Yom Kippur - A Repentance Message

Open with video about the “shin” and the name of God and of today being a day where we remember the blessed nation of Israel.

Have Ralph Hoffneckt share about his wok in recognizing Israel.

Well, today, at sundown, starts the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Today is the holy holiday of Yom Kippur, which means, the “day of atonement”. This was the day that God, Himself, set aside for the children of Israel to humble themselves before Him and turn to Him in repentance and for healing from their sins.

I watched yesterday on the computer while I was reading and writing, throughout the day in intervals, to the all day live event from Washington D.C., which was hosted and put together by Jonathan Cahn, and which was called, “The Return”. It was a live event in which he had numerous men and women from all over who led the nation in prayers and in worship as the main theme was returning to God in repentance as a nation and following closely to II Chronicles 7:14,

2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

And that was the basis of the day long live event, yesterday. Turning to God in humility and in repentance and asking for Him to revive us and to quicken us by His Holy Spirit and to change the course of this nation! AMEN?!

And I loved it, because it wasn’t a day that was set aside to moan and bellyache about the condition of the Coronavirus and it wasn’t a day to discuss racial inequalities and talk about the injustices of one race versus another, and it wasn’t a day of politics and the debating of the left and the right and all of the other things that have captured the hearts and the minds of the people of this great nation!

No, yesterday was a day set aside and given to praying and seeking God and His mercy and grace for our nation and for the strengthening of the Body of Christ and to the worship and exaltation of God’s great name!

And it came just 24 hours before the start of the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, which is a day set aside to repent and turn to God for forgiveness and the healing of the sickness known as sin!

This morning I want us to read about a very familiar account in the Bible, which we find in Luke’s gospel, chapter 7. I had originally intended to read a completely different account this morning, which was that of John 4 and of Yeshua and the Samaritan woman at the well. And I was guided over to this passage in Luke instead. In both accounts though, we see very similar situations and circumstances taking place. In each account a woman encounters Jesus and their lives are forever changed by His love and mercy and forgiveness!

And so, if you will join with me and turn in your Bibles at this time, to Luke 7:36-50, and we will begin reading there.

In Luke chapter 7, we find Jesus going through the region of Galilee and continuing His earthly ministry of teaching and healing and declaring the TRUTH of His Kingdom message.

From the beginning of chapter 7 and leading up to our passage today, we find that Jesus had healed the centurion’s servant and in doing so, Jesus made the declaration that He had not witnessed such great FAITH in all of Israel. Jesus’ statement about the centurion’s faith was an indictment against the nation of Israel for their disbelief in His being the Messiah and the one true Son of God, but the miracle itself, was also proof that the gospel message and the mighty workings of God, were not just for those of the house of Israel, but to all who believed in Him, because the Centurion was in fact, a gentile!

Next in the chapter, we see that Jesus encountered a widow whose son had just died and they were carrying the body our for burial. The Bible tells us that Jesus had compassion on the woman and told her not to weep.

Then Jesus stopped the procession and spoke to the dead son and said to him, “Young man, I say to you, arise” and the scriptures say that the dead man sat up and began to speak!

Wouldn’t you love to know what that young man was saying when Jesus brought him back to life? The Bible only says that Jesus gave him back to his mother!

The Bible also says that the crowd became fearful and they began to glorify God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us”, they also said, “God has visited His people!”

And it’s interesting that the people proclaim that Jesus was a great prophet that had come from among them, and that through Him, God was visiting them in their midst.

And I point this out because of what is said of Jesus by the religious leader, Simon, in our passage that we are getting ready to read together.

So, let’s start reading with Luke 7:36-50 and go from there. (Read verses 36-40)

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.”

So, let’s look at the key players in our passage, shall we?

The host of the dinner and the owner of the house is a Pharisee, named, Simon.

The woman in question who shows up and approaches Jesus at Simon’s house is not listed by name, but only by a general description, a “sinner”, which would be a general description of everyone who initially approaches Jesus for the first time!

And then, of course, the third person and the most important of this account, is our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

So, let’s look at what has transpired thus far in this passage.

Jesus has been invited to the house of a certain religious leader in the area, a Pharisee to be exact, named Simon, for a meal.

We don’t know how many other guests were invited, and what level of importance the other people may have been, but it would reasonable to think that at least some of the other guests may have been other Pharisees. (Birds of a feather)

We are also not told the exact reason as to why Simon invited Jesus to his house to begin with, but judging by the details that are disclosed shortly in the passage, one could assume that Simon’s intentions may not have been the best.

There is nothing else known about the woman in question, except that she is a “sinner”.

And this detail is emphasized three times in the whole passage, verse 37 says, “And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner”, verse 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” and finally verse 47, which we haven’t looked at yet, Jesus says, “ Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many,”

Many, if not most scholars agree upon the fact that this woman, to be listed as such a “sinner” and with such magnitude, would have either have had to be living in an adulterous situation, or she was in fact a prostitute.

The latter assumption being the most accepted and believed to be true of the two.

Now, it would be easy, for most of us, to look at this lifestyle that the woman in our passage was living in and think of how really sinful and pathetic such a lifestyle must be, right?

And especially since we recently looked at how the Bible does in fact put such weight on the issue of sexual sins.

But in the scope of salvation and what happens when someone approaches the Christ for the very first time, the sins are irrelevant. At that moment in time, we ALL come to Him on the exact same terms and measure of weight on the scales of righteousness. We all are found to be wanting and lost!

At that moment, we are all found to be SINNERS, period! None is worse off, or more evil than another. (Romans 3:23)

Until you come to the TRUTH of who Jesus is and give your life over to Him, in faith and belief, you are exactly like every other person on the face of the earth from birth until death.............you’re a sinner!

And trust me when I say this too, a life of prostitution then and today, is not the life that these women would choose for themselves.

It’s way to easy to look at someone like this and think, “Well, she made the decision to do it, so she’s guilty, period!”

But there is often way more involved in such a lifestyle than most can imagine.

READ FACTS SHEET ON PROSTITUTION

So, this is where this woman has been in her life, and this is how she is looked at by the religious leaders.......a “sinner”, a “prostitute” and nothing more!

And in this account, the woman approaches Jesus and stands at His feet and commences washing His feet with her tears and drying His feet with her hair and anointing His feet with the fragrant oil from her alabaster flask.

Now, this is not the same account that we read of in John 12, where another woman anoints Jesus’ feet with expensive nard and dries them with her hair.

The Bible clearly tells us that this was Mary, the sister of Lazarus and it also clearly tells us that it was in a completely different location, Bethany, which was miles away from where our story takes place today.

The anointing at Bethany, was also at the last week in the life of Jesus’ earthly ministry, which was at a completely different time period than our account today! Like one year apart!

And as to how this whole account took place, it’s important for us all to understand how such a meal would have taken place to begin with.

EXPLAIN ABOUT HOW A HOME FOR SOMEONE AFFLUENT BACK THEN WOULD HAVE BEEN LAID OUT WITH AN OPEN COURTYARD/PORCH LIKE AREA WHERE EVERYONE WOULD RECLINE AND EAT. (Passerby's could enter the courtyard and listen to the nuggets of wisdom being discussed if they chose)

MAKE SURE TO MENTION OF THE EATING ARRANGEMENTS OF THAT DAY AND AGE (the people reclined on little sofas/benches, on their left sides, with their heads facing inwards to the table and food and thus their feet angles outwards, away from the table and away from one another.

Let’s continue with the passage, starting with verse 41.

So, in our account in Luke’s gospel, the scene is Jesus is at the house of Simon, a Pharisee, for a meal to which He was invited.

During the meal, and likely towards the onset of it, this woman, a prostitute, approaches Jesus and standing at His feet, crying/weeping (the Greek word used for “weeping” here, is not just simply crying, but rather this word, “klaiō”, refers to a cry that is characterized by loud wailing and sobbing! There is an emphasis upon this word that refers to the loud noise associated with this crying!!)

And she is sobbing, her tears are running down the feet of Jesus and so she begins to dry His feet with her hair.

You must also understand, that back in the days that Jesus walked the earth, a woman letting her hair down in public was socially unacceptable, because a woman was to loosen her hair only in the presence of her husband.

The Jewish Talmud says that a woman could be divorced for letting down her hair in the presence of another man. So grave was the offense that the rabbis put a woman's loosening her hair and uncovering her breasts in the same category. The guests and the onlookers were in intense shock.

And as she is drying His feet, she begins to use the expensive fragrant oil in her alabaster flask and anoint Jesus’ feet, while she continually kisses His feet!

To Simon and probably the other onlookers that he would have invited to the meal, this whole scene is some grotesque erotic display!

They couldn’t look past what they saw from their judgmental eyes and hearts.

They couldn’t see or even understand what was taking place.

In theory, this woman had seen and heard Jesus’ message of repentance and of the love of the Father, before.

In fact, chronologically, before this account takes place Luke 7, we see Jesus being approached by the disciples of John the Baptist, asking for John about whether Jesus was truly who He said that He was.

When Matthew records this same account, he gives a little more detail about what else Jesus said at the close of this account.

In Matthew 11:28-30, we read of Jesus saying to the people,

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

It is very possible that this woman was standing there and listening when Jesus publicly declared this, since He would have been right in the area of where she lived!

Do you have any idea of how great and overwhelming the heart of this broken woman, who has known only pain and sorrow, would have longed for the words of Yeshua to become a reality in her life?

And she took the offer by the Messiah. She came in humility and repentance and felt for the very first time, the GRACE and LOVE of her heavenly Father, that she had never known.

Until that moment, she, like most other Jews, knew only what the religious zealots told them and showed them of God: sacrifices, works, piety and appearances.

So, this is what is being seen on that day, at that meal; a woman overwhelmed by the release of all of the pain and sorrow that she had lived with. Done away with, the moment that she took the light and easy yoke of the Master upon herself!

Simon, who was looking through the eyes of pride and judgement and disdain at the woman, thought 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.”

And then the Bible tells us that Jesus answered Simon. (Question: Did Simon speak the words, “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”?

No, he thought them, which means.................yes, Jesus, the Son of God, knew Simon’s thoughts and answered them aloud!

Jesus said, “Simon, I have something to say to you” and Simon answered in a very snarky manner, “Say it, teacher.”

Jesus gives the parable of the two men and their debts. (Recant parable of the 500 and the 50 denarii)

Jesus asked Simon the question at the end of the parable, “Now which of them will love him more”, to which Simon replied, in an understood begrudging manner, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” Jesus replied back, “You have judged rightly.”

Jesus made Simon admit the truth, then He turn away from Simon and puts everyone’s attention upon this beautiful daughter of the King! (READ PASSAGE verses 44-50)

Jesus makes Simon acknowledge that he had treated Jesus poorly and that Simon had clearly shown no sign of love. And based upon the parable and by Simon’s own admission of the truth, Jesus showed that Simon had not come to God in true repentance and thus, this was the litmus paper indicator that Simon had no true love!

Simon, along with many of the other religious hypocrites, completely overlooked the words of God about dealing in true love and mercy, “Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice) and they looked down upon others through eyes of pride and judgement. (They looked past the beam sticking out of their own eyes, at the speck in the eyes of others!)

He saw the woman perform an act of repentance and devotion and called her a "sinner"!

This woman came, despite what people would say or think of her, to honor Jesus and give to Him the only thing that she could. Humbling herself before Him and anointing Him with the expensive oil around her neck!

As Jesus said of her, “she loved much”, because she had been truly forgiven much!

As soon as she stood in His presence, (at His feet), she was so overwhelmed with the emotions of love and forgiveness, that her plans caved to the extreme emotion of freedom from sin and all of the BAGGAGE that came with it!

On that day, she brought all of her BAGGAGE, through true repentance, and felt release as Jesus took all of it from her and sent her away in His peace and love and forgiveness!!

PLAY SKIT GUYS VIDEO, “BAGGAGE”