A.During His great Galilean ministry, Christ taught many people and performed many great miracles of healing.He even raised a widow’s son from the dead (Luke 7:11-16).Word of His great works spread throughout Judea and Galilee, and His fame grew.
B.At the height of Christ’s popularity, a curious Pharisee named Simon invited the Lord to his house for a meal.The events of this occasion are the subject of our lesson from Luke 7:36-50.
II.A PHARISEE, A SINNER, AND A PARABLE
A.When Jesus came into the Pharisee’s house, He was worshiped by a sinful woman (Luke 7:36-38).
1.When this woman heard that Jesus was there, she came with the express purpose and intent of serving the Lord with the best she had to offer.She brought perfume in an alabaster vial, which indicates that it was of great value and expense (compare to Matt. 26:7; Mark 14:3).
2.The contrition of this woman for the guilt of her sins is striking, for she humiliated herself at the Lord’s feet in an act of pure worship.
a.Her tears flowed so freely that she was able to wash His feet and wipe them with her hair.
b.She kissed His feet and lavished them with the expensive perfume.
B.Because Jesus did not reject the woman, Simon the Pharisee thought to himself that Jesus must not have been a true prophet (Luke 7:39).
1.Moses had given Israel a standard for judging false prophets in Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and 18:18-22.However, Simon did not judge Jesus by that standard.
2.Instead, Simon applied his own presumptive standard to Jesus.In his mind, a true prophet would know that this woman was a sinner and reject her from his presence.When Jesus accepted this sinful woman, Simon assumed that He did not know she was a sinner.
C.Jesus knew Simon’s thoughts and answered them with a parable about two debtors (Luke 7:40-43).
1.In the parable, two debtors were unable to pay their debts.One debtor owed ten times as much as the other, but both were graciously forgiven by the moneylender.
2.Jesus prompted Simon with a question: "Which of them therefore will love him more?”Simon answered correctly, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”
D.In the application of this parable, Jesus forgave the sins of the woman (Luke 7:44-50).
1.The Lord’s comments made it obvious who the two debtors of the parable represented.
a.The debtor with the greater debt was the sinful woman, who loved Jesus more and showed her love by washing His feet, kissing His feet, and anointing His feet with perfume.
b.The debtor with the lesser debt was Simon the Pharisee, who did none of those things for the Lord.
c.The Lord’s analysis of the situation was quite different than Simon’s.Simon had seen only the faults he perceived in the sinful woman and Jesus, but Jesus brought Simon’s faults to light.
2.Because of the sinful woman’s love and faith, she was forgiven.Because she was forgiven of so much, she loved the Lord all the more.
3.Others who had come to Simon’s house heard Jesus forgive the woman and asked to themselves, "Who is this man who even forgives sins?”He is the Son of God, who has authority to forgive sins (Matt. 9:6).
III.APPLICATIONS FOR US
A.Jesus receives sinners, and so should we.
1.Simon discredited Jesus because of false assumptions.He assumed that all sinners should be rejected.When Jesus did not reject the sinful woman, Simon assumed that Jesus did not know she was a sinner.Simon was wrong on both counts.
2.In truth, Jesus was the Prophet whom Moses had foretold (Deut. 18:15; Acts 3:22), and His mission in this world was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).
a.Jesus did not avoid sinners, but instead He went to them.He was highly criticized for this by the leaders of the Jews (Matt. 9:10-11; 11:19; Luke 15:1-2), but it was the sinners who believed in Him and received salvation.
b.Jesus did not condone the sinners’ conduct, but instead He commanded them to repent (Matt. 4:17).When He forgave them, His message was, "From now on, sin no more” (John 8:11).
3.As disciples of Jesus, we have inherited His mission to seek and save sinners (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16).It is our responsibility to receive them with the gospel message of repentance.
B.A world filled with sin has the potential to be a world filled with love for Christ.
1.By the example of the sinful woman and the parable of the two debtors, Jesus showed that love for the Lord abounds when there is an abundance of forgiveness.The one who is forgiven of much loves much.
2.Today, there are many sinners like the woman who came to Jesus.Like her, their sins can be forgiven by Jesus, and their love for Him can abound.
a.Jesus saw such sinners as fields white for harvest (John 4:35).He saw the potential of these lost souls.It is the job of the reapers, whom we are, to go and gather the harvest of love for the Lord.
b.These sinners are ripe for salvation, crying out, "Wretched man that I am!Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24).We must tell them about the Lord in whom there is no condemnation (Rom. 7:25-8:1).
c.Those who believe and obey the gospel message will abound with love for Jesus because of His abundant forgiveness.
C.Love for the Lord is shown by service to Him.
1.By their reception of Jesus, it was evident who loved Jesus more.The sinful woman humbled herself in contrite, remorseful service to the Lord, whereas Simon only invited the Lord into his house.
2.Today, we cannot wash, kiss, or anoint Christ’s feet, but we have other ways by which to serve Christ and love Him.
a.Jesus explained love for Him plainly when He said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15; see also 1John 5:3).
b.We also love and serve Jesus by loving and serving our fellow servants and brothers in Christ (Matt. 25:31-46; 1John 4:7-21).
3.Notice that when Jesus chose to demonstrate love to His apostles in John 13, He washed their feet just as this sinful woman had washed His feet.
a.He said to them, "For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you” (John 13:15).Shortly afterward, He said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (John 13:34).
b.If we would love Jesus today, then we must humbly submit in service to one another in the likeness of the Lord Jesus.
D."For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
1.In the parable, neither debtor could repay his debt.Therefore, both of them were equally in default and in need of forgiveness.
2.Likewise, all men need the forgiveness of the Son of God, whether they have sinned much or little.
a.The sinful woman, who had the greatest debt of sin, humbled herself in service to Jesus.She recognized her need of mercy, and she received forgiveness.
b.On the other hand, Simon, who had a lesser debt, did not humble himself before the Lord.He failed to recognize his need for mercy, and therefore he received no forgiveness.
3.The volume and nature of our sins is insignificant to our need for forgiveness.Whether we have sinned much or little, any sin is an insurmountable debt that we cannot pay.Therefore, every sinner needs to be equally contrite before the Lord in seeking His forgiveness by faith in the gospel of Christ.
