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Jan. 27, 2023 - Just Informed Talk - Craig James
14:29
Jesus Forgives A Sinful Woman - Luke 7:36-50 | God's Grace Is Greater
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God's Grace is Greater segment where we do a deep dive into scripture today.
We're finishing Luke chapter 7 talking about a sinful woman being forgiven.
Now this is a powerful, powerful description Jesus gives us of what it truly means to find forgiveness, but even more so than that, what it means to be appreciative of God being here with us.
And I want to share these words because they're just, to me, I mean, they touch your heart.
They touch my heart, and I hope they touch yours as well.
When you hear this incredible story, this historical account from Luke of Jesus interacting with one of the Pharisees and a woman who was a sinner, which in those days most likely could have been interpreted for her to have been probably a prostitute, but not the prostitute of Mary Magdalene.
This is a different instance and account given to us here in Luke chapter 7.
We're picking up where we left off, which was Jesus telling us about the unresponsive generation that he is faced with and telling us of the interaction with John the Baptist's disciples.
So we go straight from there to this Pharisee's home.
And I'm going to read these verses, verse 36 to 50, that tell us what happened from there.
And this is fascinating.
Let's go ahead and read.
It says, We're
to him, Simon, I have something to say.
Teacher, he said, say it.
A creditor had two debtors.
One owed 500 denarii and the other 50.
Since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both.
So which one of them will love him more?
Simon answered, I suppose the one he forgave more.
You have judged correctly, he told him, turning to 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 with her tears has washed my feet and has wiped them with her hair.
You gave me no kiss, but she has stopped kissing, hasn't stopped kissing my feet since I came in.
You didn't anoint my head with olive oil, but she has anointed my feet with fragrant oil.
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven.
That's why she loved, she loved much, but the one who is forgiven little loves little.
Then he said to her, your sins are forgiven.
Those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, Who is this man who even forgives sins?
And he said to the woman, Your faith has saved you.
Go in peace.
This is an incredible story.
Not to be confused, though, with the story of Mary, the sister of Lazarus.
This is a different story that's given to us here in Revelation.
The Gospel of Luke in chapter 7.
This is the end of chapter 7.
What's fascinating about this interaction between Jesus and a Pharisee are a few things.
First of all, the Pharisee has invited Jesus into his home.
That's kind of an incredible part of this story.
I guess the Pharisee's name was Simon.
And Jesus is invited into his home.
And in those days it was tradition that when you would enter somebody's home, they would have a bowl of water for you to wash your feet in.
And they may do something like greet you with a kiss, which is like the equivalent to a modern handshake, a kiss on the cheek.
And they would do these things as, you know, just a form of formal greeting, if you will.
And it was kind of, you know, normal.
But in this case, Jesus goes to the Pharisee's house.
And right as he gets there, this incredible thing happens.
It's kind of a strange thing, really.
A woman who's a sinner, who we find out through the language used here, there's probably a prostitute, a woman of ill repute, if you will.
She knows who Jesus is.
And all she wants to do...
Find favor with him.
Find forgiveness, really.
And what does she do?
She does all she can do.
She doesn't have any water, so she goes to him.
You can imagine the emotion of this woman.
She's so moved by being able to get near to Jesus because she just walks right into this Pharisee's house while Jesus is there, presumably eating at this table.
And immediately she begins weeping.
And she doesn't go to meet Jesus head on and to confront him face to face.
She goes to his feet.
And in doing so, her tears that are streaming so much at that moment are pouring onto Jesus' feet.
And she doesn't even have a cloth to wipe his feet.
So she uses her own hair and tears to clean the feet of Jesus.
Now she brings her oil, which she has.
This is a fragrant oil.
This is another thing that was kind of a custom of those times.
And she used this fragrant oil, which surely cost her a large portion of what she made, probably, to get.
And she used it to clean, ceremonially, Jesus' feet.
Now, the Pharisee sees this, right?
And his reaction is very interesting, right?
His reaction is simply disgust, essentially, and doubt.
He says to himself, it says here, if this man, if Jesus, were a prophet, were a real prophet, because again, this is another example of the Pharisees testing Jesus, that he would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him.
She's a sinner!
And in those days, a woman of that Let's say reputation, touching a man of the cloth, if you will, as they all were looking at Jesus as a rabbi, and this Pharisee as well, as a teacher, that would never be allowed because the woman is not allowed to touch the man because the man would then become ceremonially unclean.
So the Pharisee is thinking to himself, this guy can't be a prophet because he's letting a woman make him ceremonially unclean.
Not realizing, of course, that Jesus is coming to break down these traditions being established by this system which he's looking to overthrow, not overthrow the system put in place by Rome as much as overthrowing the system put in place by the scribes and the Pharisees who themselves turned their backs on the commands of God to establish their own authority and rule on earth so that they could maintain power and overlook what God commanded in the first place.
So, Jesus obviously notices this reaction from the Pharisee, and he tells them this incredible story, right?
He gives them this example.
He says, a creditor has two debtors.
One owes 500 denarii, the other one owes 50.
Neither of them could pay it back, right?
But, so, he graciously forgave them both.
And then he asks him, which one will love the creditor more?
And Simon answers, obviously, the one who was forgiven the 500 denarii as opposed to the one who was forgiven the 50.
Now what is this really referencing?
What's Jesus trying to say?
Because Jesus tells him, you answered correctly.
He was explaining that the woman...
Had more spiritual debt.
Had more sin in her life.
Had given more of her life up for that sin.
She had done things, probably unspeakable things.
She probably had shame.
She probably had guilt.
She probably had fear.
She probably had worry in her heart.
She probably knew that her only chance at retribution, at finding healing, was with Jesus.
And what does she do?
She weeps.
She uses all that she has, her own tears, to clean the feet of God to try to make up for the sins that she's committed.
And of course, the Pharisee Simon is like the one who had lesser debt.
Maybe he was a slightly more spiritual man.
Maybe he committed a few less sins.
Maybe he wasn't a prostitute or a sinner of that magnitude that would be considered in those days unclean and untouchable and unworthy of God's grace.
But perhaps Jesus was teaching us with that story that he came to forgive Simon the Pharisee and The woman who was a sinner.
And that perhaps that because her sin was that much more, that that forgiveness would mean that much more to her.
Sometimes I feel, all I have for God is my tears.
Maybe you feel the same.
Sometimes that's all we have and feel that we can give to Him, because there's not much else we can do.
Right?
And in those moments, you may feel like the sinful woman, somebody who's sinned beyond God's repair.
But as we learn in this parable that Jesus gives us, he came to forgive not just those who sinned a little, but those who sinned a lot as well.
His forgiveness is for all.
He says, do you see this woman who, when you entered the house, he basically points out how All of the things, customarily, that the Pharisee should have done for Jesus, allowing him to wash his feet and giving him a greeting, that they didn't do.
The Pharisee neglected to do.
And that all of those things, the woman who wasn't even invited in the house, the first thing she did was ceremonially try to greet and welcome Jesus.
And that's kind of how this story is a good example for a lot of us out there.
Sometimes...
Is it not more convenient for those out there to look at Jesus as just an acquaintance?
Not as a true savior.
As the Pharisee Simon saw Jesus as, you know, he's just a friend.
He's not really the Messiah.
You know, I just, I know Jesus.
You know people like that.
Maybe you yourself are like that.
Maybe you are just an acquaintance to Jesus.
But maybe what we're called to do...
Let's have a relationship the same way that this sinful woman had with Jesus, where you can see her crying at Jesus' feet, weeping, knowing that she's not deserving of the salvation, of the forgiveness, of the love, of the kindness, but that Jesus gives it to her anyway.
And that no matter what we go through in our lives, we should never look at Jesus as merely an acquaintance, but as a Savior.
Someone who's worth giving our lives for.
Someone who's worth everything because He gave His life for us.
So sometimes I feel like that, woman.
I don't know, maybe you do too.
All I have are my tears.
But if I know one thing, I know that God will forgive me.
And that maybe we should be grateful because that makes our gratitude that much richer, that much stronger, that much more powerful.
So, have the faith of that woman.
Jesus is not meant to be an acquaintance.
He's meant to be our Messiah and Savior.
So, I appreciate it.
I hope you guys take that.
We're going to say a prayer and then we'll wrap it up.
Lord and Heavenly Father.
Thank you so much for all you've given us.
Thank you for all your blessings, Lord.
I pray that you'll help us find the power to understand your grace and glory in the same way that this sinful woman did.
Lord, let us know, let us believe and understand in our hearts that in our sinful lives, whatever we do, that your grace is truly greater.
Lord, help us embrace that and share it with others and treat you as our Lord and treat your Son as our Messiah and not just look at it as a relationship of convenience but an eternal bond that should never be broken.
Thank you for this day and every day and most of all our eternal salvation.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
All right, guys.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode.
We're going to go ahead and wrap it up there, but thanks for watching, and thank you to everybody in the chat.
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