WEBVTT 00:00:00.260 --> 00:00:04.719 Well, good morning, everyone. I repeat, Graeme's welcome to be delighted to have everyone here 00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:09.519 this morning as we've been worshipping. And now as we come to look at God's Word, as Graeme 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:15.200 said, we're returning to Luke's Gospel, to the Galilean ministry of the Lord Jesus, where 00:00:15.200 --> 00:00:21.460 he was going around performing miracles, teaching, debating, and causing great wonder and amazement 00:00:21.460 --> 00:00:28.000 at what he did and who he was. And we've got this morning an incident that is unique to 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:32.520 Luke's Gospel. It's not found in the other Gospels. There are anointings of Jesus feed 00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:37.500 by a woman in all four Gospels, but the one in Luke is at an earlier stage in Jesus' ministry 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:42.799 and also with a different focus from the ones in the other Gospels. So this is an incident 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:47.620 that is only in Luke's Gospel. If you have a Bible, it'd be good to turn to it. We will 00:00:47.620 --> 00:00:52.260 put the words up on the screen, but as we go through, it'll be good if you're able to follow 00:00:52.259 --> 00:00:58.399 it in your Bible. So it's Luke chapter 7, and we're starting to read at verse 36. Luke 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:00.719 7 verse 36. And it says, 00:01:00.780 --> 00:01:06.000 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:12.640 house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:19.439 that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. And as 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:23.420 she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. 00:01:24.179 --> 00:01:30.519 Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee 00:01:30.519 --> 00:01:36.780 who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, If this man were a prophet, he would know who 00:01:36.780 --> 00:01:43.319 is touching him and what kind of woman she is, that she is a sinner. Jesus answered him, 00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:50.799 Simon, I have something to tell you. Tell me, teacher, he said. Two men owed money to a certain 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:58.799 moneylender. One owed him 500 denarii and the other 50. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, 00:01:59.059 --> 00:02:06.339 so he cancelled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more? Simon replied, I suppose the 00:02:06.339 --> 00:02:12.519 one who had the bigger debt cancelled. You have judged correctly, Jesus said. Then he turned to the 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:19.780 woman and said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any 00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:27.600 water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not 00:02:27.600 --> 00:02:34.920 give me a kiss, but this woman from the time I entered has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put 00:02:34.919 --> 00:02:43.259 oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been 00:02:43.259 --> 00:02:52.019 forgiven, for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little, loves little. Then Jesus said to her, 00:02:52.519 --> 00:02:59.619 Your sins are forgiven. The other guests began to say among themselves, Who is this who even forgives 00:02:59.620 --> 00:03:08.620 sins? Jesus said to the woman, Your faith has saved you. Go in peace. And God, I'm sure, will bless his 00:03:08.620 --> 00:03:16.140 word as we consider it together this morning. There was a fairly minor item in the news this week which 00:03:16.140 --> 00:03:22.840 caught my attention, and it's illustrated in this picture here. If you're into TV detective, you probably 00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:29.099 recognize Morse and Lewis, John Thaw and Kevin Wakeley. But the person I'm actually interested in 00:03:29.099 --> 00:03:34.859 is the man who's sitting in the background, just a shadow in behind the two main characters. 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:43.240 And that man is Colin Dexter, who is the author of the Morse stories. And the new story this week is 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:48.340 that apparently Colin Dexter has appeared in almost every episode of Morse and his spin-offs, 00:03:48.459 --> 00:03:54.159 Lewis and Endeavor, in that kind of cameo role. He's been a tramp, or he's been a porter at a college, 00:03:54.159 --> 00:04:02.599 or he's been a man in a pub, like he is here. It has been kind of his signature that he has appeared 00:04:02.599 --> 00:04:07.319 in it as kind of him saying, this is my story. I'm not the main character. I'm not the one you 00:04:07.319 --> 00:04:14.579 immediately notice, but it's my story, my books, and I'm in there somewhere. He's retiring because 00:04:14.579 --> 00:04:19.959 he's 86, which I think gives him a good excuse for not appearing anymore in them. But I was quite 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:27.019 struck as I was reading and rereading our passage this morning, that you can see in it very clearly 00:04:27.019 --> 00:04:35.279 the author. Now, the three main characters clearly are Jesus and Simon, the Pharisee and the sinful 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:43.539 woman. But this seems to me to be a classic story that Luke would tell, a classic incident from the 00:04:43.540 --> 00:04:50.939 life of the Lord Jesus that Luke would think was really worth recording. Now, that's not any way 00:04:50.939 --> 00:04:57.000 to say that the scripture isn't inspired by God. It wasn't God who inspired Luke to write what he did 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:04.780 here. But in the Bible, among the authors of the Bible books, what God does is he does indeed with all 00:05:04.779 --> 00:05:13.579 our service for him. He takes the individual's character and their passions and he uses it to his 00:05:13.579 --> 00:05:19.239 glory. That is what Christian service is or should be about, God taking what he has given us and what he 00:05:19.239 --> 00:05:27.379 has put in our hearts and using it to glorify him. And that's very much the case in the writers of our Bible. 00:05:27.379 --> 00:05:36.100 And we see time and again in Luke, the same kind of priorities that he emphasizes in the life of the 00:05:36.100 --> 00:05:41.240 Lord Jesus. And there are two things in particular about this incident, which I think makes a classic 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:48.540 one that Luke felt was really worth passing on to us. The first is that the central character alongside 00:05:48.540 --> 00:05:55.719 the Lord Jesus, the central character is a woman. And in a society where women were undervalued 00:05:55.720 --> 00:06:03.160 and often downtrodden, Luke is very careful to record how the Lord Jesus constantly treated them 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:09.760 with respect and with dignity. So in Luke's gospel, the incarnation, the birth of the Lord Jesus 00:06:09.760 --> 00:06:18.120 is told largely from his mother Mary's viewpoint. Luke tells us of this lovely incident in the home in 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:23.640 Bethany where Jesus goes and has a meal with Mary and Martha, this very domestic thing where one listens 00:06:23.639 --> 00:06:29.979 to him while the other is serving him. It's Luke who tells us about the widow who goes to the temple 00:06:29.979 --> 00:06:36.379 and puts into the collection plate everything that she has, her last penny given to God. 00:06:37.180 --> 00:06:42.560 And next week, as we move on to chapter 8, we'll see that it's Luke who records that as Jesus went 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:48.659 around in his ministry, he was very much supported by a group of women. It wasn't just the disciples. 00:06:48.660 --> 00:06:55.100 There was a group of women who were there with him and supporting him. Luke is a gospel where he 00:06:55.100 --> 00:07:00.780 emphasizes the value of women and their importance in the life of the Lord Jesus. 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:07.440 The second thing in this incident, I think, is classic Luke, is that it's about someone who has 00:07:07.440 --> 00:07:15.680 hit rock bottom and who is lifted up by the Lord Jesus. A woman is right at the bottom of society 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:23.480 and Jesus takes her, assures her of forgiveness and gives her the ability to go on and to serve him. 00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:29.720 Again, something very much we see in Luke's gospel. So there's the story of the woman who had the 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:36.120 constant menstrual bleeding, had it for 12 years, no money left. In desperation, she comes, touches the 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:44.300 Lord's cloak and her faith heals her. There's the story of Zacchaeus, the traitor, the cheat, 00:07:44.300 --> 00:07:48.780 who has clearly come to the end of himself. Although he had lots of money, he had nothing else. 00:07:49.259 --> 00:07:57.259 And Jesus recognizes him, goes and eats with him and assures him that salvation has come to his house. 00:07:58.100 --> 00:08:02.519 There's a thief on the cross, two thieves on the cross, remember, but one in particular, 00:08:03.019 --> 00:08:07.860 as he's hanging there with Jesus, he says, Lord, remember me when you come in your kingdom. And 00:08:07.860 --> 00:08:14.939 Jesus immediately gives me assurance, today you will be with me in paradise. And then we have Luke's parables. 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:21.280 The parable of Jesus records that the prodigal son who goes back to his father in desperation and is warmly 00:08:21.280 --> 00:08:26.900 welcomed, or the tax collector goes to the temple and beats his chest and says, God have mercy in me, 00:08:26.899 --> 00:08:34.679 a sinner. And Jesus says he went away justified. All people who have hit rock bottom in their lives. 00:08:35.439 --> 00:08:43.399 And Jesus is the one who is able to lift them up and to assure them that they have his love, 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:52.079 that they have forgiveness. And I think above all else, what this story tells us is that there is no 00:08:52.080 --> 00:09:00.240 one who is beyond forgiveness by Jesus. And it is when we recognize our need for forgiveness that we can really 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:08.660 please him and get his approval. Two things in particular I think God's been saying to me, and I think maybe 00:09:08.660 --> 00:09:14.920 saying to us, as I've thought about and prayed about this incident this morning. The first is, Jesus is more 00:09:14.920 --> 00:09:22.020 concerned with people who are bad than with people who are good. Or perhaps more accurately, Jesus is more concerned with 00:09:22.019 --> 00:09:28.899 people who are good than with people who think they are good. So in this story, we've got a woman who knows 00:09:28.899 --> 00:09:35.139 she's bad. She knows she's a sinner. We've got Simon who thinks he's good and a righteous man, a Pharisee. 00:09:35.460 --> 00:09:42.399 And the one who Jesus is really concerned about is the sinner who knows her position before God. 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:48.299 That's number one. And then the second thing I suggest we can get from this incident is, 00:09:48.299 --> 00:09:57.659 I can't start to become truly good until I recognize I am truly bad. In other words, until I recognize that I 00:09:57.659 --> 00:10:03.620 need forgiveness from Jesus and come to him for that forgiveness, I can set out on a path that will 00:10:03.620 --> 00:10:10.899 allow me to be more like Jesus to become truly good. Now we'll leave these two statements on the screen for 00:10:10.899 --> 00:10:17.359 just now and we'll come back to them. And you may see as we go along their relevance. But I think it might be worth 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:23.220 just walking through the story and making sure we understand exactly what's happening in it. 00:10:23.960 --> 00:10:28.360 So as I said, Jesus is going around in his Galilean ministry. He's teaching. He's saying 00:10:28.360 --> 00:10:33.019 some things that are quite controversial. Beginning of December, we looked at the previous verses in 00:10:33.019 --> 00:10:38.860 this chapter where he said, it's really become quite startling things about the religious leaders of his day. 00:10:38.860 --> 00:10:46.759 And he's invited to the house of this man called Simon. Now the first question arises, why did Simon invite 00:10:46.759 --> 00:10:54.779 Jesus to his home? Was it that he wanted to believe in Jesus? Was he just curious? Was it a kind of show? 00:10:54.899 --> 00:11:00.320 I'm an important person. Here's someone people like, so I'll invite him to my home. May have been some or all of 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:08.100 these. May also have been, I think, that Simon wanted to show Jesus up and to correct some of the things 00:11:08.100 --> 00:11:13.700 he'd been saying. That Simon didn't actually believe that Jesus was who he said he was and who the people 00:11:13.700 --> 00:11:19.640 thought he was. And he wanted to correct him and perhaps to rebuke him. Now we're not told that 00:11:19.640 --> 00:11:26.260 in speculation. But what I think gives evidence for that is the way in which Simon treated Jesus when 00:11:26.259 --> 00:11:32.740 Jesus came into his home. Now if I invite you to my home, you might reasonably expect when you knock 00:11:32.740 --> 00:11:38.080 on the door, I'll open the door, I'll say, come on in, can I take your coat? Why don't you go and find 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:44.519 a seat for a few minutes? And you feel as if you're quite welcome, hopefully, when you come to us. 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:49.939 In Jesus' day, the way in which you felt welcome, if you'd been invited to dinner, when you came in, 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:54.779 you got a kiss from your host, you were given some oil to wipe on your head because you were 00:11:54.779 --> 00:11:59.679 probably sweating, having been walking for a while, and you were given water to wash your feet 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:04.199 with to get the dust off. Perhaps even if it was a wealthy person, someone would do that for you. 00:12:04.620 --> 00:12:09.819 But these were the basics that you would expect from any host. You invite someone to your house, 00:12:10.179 --> 00:12:15.439 you make sure they get a kiss, you make sure they get oil to put on their head, you make sure that 00:12:15.439 --> 00:12:23.620 they get water so they can wash their feet. And Simon did none of these. Simon invited Jesus to his home, 00:12:23.620 --> 00:12:31.159 Jesus comes in, notices that Simon hasn't observed the basic politenesses of having a guest, and Jesus 00:12:31.159 --> 00:12:39.060 goes and he reclines at the table. So another good start from Simon's point of view. We then have the 00:12:39.060 --> 00:12:46.419 woman who's there. Now why is this woman there? Well, in that day, if you had a dinner party, it wasn't 00:12:46.419 --> 00:12:50.799 that you just invited your guests and you sat them around the table and you were in a locked house, 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:57.120 in a closed room, and no one else was there. If you had a dinner party, if you were kind of the upper 00:12:57.120 --> 00:13:03.979 reaches of society, anyone was able to come in and to observe it. They could look and they could see 00:13:03.979 --> 00:13:09.279 how good your hospitality was to your guests, all the food that you put out. Perhaps they could enjoy 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:15.019 the learned conversation around the table. People were able to come in and just to see what was 00:13:15.019 --> 00:13:21.500 happening and everyone was welcome. Well, perhaps not quite everyone, because I'm sure Simon wasn't 00:13:21.500 --> 00:13:28.579 overpleased when this woman came in along with others into his house. The woman is described as 00:13:28.579 --> 00:13:35.379 a sinner. Almost certainly that means she was a prostitute and she wasn't the kind of person that 00:13:35.379 --> 00:13:40.980 Simon would want to have anything to do with. But he let her come in and she wasn't immediately 00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:47.300 thrown out. The woman had brought with her this jar of perfume. Now again, we have to say, well, 00:13:47.340 --> 00:13:52.399 what was her original purpose in bringing this jar of perfume with her? Maybe it was that she wanted 00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:57.580 to anoint Jesus, but perhaps she would get some opportunity and she could anoint his head. Perhaps 00:13:57.580 --> 00:14:04.100 that's what her thinking was. The woman comes in and she sees that Simon has deeply insulted Jesus. 00:14:04.800 --> 00:14:10.779 He has not done what any decent self-respecting host should do, and perhaps she thinks even 00:14:10.779 --> 00:14:17.339 that he's humiliated the Lord. And she has a deep love for Jesus because she has an understanding 00:14:17.339 --> 00:14:21.360 of her need for forgiveness. Indeed, she looks like she had come to Jesus for forgiveness, 00:14:21.959 --> 00:14:28.139 and she thinks it's absolutely awful that this host hasn't done what you'd expect any person to do 00:14:28.139 --> 00:14:33.980 when you invite someone into your home. So she decides, possibly in the spirit at the moment, 00:14:34.100 --> 00:14:39.360 she's going to make up for that. She doesn't have a jar of water, but she uses her tears. She doesn't 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:44.980 have a towel. She uses her hair, and she uses the perfume that she's brought for whatever reason 00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:53.980 to pour on Jesus' feet. She is showing that she loves Jesus and that she wants to serve him in a way 00:14:53.980 --> 00:15:01.899 in which Simon, his host, had totally neglected to serve him. And then we've got Simon sitting there, 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:07.120 and Simon's thinking, what's going on here? I'm having a party in my house. I'm a perfectly 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:14.220 respectable Pharisee. This woman comes in. She's ruining everything, and Jesus isn't doing anything 00:15:14.220 --> 00:15:21.679 about it. Doesn't he know he's supposed to be a prophet? Doesn't he know that she's a sinful woman? 00:15:21.740 --> 00:15:28.299 Of course, Jesus does know that. But Simon, perhaps already skeptical about Jesus and who he was and what 00:15:28.299 --> 00:15:35.000 he was doing, Simon thinks, this is terrible. He can't possibly be a prophet if he's allowing the woman 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:42.039 to do this thing to him. And Jesus, Simon obviously doesn't see anything. Perhaps his face gave him 00:15:42.039 --> 00:15:48.360 away. He doesn't see anything, but Jesus knew what he was thinking, and Jesus tells a very simple and 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:58.139 very direct story. In this story, Jesus very cleverly asks a question at the end and a question 00:15:58.139 --> 00:16:02.679 that can only have one answer. It's a bit like the parable of the Good Samaritan, where Jesus tells the 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:08.500 story, and then he says to the teacher of the law, who is the neighbor of this man who is in need, 00:16:08.599 --> 00:16:12.599 and the teacher of law, there's no choice in the answer. He says, I suppose it was the Samaritan. 00:16:13.539 --> 00:16:18.379 It's a bit like that here. Jesus tells a story about two people who are in debt. 00:16:19.379 --> 00:16:25.839 One fifty denarii, one five hundred denarii. Now, a denarius was what you would get for a day 00:16:25.839 --> 00:16:29.879 working. So if you were a laborer in a field or something, you'd get to the end of the day, 00:16:29.879 --> 00:16:34.759 and your employer would say, here's your denarius working in my field, and if you come back tomorrow, 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:40.439 you'll get another one. So in broad terms, fifty denarii would be roughly two months wages, 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:45.000 allowing for people being off on a Sunday. Five hundred denarii would be getting more towards 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:51.500 two years, a bit less than that. Two months wages, it's a big debt, but it's not an absolutely 00:16:51.500 --> 00:16:57.519 enormous debt. You might think, well, possibly I could pay it off. Two years wages, that is really 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:04.799 serious for most people. That is an unrepayable debt. And the man who has owed the money in this 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:11.339 case, he lets both of them off, and Jesus says to Simon, well, which of them is going to love him 00:17:11.339 --> 00:17:17.200 more? As I said, there's only one answer. You're not going to say, oh, there'll be one who got the 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:24.059 fifty denarii he let off. Of course, it's the one who is forgiven more, owes more to the individual, 00:17:24.059 --> 00:17:33.220 and so loves them more when he's forgiven. And then Jesus uses that, and he points out what's 00:17:33.220 --> 00:17:38.359 happened in this situation. You've got a woman who's been forgiven, and who knows she's been 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:45.419 forgiven a huge amount, and she really, really loves Jesus because of that. She knows the debt of 00:17:45.419 --> 00:17:51.159 her sin. She knows all the failure in her life. She knows she's at rock bottom and been forgiven by 00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:57.580 Jesus, and because of that, she passionately loves him and wants to do whatever she can for him. 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:03.019 You've got Simon. Now, Simon would have admitted he was a sinner, but would have thought, well, 00:18:03.040 --> 00:18:07.420 I'm not as much of a sinner as most of the other people round about. I'm a man who tries to do good. 00:18:07.500 --> 00:18:12.580 I'm a Pharisee. I try to keep the laws of the Pharisees. I'm basically a good man, although he would 00:18:12.580 --> 00:18:19.100 have acknowledged, as every Jew would, that he was sinful as well. Now, Jesus doesn't ever say that 00:18:19.099 --> 00:18:25.619 Simon was forgiven, but if Simon thought he had been in some way forgiven, then he could see, well, 00:18:25.699 --> 00:18:32.740 perhaps I don't love quite as much of that woman because I don't think I've been forgiven as much 00:18:32.740 --> 00:18:40.819 as the woman. And so Jesus very pointedly gets across to Simon that what the woman has done is 00:18:40.819 --> 00:18:46.439 not something shameful. It's not something that he should be embarrassed about. It's something that 00:18:46.440 --> 00:18:51.539 really shows how much she's been forgiven and how much she loves Jesus. 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:58.019 And then he kind of brings it home. He reassures the woman of her forgiveness, 00:18:58.660 --> 00:19:03.660 and the people are amazed. Now, again, not entirely clear. Are the people amazed in a kind of a good 00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:09.080 way? They think, wow, this is wonderful. Jesus is able to forgive sin. Or is it people like Simon 00:19:09.080 --> 00:19:13.740 who are still a bit skeptical and say, well, who does he think he is that he's able to forgive her sins? 00:19:13.740 --> 00:19:20.579 But Jesus very clearly saying as the one who can forgive sins, that he is God. And he then, 00:19:20.859 --> 00:19:28.380 as I say, reassured the woman her sins are forgiven. So that's the story. Let's move on to the two 00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:34.380 applications, the two things I think we can get from it. Jesus is more concerned with people who know 00:19:34.380 --> 00:19:44.840 they are bad than with people who think they are good. Jesus' interest in this story is primarily 00:19:44.840 --> 00:19:51.840 in the woman. Now, he does engage with Simon. He doesn't totally ignore Simon. He tries to help 00:19:51.840 --> 00:20:00.060 Simon to understand the error of his thinking. But his big concern is that he should be able to affirm 00:20:00.059 --> 00:20:05.259 to the woman that she's been forgiven. He talks twice about the forgiveness that she's received. 00:20:05.559 --> 00:20:12.539 He also talks about the faith that has saved her. Jesus' big concern is with the one who knows she's a 00:20:12.539 --> 00:20:18.960 sinner, who has acknowledged that sin, and who needs to be assured about her forgiveness. 00:20:20.399 --> 00:20:28.799 I would say that is still the case today. Jesus' big concern is with those who know that they have done 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:37.000 wrong. He said he'd not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And he still wants those 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:42.899 who have hit the bottom, who know that they are wrong before God, to come to him and to experience 00:20:42.899 --> 00:20:51.399 his forgiveness. And ultimately, that's all of us. We have, most of us, quite respectable, 00:20:51.579 --> 00:20:57.359 varying degrees of respectability and the kind of appearance we put to the outside world. 00:20:57.359 --> 00:21:05.899 But all of us need that forgiveness that Jesus can give us. And if we think we're good, 00:21:06.459 --> 00:21:12.859 if we think, well, I'm generally quite a good, fine living person, then we've kind of missed the point, 00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:18.979 and we're not going to get the benefit of what Jesus would want to offer to us. 00:21:20.039 --> 00:21:23.319 I had a friend once many years ago, wasn't in this church, though it could have been. 00:21:23.319 --> 00:21:27.439 It was a Christian friend who I really respected, and he said once, 00:21:27.720 --> 00:21:31.960 if you knew everything there is to know about me, you'd never talk to me again. 00:21:32.579 --> 00:21:37.619 And my immediate reaction to that was, I bet there is more that I'm hiding from you 00:21:37.619 --> 00:21:41.379 to be ashamed of than that you're not telling me. 00:21:42.619 --> 00:21:50.359 I think all of us, we wouldn't want everything about us to be open and to be seen by others. 00:21:50.359 --> 00:21:54.699 If I were to tell you everything about me, you would probably be very shocked, 00:21:54.779 --> 00:21:57.139 and perhaps the other way around as well. 00:21:58.399 --> 00:22:03.299 But what I do know is that Jesus does know everything about me. 00:22:03.939 --> 00:22:06.059 And Jesus isn't shocked. 00:22:06.779 --> 00:22:10.240 Jesus looks at my sin, looks at everything I've done that's wrong, 00:22:10.579 --> 00:22:15.079 and he has compassion on me, and he wants to give me forgiveness. 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:18.720 And please don't think, I don't know if anybody in this position, 00:22:18.859 --> 00:22:22.639 please don't think you've come to church this morning, everyone around you looks good, 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:26.879 and they're probably great Christians, and you're a kind of sinner sitting among saints. 00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:29.659 You're not. You're a sinner sitting among sinners, 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.939 and we all need the forgiveness that Jesus offers to us. 00:22:35.419 --> 00:22:38.079 And he's able to do that, of course, because of his death on the cross, 00:22:38.139 --> 00:22:42.839 because he went to Calvary to take the sins of the world on himself. 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:47.399 And for those who trust in him and confess their sins to him, 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:50.039 we can be sure that our sins are forgiven, 00:22:50.639 --> 00:22:54.720 and that he will lift us out of the gutter from the place we've got ourselves into, 00:22:55.199 --> 00:22:59.319 and he will give us real meaning and reason in life, 00:22:59.659 --> 00:23:02.240 and real hope for the future. 00:23:02.899 --> 00:23:06.019 Jesus is more concerned with people who know they are bad 00:23:06.019 --> 00:23:09.220 than with people who think they are good. 00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:13.839 Then the second lesson, I can't start to become truly good 00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:17.920 until I recognize I am truly bad. 00:23:18.579 --> 00:23:21.039 Again, Simon, a man who thought he was good, 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:23.819 a man who thought he was religious, 00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:28.120 he was above people like this woman who'd come into his house, 00:23:28.380 --> 00:23:30.940 he did his best to live a good life, 00:23:30.940 --> 00:23:36.820 and he didn't really, it appears, recognize fully the sin in his life. 00:23:37.620 --> 00:23:42.539 Woman, very aware of her sin, very aware of how wicked she had been, 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:46.240 but got on the right road to becoming truly good 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:49.640 by confessing her sins, by trusting in the Lord Jesus, 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:53.039 and by choosing to follow him. 00:23:53.580 --> 00:23:56.500 I can't start to become truly good 00:23:56.500 --> 00:24:00.880 until I recognize I am truly bad. 00:24:01.359 --> 00:24:02.539 And when I recognize that, 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:05.000 and when I put my trust in Jesus, 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:08.460 then there should be in me that love for Jesus 00:24:08.460 --> 00:24:12.220 that this woman had and displayed so much. 00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:14.380 And it is when we love Jesus, 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:16.440 and when we really want to serve him 00:24:16.440 --> 00:24:18.380 because we know what he has done for us, 00:24:18.380 --> 00:24:20.599 and the forgiveness that we have in him, 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:23.160 that we can start to become like him, 00:24:23.160 --> 00:24:25.640 and to be on the path, at least, 00:24:25.900 --> 00:24:28.160 to becoming truly good. 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:30.100 It is in loving Jesus, 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:32.300 and in wanting to serve him, 00:24:32.660 --> 00:24:33.759 and to follow him, 00:24:34.080 --> 00:24:36.060 that God is able to take us, 00:24:36.440 --> 00:24:39.480 and to make us more like his son. 00:24:40.019 --> 00:24:43.220 And that is seen particularly in the way we deal with other people. 00:24:43.900 --> 00:24:45.040 Now, there is in the New Testament 00:24:45.040 --> 00:24:46.779 a lot about how we are in private 00:24:46.779 --> 00:24:48.140 compared with how we are in public, 00:24:48.500 --> 00:24:50.300 but very much through the New Testament, 00:24:50.299 --> 00:24:52.399 our love for the Lord Jesus 00:24:52.399 --> 00:24:55.759 is demonstrating our love for one another, 00:24:56.200 --> 00:24:59.619 and perhaps for those whom we don't even know. 00:25:00.119 --> 00:25:04.240 Love for Christ is seen in love for others. 00:25:05.019 --> 00:25:07.419 And the forgiveness we've experienced through Christ 00:25:07.419 --> 00:25:10.180 should also be seen in the forgiveness 00:25:10.180 --> 00:25:12.720 that we offer to others. 00:25:13.779 --> 00:25:15.539 I think the challenge for some of us this morning 00:25:15.539 --> 00:25:19.420 is have we recognised just how bad we are 00:25:19.420 --> 00:25:21.379 without the Lord Jesus. 00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:24.299 I think in some ways it's a particular challenge 00:25:24.299 --> 00:25:26.799 for those of us who've grown up in church, 00:25:26.879 --> 00:25:27.879 in Christian families, 00:25:27.980 --> 00:25:30.680 who've known the truth of the gospel all our lives, 00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:33.680 and perhaps can easily take them for granted 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:36.639 and not recognise just what we would be 00:25:36.639 --> 00:25:39.359 if it wasn't for the Lord Jesus. 00:25:39.359 --> 00:25:42.740 We need to understand our sinfulness 00:25:42.740 --> 00:25:45.859 before we can truly follow Jesus 00:25:45.859 --> 00:25:48.799 and have the love for him that we should. 00:25:50.679 --> 00:25:52.619 There's another story in the news this week, 00:25:52.679 --> 00:25:55.740 rather more significant than the one I referred to earlier. 00:25:56.299 --> 00:25:58.039 This lady was Jill Sayward. 00:25:58.259 --> 00:25:59.759 Jill Sayward died this week 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:02.339 at the relatively young age of 51. 00:26:03.419 --> 00:26:06.740 30 years ago, Jill Sayward was brutally raped 00:26:06.740 --> 00:26:09.500 and abused in what became known as 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:12.259 the Ealing Vicarage Robbery. 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:14.680 There were thieves burst into her house 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:17.180 and beat up her father and her boyfriend 00:26:17.180 --> 00:26:18.980 and raped her. 00:26:19.819 --> 00:26:20.960 And to make things worse, 00:26:21.019 --> 00:26:22.319 when the case came to trial, 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:24.359 the judge made a statement that said, 00:26:24.440 --> 00:26:26.539 well, she didn't really suffer very much trauma 00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:28.700 and he gave a very lenient sentence 00:26:28.700 --> 00:26:30.640 to those who had raped her. 00:26:30.680 --> 00:26:32.200 Now, totally wrong what he said 00:26:32.200 --> 00:26:34.200 and totally wrong in his sentence. 00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:35.420 He gave a much harsher sentence 00:26:35.420 --> 00:26:36.920 to someone who had been involved in the robbery 00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:39.700 and hadn't actually been involved in the rape. 00:26:40.320 --> 00:26:41.640 Jill Sayward has probably done more 00:26:41.640 --> 00:26:43.080 than anyone else in this country 00:26:43.080 --> 00:26:45.880 to help the position of women who've been raped 00:26:45.880 --> 00:26:47.019 and how they're treated, 00:26:47.180 --> 00:26:49.259 particularly by the police and the judiciary. 00:26:50.340 --> 00:26:51.380 But she's also a Christian 00:26:51.380 --> 00:26:53.580 and she became known particularly 00:26:53.580 --> 00:26:56.279 for the forgiveness that she offered. 00:26:57.120 --> 00:26:59.300 As a Christian, she believed the right thing 00:26:59.300 --> 00:27:01.279 was to be able to give forgiveness 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:03.980 even to those who had done such an evil thing. 00:27:03.980 --> 00:27:05.299 She actually met one of the robbers, 00:27:05.380 --> 00:27:06.279 not one of the ones who raped her, 00:27:06.380 --> 00:27:07.960 the other robbers, she met him later 00:27:07.960 --> 00:27:12.180 and expressed personally that forgiveness to him. 00:27:12.599 --> 00:27:14.220 Someone who knew God's forgiveness 00:27:14.220 --> 00:27:16.680 and was willing to put it into practice 00:27:16.680 --> 00:27:20.000 and to show her love for the Lord Jesus to others. 00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:22.440 Jill Sayward's father, 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:23.759 who was the vicar, 00:27:23.880 --> 00:27:26.200 who was also very seriously injured 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:28.220 in that attack, 00:27:28.420 --> 00:27:29.460 was Michael Sayward. 00:27:29.460 --> 00:27:30.900 And Michael Sayward, 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:32.940 as well as being a Christian minister, 00:27:33.340 --> 00:27:35.160 was a very fine hymn writer. 00:27:36.039 --> 00:27:38.140 And I want to end with some of the words 00:27:38.140 --> 00:27:40.120 from one of his most famous hymns, 00:27:40.340 --> 00:27:42.140 which I think really sums up a lot 00:27:42.140 --> 00:27:44.860 of what we've been talking about this morning. 00:27:44.940 --> 00:27:46.579 These are the words of Michael Sayward. 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:49.240 Lord of the cross of shame, 00:27:50.019 --> 00:27:52.039 set my cold heart aflame 00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:54.079 with love for you, 00:27:54.759 --> 00:27:57.039 my saviour and my master, 00:27:57.039 --> 00:27:59.319 who on that lonely day 00:27:59.319 --> 00:28:01.579 bore all my sins away 00:28:01.579 --> 00:28:03.259 and saved me 00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:06.319 from the judgment and disaster. 00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:08.720 Lord of my life today, 00:28:09.539 --> 00:28:11.420 teach me to live and pray 00:28:11.420 --> 00:28:13.960 as one who knows the joy 00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:15.359 of sins forgiven. 00:28:16.019 --> 00:28:17.899 So may I ever be now 00:28:17.899 --> 00:28:19.099 and eternally 00:28:19.099 --> 00:28:22.359 one with the citizens of heaven. 00:28:23.059 --> 00:28:24.039 Let's pray together. 00:28:24.039 --> 00:28:24.139 Amen. 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:30.000 Father, we thank you for your word. 00:28:30.839 --> 00:28:32.079 We thank you for the power 00:28:32.079 --> 00:28:33.359 of this incident 00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:34.740 in the life of the Lord Jesus 00:28:34.740 --> 00:28:36.779 and of this woman 00:28:36.779 --> 00:28:39.220 who was in many ways so desperate 00:28:39.220 --> 00:28:42.119 and yet who had such a great love for him 00:28:42.119 --> 00:28:45.440 and such a great desire to serve him. 00:28:46.279 --> 00:28:48.059 We thank you that it teaches us 00:28:48.059 --> 00:28:49.119 that there is no one 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:51.559 who is too bad to be forgiven. 00:28:52.200 --> 00:28:54.299 If we're willing to acknowledge our sin, 00:28:54.299 --> 00:28:56.240 then the blood of the Lord Jesus 00:28:56.240 --> 00:28:59.460 is sufficient to cover all our sins 00:28:59.460 --> 00:29:03.139 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:29:03.180 --> 00:29:05.240 Help us all to understand that 00:29:05.240 --> 00:29:07.919 and to put our trust in him. 00:29:09.419 --> 00:29:10.980 And those of us who know him, 00:29:11.519 --> 00:29:13.339 those of us who experience that forgiveness, 00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:15.240 help us to understand 00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:17.200 just how great our sin is 00:29:17.200 --> 00:29:20.079 and just how wonderful our forgiveness is, 00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:22.960 that we may have a real passionate love 00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:24.359 for the Lord Jesus 00:29:24.359 --> 00:29:26.960 and a desire to serve him 00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:28.439 and to please him. 00:29:29.259 --> 00:29:30.559 We pray that you will take us 00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:32.259 and that you will use us 00:29:32.259 --> 00:29:33.500 to his glory. 00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:36.059 We thank you for our time together. 00:29:36.639 --> 00:29:38.000 We pray that now as we come 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:39.339 to share communion 00:29:39.339 --> 00:29:40.519 and to remember again 00:29:40.519 --> 00:29:41.740 the death of the Lord Jesus, 00:29:42.500 --> 00:29:43.899 that you will help us to understand 00:29:43.899 --> 00:29:45.059 just a little bit more 00:29:45.059 --> 00:29:47.240 of what the cost of forgiveness 00:29:47.240 --> 00:29:48.460 for our sins was 00:29:48.460 --> 00:29:51.839 and to love him a bit more too. 00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:52.960 We ask for your presence. 00:29:53.059 --> 00:29:53.940 We give your thanks. 00:29:54.359 --> 00:29:55.180 In Jesus' name. 00:29:55.940 --> 00:29:56.180 Amen.