God Is In The House

Scripture

Luke 7:36–50 KJV 1900

36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat. 37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. 40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? 43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. 44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Intro

You know him. He's the guy that when he walks into the room, things, change. He's the life of the party, he possesses the charisma that seems to draw people to him. His people skills are off the charts. When I think of someone like this, I'm reminded in the heydays of Elvis Pressley, that the big announcement was, ''Elvis has left the building.'' There is nothing better to experience than when our Lord comes in the building in a manifest way and becomes the central focus of it all. Better said, to they come to a place where ''GOD IS IN THE HOUSE?'' Of all the things I pray for the congregation God has called me to serve, my prayer is that every time we gather, God is present. God's presence should be on the minds of God's more than anything else. Too often, attention is on other things (I.E. what's she wearing, what's he singing, did someone get my seat, someone get my parking place, etc) The list is endless yet, if gathering in the name of the Lord will ever equate to touching heaven, it will be when GOD IS IN THE HOUSE.

There is the woman. Who she was we know not. There is really nothing to confirm the old tradition which identifies her with that Mary called Magdalene, referred to in the following chapter, out of whom seven devils were cast. Whoever she was, she is known by only one feature—she was a sinner, an abandoned woman of the city. Perhaps she had heard some word of the gentle Prophet as he passed through the street. In some way “the Dayspring from on high” had visited her. And—not so difficult a matter in an Eastern house—she forced her way to his presence. Poor, weary one, for whom, for many and many a day there had been no sunshine—a mere plaything of coarse and wicked men! Observe her action as recorded in vers. 37, 38. It is to her that the Lord turns; he has glances and words for her which he has not for the priests of Respectability. From her heart proceed the welcomes which the Pharisee had denied him (vers. 44–46). Yes, in the social outcast there is often a preparation for Christ, a power of self-abandoning, simple trust, which is wanting in the Pharisees of society, with their forms and phylacteries, the pomp and pride and circumstance of the be-worshipped Respectability.

Sermon Point

Now in this text let’s think about God being in the house.

Consider this. When God is in the house - He has been invited. The scripture says clearly that the Pharisee invited Jesus to eat. Why did a Pharisee invite Jesus? We could guess many different reasons but in context, it could be well stated that it was to watch Him, check Him out, and find fault. But watch this, 'when Jesus is invited, often, He will show up.'

Do you invite Him? Generally, He will not show up if He is NOT invited. When God is in the house - People know it. - A Pharisee invited HIS close FRIENDS and yet the word got around! People know when God is in the house and they know when He's not. This woman heard it. When God is in the house - People want to be there, they show up. - God has placed into the heart of mankind to be where He is. Woven into our DNA is the desire to find God and commune with Him.

Simon’s real problem was blindness: he could not see himself, the woman, or the Lord Jesus. It was easy for him to say, “She is a sinner!” but impossible for him to say, “I am also a sinner!” (see Luke 18:9–14) Jesus proved that He was indeed a prophet by reading Simon’s thoughts and revealing his needs.

The parable does not deal with the amount of sin in a person’s life but the awareness of that sin in his heart. How much sin must a person commit to be a sinner? Simon and the woman were both sinners. Simon was guilty of sins of the spirit, especially pride, while the woman was guilty of sins of the flesh (see 2 Cor. 7:1). Her sins were known, while Simon’s sins were hidden to everyone except God. And both of them were bankrupt and could not pay their debt to God. Simon was just as spiritually bankrupt as the woman, only he did not realize it.

Forgiveness is a gift of God’s grace; the debt was paid in full by Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19). The word frankly means “graciously and freely.” The woman accepted God’s free offer of salvation and expressed her love openly. Simon rejected that offer and remained unforgiven. He was not only blind to himself, but he was blind to the woman and to his honored guest!

The woman was guilty of sins of commission, but Simon was guilty of sins of omission. He had not been a gracious host to the Lord Jesus. (For a contrast, see Abraham in Gen. 18:1–8.) Everything that Simon neglected to do, the woman did—and she did it better!

There are two errors we must avoid as we interpret our Lord’s words. First, we must not conclude that this woman was saved by her tears and her gift. Jesus made it clear that it was her faith alone that saved her (Luke 7:50), for no amount of good works can pay for salvation (Titus 3:4–7).

Nor should we think that lost sinners are saved by love, either God’s love for them or their love for God. God loves the whole world (John 3:16), yet the whole world is not saved. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8–9, nkjv). Grace is love that pays a price, and that price was the death of the Son of God on the cross.

Jesus did not reject either the woman’s tears or her gift of ointment, because her works were the evidence of her faith. “Faith without works is dead” (see James 2:14–26). We are not saved by faith plus works; we are saved by a faith that leads to works. This anonymous woman illustrates the truth of Galatians 5:6, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (niv).

How did the woman know that her sins were forgiven? Jesus told her. How do we know today that we have been forgiven? God tells us so in His Word. Here are just a few verses to consider: Isaiah 1:18; 43:25–26; 55:6–7; Acts 13:38–39; Romans 4:7–8; Ephesians 4:32; and Hebrews 8:12. Once you understand the meaning of God’s grace you have no trouble receiving His free and full forgiveness and rejoicing in it.

Of course, the legalistic critics at the dinner were shocked when Jesus said, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven.” By saying this, Jesus was claiming to be God! (see Luke 5:21) But He is God, and He died for the sins that she committed. His words of forgiveness were not cheap words; they cost Him dearly on the cross.

How was this woman saved? She repented of her sins and put her faith in Jesus Christ. How did she know she was truly forgiven? She had the assurance of His word. What was the proof of her salvation? Her love for Christ expressed in sacrificial devotion to Him. For the first time in her life, she had peace with God (Luke 7:50). Literally it reads, “Go into peace,” for she had moved out of the sphere of enmity toward God and was now enjoying peace with God (Rom. 5:1; 8:7–8).

Closings

When Jesus healed the centurion’s servant, it was a great miracle. An even greater miracle was His raising the widow’s son from the dead. But in this chapter, the greatest miracle of all was His saving this woman from her sins and making her a new person. The miracle of salvation has to be the greatest miracle of all, for it meets the greatest need, brings the greatest results (and they last forever), and cost the greatest price.

Simon was blind to the woman and blind to himself. He saw her past, but Jesus saw her future. I wonder how many rejected sinners have found salvation through the testimony of this woman in Luke’s Gospel. She encourages us to believe that Jesus can take any sinner and make him or her into a child of God.

But God’s forgiveness is not automatic; we can reject His grace if we will.

If you have never accepted God’s pardon, now is the time to believe and be saved.

But the point of the entire story is that her love is the result of her forgiveness. That love and gratitude flow from forgiveness is clearly the point of the parable (vv. 41–42), and the woman’s actions of love toward Jesus stem from her experience of a forgiveness that has already been received. In verse 48 Jesus simply confirms the forgiveness of the woman. Indeed, verse 50 clearly shows that it is faith that has saved the woman. The phrase “he who has been forgiven little loves little” (v. 47) should not be taken too woodenly. In the application of the parable it applies to Simon and has an ironic twist. The meaning is not that righteous people cannot love much because they do not need much forgiveness (an argument for sinning more so that forgiveness can be deeper; cf. Rom. 6:1ff.). Rather, people who assume they are righteous will never experience much love for Jesus since they are so unaware of their sinfulness