The last messages I gave in December were from Vannes where we were enjoying the lead up to Christmas with our boys and Hannah.
As it turned out it was a white Christmas, something of a rare event captured in these photos I took on Christmas morning, it felt a special gift from the Lord.
The December messages from Luke 7 were firstly on faith - the Roman Centurion who needed his servant healed, the widow who needed her son raised from death. And secondly in the same chapter a message on the doubt of John the Baptist. Yes even the greatest of believers can go through a period of doubt. Doubt is not unbelief.
Maybe not to the extent of John the Baptist but our faith is tested by trials, God turns up the heat to bring the dross to the surface so that we can be made into pure gold.
Today we move to the last part of Luke 7 to a woman whose great sins were forgiven. The message is about repentance, love and forgiveness. You might not know too many people living the kind of life she was living. If someone as rotten as her can be saved, then there is hope for us all !
Luke 7:36-40
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.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.”
Who was the woman? Who was Simon? There is this passage in John;
John 12:1-8
Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”
If the 2 passages are in fact the same story, then Mary would be Mary Magdalene, whom the Lord cast 7 devils out of which is mentioned in the next chapter of Luke.
Luke 8:1-3
Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.
It would also explain some of the motive that Judas had in betraying Jesus if he was angry at the rebuke Jesus gave both to his father Simon (Luke 7) and Judas himself (John 8). The Lord chastens the ones he loves but how we respond to his chastening can determine our eternal destiny. Think of Cain, of Esau, of Saul.
But that’s just by the way, it doesn’t matter if they are the same story, the point being made is the same.
Back to our passage today, the Pharisee said that if Jesus was truly a prophet, he would not allow her to touch him as that would cause Jesus to be defined by her sin. The World and the Devil will try to define you by your sin. But this story of the woman is not about her sin but about her repentance and love for the Lord.
The Pharisee was exactly right by the the law but he was missing the point of what was happening right before his eyes. There is mercy from the law and for the most surprising reason. Repentance.
Our stories get rewritten when we truly repent. For the first time the Pharisee is named. He was Simon. Jesus told Simon this.
Luke 7:41-47
“There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, 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 and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? 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, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, 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.”
Where does our love for the Lord sit on the sliding scale? Is it some where near zero like Simon or is it somewhere near ten like the woman? Jesus said that our love for him is directly proportional to how much we’ve been forgiven. The trouble for a so called good person like Simon is that they don’t think they’ve done much wrong. Whereas the woman was fully aware of the magnitude of her sins. Would to God that we would all realise how great our debts are!
There is something important here about repentance. See the woman was weeping. It’s not always easy to tell just from someone’s tears if they are truly sorry. Some people are only sorry that they got caught or for the mess they are in. In truth, they would do it again if they could avoid the consequences.
Genuine tears produce repentance that results in a change in eternal destiny. It is hard to repent and it’s hard to confront sin. Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the terrible sin in their Church;
2 Corinthians 7:8-11
For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
The woman was a sinner and by the law deserved death and Hell. How did Jesus judge her? Jesus could see her heart. This woman was genuinely sorry for her sins, she was changed on the inside.
Luke 7:48-50
Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” And 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.”
Notice this, to others Jesus said go and sin no more but to this woman he said go in peace. If someone loves Jesus as much as this woman, there is very little possibility that they will sin again.
Can love alone stop someone from sinning? It really should. But the sin within each one of us is very powerful. So the love must be stronger.
I’m sure you know the author Philip Yancey who wrote the best-selling book « What’s so amazing about Grace ». He used the term « the scandal of Grace » in his book. Philip Yancey has been in the news lately, he has confessed to a scandal in his own life. Of course many people have written Philip Yancey off now but I think his work still stands. Just like David’s Psalms. But what I think isn’t important. How will Jesus judge Philip Yancey, only Jesus can see his heart and see if his tears are real.
Having your sins forgiven is a big deal, it is a scandal of Grace. Is it right for a judge to let someone go free just because they are genuinely sorry for what they’ve done? Surely they must pay a price. Yes, That is the Gospel. It is right because Jesus suffered on the Cross paying the price for our sins. Our eternal destiny depends on this truth. Would to God that we would all be granted the grace of forgiveness shown to this woman. Our sins may be scarlet but we can be washed whiter than snow.
