For the One who Feels Judged

[0:00] we'll go to Luke chapter 7. Luke chapter 7 is where our passage will be found this evening.

[0:25] It's so good to see everybody here. It really is. They told me last week I was out, had some good daddy-daughter time with my youngest. In fact, if you have any questions about K-pop, I can answer all of them for you. And if you don't know what K-pop is, ignorance is bliss, okay? So anyway, so I was out last week and I was told that with Pat preaching that Saturday was packed out and so I thought, sure enough, I'll come back and they'll all be gone. But I'm glad you're here. It's great to see all of you. It really does matter when you're here. I want you to know that. Like I know we all miss from time to time, but it really is special when we're here together and just all of our voices are raised in worshiping the Lord Jesus and studying his word together. So it's good to see you. We've been in a series called For the One and this is now several weeks that we've been in this series. And just kind of to remind you while we're even doing this series is we started off the fall doing a series just called Vision. And we talked about kind of the vision of Faith Family and what we're about. And then I followed that series up with this series, For the One, which really gets to the culture that we're about, the kind of culture that we want to have here at Faith Family. The fact that this is a culture of grace. It's what we've been singing about just as that last song that we have all been redeemed and restored by the grace of the Lord Jesus. And so that's really what we want to be the culture here as we are centered on the gospel. And this whole series, For the One, comes out of a passage in Luke chapter 15, which we kind of kicked the series off with. And it comes out of a situation where Jesus is eating with some scum, like the sinners, and the Pharisees just can't handle it. They lose their minds that Jesus would do something like this. And from that situation, Jesus tells them this story. He says this, what man of you having a hundred sheep, if he lost one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open country and say it, go after the one that is lost until he finds it. And when he's found it, he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing. And he comes home and he calls together his friends and his neighbors. And he says, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. And just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over, how many? One sinner. One sinner who repents than the 99 righteous persons who need no repentance. Jesus is the kind of shepherd that goes after the one.

[3:11] Aren't you glad for that? Don't you rejoice in that? He's like the father and the prodigal son that receives the one who has wrecked his life and welcomes him back home. And what I'm trying to show you, not just in parable form, I'm trying to show you in real stories that happened in time and space, is that this is at the heart of the ministry of Jesus. This is what the mission of Jesus is all about.

[3:39] In fact, two weeks ago, we talked about the fact that with the very first round draft pick in the disciples draft, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords selected Matthew, the tax collector. And everybody's just like, that's insane. Jesus must be outside of his mind. How is he going to have a reputable ministry with such repubates? I mean, this is a tax collector. This is scum. And that is exactly who Jesus goes after. It's exactly who the shepherd pursues. It's exactly the kind of men and women he's going to use to turn the world upside down. Jesus is for the one. And I'm going to show you now for the next several weeks that this is a consistent theme. It happens over and over again.

[4:27] And tonight's passage is one of my favorites. I love this text here in Luke chapter seven, beginning in verse 36. If you're able to stand, please do so as we honor the reading of God's word.

[4:39] Now, those of you, just a few of you, I know that were a part of our chapel services at Canterbury this summer. You know that I spoke on this passage there and I wanted to include it in this series as well, because it gets to the heart of what this series is about. Luke 7 verse 36. One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him. And Jesus went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table.

[5:08] 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. And standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with ointment. Now, when the Pharisee who had invited Jesus 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. She is a sinner. And Jesus answering said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. And he answered, say it, teacher. A certain money lender had two debtors. One owed 150 denarii, owed 500 denarii, and the other 50. And when they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now, which one of them will love him more? Simon answered, well, the one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt. And Jesus said to him, you've judged rightly.

[6:34] Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, do you see this woman? I entered your house and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

[6:48] You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, she's not ceased to kiss my feet. You didn't anoint my head with oil, but she's anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much, but he who is forgiven little loves little.

[7:14] And he said to her, your sins are forgiven. And those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, who is this? Who can forgive sins? And he said to the woman, your faith has saved you.

[7:35] Go in peace. Don't you love that story? Let's pray and ask God to teach us from it tonight. Lord, thank you for each person here. We're here for a reason. There's something you want to say to us.

[7:50] Just speak through me. Use these words to bless and encourage your people and to teach us once again of your amazing grace. In Jesus' name we pray and God's people said, amen. You can be seated.

[8:06] Matt and Kim were friends in college. They had theater class together. Matt was a freshman.

[8:18] Kim was a 26-year-old single mom with two young children. Matt was a Christian. Kim wanted nothing to do with Christianity whatsoever. Matt's intention was to go on and to become a pastor. All Kim was concerned about was supporting her two young kids. And yet even with all these differences, they couldn't have been more opposite. Somehow they struck up a friendship and it was a beautiful thing. And Matt took every opportunity he had and every opportunity he could to talk to Kim about the gospel, to share with her about God's love, to invite her to receive the salvation that was in Christ. But Kim rejected it.

[9:00] She just honestly didn't believe that something like that could be true for her. You see, Kim, both of her young kids, she had had outside of marriage. She'd lived a very promiscuous and immoral lifestyle. And so she was convinced that the grace of God was not for her. But after several conversations, Matt eventually invited Kim and persuaded her to go to a Christian event. One of his friends was playing in a Christian band at a Christian event. And so Kim thought, yeah, that's not too intimidating.

[9:35] I'd be happy to go to that. And so she went, though a little reluctantly. She was having a good time and enjoying the event and everything was going fine until the speaker came up and said, today, we're going to talk about purity. And Matt got nervous. And the speaker took out a rose. And he began to pass the rose all throughout the audience. And as the rose was being passed throughout the audience, that speaker just started railing on the judgment of God upon the immoral. There was no grace. There was no gospel.

[10:16] It was just a bunch of guilt. Matt's blood pressure was boiling. He looked over at Kim and he could just see the tears rolling down her face.

[10:33] And then if that wasn't bad enough, when it finally got back to the speaker, and of course, at this point, it's been touched by everybody in the room and it's, you know, it's broken. And literally everybody in the place has had their hands on it. That speaker lifts up that rose and says, now who would want a rose like this?

[10:57] And Matt just watched Kim's head sink. Because everything she'd believed about religion had just been confirmed. And everything she'd thought about the grace of God had just been confirmed.

[11:14] And Matt said the anger in him built so much, he wanted to stand up and scream at the top of his lungs, do you want to know who wants the rose?

[11:27] Jesus wants that rose. Faith family, have you ever felt the way, Kim? Maybe the circumstances of your situation are different, but I'm talking about the feeling of being judged.

[11:47] You've been in that situation, you've been in that conversation, you've been in that church, you've been in that group, you've been in that moment, and it just felt like everybody was looking at you, all fingers were pointing at you, and you felt judged. Anybody?

[12:02] Judged because your marriage didn't work out. Judged because you dropped out of school. Judged because you don't parent the way other people think you ought to parent.

[12:16] Judged because of the color of your skin. Judged because of the money that you have. Or judged because of the money you don't have. Judged because the way you dress or the way you look.

[12:29] Judged for how you vote. Judged because of your faith in Jesus Christ. In one way or another, don't raise your hands, but I guarantee you, everybody in one way or another in this room has felt judged.

[12:47] That is exactly how a woman in Luke chapter 7 feels. Look at verse 36. It says, One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and Jesus went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table.

[13:06] Now, let's set the stage for just a moment. This is a little different than two weeks ago. Two weeks ago, Jesus was eating with a bunch of tax collectors when he calls Levi to follow him.

[13:18] But now, he's been invited into the home of a Pharisee. Pharisee. Now, he's not hanging out with the scum. Now, he's hanging out with the rich and famous. The high class of society.

[13:30] As many of you know, Pharisees were very respected people in the community. And so, this would have been a dinner party that would have been very reputable. Very honorable.

[13:42] There would have been a lot of people gathered at this home. And these would almost be like a congressman or some type of influence in society.

[13:54] And so, the who's who are there. And Jesus has been invited to Simon the Pharisee's home for this dinner. And there's a lot of different people there. But by God's inspiration, Luke narrows the lens on two specific people.

[14:10] Two people that couldn't be more opposite. Simon the Pharisee and a woman of the city. And one of the things that Luke wants us to get here right out of the gate is this.

[14:23] That Jesus receives all types of people. That's really good news. For example, Jesus receives religious people.

[14:34] After all, he is at the home of a Pharisee. And he's having a meal at the home of the Pharisee. And I don't have to tell you because I have told you this probably a hundred times. That in the ancient Near East, to have a meal with someone was a sign of deep friendship or intimacy.

[14:50] It was much deeper than it is in our culture. This was beyond just having like a cup of coffee with someone. This was invited into someone's home. And it was a deep expression of hospitality.

[15:02] It is why, by the way, that the Pharisees have such a big problem with the fact that Jesus would eat with tax collectors and sinners.

[15:13] This is what we looked at two weeks ago with Levi. Mark chapter 2, verse 15. As Jesus reclined at table in his house, that is the house of Matthew, Many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.

[15:28] And there were many tax collectors and sinners who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, Why does this man eat with tax collectors and sinners?

[15:43] In other words, Jesus has friends in low places. Garth Brooks, one nothing, all right? He's hanging out, he's like at a honky-tonk bar in Mark chapter 2, Hanging with the lowlifes, the rednecks, the people that live in the trailer parks.

[15:59] But now, he's living with the uppity of society. Oh, this is a black tie event. Jesus is now not eating with someone like Matthew, the tax collector. He's eating with someone like Simon, the Pharisee.

[16:13] And the point that I'm trying to make here is this. Jesus will not only eat with the social scum like tax collectors who were hated, but Jesus will also eat with the spiritual smug like Pharisees.

[16:29] Do I need to remind you what Jesus says about the Pharisees in the Gospels? This is just a little snippet. They are, quote, I mean, other than that, he has really nice things to say about the Pharisees.

[16:52] Other than those things. I mean, Jesus doesn't pull any punches when it comes to telling us who the Pharisees are. And the point that I'm making here is that Jesus is so gracious, he'll eat with even them.

[17:08] Which means this, and it's true, and probably the people that won't admit this are the people that this applies to. It means that if you're an arrogant, smug, self-righteous person that is always looking for a theological fight, always trying to make people fit your religious rules and traditions, Jesus, only by grace, will eat with you.

[17:30] And I know people like that. I went to seminary with people like that. I oftentimes am a people like that. Don't judge. But Jesus will eat with the Simons.

[17:43] The Pharisees. The religious smug. But Simon's not the only one that Jesus will enter into a situation like this. Look now at verse 37.

[17:54] And look at who Luke focuses on next. Behold, a woman of the city who was a, say it, sinner. When she learned that Jesus was reclining at table in the Pharisees' house, she brought an alabaster flask of ointment.

[18:10] And standing behind Jesus at his feet, she's weeping. She wets his feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair of her head, kisses his feet. I mean, get that image in your mind.

[18:21] And anointing his feet with ointment. So now we're introduced to someone else. We've been introduced to Simon the Pharisee. Now we're introduced to the woman of the city. Now this phrase, the woman of the city, is not meant to describe her location.

[18:35] It's meant to describe her lifestyle. Luke is not saying, oh, she's from Minneapolis, St. Paul, not Northfield. Right? This isn't like, oh, she's not a country girl.

[18:47] She's a city girl. It's not what he's saying at all. Luke is, in fact, literally it reads, a woman of the street. In other words, she's a prostitute. She's a prostitute.

[19:00] And she has sold her body repeatedly to men all over town. And what we cannot understand is, how in the world did she get in? How in the world does this woman get to this dinner party?

[19:14] Because I can assure you of this, there ain't nowhere in a really hot place that Simon would have invited a woman like this to a party like this. Somehow she sneaks in.

[19:26] She's the rose that's been touched by everybody in town. And no one would dare invite her to a party like this. But just like the, remember the men with the paralytic who find a way, they just find a way to lower their friend down through the roof.

[19:44] This woman finds a way. She hears that Jesus is in that house and she is going to do everything she can to get to his feet. And so she makes her way in.

[19:57] Somehow word has spread that Jesus is here and he's reclining at table. And you can kind of look at this image. You've kind of seen something like this, how they would recline at table.

[20:08] So Jesus' feet would have been exposed. And so she sees his feet and she maybe crawls across the floor as she snuck in somehow. And she takes her hair down.

[20:20] And no one in here gasp at that. But you should. Because in the ancient Near East, a woman would never let her hair down except for in the privacy of her own home.

[20:33] And so the fact that she's letting her hair down is likely another symbol that she's a prostitute. She's done something that would have been socially unacceptable and inappropriate. And she takes her hair and she begins to picture that in your mind.

[20:47] Wash his feet with the tears that are streaming down her face and anoints his feet with oil.

[21:00] Now, that might be beautiful to you, but it is awkward to everybody in the room. In fact, you want to talk about being judged, every eye is on Jesus.

[21:13] because this woman, though she probably didn't mean to, she's put Jesus in a very difficult situation. Because how he responds to her is going to be very, very telling.

[21:26] Why? Because he's in the home of a Pharisee. And so Simon can't wait to see what this prophet is going to do.

[21:37] And notice Jesus' response. He looks at her, verse 47, and says, Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven.

[21:48] For she loved much, but he who is forgiven little loves little. And he said to her, Your sins are forgiven.

[22:01] Notice this on the screen, Faith Family. Jesus is more concerned about showing grace than he is saving face. He could have said, Get away from me.

[22:13] He could have said, Not now, we'll talk later. But instead, he looks at her and says, Your sins are forgiven. Jesus, notice this here, Jesus is for the one everybody else in the room is judging.

[22:31] Jesus is for the one you look down your nose at. Jesus is for the one that everybody else thinks should be outside the room and uninvited.

[22:42] Who would want a rose like this? Answer, Jesus does. Jesus does.

[22:53] As he receives this woman. You see the point? You with me? Jesus receives all kinds of sinners. If you are a religious sinner who is smug and self-righteous, he will receive you.

[23:10] If you are an immoral, unrighteous sinner who has just made a mess of their life, he will receive you. Jesus receives all kinds of sinners.

[23:21] That's the good news of the gospel. Amen? He's for the one. Now that gets contrasted. That is Jesus' reception of both of these sinners gets contrasted with Simon.

[23:35] Now look back at verse 39. It says, Now when the Pharisee who had invited Jesus 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.

[23:55] The second thing you see in the text is this. Jesus receives all kinds of sinners, but Simon only receives certain types of people. Simon doesn't approach people the way Jesus approaches people.

[24:09] Amen? In fact, if we're honest, Simon treats people the way most of us treat people. That is, he judges them. He's critical of them. He makes conclusions about them based on their stereotypes.

[24:23] In fact, there are two people in this passage that we're aware of that Simon judges. First of all, he judges Jesus. You say, Well, how do you know he's being judgmental of Jesus?

[24:34] Well, Simon, the text reveals to us, Simon refused to do the three most common greetings that you would do in the ancient Near East.

[24:45] Let me ask it this way. Do you know why this woman is washing the feet of Jesus? It's because no one else has. Look at what Jesus says to Simon.

[24:58] That is what Simon refused to do. Pick it up in verse 44. Now, turning to the woman, Jesus said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I entered your house and you gave me no what?

[25:10] Say it. Water for my feet. But she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. Verse 45. You gave me no what? Kiss from the time that I came in.

[25:22] She's not ceased to kiss my feet. You didn't anoint my head with what? Oil. But she's anointed my feet with ointment. In other words, Jesus actually calls out the three most common greetings in the ancient Near East.

[25:36] This would be like, if you invite somebody over to your home, what is something that you might just naturally do? You might say, Can I get you a drink? Can I make you a cup of coffee or tea or something like that?

[25:50] Right? That would just be a very common welcome to my home type greeting. Well, in the ancient Near East, the three things that you would do as a very most common greeting of someone being invited into your home was first, you'd offer them water so that they could wash their feet off.

[26:05] This is a desert, dry land where their feet are dirty all the time. Then you would give them a kiss. In fact, the Bible even talks about greet one another with a holy kiss that was just a way of welcoming them in your home.

[26:18] And then you would give them oil. Again, because it's so hot, your hair would be a total mess. So they would take oil and they would just run it through their head as a way of just kind of cooling off and kind of collecting their hair together.

[26:32] So this would be, here's water, here's greeting with a kiss, and here's oil. And Jesus says to Simon, You didn't do any of these. You didn't welcome me with the most common welcome that anyone would do.

[26:48] The point is this. Are you listening? Simon hasn't received Jesus. And why has he not received Jesus? Look at verse 39.

[26:59] Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, If this man were a prophet, in other words, this whole thing's a test.

[27:11] It's like many others do in the New Testament when they try to test Jesus. Simon is keeping his distance and he wants to see if Jesus really does fit his standards of profit.

[27:28] And you know, we do the same with God. We do the same thing with Jesus. Oh my goodness, in years of ministry, you know how many times I've heard people say, you know, I'll love God if he meets my standards.

[27:43] I just want to say, who do you think you are? Well, I just could never love a God like that. If that's how God is, well, I just couldn't love him.

[27:54] Listen, having things meet your standard might be fine if you're buying an automobile, but you don't get to determine who God is. You see, my dear friend, notice this on the screen.

[28:08] The question is not, does God meet your standard? The question is, do you meet God's? And the answer is, you don't. None of us do.

[28:18] We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And the sooner we realize that, we'll move from a skeptic like Simon to surrendered like this woman.

[28:33] Simon's judging Jesus. He's got Jesus at a distance, but he doesn't just judge Jesus. He clearly judges this woman. Look at 39 again. Now, when the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would have known what?

[28:50] Can't you just feel the arrogance in the statement? He would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him for she is a sinner.

[29:01] Translation, who would want a rose like that? Who would even get close to a rose like that? Who would let a rose like that touch them? That's so gross.

[29:12] If this man were a prophet, he certainly wouldn't be around someone like that. He's judged her. He looks down on her.

[29:24] Why? Here's why. This will preach. Somebody just say, preach, preacher. I'm going to anyways, but now you gave me permission. Notice this on the screen. Simon sees her through the eyes of the law, not through the eyes of the Lord.

[29:37] And you and I do the same thing with people. We look at what they've done. We look at how they've fallen short.

[29:49] We look at all the laws they've broken. And we judge them. But Jesus doesn't look at her in terms of all the laws she's broken.

[30:00] He looks at her with the love of God. Now, one of the most common verses people love to quote in the Bible is, do not judge, lest ye be judged.

[30:10] Right? People love to throw that out. And what does that actually mean? It doesn't mean that we can't tell somebody that something's wrong. That's not what judging someone is. Listen to me. Are you listening? This is a preach.

[30:21] Listen, listen. Judging is declaring a final verdict over someone's life. They're done! They don't deserve forgiveness.

[30:36] They've gone too far. It's declaring some type of conclusion, some type of verdict. Listen to me. Simon, in playing the role of God, I hope you're listening, has determined this woman's identity and destiny.

[30:54] He has said, for this woman is a sinner. What He doesn't know is there is someone in the room that can change that identity.

[31:08] And there's someone in the room that does change that identity. When He looks at her and says, your sins are forgiven. Here's the good news.

[31:18] Here's what I'll preach that you gave me permission to preach. Here it is. Notice it on the screen. I mean, Pharisees don't have the final say over your life. Jesus does. Can I just say that to you? Like, Pharisees do not have the final say, the ultimate verdict over your life.

[31:34] Jesus does. Simon sees a sinner. Jesus sees someone forgiven. Jesus is the ultimate determiner of who you are.

[31:46] Not this culture. Not your mama. Not anybody in this church. You are who Jesus says you are. And Jesus says to this woman, you are forgiven.

[32:00] Faith family, if we are going to be a church like Jesus, I believe, wants us to be a church, we must welcome all sinners without judgment. Again, don't misunderstand me.

[32:12] I'm not suggesting we don't say, hey, that's wrong. I'm saying that doesn't define you. It doesn't have to define you. The grace of God defines you. Homosexuals are just as welcome at faith family as heterosexuals.

[32:29] And we will preach that homosexuality is a sin. Because what we want, said of faith family, is what was said of the church at Corinth.

[32:40] To the immoral, to the idolater, to the adulterer, to the homosexual, to the thief, to the greedy, to the drunkard, to the swindler, he says this, such were some of you, but you were washed.

[32:54] You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of our God. Make no mistake, we have done a good job calling out sin.

[33:06] We have done a very poor job of receiving the sinner. We're really good at being Simons. That's wrong. Shouldn't do that.

[33:17] We're not very good at being Jesus. You're welcomed because your sins are forgiven. Amen? And if you don't like that, brothers and sisters, you don't like the gospel because that is the grace of Jesus.

[33:37] The contrast here is so clear. Jesus receives all types of people, whether you're the religious, smug person like Simon or whether you're the immoral person like the woman of the city.

[33:50] Simon, on the other hand, only receives certain type of people. Only the people that meets his standards, that are at his income level, that have his manners, that walk with his political party, that are in his denomination, that fit with inside his small theological tent.

[34:05] Those are the only people Simon has time for. Now there's a third observation from the passage, verse 40. Verse 40. Jesus answering said to Simon, I have something to say to you.

[34:18] Now here's what's interesting. Note this, okay? I gotta hurry up. But there's so much more I want to say about this passage. The text says that Simon said to himself, but Jesus heard it.

[34:35] Don't try to trick Jesus, okay? Simon's over there like, you know, I can't believe he's hanging out with a sinner like that. And Jesus is like, heard you. Heard it. And now I got something that I want to say to you.

[34:45] And he's like, oh teacher, okay, say it. Verse 41. There was a certain money lender who had two debtors. And one owed 500 denarii and the other 50. And when they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both.

[34:58] Now which of them will love him more? Notice the third thing here. Jesus receives all kinds of people. Simon only received certain kinds of people. But the gospel reveals the condition of all people.

[35:10] It's from this story, real story, that Jesus tells a parable. He tells another story. And in the story that Jesus tells, there's a money lender and there's two debtors. One owes 500 days of income, so a year and a half.

[35:24] And another owes 50, so a couple of months. The point here is not, listen, the point is not just how much debt they have. The point is, neither one of them are able to pay it.

[35:38] That's the point that Jesus is making. See, both are in the same condition. They have a debt to pay. Neither of them can pay what they owe, whether it's the really large debt or the really small debt, which means what?

[35:51] Both individuals, the one with the large debt and the one with the small debt, are in need of the grace of the money lender. And what is the point that Jesus is making?

[36:03] It's this. Pharisee sinners and prostitute sinners are in the same spiritual condition. Notice this on the screen, faith family.

[36:15] Our debt is not the same, but our ability to pay our debt is. So how in the world could you look at someone else with judgment?

[36:31] It's like this. It's like this. Come here. Come here. It's like two people that both have a terminal disease and one has been told you've got six months to live. Another one's been told you've got a year to live and the one with six months or the one with a year looks at the one with six months and says, ha ha, I have six months more than you.

[36:50] You'd say, that's insane because both of you have a terminal disease. Meaning, how could you, knowing you have a terminal disease, look at someone else with a terminal disease and say, mine's better than yours?

[37:04] It's nonsense. It's insane. So how in the world could you, with a sin debt that you cannot pay, dare look at someone else with another sin debt that they can't pay and somehow think you are better than them?

[37:19] The gospel says, whether you are the woman of the city or whether you are Simon the Pharisee, you both have a debt you can't pay and therefore, both stand in the need of grace.

[37:33] And the good news is, Jesus is the kind of shepherd who will go after the one who went astray. Whether you are the older brother like Simon or the younger brother like the woman, Jesus will receive you both.

[37:49] The gospel declares that we all need grace and only Jesus can pay our debt. One final point and we're done. Notice how this changes our approach to other people.

[38:01] Verse 42. Verse 42. When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more? Simon answered, Well, the one I suppose for whom he canceled the larger debt.

[38:16] And he said to him, You have judged rightly. Now jump to verse 47. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much, but he who is forgiven little loves little.

[38:31] Last point is this, and that is that grace is the approach of forgiven people. What is Jesus teaching here as we wrap this up? He's teaching this. Listen to me, faith family.

[38:43] There is a direct relationship between how much grace you give others and how much grace you realize you have received.

[38:54] It's a direct relationship. You see, if you're like Simon and you think, Yeah, you know, I've messed up a little bit, but I'm really not that bad. I'm certainly better than most people in this church.

[39:08] You're not going to feel the weight of your debt. You're not going to feel the weight of your sin, and therefore you won't feel the release and the freedom of God's grace in your life.

[39:20] But when you realize truly how, like this woman does, how much you have been forgiven, what will you want to do towards others? Forgive. And love.

[39:33] And be gracious. Not judge and criticize. Self-righteous people criticize because they think they've been forgiven little.

[39:44] Jesus is, of course, not saying here there are some people that don't need to be forgiven very much. He's saying there's a direct relationship to your understanding of what you've been forgiven and how you will approach other people.

[39:58] Let me say it this way. It's one of my final points, and I love this. Notice it on the screen. You'll become the judgmental Pharisee when you forget you are the prostitute.

[40:09] You'll become the judgmental Pharisee when you forget you are the prostitute. And some of you are thinking, he just called me a prostitute.

[40:22] Yep. After the service, I'm going to go up and I'm going to punch him in the face, but for right now, I'm just going to sit still. How dare he call me a whore? Actually, I didn't.

[40:33] But the Bible does. James 4.4. Look at it. You adulterous people.

[40:47] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world has made himself an enemy of God.

[40:59] Every person in this room has gone after other gods. You have forsaken the love of God to love other things more than God.

[41:13] You are the prostitute. You have prostituted yourself all throughout the world in loving things more than God.

[41:26] And when you forget that, you become Simon's. you become the judgmental Pharisee because you forgot you actually are the woman of the city.

[41:40] In other words, who would want a rose like you? I'm serious.

[41:52] Who would want a rose like me? Your heart has been all over town. loving so many things more than God.

[42:05] And the good news of the gospel is this. Jesus wants the rose. He wants you. He came for you.

[42:17] He's the shepherd willing to leave the 99 for the one. And how do I know that Jesus is for the rose? It's because Jesus became the rose.

[42:34] For he made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God. You know what Jesus knows more than Kim?

[42:46] You know what Jesus knows more than the woman in Luke 7? You know what Jesus knows more than anybody else in this room? He knows what it's like to be judged by Pharisees.

[42:59] He knows what it's like to be touched by everybody in the city. He knows what it's like to have every eye in town look to a cross and say who would want that?

[43:14] but because Jesus was judged in our place faith family there is only one judgment about your life that actually matters and it's this your sins are forgiven.

[43:37] And all God's people said amen. Let's pray. Let's pray. Lord thank you for this beautiful passage. It's so so rich and so beautiful.

[43:49] It's so clear in terms of the gospel. And Lord we thank you that you want the rose that every one of us in this place we are broken people broken people and Lord you love us.

[44:05] You see us not through the eyes of the law. You see us through the eyes of the Lord and you have compassion and grace to us.

[44:17] Help us be gracious to one another. Lord thank you for this time tonight just to be reminded that you are for the one that most people would overlook and kick out of the room and yet it's the very one that you receive.

[44:36] Thank you that you will eat with any sinner. be we religious or irreligious be we Pharisee or prostitute you receive us into your kingdom as we look to you in faith.

[44:50] This is beautiful. This is the greatest news in the world and now we get to celebrate it through communion as we take some time to be reminded that you became the rose the broken rose as you were crucified on the cross and though you never sinned you took all of our sin.

[45:11] So I pray that these next few moments would be a beautiful sweet time of remembrance and communion and worship as we remember our sins are forgiven.

[45:24] In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen.