The Woman or the World
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Luke 7:36-50
Luke 7:36-50
One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.
After Matthew’s supper, had just been questioned by the Pharisees, why do you eat with sinners? Was finally invited to dine with Pharisees.
in v 35 he was just defending John bu showing how double minded the Pharisees were
To trick Him or curiosity? Simon the leper, Matt 26
Common decency - have water available to clean guest’s feet - Bowl DIY or Servants to actually clean them
Guests also were greeted with a kiss to welcome
Special guests - head anointed with oil - Egyptian custom, Romans and Greeks - blessing and good fortune - gift to show reverence and love
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, 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.
Custom: when a Rabbi or other VIP was dining at a house, people from the city could sit on the side of the room to listen in to the conversation. Were not supposed to bother or interject
For some reason, this woman broke the rules, several rules
Contrition - “wet” his feet with her tears
Humility - kissing his feet and drying with her hair - #2 -letting her hair down
Anointed feet with fragrant oil - usually head, shows great humility
Very expensive, no concern about social rules,
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.”
Starts to show his colors, judgemental toward Christ and the woman
And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
Reading Simon’s mind, Jesus DID know and is about to teach a valuable lesson
“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
Jesus did same thing with Samaritan, He let Simon answer his own question, Nathan also did this to David about Bathsheba
Denarii = days pay 50 vs 500
Simon answers the question and condems himself at the same time
What is Jesus eluding to? What is forgiveness? What “debt” do we owe? What is Sin?
Some basic perspective:
#1 - We (creature) were created by an infinite God = Creator Gen 1:26-27
Imago Dei - triune - God shaped hole - Understanding and need to worship
#2 - We were created to serve our Creator and steward all of Creation
#3 - Gen 3- We fell short - Any deviation from God’s perfection - This deviation, or Sin, broke our relationship with the Creator
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Why is this a big deal? Like Satan, Adam and Eve strove to be equal with the Creator - Forgot that we were the creature - They owed a debt that they could not repay - Tried fig leaves and failed
Gen 3 - FIrst death was God creating the example - No forgiveness without the shedding of blood - Innocent blood and trust in the coming Messiah or Saviour - Bruise His heel, He will crush your head
#4 - Mosaic laws defined it even more - Listed 600+ ways that we could deviate or sin - Guilty of one-Guilty of all
once again, it is not the individual sin that breaks the relationship, it’s the trying to become equal to the Creator
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.
How does that apply to us? Since Adam, every human born from man and woman are born with Sin
Every deviation, every time we choose to rebel against the Creator, builds more debt that we can not pay, it just piles up, from infancy to our death.
At the end of our life, someone has to pay the debt owed to the infinite Creator
That is what Hell is… Hell was created for Satan and the Demons that wanted to be the Creator, but as a side-note, if you spend your life thinking that you are equal to the Creator or better than the Creator and decide to pay that debt by what you do or by how “good” you are, then you will spend eternity awy from the presence of a loving Infinite Creator
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Wait, you just said “loving” … whats so loving about Hell… The loving part is how the infinite Creator, knowing that we couldn’t pay the debt our selves, set forth a way for our debt to be paid and God to be glorified in one simple step
Mosaic law - People had to bring the spotless lamb for the family and the High Priest would sacrifice the paschal lamb for the unknown sins of the people looking forward to the Messiah
Yeshua - Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
“in this way”
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Nothing we could do to earn it… all for Gods glory
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Chose to go, glorify the Father
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Lived a perfect life, acquired no debt but took on the debt of every human, living and dead, past, present, or future, so that we could trust in His payment for us(Faith)
He is the only one that can forgive our debts, because He already paid for them, all we need to do is repent and trust in his payment
Lord Jesus Christ - kyrios Yeshua Christos
As the creature, Acknowledge that He paid my debt by faith, understanding that it was by grace and love and not my worth. Empty hands of faith
Galatians 3:13–14 (ESV)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Even after salvation, it is not my worth, its His Spirit that strengthens, guides, directs, and comforts… its still all Him
So, back to the Story… This woman truly understood was it meant to be forgiven … Her actions were the natural outpouring of the love that she felt for her redeemer
Jesus was the “forgiver”
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. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
Two different responses from the “forgiven”
One was painfully aware of her sins and deeply grateful for her redeemers love
Other was skeptical and didnt grasp the severity of his sin, but rather ridiculed the repentant woman - obviously full of self worth - World finds it easier to mock forgiveness and Gods plan that to look within and see their own guilt - Putting themselves in the place of the Creator
And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Difference between Bought and Redeemed
Salvation = Justification - Sanctification - Glorification
This womans actions were because of Salvation, not to earn it
Sanctification, Christian Life, True Spirituality is remembering our place as creature, thankful for salvation, continuously offering empty hands of faith in being stewards of what God has given us
Where do you stand, with the woman or the world