WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.339 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:00:06.820 --> 00:00:09.359 Our passion is to experience and express grace. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:10.500 Join us. 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:12.759 Good morning. 00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:15.620 It's good to be with you all here. 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:19.539 And that's what every speaker says, but I really mean it. 00:00:19.780 --> 00:00:24.580 Like, I kind of, for those of you who were here last night, I embarrassed myself a little 00:00:24.580 --> 00:00:27.900 bit gushing about how much I think of this church. 00:00:27.899 --> 00:00:30.259 I just love Southwood. 00:00:30.339 --> 00:00:34.159 I can't believe I get to stand here this morning and talk to you all. 00:00:34.239 --> 00:00:38.100 You know, we have this weird thing where we tend to want to make our preachers and our 00:00:38.100 --> 00:00:42.659 musicians and whatnot celebrities in the church, of which I am certainly not one. 00:00:42.780 --> 00:00:44.420 So we can get that cleared up. 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:46.579 But I happen to think it's the other way around. 00:00:46.659 --> 00:00:49.060 I think the congregations themselves are the celebrities. 00:00:49.619 --> 00:00:52.480 And I'm a little bit starstruck by Southwood. 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:54.599 It's bigger than any one person. 00:00:54.600 --> 00:01:01.399 It's just this faithful community in Huntsville that does church well, that expresses grace 00:01:01.399 --> 00:01:01.980 really well. 00:01:02.100 --> 00:01:07.840 And so it's like a dream come true for me to be here this morning with you. 00:01:08.099 --> 00:01:12.340 When I retire from ministry, my plan is to move my family down here, join your church, 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:13.579 and let Will be my pastor. 00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:15.799 So I'm looking forward to it. 00:01:16.659 --> 00:01:17.700 See you soon. 00:01:17.700 --> 00:01:24.480 I decided to title the theme of our weekend, Mission Motives. 00:01:25.540 --> 00:01:26.420 And here's why. 00:01:26.500 --> 00:01:28.040 Some of you may have heard this story before. 00:01:28.219 --> 00:01:29.640 This is for you history buffs. 00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:36.280 During the Spanish-American War, Clara Barton, I don't know if you remember that name, Clara 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:41.180 Barton was in charge of the Red Cross effort in Cuba. 00:01:41.180 --> 00:01:46.800 And one day, a haggard colonel came up to her. 00:01:46.860 --> 00:01:48.020 His name was Theodore Roosevelt. 00:01:48.920 --> 00:01:51.900 And he was leading this regiment of men called the Rough Riders. 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:52.760 Have you ever heard of that? 00:01:53.160 --> 00:01:56.540 And they were beat up, tired, sick, hungry. 00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:00.020 And he asked her if he could buy some supplies. 00:02:00.219 --> 00:02:01.680 Just needed some food, some medicine. 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:06.580 And, you know, figured that he had a friendly partner there. 00:02:06.700 --> 00:02:07.719 And she turned him down. 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:10.300 She just said flat out no. 00:02:11.460 --> 00:02:14.780 And he was stunned and perplexed and kind of desperate. 00:02:15.060 --> 00:02:18.579 But, you know, as tough of a man as Teddy Roosevelt was, Clara Barton was a tougher woman. 00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:19.780 So he retreated. 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:23.400 He grouped up with his men. 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:24.960 And he said, I don't know what we're going to do. 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:28.000 Even in the Red Cross, Clara Barton said no. 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:35.199 And one of his confidants said, well, Colonel, why don't you just, instead of trying to buy 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:37.139 the supplies, why don't you just ask for them? 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:42.379 And it dawned on him, oh, yeah, it's the Red Cross. 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:44.560 I don't need to try to pay for anything. 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:46.039 It's all free. 00:02:47.639 --> 00:02:51.759 And so he went and she gladly gave what he needed. 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:54.819 And so the point is, it's about motives. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:59.180 This whole situation was a matter of getting on the same page about motives. 00:02:59.659 --> 00:03:00.840 Why do we do something? 00:03:00.900 --> 00:03:03.860 The thing that drives us on the inside really matters. 00:03:03.860 --> 00:03:10.140 In this case, Teddy Roosevelt assumed Clara Barton would be motivated by a transactional 00:03:10.140 --> 00:03:11.160 interaction. 00:03:11.940 --> 00:03:13.620 In fact, it was the total opposite. 00:03:14.700 --> 00:03:15.640 It was the total opposite. 00:03:15.740 --> 00:03:17.520 She was motivated by the cause. 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:26.140 And to have some kind of transactional reaction, financial transaction would have undermined 00:03:26.140 --> 00:03:27.700 what was motivating her. 00:03:27.939 --> 00:03:31.340 It would have devalued the Red Cross's contribution. 00:03:32.500 --> 00:03:36.840 And in fact, if you think about it, if, you know, if the Red Cross started trying to make 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:41.979 a profit off of the war, it would have really hurt the cause in the end that America was 00:03:41.979 --> 00:03:42.599 fighting for. 00:03:42.939 --> 00:03:44.680 Which, by the way, I don't know what that was. 00:03:44.819 --> 00:03:46.140 I don't know what the Spanish did to us. 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:49.780 But we had to work it out, apparently. 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:53.039 Motives matter. 00:03:54.379 --> 00:04:00.080 And, you know, nobody understands that idea better than Jesus. 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:03.740 Jesus is very clear on this point. 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:08.340 And this morning, we're going to read about a moment when Jesus highlighted it very explicitly. 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:10.140 We're going to look at Luke chapter 7. 00:04:11.300 --> 00:04:13.580 And we're going to encounter two people. 00:04:14.420 --> 00:04:16.900 One was a very clean-cut man. 00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:23.819 And the other was a woman that, as we'll read, probably a woman that you would want to avoid. 00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:27.439 So I want to look at this together. 00:04:27.520 --> 00:04:28.740 We're going to answer some questions. 00:04:28.740 --> 00:04:31.960 I'm just going to work through the passage and read it as we go. 00:04:32.660 --> 00:04:33.879 But first, would you join me? 00:04:33.900 --> 00:04:34.600 I just want to pray. 00:04:37.100 --> 00:04:41.639 Father in heaven, this is your word to us, your people. 00:04:43.579 --> 00:04:45.160 You could have stayed silent. 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:47.980 You could have left us wondering what you were thinking. 00:04:48.100 --> 00:04:49.280 But instead, you spoke. 00:04:49.420 --> 00:04:51.460 And you spoke in beautiful stories. 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:58.139 You came in the incarnate man, Jesus, and spoke face to face. 00:04:58.740 --> 00:05:01.259 And now, Lord, we are listening. 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:05.740 So would you help us understand what you had to say to us in Luke chapter 7. 00:05:06.060 --> 00:05:07.259 We ask it in Jesus' name. 00:05:08.060 --> 00:05:08.379 Amen. 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:10.560 All right. 00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:11.780 So we have a few questions this morning. 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:13.139 The first question is this. 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:17.680 As we read this passage, who is the worst sinner? 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:20.620 Of the people we encounter, who's worse? 00:05:21.860 --> 00:05:25.900 And I want to read it to you here from Luke 7, picking up in verse 36. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.560 And you see Jesus accepts an invitation to a dinner here. 00:05:30.639 --> 00:05:31.120 It says this. 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:34.360 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him. 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:37.560 And he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. 00:05:37.660 --> 00:05:39.459 And behold, a woman of the city. 00:05:40.899 --> 00:05:42.300 That's code. 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:44.540 And if you didn't catch it, he doubles down. 00:05:44.620 --> 00:05:45.660 Who was a sinner. 00:05:46.699 --> 00:05:53.899 When she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, she came in. 00:05:53.899 --> 00:05:56.639 She wasn't invited, but she just walked into his house. 00:05:56.819 --> 00:06:02.439 She came in, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:09.819 weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head 00:06:09.819 --> 00:06:13.159 and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 00:06:13.579 --> 00:06:18.099 Now, when the Pharisee, who had invited Jesus in, saw this, he said to himself, 00:06:18.100 --> 00:06:25.460 if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:27.080 For she's a sinner. 00:06:29.379 --> 00:06:37.220 Now, the passage is very clearly setting up kind of a compare and contrast between these two people, 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:39.280 each with their own motives before Jesus. 00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:40.540 First, we have Simon. 00:06:41.540 --> 00:06:42.760 Simon was a Pharisee. 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:45.580 He was a professional religion follower. 00:06:45.579 --> 00:06:50.060 And Simon invites Jesus over for a meal. 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:52.740 Maybe they had been in synagogue earlier that day. 00:06:52.899 --> 00:06:56.439 Simon wanted to be the guy who gets to have the speaker over for lunch. 00:06:57.539 --> 00:07:03.699 And so here they are in sort of this slightly tense lunch conversation. 00:07:03.939 --> 00:07:04.839 Then there's the woman. 00:07:05.719 --> 00:07:07.719 And this is a woman of the city, right? 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:08.899 A woman who is a sinner. 00:07:09.039 --> 00:07:10.439 If you want me to spell it out for you. 00:07:11.099 --> 00:07:12.659 She's almost certainly a prostitute. 00:07:12.660 --> 00:07:16.340 She is practicing the world's oldest profession. 00:07:17.700 --> 00:07:21.620 She's a businesswoman in a disgraceful business. 00:07:22.640 --> 00:07:25.020 And the passage begs this compare and contrast. 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:26.040 And it's interesting. 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:28.920 I really do think it's prompting us to ask, who's the worst sinner? 00:07:28.920 --> 00:07:32.379 And what do you think? 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:37.319 Who do you think is the worst sinner in the parable, in the story? 00:07:37.400 --> 00:07:37.840 It's not a parable. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:38.420 It really happened. 00:07:40.020 --> 00:07:40.860 Can I propose? 00:07:42.819 --> 00:07:44.520 I think the woman is the worst sinner. 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:46.980 What do you think? 00:07:47.700 --> 00:07:50.480 You might be thinking, well, I was kind of leaning that way. 00:07:50.540 --> 00:07:52.840 But then my mind was telling me, no, no, no. 00:07:52.900 --> 00:07:55.900 All sins are equally offensive and damning in the sight of God. 00:07:55.899 --> 00:07:56.859 And that's true. 00:07:57.859 --> 00:07:59.979 Every sin deserves God's curse. 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:03.819 Doesn't matter how big, how small, how bad, how light. 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:08.699 But humanly speaking, at the same time, we know this. 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:13.179 I mean, we know that different sins land in different ways. 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:16.099 Some are more flagrantly harmful to other people. 00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:19.179 Some are more damaging to the order of society, right? 00:08:19.180 --> 00:08:27.660 If you don't believe me, just, I assure you, if somebody called my daughter an income poop, I'd be offended. 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:33.879 If somebody kidnapped her, I would have a different level of emotion and response, right? 00:08:34.019 --> 00:08:34.720 These are different. 00:08:34.820 --> 00:08:36.180 They're both sinful, but they're different. 00:08:36.179 --> 00:08:40.979 So we've got these two people. 00:08:41.239 --> 00:08:46.579 And one of them is a guy who's a religion follower. 00:08:46.779 --> 00:08:48.159 And the other one is a prostitute. 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:59.979 And I want to be real quick here to acknowledge that many prostitutes, then and now, are stuck in a lifestyle out of despair, out of abuse, out of coercion. 00:08:59.980 --> 00:09:05.200 Many are really stuck in a life of victimhood. 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:10.960 And yet, I think we can acknowledge, nobody puts a prostitute on a moral pedestal, right? 00:09:12.740 --> 00:09:19.180 The Pharisee, on the other hand, this guy Simon, despite his smug, self-righteous attitude, which is pretty obvious. 00:09:19.700 --> 00:09:20.440 I mean, let's be honest. 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:25.220 He probably lived by principles that, by and large, we in America would affirm. 00:09:26.580 --> 00:09:27.779 That we would applaud. 00:09:27.779 --> 00:09:33.299 I mean, he's the kind of guy who created an environment for safe streets and wholesome businesses. 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:36.399 He's the kind of guy who serves on the board of directors. 00:09:37.500 --> 00:09:38.980 He keeps his lawn cut. 00:09:39.579 --> 00:09:41.919 He's the guy you go to polite parties with, right? 00:09:42.259 --> 00:09:46.959 He was a decent guy, generally promoting a moral society. 00:09:48.139 --> 00:09:48.799 So here's my point. 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:55.879 Do you know that question 83 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and I don't know if you're familiar with that. 00:09:55.879 --> 00:09:59.000 In the PCA, we have this document that kind of helps us interpret the Bible. 00:09:59.139 --> 00:10:00.799 It's called the Westminster Confession of Faith. 00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:05.039 And then there's a version of it that's made out of questions and answers. 00:10:05.860 --> 00:10:09.100 And in the Shorter Catechism, it asks this question. 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:13.279 Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous? 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:15.419 And the answer is no. 00:10:16.659 --> 00:10:18.500 The confession and the catechism says no. 00:10:18.659 --> 00:10:25.919 Some sins in themselves or by reason of repeated aggravations are more heinous in the sight of God than others. 00:10:26.939 --> 00:10:28.259 Some are more heinous than others. 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:33.139 And so I think we can make the case that the woman's sins were more heinous. 00:10:33.720 --> 00:10:36.399 And I tell you who definitely agrees with me, Simon. 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:37.639 Simon definitely agreed. 00:10:37.639 --> 00:10:44.879 And he was quick to say, as we see in verse 39, this is what he thinks to himself. 00:10:45.179 --> 00:10:46.220 Or I don't know. 00:10:46.299 --> 00:10:49.879 It's not clear in the Greek whether he's saying this out loud or muttering under his breath. 00:10:49.879 --> 00:10:59.879 But it says, if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who's touching him, for she's a sinner. 00:10:59.879 --> 00:11:07.179 The implication being that if Jesus knew what type of woman she really was, he would recoil back. 00:11:07.860 --> 00:11:07.960 Right? 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:11.939 He would try to distance himself from her because of his own reputation. 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:20.539 And if I could just touch that nerve a little bit, not to be crass. 00:11:20.779 --> 00:11:23.240 This story is kind of PG-13. 00:11:23.500 --> 00:11:25.539 Let me make you feel it a little bit. 00:11:25.700 --> 00:11:27.919 Men, let me ask you something. 00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:36.259 Do you let hookers come in and start touching your feet when you're a dinner guest at somebody else's house? 00:11:37.199 --> 00:11:38.759 That's what we're talking about here. 00:11:40.179 --> 00:11:42.919 This is bizarre. 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:46.679 And, you know, wouldn't you be skeptical too if you were Simon? 00:11:49.939 --> 00:11:51.199 But you see, that's just it. 00:11:52.059 --> 00:11:53.439 That's the thing about Simon. 00:11:55.079 --> 00:11:56.939 Simon was actually a sinner too. 00:11:56.940 --> 00:12:06.720 And he was so busy being skeptical that he didn't even really have much time or awareness to acknowledge that maybe he shouldn't have been there either. 00:12:09.420 --> 00:12:13.280 See, Simon, his sins were more refined, if you will. 00:12:13.920 --> 00:12:15.300 They were a little less glaring. 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:17.920 They were, I like to call them phantom sins. 00:12:18.360 --> 00:12:21.940 They're sort of there, but seriously, I mean, who's taken them that strongly? 00:12:21.940 --> 00:12:22.680 That strongly. 00:12:22.680 --> 00:12:28.880 There's a guy named Jerry Bridges who wrote a book called Respectable Sins. 00:12:29.820 --> 00:12:31.000 Respectable Sins. 00:12:32.020 --> 00:12:35.540 And in his book, he scrutinizes these tolerable sins. 00:12:35.620 --> 00:12:48.740 Sins like anxiety, discontentment, thanklessness, pride, selfishness, impatience, irritability, gossip, envy, worldliness. 00:12:48.740 --> 00:12:56.299 You know, sins that may seem more relatable for some of us as over against those like awful, dramatic sins. 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:01.560 Those people who do all those things that we would not associate with. 00:13:01.860 --> 00:13:01.980 Right? 00:13:01.980 --> 00:13:05.740 And so the message is this. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:17.779 Though we may find them to be refined and minor in nature, these kind of sins that may be a little more true of some of us, they are real and they are awful. 00:13:17.779 --> 00:13:24.000 They are symptoms of something terribly broken in us. 00:13:25.319 --> 00:13:32.799 And yet, the worst thing of all about them is that we're not traumatized in the least by how much they offend God and his glory. 00:13:34.279 --> 00:13:36.059 We're sort of numb to them. 00:13:38.179 --> 00:13:38.879 Here's the point. 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:47.600 Listen, Simon's sins were of the variety that made it harder for him to feel his need for forgiveness. 00:13:49.980 --> 00:13:54.460 Mercy wasn't a functional motive in his heart. 00:13:56.460 --> 00:13:59.939 It was just kind of the batteries were dead on that. 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:04.860 And Jesus knows that this is Simon's glaring weakness. 00:14:04.860 --> 00:14:15.120 And so this story that seems to be about a bizarre scenario with a woman coming in uninvited, the wrong kind of woman doing the wrong kinds of things. 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:17.580 The story is really in many ways about Simon. 00:14:17.800 --> 00:14:20.879 And Jesus knows it and he puts his finger on it. 00:14:20.940 --> 00:14:22.019 So let's second question. 00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:24.480 As we read this, who is Jesus? 00:14:25.019 --> 00:14:26.840 Who is Jesus in this particular story? 00:14:26.919 --> 00:14:29.120 And we'll look at verses 40 to 43 with you here. 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:38.159 So Jesus answered and said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:39.299 Now, I love that. 00:14:40.659 --> 00:14:46.879 I mean, when you're talking to somebody and you first start saying something to them by saying, I have something to say to you. 00:14:47.379 --> 00:14:49.279 You know that they have something to say to you. 00:14:49.860 --> 00:14:53.600 You know that something's kind of serious about the situation. 00:14:53.740 --> 00:14:55.379 Simon, I have something to say to you. 00:14:55.379 --> 00:14:57.740 And Simon answered, we'll say it, teacher. 00:14:59.820 --> 00:15:01.600 And he tells this parable. 00:15:02.899 --> 00:15:04.639 This is where the parable comes in. 00:15:05.460 --> 00:15:07.799 A certain money lender had two debtors. 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:11.399 One owed 500 denarii and the other 50. 00:15:12.259 --> 00:15:15.379 And when they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both of them. 00:15:15.620 --> 00:15:17.000 Now, which of them will love him more? 00:15:17.379 --> 00:15:21.200 And Simon answered, well, the one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt. 00:15:21.200 --> 00:15:25.840 And he said to him, Jesus said to Simon, well, you have judged rightly. 00:15:28.640 --> 00:15:29.080 All right. 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:31.460 So we have a money lender and two men in debt. 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:35.940 One of the men in debt owed 50 denarii. 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:39.060 That's about two months wages. 00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:41.900 The other owed 500. 00:15:42.400 --> 00:15:44.220 That's about 20 months wages. 00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:53.160 So in our economy, you bring that up to 2020s, that kind of money, we're talking, let's say for somebody who makes $70,000. 00:15:53.680 --> 00:15:54.840 That's their annual salary. 00:15:55.040 --> 00:15:58.120 We're talking two months wages, $11,600. 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:05.620 If we're looking at 20 months wages, $116,000, $117,000 of debt. 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:09.940 And the money lender forgives both of them. 00:16:10.100 --> 00:16:10.980 Just flat out. 00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:11.960 Just done. 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:20.780 Now, Jesus, he turns to Simon in verse 42, and he asks a very important question in a very specific way. 00:16:21.560 --> 00:16:23.320 And this is the punchline on the whole thing. 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:26.360 This is the whole passage pivots on this question. 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:35.460 He says, Simon, which of these guys who has had their debt erased will love the gracious lender more? 00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:39.060 Love the gracious lender more. 00:16:39.059 --> 00:16:47.239 And Simon, who's, as best I can read, somewhere between kind of confused and kind of cocky, says, well, I suppose one who he's forgiven more. 00:16:48.179 --> 00:16:49.359 And Jesus says, uh-huh. 00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:53.159 You're following, right, Simon? 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:55.519 You understand the point I'm making here. 00:16:55.719 --> 00:16:56.819 And we never find out. 00:16:57.119 --> 00:16:59.179 We don't know if Simon embraces the lesson. 00:16:59.179 --> 00:17:02.959 But obviously, he is impugning himself with that answer. 00:17:03.839 --> 00:17:08.639 Because although the men in debt owed vastly different amounts, the bottom line was not how much they owed. 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:11.259 It was whether or not they would be forgiven. 00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:16.299 Because neither of them could pay it. 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:17.980 So who is Jesus? 00:17:18.220 --> 00:17:24.019 Jesus is not primarily the one who forgives $11,000 for one person and $116,000 for another. 00:17:25.019 --> 00:17:28.059 Jesus is primarily the one who forgives. 00:17:28.700 --> 00:17:29.319 At all. 00:17:30.359 --> 00:17:31.400 That's the thing. 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:37.600 See, $11,000 versus $116,000 is relative, right? 00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:40.160 The person that owes $11,000 owes a lot less. 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:45.660 Except the guy who owes $11,000 owes a lot more than the person who owes $50. 00:17:47.140 --> 00:17:50.320 And so who should love the forgiver more? 00:17:51.060 --> 00:17:54.160 It's not a matter of comparison. 00:17:54.160 --> 00:18:01.240 It's a matter of recognizing I can't believe I'm one of the people who gets to be forgiven. 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:09.220 And granted, again, the point I'm making this morning, $11,000 really is less than $116,000. 00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:17.040 But if you're facing bankruptcy and you can only come up with 27 cents, it doesn't matter how much you owe. 00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:20.900 Your only hope is forgiveness for your own situation. 00:18:20.900 --> 00:18:27.480 And Simon fell into the trap of thinking that he was sitting at the same level as Jesus. 00:18:28.360 --> 00:18:32.160 Like you and me, Jesus, trying to figure out who earns love and who doesn't. 00:18:33.500 --> 00:18:36.140 And Jesus is like, dude, it's not you and me. 00:18:36.800 --> 00:18:38.600 It's not you and me at the same level. 00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:43.180 Simon really had no fear of his sin. 00:18:44.740 --> 00:18:46.259 You ever catch yourself there? 00:18:47.900 --> 00:18:50.040 Those of us of respectable sins. 00:18:50.900 --> 00:18:59.200 You know, you find yourself thinking maybe quietly, why must I live in a world with so many fools around me? 00:19:00.460 --> 00:19:04.640 You know, why can't they just see things the way I do? 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:06.440 Sure, I owe God a little bit. 00:19:06.519 --> 00:19:07.120 I know that. 00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:08.480 But look at her. 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:11.920 I mean, look at how much that guy must need to be forgiven. 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:26.340 Simon, Simon, Jesus could tell, was not roaming the earth looking for relief, looking for someone kind to finally free him from his shameful debt. 00:19:26.420 --> 00:19:27.700 He wasn't even looking for it. 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:35.920 And so sadly, Simon, though his sins may have been relatively less, he's the one who comes off the most foolhardy. 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:40.820 The woman, on the other hand, though, how beautiful is this? 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:45.000 This woman, she understood Jesus is separate. 00:19:45.900 --> 00:19:46.920 Jesus stands alone. 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:49.519 There's him and then there's just all of us. 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:54.859 And maybe she had been miserable for a long time. 00:19:56.259 --> 00:20:03.099 Maybe she had been unaware there could even be freedom for somebody in her rotten place in society. 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:11.879 And maybe she was also at that synagogue that morning and heard Jesus talking and realized for the first time in her life, 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:18.160 Now that's somebody who could actually see me and love me as I am. 00:20:19.840 --> 00:20:23.460 The kind of person that Jesus came to heal. 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:26.700 And when she found what she was looking for, what did she do? 00:20:26.800 --> 00:20:32.940 She bowed down and wept because she realized she had been forgiven much. 00:20:32.940 --> 00:20:43.160 So what hangs in the balance here as to whether or not you realize that you've been forgiven much 00:20:43.160 --> 00:20:46.559 or you assume that other people are those who need to be forgiven much? 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:52.900 That you're helping Jesus kind of, you know, make the filtering happen. 00:20:53.940 --> 00:20:55.759 What hangs in the balance? 00:20:55.759 --> 00:21:10.279 What hangs in the balance for you as to whether or not you will get profoundly in touch with the reality of having been forgiven? 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:12.799 If we look at the passage here, 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.160 if she or he who is forgiven much loves much, 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:22.420 it must be love that hangs in the balance. 00:21:23.099 --> 00:21:23.900 So let's look at that. 00:21:23.900 --> 00:21:26.900 Let's read the end here, verses 44 to 50. 00:21:28.320 --> 00:21:28.759 It says, 00:21:28.860 --> 00:21:30.920 Then turning toward the woman, Jesus said to Simon, 00:21:31.560 --> 00:21:32.680 Do you see this woman? 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:34.519 I entered your house. 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:36.140 You gave me no water for my feet, 00:21:36.500 --> 00:21:39.500 but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:42.580 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, 00:21:42.620 --> 00:21:44.380 she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 00:21:45.140 --> 00:21:46.700 You did not anoint my head with oil, 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:48.720 but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 00:21:49.580 --> 00:21:51.580 Therefore, I tell you, Simon, 00:21:51.579 --> 00:21:55.659 her sins, which are many, 00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:57.879 are forgiven, 00:21:58.599 --> 00:22:01.240 for she loved much. 00:22:02.299 --> 00:22:05.659 But he who is forgiven little loves little. 00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:08.320 And then he said to her, 00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:11.420 Your sins are forgiven. 00:22:12.380 --> 00:22:13.920 And then those who were at the table with him 00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:15.040 began to say among themselves, 00:22:15.140 --> 00:22:16.840 Who is this guy who even forgives sins? 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:17.779 And he said to the woman, 00:22:18.820 --> 00:22:19.900 Your faith has saved you. 00:22:20.080 --> 00:22:20.259 You. 00:22:20.920 --> 00:22:22.180 You can go in peace. 00:22:22.180 --> 00:22:27.640 So what's really going on here? 00:22:28.299 --> 00:22:30.799 Simon thought the woman was a worse sinner than him, 00:22:30.900 --> 00:22:34.060 and therefore she was less valuable. 00:22:35.420 --> 00:22:36.880 He thought she was less valuable. 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:37.759 But Jesus says, 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:39.680 Man, no. 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:41.740 Look, think about motives. 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:43.820 Think about motives. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:46.340 Who's going to leave here motivated today? 00:22:46.339 --> 00:22:50.000 If she is forgiven more, 00:22:50.699 --> 00:22:53.859 if that sense of freedom from guilt is animating her, 00:22:53.980 --> 00:22:55.819 driving her outlook on the world, 00:22:56.899 --> 00:23:00.220 she's going to be motivated to love better, 00:23:00.879 --> 00:23:05.399 which means she will be more valuable to the kingdom of God. 00:23:09.579 --> 00:23:12.139 She is going to be motivated to love. 00:23:12.199 --> 00:23:13.539 So what do we learn about love here? 00:23:13.619 --> 00:23:14.579 Just two quick things. 00:23:14.579 --> 00:23:17.839 First of all, two great commands, right? 00:23:17.919 --> 00:23:18.579 Where does she start? 00:23:18.699 --> 00:23:20.259 She pours out her love to Jesus. 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:23.759 She loves the Lord her God with her heart and her soul. 00:23:24.659 --> 00:23:27.159 She did all the things that Simon so rudely did not do. 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:28.079 She washed his feet. 00:23:28.279 --> 00:23:29.039 She kissed his feet. 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:30.019 She anointed his head. 00:23:30.419 --> 00:23:33.480 She let her emotions out in front of Jesus. 00:23:33.779 --> 00:23:35.799 She let her hair down in front of Jesus. 00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:40.460 She spilled all of her expensive perfume on Jesus. 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:44.179 Man, if I could be so lucky, 00:23:44.579 --> 00:23:50.240 to worship half as passionately as that most days of my life. 00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:53.339 Just half as enthusiastically. 00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:56.379 She worshiped. 00:23:57.740 --> 00:24:00.199 She loved Jesus. 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:02.460 Now, second, we learn about love toward neighbor. 00:24:03.199 --> 00:24:05.720 And specifically, to the point of our conference this weekend, 00:24:05.720 --> 00:24:12.220 we learn about loving those who we view as lower on the social totem pole than us. 00:24:14.259 --> 00:24:17.120 I mean, first of all, I love how Jesus draws attention toward her. 00:24:17.240 --> 00:24:20.720 See, he's talking to Simon, but did you notice where the passage says he's looking? 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:24.160 As he's talking to Simon, he's looking at the woman. 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:25.220 And he says, Jesus. 00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:29.660 I mean, he says, Simon, do you see her? 00:24:29.660 --> 00:24:33.840 And I find that's the main challenge. 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:38.200 Just seeing anybody that's lower than I perceive myself to be. 00:24:38.320 --> 00:24:43.040 Seeing them long enough to find out why they've landed where they have in life. 00:24:44.500 --> 00:24:49.640 Seeing them well enough to imagine that that could be my mother or my daughter. 00:24:49.640 --> 00:24:52.020 Or that could be me. 00:24:53.900 --> 00:24:57.700 Seeing them with the eyes of Jesus. 00:24:57.980 --> 00:25:02.720 And maybe for you, the people you see day in and day out that maybe you see but you don't see. 00:25:02.860 --> 00:25:03.880 Maybe it's a prostitute. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:12.320 The way St. Louis is built, I don't encounter prostitutes very often in my goings to and fro, coming and going. 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:19.779 But maybe it's a beggar on the street corner at the King's Highway exit, which I do travel most days. 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:27.779 Or maybe it's that disgraced co-worker who nobody wants to talk to anymore. 00:25:27.960 --> 00:25:31.579 Or maybe it's a person with a mental disorder. 00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:36.099 Maybe it's somebody that's homebound now and kind of just forgotten about. 00:25:36.779 --> 00:25:39.700 Maybe it's the hoarder we talked about last night. 00:25:39.700 --> 00:25:47.600 The ability to see somebody motivated by a heart of mercy and humility. 00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:51.380 That knows that the Lord holds my lot. 00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:53.480 That I'm in good hands. 00:25:54.019 --> 00:25:55.819 That I have a beautiful inheritance. 00:25:56.080 --> 00:25:57.140 That I'm not shaken. 00:25:57.340 --> 00:26:00.460 That the person whose heart is glad and who is at peace. 00:26:01.799 --> 00:26:09.600 That person can afford to stop fretting about themselves and give attention to that invisible person in front of them. 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:18.519 I remember one time as a kid at a worship service at the church I grew up at, Trinity Presbyterian in Charlottesville, Virginia. 00:26:19.559 --> 00:26:20.740 And we were at a worship service. 00:26:20.860 --> 00:26:25.059 For some reason, I was pretty young, but I think it was an evening service, as best I can remember. 00:26:25.700 --> 00:26:26.460 We were there. 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:27.039 We were singing. 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:29.960 And the doors at the back opened. 00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:32.799 And a man walked in. 00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:37.740 And he started walking down the center aisle in the middle of service, disheveled. 00:26:38.779 --> 00:26:41.620 He appeared to be wearing all the clothes that he owned. 00:26:41.740 --> 00:26:42.380 They were tattered. 00:26:43.380 --> 00:26:45.880 His hair was all a mess. 00:26:47.660 --> 00:26:49.700 He was presumably homeless. 00:26:49.700 --> 00:26:53.980 And he walked down the middle aisle almost to the front row. 00:26:54.120 --> 00:26:57.519 And there was like an empty seat in the second or third row. 00:26:57.600 --> 00:26:58.539 And he just sat down. 00:26:58.980 --> 00:27:05.880 Now, this is disorienting because where this church is located was at the end of a cul-de-sac down a long wooded road. 00:27:06.460 --> 00:27:08.940 There was no passing by to get somewhere else. 00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:12.180 There were never people who just happened to be walking in the neighborhood. 00:27:12.819 --> 00:27:14.279 How he got there, I'll never know. 00:27:14.279 --> 00:27:19.180 But he walked down, and it was causing some alarm for people. 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:20.700 It was confusing. 00:27:20.899 --> 00:27:23.799 It was distracting enough that people were looking as they were singing. 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:27.539 Even the people who were standing on stage were kind of looking like, is this okay? 00:27:28.639 --> 00:27:29.019 How's this? 00:27:29.339 --> 00:27:30.420 Like, what's going to happen next? 00:27:31.639 --> 00:27:37.200 And one of our assistant pastors was sitting in the front row, realized the people on stage were squirming a little bit. 00:27:37.500 --> 00:27:39.319 And he turned around to see what was going on. 00:27:39.599 --> 00:27:40.599 And he saw this man. 00:27:42.119 --> 00:27:42.519 Instantly. 00:27:42.819 --> 00:27:43.200 Instantly. 00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:44.980 He just turned around. 00:27:45.720 --> 00:27:47.160 Walked back to the fourth row. 00:27:48.259 --> 00:27:49.700 Sat down next to this man. 00:27:50.200 --> 00:27:51.819 Put his arm around his shoulder. 00:27:52.559 --> 00:27:54.440 Put his head back up and just kept singing. 00:27:56.799 --> 00:27:58.680 I've never forgotten that, obviously. 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:00.920 Mike Sherritt. 00:28:02.039 --> 00:28:02.819 What a man. 00:28:02.940 --> 00:28:04.100 I'll tell you something about Mike. 00:28:05.200 --> 00:28:08.019 I can't remember a single word he ever preached from the pulpit. 00:28:10.059 --> 00:28:11.019 He was a good preacher. 00:28:11.100 --> 00:28:12.240 I'm not saying he wasn't a good preacher. 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:12.900 I'm just saying. 00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:15.460 More is usually caught than taught. 00:28:15.779 --> 00:28:15.960 Right? 00:28:16.279 --> 00:28:19.160 And I caught something as a kid that day. 00:28:19.380 --> 00:28:24.380 I remember thinking, okay, well, I mean, I guess this is what we do as Jesus followers. 00:28:24.620 --> 00:28:25.720 I guess that's how we do it. 00:28:26.860 --> 00:28:28.420 And I've lived with that ever since. 00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:29.880 And I'm still trying to be like Mike. 00:28:31.039 --> 00:28:31.640 Share it. 00:28:31.640 --> 00:28:31.740 Share it. 00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:36.400 He just lived that way. 00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:37.019 That's who he was. 00:28:37.019 --> 00:28:37.300 That's who he was. 00:28:37.300 --> 00:28:38.840 That's who he was consistently. 00:28:39.640 --> 00:28:43.320 That's what made him ready for an unexpected moment like that. 00:28:43.440 --> 00:28:45.120 It's because it was already in there. 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:49.500 A love for others motivated by Jesus' love for him. 00:28:49.500 --> 00:28:53.420 Jesus started it. 00:28:53.420 --> 00:28:55.339 Jesus loved his neighbors. 00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:57.680 Even the least of these. 00:28:58.839 --> 00:28:59.799 The lost. 00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:01.480 The loneliest. 00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:02.339 The littlest. 00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:03.759 The left out. 00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:09.559 And Jesus actually said for those who are tracking along and are like feeling motivated. 00:29:09.559 --> 00:29:12.759 Okay, I recognize I have been forgiven much. 00:29:14.039 --> 00:29:14.960 How do I love much? 00:29:15.079 --> 00:29:20.740 Jesus said, if you have an awareness of your forgiveness and it's giving birth to a desire 00:29:20.740 --> 00:29:26.159 to want to do something, you should know if you've given water to the thirsty, if you've 00:29:26.159 --> 00:29:31.720 given food to the hungry, clothing to the naked, shelter to the stranger, care to the 00:29:31.720 --> 00:29:35.220 sick, that's the same as if you're giving it to Jesus. 00:29:35.220 --> 00:29:41.960 And my guess is that's how this woman in this story in Luke 7 lived a whole lot for the rest 00:29:41.960 --> 00:29:42.640 of her life. 00:29:44.620 --> 00:29:50.120 Just a little bit of like practical maybe help on the way out the door here today. 00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:58.380 When you find yourself getting haughty, you know, kind of puffed up, irritated at the foolish 00:29:58.380 --> 00:30:05.200 people around you, just stop and ask yourself, what's the ugliest thing you've done this month? 00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:13.200 The ugliest words you've said, the ugliest action you've taken, I'll just tell you this, 00:30:13.299 --> 00:30:16.460 sometimes our stupidity is a gift. 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:22.420 And I'm not saying chase after sin. 00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:23.720 Don't chase after sin. 00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:27.079 But also don't waste its memory. 00:30:27.079 --> 00:30:33.259 Maybe even pray for a little failure every now and then, a little humiliation. 00:30:34.879 --> 00:30:39.899 It can turn into love when you realize you're forgiven of it. 00:30:40.699 --> 00:30:45.619 So I challenge you all, Southwood, to carry a burden for people beneath you for the least. 00:30:45.619 --> 00:30:53.779 I challenge you to see them, to engage them, to love them much, and to do it because forgiveness 00:30:53.779 --> 00:30:55.859 has done its work on you. 00:30:57.819 --> 00:31:02.759 Love your neighbor because you have ingested grace. 00:31:03.979 --> 00:31:07.739 And that that's the thing that's motivating you to express grace. 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:08.819 Let me pray. 00:31:11.220 --> 00:31:16.859 Father in heaven, this passage challenges me. 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:21.400 I think there are too many days when, if I'm honest, I identify with Simon. 00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:24.259 I just don't like that. 00:31:24.519 --> 00:31:25.599 I don't want to be that guy. 00:31:26.900 --> 00:31:29.220 I want you to cleanse it out of me day by day. 00:31:29.220 --> 00:31:39.019 I want you to give me eyes to see, first and foremost, my guilt, my sin. 00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:42.059 Help me to identify more with the woman. 00:31:43.180 --> 00:31:45.220 And then help me to respond like the woman. 00:31:45.539 --> 00:31:48.839 To you, Jesus, with extravagant love. 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:52.339 And then to my neighbor, the one I would otherwise look right past. 00:31:54.319 --> 00:31:57.860 Father, I pray that you would make Southwood that kind of place. 00:31:57.859 --> 00:32:02.299 When people talk about Southwood around Huntsville, they'd say, oh, yeah, I've heard of them. 00:32:02.379 --> 00:32:04.259 That's that church of people who love much. 00:32:04.939 --> 00:32:08.759 They invite in people of every variety with the kind of heart that I guess you'd only have 00:32:08.759 --> 00:32:10.619 if you know you've been forgiven much. 00:32:12.199 --> 00:32:14.439 And I see that happening in this church. 00:32:14.519 --> 00:32:15.799 I've seen it just this weekend. 00:32:15.979 --> 00:32:17.319 So I give you thanks and praise. 00:32:18.259 --> 00:32:19.619 I do it all in Jesus' name. 00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:20.099 Amen. 00:32:20.099 --> 00:32:24.859 For more information, visit us online at southwood.org. 00:32:28.500 --> 00:32:39.079 Now let's just name ourと 00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:44.219 Let's meet some of our guests. 00:32:45.279 --> 00:32:46.599 Let's stay together.