We’re going to be in Luke 7 today.

I honestly had a hard time putting together this sermon. It was so hard because the Holy Spirt was telling me to repent, to accept God’s grace, and change the my views. I have these real judgmental tendencies and incredibly pessimistic views that make this pharisee look like a saint.

Earlier this week, at like 3am, my daughter Kate woke up screaming. She was having a nightmare. Most of that was my fault. I’ll admit that. I pumped her up with some Big Boy and a bottle of apple juice for dinner and then continued to give her snacks right until bedtime. Then, because it’s bed time, I did what I had to do to get her to sleep: I told her the wolves were done hibernating and that they would eat the little girls who weren’t sleeping in bed. Yes, I’m that dad!

At 3am when she woke up screaming, here’s what I’m thinking: I gave you the best, name brand junk food and you’re having a nightmare at 3am! How dare you! Grow up!

I had no pity for this poor girl. So I’m standing in her room, yelling at her to go back to sleep; she’s yelling at me that she can’t go back to sleep because she’s scared. Then I’m threatening her with no more snacks, I’m taking away your toys, and that she’s going to have to sleep outside with the wolves because she’s not sleeping. This went on for at least twenty minutes.

Yeah, go ahead and judge my parenting. I know, now you’re thinking, is he really our pastor?

God was teaching me that before I go on judging people for their sin, shortcomings, and inadequacies, that I was that guy waking my entire neighborhood arguing with a toddler at 3 am.

Who else here makes things a bigger deal of things than necessary because we get so wrapped up in our own thoughts of what others do and how they should act? Am I the only self-absorbed person that consistently makes a five dollar problem, a five hundred dollar problem?

Luke 7:36-50

³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. ³⁷ And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, ³⁸ and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

⁴¹ “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ⁴⁴ Then turning toward 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 has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷ Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹ Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:36-50 ESV)

Lets pray.

Father in heaven we exalt you God. Be gracious to us, we are attacked, trampled, oppressed, afraid, but we place our trust in you. We trust in you and we experience your victory. Thank you for securing that victory for us through your son. We praise your word. That is your provision for us.

God there are things in our lives that we overlook, that we’ve taken for granted, and I ask that you turn our eyes to those things so we can give thanks to you. Thank you for the people in our lives that quietly, lovingly, and gently care for us. Thank you for keeping us under the shadow of your wings so that we can walk before you in a manner that is worthy. I ask that you provide supernatural peace today to overcome our wants, needs, and desires so we can live wanting nothing. Lord, you constantly remind us of how you love us. Help us receive your love, grace, and mercy because you deserve our attention and our affections.

God, let us see ourselves as you see us. Bring us a sense of worth that can only come through your spirit. Help us apply your scripture in our hearts and minds and let the word manifest in our actions. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

Let me show you what God was teaching me through this passage. Let’s go to verse 36 again.

³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked [Jesus] to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 

Some context—earlier in this chapter, Jesus healed a centurion’s servant. Then he raised a widow’s son from the dead. In the aftermath of those amazing miracles, the disciples of John the Baptist came and asked if he was the Messiah—Jesus says, “look at what’s happening, and you decide.” It’s at this point that a wealthy Pharisee took notice of Jesus’ ministry and invited him to eat, probably to make an assessment of Jesus himself.

We know that because of what Luke writes in verses 28-30, let me read it to you. Jesus says, “²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹ (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, ³⁰ but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.) (Luke 7:28-30 ESV)

In between the lines here, Luke shows us that Pharisees often had a “high status as influential leaders” and that they practiced a version of faith with the hopes of God yielding to their will because of their strict religious practices and their moral purity.

Anybody ever practice faith this way? All rules, no grace? Shaming people who don’t achieve the standards of those rules?

Then while Jesus was at dinner, verse 37.

³⁷ And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that [Jesus] was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment…

Tradition identifies her as a sinner because of her prostitution, but we don’t actually know that’s her sin. That’s an important detail omitted for us because the type of sin a person commits makes no difference to God. The bottom line is that if a person commits any sin, he or she falls short of the glory, and holiness of God. Luke wants us to pick up the fact that she is a known sinner and that her status as a sinner is not hidden.

In fact, this sinner came to seek Jesus just so that she could be where Jesus was. Again, we have absolutely no idea why. What we do know is that whatever Jesus did, it meant a lot to her. Verse 38.

 ³⁸ and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. (Luke 7:36-38 ESV)

This sinner, this unnamed woman, shows us an essential part about experiencing God’s grace in Jesus: that

Grace received from Jesus results in great love for Jesus.

Just imagine the level of grace you’d have to experience to affectionately love Jesus like this? These are not baby feet that are carried from one place to another with cute little toes. These are grown men feet that have been walking around all day in the dust and sweating in the sun, in sandals. If you let that thought sit with you, you’ll cringe because she basically used her head as a mop.

What’s more, when we read this more closely, we find that this woman’s love for Jesus actually increases with each successive action of love. Her actions become more and more costly to her.

Tears fall dropping from your eyes and rolling off your face, but your hair is attached to you, the mud you pick up with your hair as you wipe the now wet dirt stays on your hair until you can wash it off. Sure, you can keep the dirty hair away from your face, but when you start kissing the feet you just wiped, the dirt, the sand, the grime, the bugs, the whatever else was stepped on that you kissed, it just sits there on you face, in your mouth, swallowed even.

Then there is the ointment. We know perfume is expensive, but it’s the container, the alabaster, a marble or quartz like type of mineral, that makes the ointment costly. It’s a once in a lifetime type of possession. You don’t go get refills. This woman pours out her most valuable, lifetime possession on the feet of Jesus, like mop water.

This is the type of response to Jesus we need: that we be willing to pour out our most valued, once in a lifetime possessions, opportunities, at his feet and lay it before him because of what he’s done for us. Jesus deserves more than the 55 to 75 minutes we give him each week when we pull up to church. After all, he paid the cost of our sin with his life.

Does your affection for Jesus reflect the cost Jesus paid on the cross to redeem you? If not, then I urge you: make it a point to deliberately love Jesus, because the more you love Jesus, the more your affections for Jesus will grow.

Verse 39.

³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”

Did you see what the pharisee did after he witness what was happening? He judged Jesus for receiving love from the woman. It was instantaneous. What we see from the pharisee is that:

Grace refused from Jesus results in little love for Jesus.

Simon, the Pharisee, concludes that Jesus couldn’t be a true prophet because Jesus let a sinner touch him. As a result, his actions toward Jesus are actions of rejection. In Simon’s mind, the “sin” of this woman put her in a lower category of person than himself and because Jesus accepted her, he could not accept Jesus.

Just looking at these two characters shows us that:

Big Idea: Our response to Jesus reveals our grasp of his grace.

I want to pause to talk about what started the conversation between the Simon and Jesus in the first place. Did you catch this in verse 39: “…the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself…” He is talking to himself. Not outloud, but to himself!  

The pharisee may have invited Jesus to dinner, but he was a pretty bad host. The conversation between the guest and the host only started after Simon was having an internal dialogue with himself. Go to verse 40.

 ⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.

How many people talk to themselves, raise your hand.

 If you didn’t raise your hand, we know you’re talking to yourself right now, debating whether you should show yourself not. The hesitation is the same internal dialogue Simon was having in his head. The dialogue may not be an audible voice or complete sentences, but it’s what convinced you to decide one way or another. Don’t worry, this is a safe space, I won’t call you out because you didn’t want to be judged for raising your hand.

It’s through our internal dialogue that we perceive and receive Jesus’ love for us. This is where God meets us and speaks to us most often. As a result, the direction of our internal dialogue reveals our grasp of Jesus grace for us.

Our judgmental tendencies, our mean streaks, our seeing the worst in people, our pessimism, and skepticism, that comes from our internal dialogue. You’ve said it in your head before it comes out of your mouth or through your actions.

Now, when we look at this passage through the lens of psychology, we see two underlying beliefs our internal dialogues are shaped by: learned helplessness, that’s the pharisee; and learned optimism, the unnamed sinner.

These two concepts are going to help us process why we spend more time living like this pharisee, unable to give grace and love to Jesus and people, rather than living like this woman, who pours herself out because of Jesus.

Learned helplessness is the belief that adverse situations are unavoidable and the outcomes of those situations are unchangeable, so I’m going to act in a way that minimizes the damage I take on from those unchangeable outcomes. Let me translate that for us: The end result of life is pain and death, so I’m going to see everything that way and do whatever it takes to protect myself to numb myself in that outcome. Acting selfishly, stingily, or condescendingly, this is why. The Pharisee epitomizes learned helplessness in how he treats Jesus.

Having this type of belief underlying every thought and decision we have is not acceptable; but it’s not a good way to live either.

Family, we were only helpless before Jesus entered the fray of humanity and saved us in faith. Tim Chester, in his book, “A Meal with Jesus” writes, “What you, the guest, are offered is a measure of your standing in the eyes of society and your host. This is what Jesus is doing in eating with the marginalized. The marginalized cease to be marginal when they’re included around a meal table. The lonely cease to be lonely. The alien ceases to be alien. Strangers become friends.”

As a result of Jesus coming for us, our internal dialogues shouldn’t be colored by learned helplessness, it must be filtered through learned optimism.

Learned optimism is the belief that averse situations are not permanent and not pervasive. Meaning when we give ourselves over to Jesus, our eternity changed and our lives reflect that. The outcome of our lives, even if our circumstances are horrible and dire, that is not permanent, nor does it define us.

We are heirs of the most high God, created in his image. So the moment we receive Jesus as our savior, any prison or pain we find ourselves becomes temporary in light of God promise of eternity with him.

That’s our hope in this life—that God’s heaven be brought here in manifestation on earth or that we die to be with God in heaven. This is why Christianity grows and is revived when the times and cultures are oppressive and dark—because our destination is heaven, our God gives receives us, so we live empowered by the God who redeems us and receives us. If it’s not how we live and pray, then we’ve missed the point. Verse 41.

⁴¹ “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ⁴⁴ Then turning toward 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 has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷ Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

Here’s my last point:

Our actions of love reveal a faith that saves

The creditor forgives the debt of two people. The debtors are in the same situation: neither can pay their debt. Yes, one debt is 10x greater than the other, but the point is that both are at the mercy of the creditor; and the creditor graciously forgives their debt.

Jesus contrasts the actions of Simon, the sinful, but self-righteous, and judgmental pharisee, with the woman from the city, who knows her sinfulness. Simon didn’t think he needed the grace and salvation that Jesus had been proclaiming by the way he treated Jesus!

You see, it would have been customary in Jesus’ day for a guest to expect a certain response from their host when they visited for a meal. A warm greeting, some water to wash their feet, and some olive oil to refresh their hands and face before dining. Simon did none of these for Jesus!

Simon didn’t think he was a sinner, and he didn’t need God’s grace. And because he rejected the grace offered in Jesus, it resulted in little love for Jesus.

Let’s go to verse 48.

 ⁴⁸ And [Jesus] said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹ Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

The grace Jesus offers to this woman is the same grace offered to each of us today. It isn’t earned. It doesn’t come with conditions or pre-requisites. We simply need to recognize our need for it, and he gives it to us freely, at cost to himself.

The good news is that God sent his one and only son to pay for our sins. When we believe in Jesus’ love, and sacrifice for us, we receive God’s grace and experience His unmerited favor. That moves us to respond with love and devotion to the one who has shown us that grace.

Experiencing God’s grace results in a radical love for Jesus that changes the way we live and think. Our internal dialogue that causes us to see and act judgmentally, cynically, pessimistically, and in rejection of God’s grace turns to learned optimism, resulting in thoughts and actions of love that might seem odd to those around us but display devotion to our King and Savior.

I was 16 years old when I received Jesus Christ as my savior. I was ditching school when a friend of mine got a hold of me and shared the good news of Jesus Christ. The good news transformed his life. My friend who introduced me to Jesus was a gang banger. He peddled drugs, robbed people, and even left people for dead—I judged him most days.

But his response to Jesus was to share God’s grace with his childhood friend, me.

I wasn’t so bad, but I was self-righteous and refused the grace of Jesus. I was this Pharisee, I knew the rules of our faith, I grew up in church. I had all the right answers, but my actions were empty, devoid of love. Before a righteous and holy God, I was a no good sinner, no better than my friend, the known sinner. When I acted Jesus as my savior and redeemer, my eternity radically changed, and my purpose in life was forever altered.

We are all sinners who deserve death for debts that can’t be paid. But God forgives those debts. Jesus paid the penalty of our sins by dying on the cross. Dying the death we should have died so we could be loved eternally by God, as his children.

Jesus was resurrected on the third day changing our eternity forever. The outcomes of those who believe are assured in God.

The question is: can you receive that love and grace and still live like the Pharisee who believes nothing changed or will you live like this woman who knows everything has changed? How will your actions of love reveal the faith that saved you?  

• Perhaps your next action of love is to get baptized. Make your faith public. Let the world know your intentions to follow Jesus because he rescued you. We’re going to be doing baptisms April 17. Let us help you take this step of love.
• Maybe the next action of love is to be generous with your finances. You saved and pinched every penny, but perhaps like this woman, pouring out what you hold precious before God, the more blessing you receive from him. Start by giving toward the mission of the church.
• Maybe that next action of love is for you to serve in one of our ministry areas or with one of our non-profit community partners. You share the love of Jesus with people you don’t know yet through your gifts. The rare mix of skills, talents, and experiences were given to you for his purposes. Maybe this is it.
• Maybe you take a hold of somebody God has placed on your heart and allow God to do what he does and move in the lives of those people through you. Invest in them. Invite them to a meal with Jesus.
• Maybe you’re in none of those places. Your response to Jesus’ grace then is to receive him as your savior. To live life with your eternity secured. If this is the action of love you want to make, by receiving Jesus as your savior, to pay the debts of your sins, pray with me now.

Family, let’s all pray together because Jesus’ grace for us is so great.

Father in heaven. Some of us are praying to receive your son as our savior. Admitting our need for our debts to be paid, believing that Jesus paid the price of our sin on the cross. We confess that your resurrection secures our eternity in heaven and nothing that happens here in our lives changes that outcome. Lord, give those of us making this decision a brand new outlook, refreshment for our souls.

For all of us, I ask that you help us respond to you faithfully in obedience to your spirit’s calling and moving. God give us all the courage to take one step into the purpose you are calling us to. To live with great love for you. We know that’s why you invited us into a relationship with you—so that we can live with a purpose that only comes from devotion to you.

Give us boldness in our lives to reflect the grace you have given us. Help us manifest love in the ways you designed us. Let us know that in every facet of our unique circumstances you have moved and placed people to be loved by us, to be served by us.

Sanctify us with your truth, with your love. Consecrate us so that as we share your word, people will believe in you. Let your glory unfold perfectly in this world. We desire your love to be in us and to overflow through us. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.