You Need Forgiveness • Luke 7:36-50

53:06 Teaching begins

Notes

Don’t you hate rude people?

Rude is defined as: offensive in manner or action : discourteous.

Rude people don’t think about the needs and wants of others. They think only of themselves.

Jesus is at the other end of the spectrum: He’s thoughtful. He thinks in advance about people and knows their needs and their wants. And He doesn’t hate rude people. He knows what they need, too, because He knows everyone is a sinner.

You need to be loved, you need to be clean. You need forgiveness.

I’m reading in Luke 7, from verse 36.

1. A woman behaves very emotionally.

A. The occasion for this is at a Pharisee’s house. Simon invited Jesus to eat with him, which is interesting in itself. Luke alone records that Pharisees invited Jesus to eat meals with them. Evidently Simon has heard all kinds of things about Jesus and wants a closer look for himself.

B. This woman hears about Jesus eating with Simon and comes to the meal. I’ve read several commentaries that say it was possible for people not invited to a meal to come and watch and take part in discussions.

C. Simon knows who she is. She has a bad reputation. She’s probably a prostitute. You expect she’s been degraded and abused and become calloused and hardened, cynical, tough. Not emotional or weak.

D. This woman acts out of character for a reputation for being a hardened, calloused person.

1. She cries and sobs over Jesus’ feet, washing them and wiping them with her hair. He’s getting clean, she’s getting dirty.

2. She kisses His feet over and over again. She doesn’t mind, she’s showing love, honour, devotion.

3. She has an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment, spikenard from India in a base of olive oil. The alabaster preserves the ointment, and when the seal is broken you use it all. It’s a “use once” substance, and it’s so expensive it would be once in a lifetime. She pours it on Jesus’ feet, and she’s still kissing them. The whole house is filled with the fragrance, you’ll only experience that aroma once in your life, it’s right here, right now.

4. This is emotional, this is beyond the bounds of what might be common or expected or appropriate. It is total honour and devotion for Jesus. It’s over the top.

2. Simon watches all this and, as you do, makes a few judgments.

A. He judges, whoever this guy is, He can’t be a prophet. He probably heard about Jesus that He is a prophet from God. He wanted to check Him out. A prophet, huh? I gave You the benefit of the doubt and actually invited You to eat so I could evaluate for myself. There’s no doubt in my mind, You are not a prophet.

B. His evidence for this judgment is as follows:

1. Jesus doesn’t know who is touching Him, nor what she is. I even know that. I know more than He does. How can a prophet from God know less than me?

2. A prophet from God would not allow Himself to be defiled by her touch. There goes His holiness!

C. Simon is disgusted at the both of them.

1. She is despicable to start with. She’s over the top emotional and obnoxious.

2. He’s a fake, an ignorant, misinformed, dishonest quack.

D. I can imagine Simon congratulating himself on his ability to see through the obvious and playacting to what really counts.

3. Jesus answers Simon’s thoughts with a story for him to judge.

A. Simon hasn’t said any of his thoughts out loud. He’s kept his opinions to himself, so as far as everyone else is concerned he is a polite host. But God knows everyone’s thoughts. Jesus now responds to those private thoughts that judge and condemn.

B. He tells Simon a story about two people who owe money to a moneylender and neither of them can repay him. They are liable to prison for their not being able to repay the money. One owes a couple months of wages, the other owes ten times that amount. The moneylender shows undeserved mercy and goodness far beyond any moneylender: he forgives them both. They walk away free.

C. The point of the story is: which one of them will love the moneylender more? Who will appreciate the goodness of the moneylender more?

1. Simon thinks a bit, says, I guess the one who owed him more will love him more.

2. Jesus’ response: you have judged rightly. It’s appropriate to love and emotionally thank the one who forgave you a debt impossible to repay.

4. Jesus teaches Simon and rebukes him gently.

A. What a question! “Do you see this woman?” Of course I see that.

B. There’s a difference between the way you treat Me and the way she treats Me.

1. Water you did not give Me. Kiss you did not give Me. Oil you did not give Me. Water to wash your feet after walking in sandals on dirt roads. Kiss is like a handshake. Oil is refreshment from the hot Middle Eastern sun. These would be common courtesy extended to everyone arriving at one’s house. To invite Me to your house and treat Me disrespectfully is rude.

2. She wept so freely it washed my feet and she wiped them with her hair. She kissed My feet in reverence over and over and put expensive perfume on them.

C. What it means is that her many and awful sins have been forgiven her and she knows it, because she loves much.

1. She must have met Jesus before and talked with Him and found out that He wanted to restore her to the Father, to be His own daughter forever.

2. Do you know who I am and what I’ve done? Why would He want me?

3. He and I both know who you are. He wants you because He made you and He loves you and He can take all your sins away as if you had never sinned. Do you want that? She said, yes.

4. And she knew what it felt to be clean and loved.

5. That’s why she loves Me. She couldn’t pay her debt and I forgave all of her sins.

6. But you are not forgiven much at all. You don’t love Me.

E. Now Jesus says the woman is still permanently forgiven. Your dependence on Me has saved you. Go in peace.

F. All the other guests are thinking, and Jesus can hear them, “Huh?! Who is this who even forgives sins?” He’s blowing a lot of minds in that room.

5. So what?

A. Everyone needs forgiveness whether they know it or not.

B. There are some who know. They’re obvious sinners, like the woman. You’ve hurt yourself and others have hurt you. Totally messed up. For them, for you, the message is, you need forgiveness. In that forgiveness is healing and cleansing.

C. Some people don’t appear to need forgiveness but even they do.

1. You are a good person. Respectable. You’re better than that obvious sinner, so you are good. You look at others and you judge them. You think you know the entire situation and you make a snap decision and you condemn people. You can’t save anyone, but you do condemn.

2. That attitude, those thoughts are rude and offensive to God because all judgment belongs to Him. You’re acting like God in your thoughts, and they’re loud and clear to Him. It’s rude to others too because they can tell when you’re being rude to them.

D. You don’t compare with sinners, you compare with Jesus.

1. Are you gentle and humble, like Jesus? Are you patient as you speak with rude people? Are you sinless and perfect?

2. Take your “slightly better than sinners” and measure that by Jesus. You owe God a debt of perfection.

3. Jesus knows your sins better than you do, but He doesn’t judge you. It’s not time yet. He’s not here to condemn but to save right now. Only at the end will He judge and condemn all who have rejected His love and forgiveness.

4. Bad persons need forgiveness. “Good” persons need forgiveness just the same. Everybody needs forgiveness, because all,have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.

D. The good news is there is perfect, permanent forgiveness for everyone who comes to Jesus. You can be clean and loved forever. Jesus knows you need this and He forgives you. You come to Him and keep coming to Him. He has paid your unpayable debt.

E. If you have received Jesus you should be aware of your cleansing. You should naturally respond to Jesus in love and gratitude. But sometimes it doesn’t mean much, it’s just words.

F. If you don’t respond to Jesus with love then you ask, am I current with Him? Let Him search your heart and see if there is any wicked way in you. Am I humble before Him? Or am I making like I’m good, I don’t need any forgiveness. I’m fine. Or am I judging people, like anyone has to please me? Love is not rude. Are you rude?

G. Jesus is gentle and humble. He’s not here to condemn you. He’s here to love you and clean you. Your dependence on Him has saved you. When He forgives you, you get to go in peace.

Let’s pray.