveness, and she did not bring cheap worship!

The forgiveness of her sin meant that she was no longer in bondage to her old life. Jesus had taken the heavy yoke of her sin off.

Forgiveness always leads to freedom; if the son therefore shall set you free, you shall be free indeed. Sin promises freedom but always brings bondage. But forgiveness brings freedom!

Because this woman had been forgiven, she had peace with God, forgiveness brings peace.

V:50-“Your faith has saved you; go in peace”.

There’s no peace for the wicked says the Lord.

And there’s no peace without righteousness; the work of righteousness will be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.

-“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”.

This woman’s life had been changed forever! Luke tells us Jesus came to seek and save the lost; Jesus saved this woman, and her life was never the same.

There are other ways to show great love to Jesus; not by kissing him, or anointing him with perfume, wiping his feet with our hair. We can show him our love by singing his praises with passion, by praying and telling him how much we love him. By telling other people that Jesus died for them, so they can be forgiven! When we really understand forgiveness, we will love Jesus with all of our hearts, and pour out our live to Him.

We should all LOVE Jesus as much has this woman!

And we would if we understood how much we been forgiven of, and want it cost Jesus to forgive us!

Those who are forgiven much, love much!

Do you and I really love Jesus? It will be seen by our poured out lives!

Jesus told this parable to Simon; because Jesus wanted Simon the Pharisee to experience the forgiveness that only he could give! And he wants you to experience His forgiveness too!