A Reason to Rejoice | Sunday, November 17, 2024
November 17, 2024 · Pastor Miles DeBenedictis
In this teaching
Through the story of the sinful woman who anoints Jesus's feet in Luke 7, Pastor Miles teaches that gratitude overflows from a heart that recognizes its own desperate need for Christ's saving and forgiving grace. He contrasts the self-righteous, blind Simon the Pharisee with the woman who saw her sin clearly and rejoiced, showing that seeing our need is the key to genuine thanksgiving and fullness of joy.
- Gratitude is one of the keys to a happy life, and God wills our gratitude because it leads us into the fullness of joy Jesus came to give.
- Jesus is not shocked by sinners, because He came into the world to save sinners and to seek and save the lost.
- The forgiving grace of Jesus stirs sinners to overflow with thanksgiving, while self-righteousness blinds us to our own need and breeds disdain for that grace.
- Christ's forgiving grace is available in abundance to those who see their need and seek His grace—the difficulty is seeing the need.
- We tend to judge ourselves by the sins of others rather than by the righteousness of Christ, which makes us think we are "pretty good."
- Like Paul, the former Pharisee who called himself the chief of sinners, true gratitude comes when we see ourselves in the light of Christ's righteousness rather than against the backdrop of others' sin.
Readable is a lightly edited reading copy; Verbatim stays close to the spoken words. The audio and video are the record of what was said.
Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner." ()
A sinful woman pours out everything at Jesus's feet, while a righteous Pharisee can't see his own need—and only one of them goes home with joy.
Gratitude and the Fullness of Joy
We are currently in a series here at Cross Connection Church focusing our attention on the subject of gratitude, as this month will end, as it always does every November, with the celebration of Thanksgiving. I've shared the last several weeks that I believe gratitude is one of the keys to a happy life. Since all people seek for happiness, as the 16th-century French philosopher and theologian Blaise Pascal observed, it's a good thing for us to consider what actually leads us into experiencing fullness of joy.
Dennis Prager, in his book Happiness Is a Serious Problem, says, "Yes, there is a secret to happiness, and it is gratitude. All happy people are grateful, and ungrateful people cannot be happy." We tend to think that being unhappy is what leads people to complain, but it's truer to say that complaining leads people to become unhappy. Become grateful, he says, and you will become a much happier person.
I think he's right. And I think the God who made you desires that you would experience fullness of life—that's one of the reasons Jesus came. He said, "The thief comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy; but I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." In , Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." One reason God calls us to be grateful is because it is through gratitude that we begin to lay hold of fullness of joy.
Simon Welcomes Jesus
Last week we were in the Gospel of Luke looking at the story of ten lepers who came to Jesus for healing, and only one returned to give thanks. This week I want to stay in Luke, picking up the story in .
This is one of the truly fascinating, standout stories in the gospels. We're introduced to a Pharisee named Simon. The Pharisees were a religious sect within Judaism—some of the most committed believers you could find. They not only believed the law of Moses and sought to practice it, they sought to put into practice all the traditions of their fathers. They were hyper-committed to their faith. They get a bad rap in the gospels, and rightly so in some regards, but you have to give it to Simon: he welcomed Jesus into his home. Some people are simply not interested in Jesus; at the very least, this man was. He wanted to see if Jesus was the real deal.
If you only read the previous six chapters of Luke, you know that by this point Jesus had quite the reputation. He had healed the sick, cast out demons, healed a paralyzed man, even raised the dead son of a widow. He was preaching provocative messages, and word about Him was spreading. So Simon—one of the "super Jews," the spiritually high-class, hyper-religious ones who saw it as their job to maintain faithfulness to Judaism and within Judaism—invites Him in. But he invites Him in as a skeptic. Maybe you're here today as a skeptic of Jesus yourself.
The Worst Possible Guest
As Simon hosts Jesus, the worst possible thing happens. "Behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil."
They didn't have banks and savings accounts in the way we do today. If you wanted something to retain value, you would purchase something costly—like this very expensive oil in an alabaster flask, sealed in such a way that once you opened it, the seal was broken and it lost its value immediately. She comes with this costly oil, breaks the seal, and anoints Jesus. Standing at His feet weeping, she begins to wash His feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. A woman's hair in this culture was highly regarded, and the feet were considered the lowliest, dirtiest part of a person. She takes her crown and something very costly, and pours it all out for Jesus.
Reading this week, a thought went through my mind: how did she even get into his house? I have a theory—I'm probably wrong, and I might get corrected when we get to heaven—but maybe she's related to Simon. Maybe she's his sister. You know someone like this in your family, the one where, when you're throwing a party, you say, "Let's not invite her." Simon is the good kid, the one who always got the good grades, always showed up at synagogue at the right time and stayed all day. And here comes the problem child to cause a scene again—standing right behind the guest of honor, weeping, wiping His feet with her hair, breaking open the costly oil you bought for her, and pouring it out.
Every other guest in the room is looking from Jesus to Simon, thinking, "What are you going to do?" The text tells us what's going through his mind: "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner." We don't have to stretch far to understand what it means that she was a sinner—she had an immoral reputation, while Simon had the good one. He concludes Jesus can't be a prophet, because a prophet would never allow her to touch him. "I would never do that. I keep them at arm's length."
Jesus Is Not Shocked by Sinners
Sometimes the super-religious, like Simon, are embarrassed by Jesus and uncomfortable around sinners. But here is something to be thankful for today. Point number one: Jesus is not shocked by sinners. That is good news. I think sometimes sinners are shocked that Jesus isn't shocked by them.
In the position I'm in as a pastor, I sometimes get the sense from people who aren't the churchy kind that they're intentionally saying or doing things to see how I'll respond. I've had the privilege for over a dozen years to serve as a chaplain with the fire department, and firefighters are an interesting breed. Some of the guys knew they weren't the churchy type, and they'd say off-the-wall things just to see how the chaplain would react. It doesn't shock me—and I'm so grateful that Jesus is not shocked by sinners.
The reason is simple: Paul wrote in that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." That's why He came. He came "to seek and to save that which was lost" (). Simon is shocked by the sinner in his presence, but he's even more shocked that Jesus isn't shocked.
A Story of Two Debtors
So Jesus answered him. "Simon, I have something to say to you." And Simon said, "Teacher, say it." If I were directing this for a movie, Simon is so disgusted he can't even look at Jesus or at this pitiful scene. "All right, Rabbi, what have you got? Let's hear it."
Jesus does what He often did—He teaches with a simple but deep story. "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii"—a denarius was a day's wage—"and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?" Simon answered, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And Jesus said, "You have judged rightly."
You don't need to be a theologian or a rocket scientist to understand this. Put it in terms we understand: say one owed fifty days' wages, maybe $20,000—a significant debt. The other owed a couple years' wages, maybe $200,000. Neither could repay, and the creditor freely forgave them both. Which one would be more grateful and show more love? The one forgiven more.
"Do You See This Woman?"
Then Jesus turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?"—almost redirecting his attention back to her as he looks away in disgust. "I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss"—the common greeting of the day—"but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil"—another common practice—"but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."
Jesus has an amazing ability to hit us right between the eyes. No doubt the woman had done many bad things, and Jesus doesn't gloss over it—"her sins are many." Everybody in the room knew her reputation. But on this occasion she did the perfectly right thing. Simon, who had spent his life doing the right things, in this instance did exactly the wrong thing. The sinful woman recognized her sin and rejoiced in Jesus's presence; Simon was blind to his own errors.
The Danger of Being Blind to Your Debt
Both men in Jesus's story had a debt. One was smaller—$20,000 versus $200,000—but a debt nonetheless. The woman's debt was huge, but that didn't change the fact that Simon had a debt too. The problem was, he didn't see his. All he could see was her debt, and in comparison his looked like nothing. Because he was blind to his errors, he had disdain for Jesus's mercy and grace. The very fact that Jesus showed mercy to this woman made him angry.
Point number two: the forgiving grace of Jesus stirs sinners to overflow with thanksgiving. This woman's heart overflows with thanksgiving. Unfortunately, not every sinner recognizes their need for grace. She saw her need; everybody saw it. She understood she had no merit, nothing to earn His favor—all she could count on was His mercy and grace. Simon's good works and religious righteousness made him blind to his own sin and made him despise Jesus's mercy.
Here is one of the problems with religion. I'm not saying religion is entirely bad—there are aspects of ritual, of times and seasons, that draw us into worship and encourage our prayer. But the major danger is this: it makes you think that because you do those things, you're good. It makes it easier to look down on the people who don't do the things you do. Simon had no less need of grace than this woman, but he couldn't see his need because he was self-righteous. When we do the right things at the right times in the right places, it sometimes becomes harder to recognize that any grace we've received is grace—undeserved favor.
"Your Faith Has Saved You; Go in Peace"
Jesus turned to the woman and said, "Your sins are forgiven." Those who sat at the table began to say, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" And He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
Point number three: Christ's forgiving grace is available in abundance to those who see their need and seek His grace. Seeing the need is the challenge. The reason it's so easy to miss our need is that we see other people's sin and judge ourselves by their lives. When we do, it's easy to see their sin and not our own. We tend to think we're pretty good people.
Years ago, when I was much younger, I was taught to share my faith with a simple question: "If you died tonight, would you go to heaven?" Almost every time I asked it, people would say, "Yeah, I think so." On the basis of what? "Well, I'm a pretty good person." We tend to think we're pretty good. We can identify someone better than us, but it's far easier to identify someone worse. The darkness of their depravity makes us shine like a star against the black night. It's so easy to point the finger and say they deserve judgment—especially when they cut us off on the freeway. "Man, they're driving really fast to hell, and I look really good."
Point number four: the peace and rest of Christ await those who trust in His saving and forgiving grace. Simon couldn't see his need. The woman could easily see hers. She came to Jesus, and He said, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
Reasons to Rejoice
As we draw close to Thanksgiving, I want to give you some reasons to rejoice. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Paul wrote, "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance"—meaning you should hold on to this one. Many believe it was an early Christian catechism: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And then Paul adds, "of whom I am chief."
That recognition has more punch when you realize the man who wrote it was formerly a Pharisee—Saul, who in his previous life believed himself righteous and blameless according to his good deeds. In he says, in effect, "If anyone has something to boast about, I had more than you. I hit all the check boxes, and in comparison to everyone else, I was blameless." What changed? Saul met Jesus. He no longer saw himself against the backdrop of other people's sin, but in the light of Christ's righteousness—and he realized, maybe for the first time, "I am a desperate sinner in need of grace."
The sinful woman reminds us that gratitude overflows from a heart that has been touched by Christ's saving and forgiving grace. Some people's debt is huge and apparent. Others' debt feels lighter, like something they could take care of themselves. But Simon was in no less need than this woman—and in reality, maybe more, because he did not recognize his need.
When Gratitude Is Difficult
If gratitude is difficult for you today, here are a few things to think about. Romans says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"—and that word all includes me and you. Romans also says, "The wages of sin is death." Paul observed in that we were "dead in trespasses and sins," walking according to the course of this world, "by nature children of wrath, just as the others." We judge ourselves by the sin of others and think we're doing pretty well next to them—but when we see ourselves in the light of Jesus's righteousness, it becomes clearer. As says, "We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags."
"But God"——"who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works." Those are great reasons to rejoice in gratitude today.
Pouring Out in Loving Devotion
How should we respond? The heart that sees the greatness of God's gift and grace in light of the depths of its own sinful depravity expresses gratitude in loving devotion to Him—pouring out worship, thanks, and praise, even when it's costly, like it was for this woman. That, I think, is abiding in the love of God.
Jesus said in , "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." My hope and prayer is that your joy would be full. One of the keys that blocks that fullness of joy is failing to pour out your gratitude and praise to Christ for the good things He's done to make us His.
Closing Prayer
Father God, I thank You for the story we have here in . I thank You for the way it challenges us, and for the way it reveals that we can so easily point the finger of condemnation at sinners who are on level ground with us. God, I pray that we would approach Your cross recognizing that the standard by which we are judged is not the sin of others, but the righteousness You show forth. In light of that, we are all in such desperate need of Your grace and forgiveness. I thank You that You have an abundance of grace and mercy for those who see their need and seek Your grace. So we come before Your throne of grace this morning to obtain mercy and grace, because we desperately need it. And God, I pray that You would use us to be conduits of that grace to others, for we live in a world that is in desperate need of Your glorious grace. We praise You, we thank You, we worship You today. It's in Jesus's name we pray, and all those who agreed said amen.
Amen, amen, amen! Praise the Lord! Thank you, Anthony and the worship team. Good morning, Cross Connection Church! You guys can have a seat. Welcome!
Man, it was a little chilly this morning, wasn't it? How many of you are from actual cold climates? Anyone here? Oh, look at that! You can always tell the people who are newly arrived from a cold climate because us San Diego natives, like myself and a number of you, find mornings like this freezing. We are looking for our cold weather gear, while you see the person from Minnesota in shorts and a tank top, wondering, "What is your problem?" I'll tell you what my problem is: I would die if I had to live in that climate.
In fact, Pastor Garrett and I were at a conference in January 2019 in Minneapolis. Who goes to Minneapolis in January? Only Vikings fans and crazy people! I think those are actually connected. It was during a polar vortex, and I realized while we were there that I would die if I had to live in that place. It made me very grateful—thankful for San Diego. Praise the Lord for San Diego! Amen! Where 37 degrees feels like a polar vortex for us.
As we give thanks, we are currently in a series here at Cross Connection Church, focusing our attention on the subject of gratitude. This month will end, as it always does every November, with the celebration of Thanksgiving. I have shared over the last several weeks that I believe gratitude is one of the keys to a happy life. Since all people seek happiness, as the 16th-century French philosopher and theologian Blaise Pascal observed, I think it's a good thing for us to consider what leads us to experience fullness of joy.
I want to share again a thought from Dennis Prager in his book, "Happiness is a Serious Problem." He says there is a secret to happiness, and it is gratitude. All happy people are grateful, and ungrateful people cannot be happy. We tend to think that being unhappy leads people to complain, but it's truer to say that complaining leads people to become unhappy. So, he says, become grateful, and you will become a much happier person. I think he is right.
In what he says in that passage, I also think that the God who made you desires that you would experience fullness of life. That's one of the reasons Jesus came. He said, "The thief has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly," or to the full. We are all seeking that fullness of life, that abundant life. A part of that fullness of life is certainly experiencing fullness of joy.
In , Jesus said, "These things that I've spoken to you, I've spoken them to you so that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full." I think that one of the reasons God commands, calls, or wills us to be grateful is because it is through gratitude, just as Dennis Prager and many others have observed, that we begin to lay hold of joy, fullness of joy. He desires that we would experience that abundant life; therefore, He wills our gratitude.
If you were with us last week, we were in the Gospel of Luke, looking at a story about ten lepers who had this terminal and terrible disease. They came to Jesus for healing, and in His mercy, He healed them. However, one of them, as they left, returned to Jesus to offer Him gratitude and thanks for what Christ had done. It's a great story. If you weren't with us last week, you might want to check it out on our YouTube channel or our website.
This week, I want to stay in the Gospel of Luke. If you have your Bible, would you open it with me? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and an usher will bring you one. Open to about the middle of your Bible and start turning to the right. You will find the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and then Luke. is where we're going to pick up the story today.
As with last week, I'm going to invite you to stand with me as we begin at verse 36. says, "Then one of the Pharisees asked Him, Jesus, to eat with him. And Jesus went to the Pharisee's house and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, perfume. She stood at Jesus's feet behind Him, weeping, and she began to wash His feet with her tears and wipe..."
She kissed His feet and anointed them with fragrant oil. Now, when the Pharisee who invited Jesus saw this, he spoke within himself and said, "This man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is that is touching him, for she is a sinner."
God, I pray as we look at this story and consider the subject of gratitude and Thanksgiving, that You would reveal truth to us in this passage. Speak to us and continue the work that You are desiring to do in us by Your word and by Your Spirit, transforming us by the renewing of our minds, sanctifying and cleansing us, pruning away dead branches that are unfruitful, that we might produce more fruit. God, do a work in us. That's certainly my desire for myself and my prayer for my brothers and sisters here this morning. Speak to us, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.
This is one of the truly fascinating stories in the Gospels. That's not to in any way lessen the other stories of the Gospels, but this is an interesting and standout story. We are introduced here in the opening words of this passage in to a Pharisee named Simon.
The Pharisees, when you read through the Gospels, were a religious sect of individuals in Judaism during this time. There were a number of different groups in Judaism at the time, and the Pharisees were some of the most committed believers in Judaism that you could find. These were the ones who not only believed the law of Moses and sought to practice it, but they also sought to put into practice all the traditions of their fathers in Judaism as well. They were hyper-committed to their faith.
They get a bad rap in the Gospels, and rightly so in some regards. However, you have to give it to this man, Simon the Pharisee. I appreciate the fact that he welcomed Jesus into his home. At least give him the benefit of the doubt that here Simon welcomes Jesus to come and have a meal with him.
Meal at his home, there are some people who are just not interested in Jesus. However, at the very least, this man was interested in Jesus. He wanted to see if this man was the real deal; he wanted to determine if Jesus really stood up to the rumors circulating about him.
If you only read the previous six chapters of Luke and all you know is the Gospel of Luke, you would understand that at this point in time, Jesus had quite the reputation. In those chapters, He healed those who were sick, cast demons out of people, healed a man who was paralyzed, and even raised the dead son of a widowed woman. He preached provocative messages, and as a result, the reputation of Jesus began to spread throughout the land. No doubt, Simon the Pharisee had heard about this man, and now that Jesus was passing through his town, he invited Him into his home.
Keep in mind that Simon and other Pharisees like him were the super Jews. They were hyper-committed to their faith and represented the spiritual elite, if you will. They were the hyper-religious, the super spiritual, the ones who not only saw it as their job to maintain faithfulness to Judaism but also to ensure faithfulness within Judaism. They were the ones who would constantly correct others for their bad behavior, saying things like, "Don't say that," "Don't do that," or "Do this the right way." Many of us probably know a Pharisee or, perhaps, when we look in the mirror each morning, we see one.
These hyper-religious individuals wanted people to maintain consistency in their faith. If you, like Simon, were the most serious about your faith among all your friends and in your community, and you started to hear the rumors about this random Galilean preacher who was apparently performing miracles, you would likely want to figure out if this guy was the real deal. So, Simon invited Him into his house to have a meal and to keep an eye on what was happening.
In mind that Simon, when he does, is probably skeptical of Jesus. Maybe you're here today as a skeptic of Jesus yourself. He invites Jesus into his home, trying to do the thing that you ought to do if you hear about this guy who's apparently a really good religious teacher. You want to assess where he's at. He invites him in, but he's skeptical of him.
As he does, the worst possible thing happens at his gathering. Behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil. They didn't have banks and savings accounts in the way that we do today. During this time, if you wanted something to retain value instead of having some sort of money in your home that could be easily stolen or lost, you would purchase something that had a very high value. This very costly oil in an alabaster flask would be sealed in such a way that once you opened it, the seal was broken, and it lost its value immediately.
But she comes with this very costly oil, breaks the seal, and anoints Jesus, standing at his feet weeping. She begins to wash his feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. The hair of a woman in this culture and time was highly regarded. This would be an amazing thing for her to do. The feet of an individual were considered the most lowly and dirty part of a person. So, she is taking that which is her crown and pouring out something very costly for Jesus.
When Simon sees this, he is aghast at the situation. As I read this story this week, having taught on this passage many times, a thought went through my mind: how did she even get into his house? I have a theory, and I might be wrong, but it's my theory. I think maybe it's a stretch, and I might get corrected when we get to heaven. I wonder if she might be related to Simon, perhaps his sister. I know it's a stretch, but maybe you know someone like this—someone in your family where, when they were throwing a party, people would say, "Let's not invite her." Maybe when Simon was having a gathering of people at his home, he said to his spouse, "Oh gosh, what if she..."
She always makes things uncomfortable. Oh, let's hope she doesn't come, but she shows up anyway. If I'm right in this, you can imagine Simon's heart kind of sinking when she walked in. Oh dear God! Simon is the good kid, the one who always got the good grades, the one who always did the right things, the one who always showed up at synagogue at the right time and was there all day until the end of the day when everybody else was leaving. But then there's the younger sister, the problem child, always causing issues. Here she comes to cause a scene again.
She doesn't only show up at Simon's house; he was hoping she wouldn't, but now she stands right behind the guest of honor. She begins to weep and cry, falling down at his feet. She takes her hair and wipes his feet with her hair and her tears. Then she takes that very costly oil that he bought for her, breaks it open, and pours it out. Your heart sinks. At this moment, every other person in the room—there were other guests he invited—what are they doing? They're looking from Jesus in this insane scene to Simon, and they're thinking, "What are you going to do? What are you going to do?"
What is going through Simon's mind at that moment? Well, we know what's going through his mind because the text tells us. He says within his mind, "This man, if he were a prophet..." You know, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I've heard rumors about the things he's apparently doing. I heard that he raised a dead person back to life again. I heard that he healed a paralyzed man. That's amazing! I heard that he casts out demons with his voice, and I've heard some of the things he's said in his teaching. It truly is provocative and does kind of convict even a Pharisee like me. I'm a pretty good guy, and I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe, just maybe, he might be a prophet.
But no, there's no way! If he were a prophet, he would know the kind of woman that is touching him—that she is a sinner. We can use our imaginations about what it means that she was a sinner; we don't have to stretch very far. She had an immoral reputation, whereas Simon had the good.
Reputation was of reputable character. The guy did everything the right way, at the right times and in the right places, but not her. One of the things you see in this story is that he thinks within himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know what manner of woman this is that's touching him." Clearly, he's not a prophet because he's allowing her, a sinner, to touch him. I would never do that; I would keep them at arm's length and probably farther. I want nothing to do with them.
So, I've disowned my sister. Again, I'm stretching it; I get it. I could be wrong on this; it's just a theory. But sometimes the super-religious, like Simon the Pharisee, are embarrassed by Jesus. He was certainly embarrassed by Jesus and definitely uncomfortable around sinners.
Here's something to really be thankful for today. Point number one, if you're taking notes: Jesus is not shocked by sinners. Man, that's good news! He's not surprised or shocked by sinners, and I love that about him. I think sometimes sinners are shocked that Jesus is not shocked by them.
Being in the position that I'm in as a pastor, maybe you've experienced this, maybe you haven't, but I certainly have. I have interactions with people who are not the churchy kind of people, and I sometimes get the sense—maybe I'm wrong—but I sometimes get the sense that they are intentionally doing or saying things to see how I will respond. I've had this more than a few times.
For the last dozen or so years, I have had the privilege of being a chaplain with the fire department. Firefighters are an interesting breed of characters. I love being around them; they're great. However, there have been some guys over the years who I knew, and they knew that I knew, that they weren't the churchy type. They let me know they weren't the churchy type and were a little suspect about the chaplain who showed up. Sometimes, I would get the sense that they would do and say things just to see how I would respond if I heard this crazy, off-the-wall thing. They would kind of look at me a little bit and wonder.
It doesn't shock me, and I am so grateful that Jesus is not shocked by sinners. The reason that Jesus is not shocked by sinners is very simple. Never forget this: Paul wrote in that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That's why he came. He's not shocked by sinners because he came to save.
Sinners, He came to seek and to save that which is lost, as we discover in . Now, Simon is shocked. He is shocked by what is going on in his presence—this sinner in his presence. But he is more shocked that Jesus isn't shocked. He thinks to himself, if Jesus were a prophet, he might be willing to accept this situation, but he clearly is not. If He were a prophet, He would not allow this, because prophets don't have anything to do with sinful people.
So, Jesus answered in , saying to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." Simon replied, "Teacher, say it." If I were directing this scene for a movie, I would imagine Simon, at this point, so disgusted that he can't even look at Jesus or this pitiful scene of the woman wiping His feet with her hair and washing them with her tears. He is looking away in disgust.
Jesus then says to Simon, "Simon, I have something to say to you." Simon responds with disdain, "All right, Rabbi, what do you have for me? Let's hear it, preacher boy." Jesus does what He often did; He teaches with stories. Often, these stories are very simple but have deep meanings.
He says, "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed him 500 denarii, and the other owed him 50. When they had nothing with which to repay the creditor, he freely forgave them both. Simple story. Tell me, therefore, Simon, which of them will love him more?"
Simon answered, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly." This is Jesus's standard practice: to give a simple story that has a very clear and deep meaning. You don't need to be much of a theologian or a rocket scientist to understand what this story is all about and what it means. Simon was a pretty smart guy, so he quickly grasped the point.
I suppose the one who would show more devotion or have more love for this creditor would be the one whom he forgave more of a debt. To put this into terms that we can understand, let's assign a monetary value to this: 50 days' wages.
Months' wages—let's just put a number on it, like $20,000. Then there’s this other guy who owes a couple of years' wages, maybe $200,000. So, one owed him $20,000, which is a significant debt; it's not something to just look away from. But the other one owes him $200,000, and they could not repay it. He freely forgives them both. Which one do you think would be more grateful? Which one would show more love? Well, sure, it would be the one who was forgiven more.
Then Jesus turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?" Almost as if Simon was looking away in disgust, Jesus redirected his attention back to this sinful woman on the floor, pouring out everything to the amazement and disgust of everyone in the room. "Do you see this woman?"
Simon might have thought, "Yeah, I kind of wish I didn't. I kind of wish she wasn't here. She was not invited; she’s not supposed to be here. I am a Pharisee; my house is a clean house. It’s a spiritual house. We've got the sign on the door that says, 'As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.' She’s not supposed to be here. If she were my sister, I would have told her not to come."
Jesus continued, "I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, which was the common greeting of the day, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil, again a common practice of the day, but this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant perfume oil. Therefore, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."
There are a lot of gems here, a lot of great things to glean from this. Jesus has an amazing ability to hit us with full force, right between the eyes—kind of like Jake Paul, for those who get the reference.
He has an amazing ability to recognize sin. No doubt, the sinful woman had done a lot of bad things in her life. Jesus even acknowledges it; He doesn't gloss over it. Her sins are many, and everybody in the room knew that. They knew her reputation; she was identified as The Sinner, the immoral one. Jesus recognized that her sins were many and that she had done a lot of wrong things in her life.
However, on this occasion, she did the perfectly right thing. Simon, on the other hand, had done all the right things in his life and sought to do good. Yet, in this instance, he did exactly the wrong thing. The sinful woman recognized her sin and rejoiced in Jesus's presence, pouring out very costly oil. Simon, on the other hand, was blind to his own errors.
In His story of the creditors and the debtors, Jesus makes it clear that both individuals who were forgiven had a debt. Yes, one of the debts was a lot smaller—$20,000 versus $200,000. This sinful, immoral woman in Jesus's presence at this dinner had a huge debt, but that did not lessen the fact that Simon the Pharisee had a debt as well. The problem was that he didn't see his debt; all he could do was see her debt. In comparison, his debt was like nothing, easy to overlook. He was blind to his errors, and because of this blindness, he had disdain for Jesus's mercy and grace. The fact that Jesus was merciful and gracious to this woman made him angry.
Point number two, if you're taking notes: the forgiving grace of Jesus stirs sinners to overflow with thanksgiving. This woman’s heart...
Overflows with thanksgiving. Unfortunately, not every sinner recognizes their need for Jesus's grace and forgiveness. This sinful woman saw her need; everybody saw her need. They all knew she was a sinner. She understood that all she could have would be His grace and His mercy. She had no merit; she had nothing that would deserve or earn His favor. All she could count on was His mercy and His grace.
Simon’s good works, though his religious righteousness, made him blind to his own sin and caused him to despise Jesus's mercy. Here’s one of the problems with religion: don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying that religion is entirely bad. In fact, there are certain aspects of the ritual of religion and the times and the seasons that draw us into a place to offer worship and praise in standard ways or to encourage our worship and our prayer through written prayers. All those things can be good.
However, there is a major danger in religion. The major danger is this: it makes you think that because you do those things, you are good. It leads us to believe that we have everything going on, making it easier for us to look down upon other people who don’t do the things that we do. Simon the Pharisee had no less need for the grace and forgiveness of Jesus than this sinful woman, but he could not see his need because he was self-righteous. He could see her sin, but he could not see his own.
That’s the danger with religion. When we do the right things at the right times in the right places, as it relates to doing spiritual things for God in church, it sometimes makes it more difficult for us to recognize that any grace we’ve received is because of grace—it's unmerited favor.
So, Jesus turned and said to the sinful woman, "Your sins are forgiven." Those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has..."
Saved, you go in peace. The Weeping Woman at Jesus's feet knew that she was a sinner. Everybody in the room knew that she was a sinner; she had a reputation. They all classified her as the sinful woman. As she wept at Jesus's feet, she received His grace and forgiveness.
Point number three: Christ's forgiving grace is available in abundance to those who, this is key, see their need and seek His grace. That part, the "see their need" part, that's the challenge. That's the difficulty. We don't always see our need for His mercy, grace, and forgiveness. The reason that it's so easy for us to bypass or not see our need is that we see other people's sin. We see all the horrible, immoral, wicked things that they do, and we tend to judge ourselves by their lives.
When we judge ourselves by their lives, it's really easy for us to see their sin and not our own. We tend to think we're pretty good people. In fact, years ago, when I was much younger, I was encouraged and taught to share my faith with people. Maybe you were as well, to evangelize. One of the methods, one of the ways that we would share our faith, is that you might talk with someone who's not a Christian, someone who doesn't go to church, and you might ask them a very simple question: If you died tonight, would you go to heaven?
Here's the amazing thing about that question: pretty much every time I asked it, people would say, "Yeah, I think so." I'd say, "On the basis of what?" They would respond, "Well, I'm a pretty good person." We tend to think we're pretty good people. Now, we can identify someone who's better than us, but it is far easier for us to identify the person who is worse than us. In comparison to them, I look really, really good. The darkness and the depth of the depravity of their sin make me shine like a star in the black night. I look so good when I point at those other people and how sinful they are.
It's so easy for me to point the finger and say, "Well, they deserve hell; they deserve judgment," especially when they cut me off on the freeway. It's like, man, they're driving really fast to hell, and I look really good. Christ's forgiving grace is available.
In abundance to those who see their need and seek His grace, unfortunately, Simon couldn't see his need. The woman could easily see her need; everybody could see it. She came to Jesus, and Jesus said, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
Point number four: the peace and rest of Christ await those who trust in His saving and forgiving grace. As we draw close to Thanksgiving, as I am seeking to focus our attention on gratitude and Thanksgiving this month, and as Pastor Mark's daily devotions go out this month doing the same thing, I want to give you some reasons to rejoice and some reasons to have gratitude this morning.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Paul, when he wrote that, said, "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance," meaning you should hold on to this one: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. It is believed by many Bible teachers and commentators that this was an early Christian catechism, a statement that Christians knew. Then he adds something to it: "of whom I am chief."
That recognition has more punch to it when you realize that the guy who wrote it was formerly a Pharisee, Saul the Pharisee, who in his previous life as a Pharisee believed himself to be righteous and blameless according to his good deeds. He tells us that in . If anyone has something to boast about, he says, "I had more to boast about than you. I hit all the checkboxes that you needed to check to be the right kind of person, and in comparison to everybody else, I was blameless."
What changed? Saul met Jesus. He met Jesus and he no longer saw himself on the backdrop of other people's sin; he saw himself in the light of Christ's righteousness. He realized, maybe for the first time...
I am a desperate sinner in need of grace. The sinful woman in the story reminds us that gratitude overflows from a heart that has been touched by Christ's saving and forgiving grace. Some people's debt is huge and apparent, and it is clear that they have no way to deal with it, like the individual in Jesus's story who owed 500 denarii, or like the woman at Jesus's feet who is weeping and wiping his feet with her hair.
Other people's debt may not seem as significant; it feels like a light load that they could take care of if needed. They might think they are paying it off right now through their good works. However, Simon was in no less need of Jesus's forgiveness and grace than this woman, and perhaps, in reality, he was in more need. Why? Because he did not recognize his need.
Gratitude might be difficult for you. If you find yourself in that place today, wondering how to encourage gratitude in your heart, I want to give you a few things to think about. Romans says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that word "all" includes me and includes you. The Book of Romans also states that the wages of sin is death.
Paul observed in that we were dead in trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world, following the patterns of this world according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. We all once conducted ourselves in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
Oftentimes, we judge ourselves based on the sins of others and think that we are doing pretty well in comparison. We may look like bright shining lights, but when we see ourselves in the light of Jesus's righteousness, it becomes a little clearer. We are all, as Isaiah observed in , an unclean thing, and all of our good works, all of our righteousness, are as filthy rags before Him in comparison to His greatness.
But God, as stated in ...
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved. He raised us up together and made us to sit together with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. Those, I think, are some great reasons to rejoice and express gratitude today.
With the knowledge of these things, how should we respond? The heart that sees the greatness of God's gift and grace, in light of the depths of its own sinful depravity, expresses gratitude in loving devotion to Him. Gratitude and loving devotion to Him pour out worship, thanks, and praise, even if it is costly, like it was for this woman pouring it out to Him. That, I think, is abiding in the love of God.
Jesus said to His disciples in , "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." These things I have spoken to you so that My joy might remain in you and your joy might be full. My hope and my prayer for you is that your joy would be full. I think that one of the keys to unlocking that fullness of joy is to pour out your gratitude and praise to Christ for the good things that He has done to make us His. Amen.
Let's stand and close in prayer together. Father God, I thank You for the story that we have here in . I thank You for the way that it challenges us, for the way that it reveals that we can so easily point the finger of condemnation at sinners who are on level ground with us. But God, I pray that we would come and...
Approach your cross, recognizing that the standard by which we are judged is not the sin of others, but the righteousness that you show forth. In light of that, we are all in such desperate need of your grace and desperate need of your forgiveness.
Lord, I thank you that you have an abundance of grace and an abundance of mercy for those who see their need and seek your grace. So we come before your throne of grace this morning to obtain mercy and grace because we desperately need it.
God, I pray that you would use us to be conduits of that grace to others, for we live in a world that is in desperate need of your glorious grace. We praise you, we thank you, and we worship you today. It's in Jesus' name we pray, and all those that agreed said, "Amen."
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