Forgiven Much

Sometimes I just need to remember how much I needed a Savior.

I sometimes, in the midst of my day to day life, and frustration with people, forget how badly I needed Jesus when He found me. And this passage makes it all come home again. This morning, I want all of us to consider that for a moment. How great a salvation we have received, and how much should that remind us that no one is beyond the reach of Jesus.

Turn with me to Luke 7:36-50.

So here we have a moment in the life of Jesus where He is still being accepted, or at least tolerated by the religious elite of the day. He has been invited to eat with a Pharisee, and Jesus, always being willing to go to those who invite Him, comes to dinner. And while He is there, a woman, “of the city”, an obvious sinner, invades the space.

Luke Comments

This woman could have been a sinner because of her occupation. Tax collectors, tanners, camel drivers, custom collectors, among others were considered ceremonially impure because of their occupations and could be labeled “sinners.” In this instance, however, this woman’s sinfulness involved moral not ceremonial matters

Some of you, maybe many of you, have attended churches like this before. When someone who doesn’t fit the stereotype shows up, everyone goes into defense mode. “What are they doing here? Don’t they know how to dress, act talk...” They don’t know the customs or the manners. And worse, they are making us all look bad… (going to a party with Lankford…)

Friends, I pray we never act that way. This is not a country club or a social society. This is a house of healing and a hospital for sinners. When we start not welcoming people, we are no longer a church. And I’m not interested in having our lampstand removed.

This lady shows up and she immediately starts paying attention to Jesus. She is attending to Him in ways that the religious people have been negligent of. She is offering Him affection, and cleaning Him up, and showing Him honor.

she lost her dignity in the Presence of Jesus- Letting down one’s hair in public was shameful and even a ground for divorce, but in her deep gratitude toward Jesus the woman forgot social propriety and used what was available to wipe Jesus’ feet—her hair

Robert H. Stein, Luke, vol. 24, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 236.

(Maverick City on Thursday)

I wonder why?

When we really have a deep realization of how much we have been forgiven, we relate to Jesus differently. We seem Him as a Savior in a way that a person who has been rescued from imminent death thru no effort of their own sees Him. She is wholly dependent on Him for His forgiveness.

The Pharisee is still depending on himself. In fact, his response to Jesus’ reaction to the approach of someone who he sees as a sinner in contrast to himself is to doubt Jesus, not himself!

Luke Comments

The Pharisee assumed that Jesus was not a prophet because of two false presuppositions: (1) a true prophet would not allow a sinful woman to do this (note the scandal of Jesus’ behavior in 7:34), or (2) Jesus did not know that this was a sinful woman and thus was not a prophet

We do this too. When we see someone who decides to follow Jesus and immediately doubt their veracity because we don’t think they are sorry enough, or because the sin they sin that makes us uncomfortable does not immediately cease…or some other arbitrary reason that is not listed in scripture. Just because WE can hide our sins and others cannot does not make us more worthy followers of Jesus, it just makes us better liars.

What happens to us?

We grow immune to grace.

When we first come to Jesus, we are overwhelmed by grace. We sing Amazing Grace with all our hearts, because that’s what we are actually experiencing. But over time, maybe because we hear about it all the time or maybe because we forget the depths of the sin from which Jesus saved us, grace becomes common, less amazing, more ordinary.

I think sometimes that’s because we spend so much time around people who also know Jesus and forget the depths from which we have been saved. We need to spend more time around people who do not know Jesus- there but for the grace of God, go I.

So Jesus does 2 things here. First, for us and the people gathered around the table, He proves His divinity:

Luke Comments

The implicit Christological teachings in this incident should be noted: (1) Jesus knew Simon’s thoughts (cf. 5:22; 6:8); (2) he knew that the woman was a sinner as the parable shows and thus refuted Simon’s second presupposition (see previous verse); (3) Jesus is able to forgive sins—something God alone can do (cf. 5:21; 7:49);

And He reveals the real issue is Simon’s heart, not the woman’s sins

Luke Comments

and (4) Simon’s and the woman’s standing before God was revealed and determined by their attitude toward Jesus

And Jesus wants to hammer this point home, so He tells a short parable to the Pharisee (verses 41-43) and the Pharisee gets the right answer, but he does not get the application- because he does not think it applies to him.

(1.5 years wages vs 2 months wages)

“love him more?”- Since there is no specific word for to show gratitude or to thank in Hebrew or Aramaic, such words as love, praise, bless, glorify were used to express thanks or gratitude. Thus “love him more” probably means was more grateful/thankful

Robert H. Stein, Luke, vol. 24, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 237.

We need to remember this morning how much we need God’s grace.

Some of us were saved out of a dark hole of sin. Others of us were saved before we could dig a deep hole of sin. All of us, without God’s salvation would be lost in our sins. We all have a lot to be grateful for and a lot of reasons to worship Jesus and to be fully, extravagantly faithful to Him.

We all should be washing His feet.

Luke Comments

Whether this, the washing of feet, or giving a kiss were required acts of courtesy is uncertain, but it is evident that Simon in no way expressed any affection toward Jesus when he came to his home. On the other hand the woman did all three. It is unlikely that the actions of the woman were consciously done to redress Simon’s lack of affection.

Luke Comments

the woman’s attitude (as revealed in her loving much) was evidence that she had experienced forgiveness

How do we live this out?

we repent in tears

we worship Him passionately

we give to Him extravagantly

And along with these things, we never forget His capacity of willingness to forgive, so we participate gladly with His saving mission on earth. We share with everyone who would listen about what Jesus has done and wants to do for them, and we rejoice as even the greatest sinner, to our eyes, repents and believes.

Luke Comments

Through faith salvation came to the woman. Not because of her love but through faith the woman experienced the forgiveness of sins. Her love was a subsequent witness to her faith and forgiveness