And we're here at the end of chapter number 7, so we'll pick up our reading in verse number 36 and we're going to read through the end of the chapter.
Quite a bit of verses, but a real great truth I think that we can take away from this morning.
The Bible says this in verse number 36 of Luke 7,
And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him.
And he went to the Pharisee's house and sat down to meet.
And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner,
when she knew that Jesus set at meat in the Pharisee's house,
brought an alabaster box of ointment,
and stood at his feet behind him weeping,
and began to wash his feet with tears,
and did wipe them with the hairs of her head,
and kissed his feet, and anointed them with ointment.
Verse 39,
Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it,
he spake within himself, saying,
This man, if he were a prophet, would have known
who and what manner of woman that is that toucheth him,
for she is a sinner.
And Jesus answering said unto him,
Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.
And he saith, Master, say on.
There was a certain creditor which had two debtors,
the one owed five hundred pence and the other fifty.
And when they had nothing to pay,
he frankly forgave them both.
Tell me, therefore,
which of them will love him the most?
Simon answered and said,
I suppose that he to whom he forgave most.
And he said unto him,
Thou hast rightly judged.
And he turned to the woman,
and said unto Simon,
Seest thou this woman?
I entered into thine house,
and thou gavest me no water for my feet,
but she hath washed my feet with her tears,
and hath wiped them with the hairs of her head.
Thou gavest me no kiss,
but this woman,
since the time I came in,
hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
My head with oil thou didst not anoint,
but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
Wherefore I say unto thee,
Her sins, which are many,
are forgiven.
For she loved much,
but to whom little is forgiven,
the same loveth little.
And he said unto her,
Thy sins are forgiven.
And they that said it meet with him
began to say within themselves,
Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
And he said unto the woman,
Thy faith has saved thee.
Go in peace.
This is a beautiful picture
of really Jesus' mission.
He came to seek and to save
that which was lost.
I want to preach the message entitled this,
When Grace Walks In.
Because when grace walks in,
everything changes.
So let's go to Lord in prayer this morning.
Father, thank you for this opportunity
to open up your word.
Lord, we've asked your blessings
on this service already,
but Lord, we're asking specifically now
to speak to our hearts.
You would calm our minds.
You would quiet our hearts.
You would help us to focus on your word.
Lord, we're asking that you would,
your Holy Spirit would speak to us.
Lord, I need you desperately.
I need your power.
Lord, I need your guidance.
And I pray that you would help me
as I preach your word this morning.
I pray that it would be a blessing
to your people.
Lord, I pray there's someone here
that doesn't know you today.
That you would walk into their life
and everything would change.
And Lord, we ask all these things
in your son's precious name.
Amen.
Thank you so much for standing.
May be seated.
Have you ever had anybody
show up at your house uninvited?
Maybe it's your in-laws.
The best, right?
You're very excited about it.
Maybe it was your neighbor.
Maybe it was your pastor
just there to give you a hard time
and I can hear you in there.
It's the preacher.
I've been there.
I'm just a person too,
just like you.
But suddenly you're scrambling
and you're trying to look hospitable
while you're hiding the clutter
and you're opening the door
and you're kicking things
into the closet.
Hey, come on in.
For breeze in the air
like it's holy water
or whatever it may be
and yelling at your kids.
Hey, remember,
we love each other in this house.
Anybody been there?
Yeah.
I mean, that's just life in general.
I mean, that's how it is.
But imagine that you're throwing
a dignified dinner party.
You've set everything up
and Jesus is in attendance
and everything is perfect.
I mean, your house is spotless
and you've invited respected guests
and everything's tidy
and the candles are lit.
And then she walks in.
This person that we see in our text,
a woman with a horrible reputation
and a past that everybody knows about
and everybody whispers
every time she walks past.
That's the scene here
and there's no introduction.
There's no warning.
She's just there
and all of a sudden she's crying
and she's weeping
and there's maybe snot going everywhere
and she's worshiping the Lord.
I mean, you talk about killing the mood
of a dinner party.
That's really kind of the idea here
is all the things were in place
for this feast, this spectacle,
this banquet that Simon the Pharisee
was putting on for really Jesus
but really putting on for himself
to kind of pump himself up.
And it's here in this text,
it's in this shocking moment
when Jesus teaches this life-changing truth
that we read there in verse 47.
He said,
Wherefore I say unto thee,
her sins which are many are forgiven.
Why?
For she loved much,
but to whom little is forgiven,
the same loveth little.
As we walk through this story this morning,
I want us to answer this question to ourselves.
Do I live like somebody
who's been forgiven much?
That's a great question to ask ourselves.
Because we see a very contrasting setting
and we can ask ourselves,
does my love for Jesus reflect that?
I say that I'm forgiven much,
but does my life prove it?
Does my life show that I'm there?
And that's what we see
in these first few verses
that we read in really verse 36 through 39,
this contrasting setting.
We see this proud Pharisee
and we see this humble sinner.
Now when you read it at the beginning,
in verse 36,
and one of the Pharisees desired
that he would eat with him,
I mean, it seems like a warm invitation.
It seems like a kind gesture.
But when we really sat down
and we really start looking into the text,
this hospitality that Simon was showing
was ice cold.
He wasn't there in the sense
so Jesus could,
he could learn more about him.
And he wasn't maybe curious in that way.
No, we can tell very quickly
there was no greeting.
There was no kiss of peace,
which is a standard greeting
in this time period
and really in this culture still.
There was no water for his feet.
We understand that the roads were very dusty
and so they would come into the house,
they would wash their feet.
Generally, there would be a servant there
that would do that.
There was no oil for Christ's head.
See, Simon wanted Jesus at the table.
He just didn't want him in his heart.
That's really where we are
at the outset of this story.
Because in first century Jewish culture,
hospitality really wasn't an optional thing.
It was a sacred thing.
And it really still is.
A lot of the eastern cultures are like that.
And this was a big deal
and it was one of the highest forms of honor
to have somebody in your home.
Or it could be a form of shame.
And see, by refusing these simple courtesies,
these are things that pretty much
everybody else that would have came in that house
would have received this.
And yet everybody's kind of looking around thinking,
well, why didn't he receive it?
Why didn't he get to wash his feet?
Why didn't he get these different situations?
Here's what Simon is doing.
He's saying this to everybody there.
You're not welcome here, Jesus.
That's really his mindset.
That's really his,
the way that he's leaning.
And in fact, from everything we know
about the Pharisees,
and as we've seen it,
as we've walked through the Gospel of Luke,
the only reason that Jesus is probably here
is because Simon wants to gather some evidence.
They are seeking to destroy him.
They are trying to catch him in a trap.
They are trying to put him in a situation
where they say,
there he is, we got him.
So he's there,
and he's seeing what Jesus will say.
Because from what we can tell about Simon,
and we saw it there in verse 39,
we'll look in a second,
Simon thought a lot about himself.
If you want to know how awesome Simon was,
you probably just had to ask him.
He's that kind of guy.
He's going to tell you.
He's a Pharisee.
He's the ultra-religious,
and he would have prided himself
on keeping up appearances.
This wasn't some little gathering
that he would have had at his house.
This would have been a big to-do.
It would have been a spectacle around town.
Everybody would have known,
hey, did you hear that Simon's throwing a banquet,
and I heard Jesus of Nazareth is going to be there.
Everybody knew who Simon was.
He walked with his nose way up in the air
when he went through Walmart,
and he's in all his religious garb,
and he followed all the rules.
His robes were spotless.
He knew more Old Testament
than people even could understand,
and he fasted twice a week,
and he tithed on everything he owned.
I mean, he tithed on the spices in his cabinet,
and he said,
I'm going to get this Jesus,
this rogue rabbi.
I'm going to show him
what a godly person looks like.
That was kind of his mindset.
He wanted to let Jesus know,
this is what you're supposed to look like.
This is what God is looking for,
and he might have looked good on the outside,
but his heart was full of pride
and self-righteousness.
And Jesus calls this out
in multiple places in Scripture.
He said this group of people,
they were like whited sepulchers.
They looked real fancy on the outside
and real ornate,
but on the inside,
they were just full of dead men's bones.
There's no life to this.
It's just a facade.
It's covering really what is underneath,
and underneath is just darkness,
and it's sin.
But yet, Jesus accepts the invitation.
Jesus knows his heart.
He knows maybe the motives behind it,
and as Simon is reveling
in his self-professed spiritual superiority,
the mood suddenly shifts.
A woman enters the room.
And maybe you're thinking,
how did she get there?
In these types of settings,
many well-to-do people
would have a courtyard in their house.
And what they would do
is they would open up the gates,
the doors,
it'd be big, generally wooden doors
type of thing,
and the passerbys could see
how the movers and shakers live life
and how they ate their food
and what they did.
It was kind of Simon's idea
is everybody look at me.
So the gates open,
and people would come in
and they would just maybe think,
man, I wish I could have a meal like that.
I wish I could do that.
So there was access for anybody to come.
They wanted them to hear the conversations
of the highfalutin people, so to speak.
That's a real word, isn't it?
I've always heard it.
I just wanted to throw it out there.
But that's kind of what it is.
It's, hey, look at us.
We're the pretty people.
We're the rich people.
We're the spiritual people.
She wasn't supposed to be here.
Even a woman of her reputation
knew even though the gates were open,
she really wasn't invited in.
This wasn't a place that she could have been.
And she's not just any woman.
The Bible makes it clear in verse 37.
It says, which was a sinner.
Now, we can come to many conclusions,
but it seems the overwhelming evidence points to this,
that most likely she was a prostitute.
Everybody knew this.
It might be much like the woman at the well.
Everybody knew her sins.
Her life was flagrant, and it was public,
and really didn't hide it,
and really didn't run from it.
And her reputation followed her like a shadow.
And yet she's here.
Can you picture,
can you picture the crowd when she walks in?
Everybody starts whispering.
Every eye starts rolling,
and you could really feel the tension in the air.
She's not supposed to be here.
Who does she think she is?
She can't be, she can't be around us.
And what she does next shocks the room.
Because the Bible says in verse 37,
that when she knew that Jesus said it,
meet in the Pharisee's house,
she brought an alabaster box of ointment.
And stood at his feet behind him, weeping.
So what they would have been is around a table,
and they would have been kind of reclining,
and with their feet behind them,
and it's just kind of how they would operate.
So she walks up behind him,
and she's overcome with emotion.
Now we understand why.
We know the end of the story.
Because Jesus changed her life.
Now we don't know if it's in this exact moment,
or if Jesus had another conversation with her prior to this.
And she was just looking for him,
and she was there,
and she just began to weep,
and the tears,
the idea when you really study it in the original,
their tears are just falling down
like a waterfall on his feet.
And then she kneels down and washes his feet with her tears.
She wipes his feet with her hair.
Which to us, I mean, it just sounds,
let's just be honest, it sounds kind of gross.
But this wasn't just maybe unsanitary.
This was absolutely against the culture and society of the day.
For a woman to take her hair down in public like this
would have been very equal to indecent exposure.
This is not something they,
you could divorce your wife in this culture for that.
So what is happening here is just shocking everybody.
And she kisses his feet,
and she anoints him,
not just with some oil,
but a very costly perfume.
See, it's one thing to say we love Jesus
when we're here in the church setting
and everybody else loves Jesus.
But she's in a situation
where she knows that she's going to risk shame
and ridicule to express what it means to others.
Listen, here's what she's saying.
I don't care who's here.
I don't care what the cultural standards are.
I love Jesus.
And he changed my life.
You can see her heart as she's laying it there.
And listen, we have to be careful
because we look at Simon and think,
what's his problem?
But we can be that same way.
If we're not careful,
we can come to church all dignified,
all churchy,
and say the right things and smile
and sing all the songs
and at the same time look down our noses
at somebody who maybe lifts their hands
or is crying and think,
what's their problem?
Maybe here's their problem.
Jesus loves them and they know it.
It's okay to get moved emotionally sometimes
by the fact that you were lost,
but now you're found,
that you were on your way to hell,
but now heaven's your home
and you have a life worth living.
That's where this woman was.
And sometimes we can get down there
and think, hey,
why are these people at the altar so long?
Don't they know it's lunchtime?
I mean, we can, can we not?
And we get so worried about
kind of how it inconveniences us.
Hey, well, maybe they've been struggling
and God is speaking to their heart
and they just want to cry out for help
and just thank the Lord that he saved them.
It's okay every once in a while.
Listen, this lady,
she wasn't saying,
well, I'm just going to wait.
And he was there
and she was going to worship.
And we see that taking place
and we see her heart
just for all to see.
See, her worship,
it wasn't dignified.
It wasn't culturally acceptable.
It really honestly wasn't clean,
but it was real.
And that's what Jesus is looking for.
He's looking for real worship.
Why?
Because he's worthy of it.
Paul says that it's,
we should just lay our life down
as a living sacrifice.
It's our reasonable service.
She didn't have much,
but what she had,
she brought to Jesus.
And she was willing to pour it out.
She was willing to spill this costly perfume.
She was willing to risk ridicule
all these things
because she loved her Savior.
And in verse 39,
I mean, Simon is just beside himself.
You know, he's got to be sweating
because this is his house.
This is his banquet.
And he has brought everybody there
to lift himself up and look at him.
And now they're all looking at this situation.
And while he's internally rolling his eyes,
Jesus makes an internal point.
He gives a story
that doesn't just illustrate the truth.
It reveals hearts.
So we see he gives this parable of two debtors
and one forgiving creditor.
I love what he says in verse number 40 though.
And Jesus answering said unto him,
I'm sure everybody in the room
was glad Jesus said something.
This is kind of one of those situations like,
I'm not saying anything.
Verse 40,
Jesus answering said unto Simon,
I have somewhat to say unto thee.
Simon's like,
maybe he's thinking to himself,
maybe I'm going to get a compliment.
Like I know the food's good, Jesus.
Man, I put the best spread out here.
I put everything going on.
He says, say on.
Tell me what I know you're going to tell me,
how amazing I am.
But instead of a compliment,
Jesus just reading his mail.
Because if you read that verse,
he spake within himself.
I love when you walk through the gospels,
they always are responding in their heart
and they're thinking,
you can't do that.
And Jesus answers
what they're saying inside out loud.
It's kind of like being married almost.
You know what I mean?
You've been there.
They just look at you and they're like,
no, I'm like,
I wouldn't do nothing.
But Jesus really knows our hearts.
And he knew exactly what Simon was thinking.
Because Simon,
it tells us what he's thinking.
This man,
he was already leery of Jesus,
but he said,
if he was really a prophet,
if he's really who he said he was,
he wouldn't be messing with this woman.
Because everybody knows she's a sinner.
Everybody knows her reputation.
She can't shake it.
But Jesus says,
here's what I want you to know, Simon.
There was a certain creditor,
which had two debtors.
The one owed 500 pence
and the other 50.
So there's these two men
that have a debt that they cannot pay.
One owed 500 pence,
which would be about two years wages.
That's a pretty decent debt.
He's not going to be able to pay it off
for a long, long time.
And the other owed 50,
it's a decent amount,
but he could probably handle that.
I mean,
if he really buckled down
and he really got some things going
and he started stuffing some money
in an envelope
or whatever plan he was going to get on,
he could knock it out.
But I love what Jesus says.
He gives what happens.
In verse 42,
when they had nothing to pay,
neither one of them had nothing to pay,
he frankly forgave them both.
Jesus asked the question,
he says,
hey,
who do you think is going to love me more?
Who do you think is going to really feel
that forgiveness more?
Tell me, Simon,
which one of them will love me the most?
And I love Simon's answer.
He sounds just like my children sometimes.
When it's a very obvious answer,
well,
I think,
I suppose.
No,
it's not a trick question,
Simon.
The answer is clear as day.
He says,
I suppose
that he to whom thou forgave the most.
And Jesus said,
spot on.
I mean,
you nailed it.
Thou has rightly judged.
Now,
don't miss this.
Jesus isn't giving us a math equation.
His point is not about math.
It's about mercy.
That's what Jesus gives.
He's merciful.
But God,
who is rich in mercy,
he's got enough for all of us.
He's got enough for,
it doesn't matter if you're this woman
who is a sinner,
and everybody knows,
or you're Simon,
and you think you're something else.
Listen,
we all need the grace and mercy of God.
And he's showing Simon this,
and he's revealing the heart.
Because here's the truth,
both of these men owed money,
neither could pay,
and both were shown grace.
But the one that walked away
with 500 pence cleared,
he was probably skipping
a little bit faster.
Because it felt impossible.
It felt like there was no hope for him.
Like,
how am I ever going to get out of this?
And really what it is,
it's a picture of us.
It's a picture of our lives.
It's a picture of why Christ came.
Because none of us could pay the debt.
Sin,
all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God.
And all our righteousness,
every good thing we can do,
it's worth nothing.
It's like filthy rags.
And here's the key
that Jesus is trying to show Simon,
and what we must get a hold of today,
that forgiveness,
it always produces love.
Why was she loving Jesus
so openly,
so publicly and boldly?
Because she has been forgiven.
Because he changed her life.
She's not the same woman
that she used to be.
Maybe the world would see her,
and the crowd around the table
would see her,
but Jesus says,
listen,
I see her much differently
than you do.
But shallow repentance
leads to shallow devotion.
See,
all Simon was worried about
is checking his boxes.
Well,
I did this,
I went to the synagogue,
I tithed,
I did that,
I did this,
that was his religion.
Listen,
religion doesn't save anybody.
Jesus Christ does.
He didn't come
to pat the Pharisees
on the back
and say,
hey,
you keep being religious,
it's working for you.
No,
he came,
he said,
this is what I came for,
to seek and to save
that which was lost
and to bring you
into a relationship
with me.
See,
the problem with Simon
wasn't that he was
a small sinner,
or a smaller sinner
than her.
Here's the problem,
he didn't realize
he was a sinner.
That's what Jesus
is showing.
That's what the men
in the parable,
500 or 50,
here's the thing,
they were both in debt.
And the same is true
with us.
Here's what Simon thought,
his sin was manageable.
His sin was excusable.
His sin was explainable.
And we can fall
into that trap
even in our culture today.
Because guess what?
You can always find
somebody worse than you.
We say things like,
you know,
I'm not perfect,
but have you seen
that person over there?
I'm better than them.
Well,
I'm not like this person
on the street,
I'm not like this person,
I'm not like that.
And we have all these things
that we can excuse
and say,
well,
it's not that big a deal,
it's just a little white lie.
It's not that big a deal,
it's just this.
Well,
I haven't done anything,
I may have thought something,
but I didn't do it.
You know,
the Ten Commandments
were given
and the other commands
were given,
not to show us,
try to keep it,
but to show us
we never can.
And it forces us
to look at ourselves
and look at who God is.
And because he thought
his sin was manageable
and excusable
and explainable,
his worship was minimal,
his heart was distant,
and his love was cold.
He'd sit back and think,
who does she think she is?
Coming into my house,
coming into my banquet.
I mean,
she's ruining our thing.
I don't know what she's doing.
Hey,
I'm a good person.
I do all these things.
And it really still translates today
that some people think
they've only sinned
just a little.
So they only love
just a little.
They love when it's convenient.
They love when they get things from it.
Hey,
I'll come to church
as long as life is good,
and you know,
people are scratching my back,
and I'll scratch theirs,
and maybe we can network
and do some different things.
No,
that's not why we come to church.
We come to church
because we're just sinners
saved by grace.
That we were all in debt
and we could not pay,
and until you realize
how utterly hopeless
you are without Jesus,
you'll never pour your love
out for him like she did.
Because we all should.
We should all come to that moment
in our life.
I mean,
think of someone,
if they were rescued
from drowning.
If they're near the shore
or right by the edge of the pool,
they may not say much.
Hey,
I was going to make it.
Hey,
I was going to make it.
I know,
thanks,
I guess.
You know,
when you try to make your kids
say thank you,
but they don't really want
to say thank you,
you're like,
well,
I guess.
I wasn't really drowning
that hard.
I was right there.
I mean,
I was just one stroke away
from the edge.
I could have done it.
But if someone was pulled
from the deep waters,
lungs full,
minutes from death,
they'll never forget
the hand that saved them.
We have to remember
where we were found.
The psalmist says
we were in a pit.
We were in the miry clay
and Jesus had to reach
way down to find us.
Not to find them,
no,
to find you.
And he reached way down
and he pulled you out.
You didn't climb.
You didn't follow some steps.
No,
Jesus changed your life
and when we realize that,
it should change
how we worship him.
that's what we see here.
So now Jesus turns
the spotlight to the woman.
He's kind of,
he's kind of put
Simon on his heels.
Simon's got to be
thinking to himself,
this is not how I envision
this party going.
But he's back on his heels
and Jesus turns to the woman
not to shame her,
but to celebrate her.
And in doing so,
he calls out
the spiritual bankruptcy
of Simon's religion.
notice in verse number 44.
Then he turned to the woman
and said unto Simon.
So he's looking at her,
but he's actually
talking to Simon.
And really,
he's going to give
a very gracious revelation.
He's looking at her,
but he's also looking at us.
And he finally breaks
the silence
concerning her.
Because I'm sure
when Jesus spoke up,
Simon thought,
he's probably going to
get her out of this place
because she's not
supposed to be here.
No, he addressed Simon first
and now he's addressing her.
And he said that,
seest thou this woman?
Here's what Jesus is saying
in texting.
You even paying attention?
That's what he's saying.
Because Simon still,
Jesus knows his heart.
He's probably still thinking,
we've got to end this party
as soon as possible.
Jesus said,
hey, before we go, Simon,
I want to ask you a question.
Do you not see
what's going on here?
Do you not see
the situation?
I entered into your house,
you gave me no water.
I entered in,
I didn't get a kiss,
a standard greeting.
You didn't give me
any oil for my head.
But look at her.
She gave me everything
she had.
She gave me her tears,
she gave me her heart,
she washed her feet,
my feet with her hair
and she's anointed my feet
and she hasn't stopped
kissing them since.
That idea,
don't misunderstand,
people take this,
there's nothing indecent
going on here.
No, it's an act of adoration.
When she realized
who he really was
and what he had really done,
she couldn't help
but do the things
she's doing.
And then Jesus says it.
And this is what threw
the whole crowd off.
Her sins are forgiven.
Wow.
I hope you can go back
to a moment in your life
where that was true for you.
Where maybe you came
into a service
and you thought,
I'm just trying to be
a good person.
I am a good person.
I do this
and I throw a little money
on the plate
and I do this.
But you came to the realization
that you're a sinner
and there was no hope for you.
But Jesus showed up
and it changed your life.
And it wasn't,
hey, Jesus said,
well, you almost made it there.
No, no.
We were lost.
We were dead
in our trespasses and sin.
And what Jesus is doing here
is he is comparing
Simon's coldness
to her compassion.
Simon is offering
a bunch of tradition.
She's offering tears.
Simon gave him silence
and she gave sacrifice.
Simon withheld the oil
and she poured everything out.
But I want us to see this.
Jesus doesn't deny
her sinfulness.
He said,
her sins,
which are many.
He wasn't saying,
hey, listen,
she, you know,
we just cleared
a few things off.
She was completely lost.
But so are you, Simon.
But her sins,
which are many,
are forgiven.
Listen,
they're no longer
held against her.
Why?
Because forgiveness
has been extended to her
and she accepted it.
You know what this story is?
It's a picture
of the gospel.
This is what the gospel does.
It meets us
exactly where we are
and we are more sinful
than we can admit.
We really are.
I mean,
we can really
convince ourselves,
well,
I'm not that bad.
we are.
This ain't the most
popular thought.
We are.
But there's,
but here's the great news.
We're loved
and forgiven
more than we ever
hoped to be.
We thought,
Jesus,
if you can just do
just a little bit
for me.
No, no,
Jesus didn't come.
His mission wasn't come
just to do a little bit
for you.
He came to give you
everything.
He came to transform
your life.
Imagine being in a courtroom
and you know you're guilty
in every account
and just before the gavel
falls,
the judge steps down
and he says,
hey,
this is your punishment
but I'll take your place.
We'll put it on somebody else.
That would change your life.
Listen,
that's what Jesus did.
That's the cross of Calvary.
It's a picture
of our sins.
He was nailed to the cross
for our sins
and he took our place
and that's what happened
to this woman
and Jesus wants us
to see it there.
And in these closing verses,
Jesus does something remarkable.
He speaks peace
over her life
and he sends her out
with a brand new identity.
Verse 48,
he looked to her
specifically
and said,
thy sins
are forgiven.
I love that.
no conditions.
No probationary period.
He said,
all right lady,
you got 30 days to fix up.
Clean up.
If you don't mess up
in 30 days,
you're good.
Aren't you glad
that's not how Jesus operates?
He just extends it
full and free.
That's what grace looks like.
That's what Jesus looks like.
See,
it's not just grace.
It's not just a pardon.
It's not just freedom.
It's all of those things.
And the people watching,
they thought they were stunned
when she was,
let her hair down
and wash his feet.
When he said,
thy sins are forgiven,
they think,
you can't do that.
They said this,
who is this
that forgives sins?
Because you know
what they knew
as good Jewish people?
That only God
could forgive sins.
well,
good for them,
that's who was there
at the table that day.
Because that's who
Jesus Christ is.
In the beginning
was the Word
and the Word
was with God
and the Word
was God.
That Jesus Christ
is Emmanuel,
He is God
with us.
That He came
and came
for this
very specific reason.
And He turns
one last time
to her
and He said
unto the woman,
thy faith
has saved thee.
Go in peace.
Much like the woman
that was caught
in adultery,
He didn't say,
alright,
you're good,
go just live your life
however you want now.
No,
it has this idea.
Go live like you've been pardoned.
Go live like you've been redeemed.
Go live the life
that you have been given.
And that word peace,
it means shalom.
And shalom,
it really means this,
wholeness.
Listen,
she didn't just leave forgiven.
She left healed
and restored
and completely whole.
That's what Jesus offers.
And sometimes we think,
you know what, Lord,
I just need a touch up.
No,
you didn't need a touch up.
You needed a total transformation.
Listen,
Jesus doesn't slap
new paint on us
and say,
well,
it's good enough
for government work.
That's not how He operates.
No,
therefore,
if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature.
Old things are passed away
and behold,
all things
are become new.
You know why Simon
was so cold
and distant?
Because he was just
the same old Simon.
He was dead
and miserable
and had no hope in life
and yet this lady
that's a great,
great sinner,
she was hopeful.
Why?
Because Jesus
made her brand new
and she was excited
about it
and she was thankful
for it
and she wanted everybody
there to know
about it.
This transformation
that Jesus offers
is an amazing thing.
You know what she experienced?
Forgiveness from the past.
Peace in the present
and hope in the future.
That's what Jesus offers for us.
You know why we can come
and worship this morning?
Because our past
has been forgiven.
He's given us peace.
It doesn't mean life's easy.
No,
we're having hard times.
Life is difficult
but we have peace
of the promise of God
because we have a hope
in the future.
This is not all there is to life.
No,
there is coming a day.
There will be no more heartache
and no more shame
and no more pain
and grief and sorrow
and all the things.
Why?
Because Jesus promised
I will make all things new
and our salvation
is just a small picture.
Hey,
this is coming.
He's put it in our
and he will perform it.
I'm confident
of this very thing
that he which hath begun
a good work in you
will perform it
into the day of Jesus Christ.
That's the hope
that we have.
It's like checking
into the ER
and you think you need
a band-aid
and the doctor says
you need open heart surgery
but don't worry
I'll do this surgery
on myself.
Jesus took our place.
We can try to give
as many analogies
about the hopelessness
of it
but I hope that you understand.
So the question
as we close out
this morning
is this.
Who are you
at the table?
Which one of these
characters
so to speak
are you?
Where's your life?
Are you Simon?
Religious
but cold?
Curious maybe
but really unchanged?
Or are you the woman
broken
but forgiven?
Humbled
but grateful?
Or maybe you're
in the crowd.
Maybe you come in
you've been here
a long time
maybe you've been here
in this church
a long time
or visiting
kind of watching
it all unfold.
Here's what Jesus
wants everyone to do
respond to him.
Respond to him.
See the cross
of Calvary
levels the playing field.
You know this
story teaches us
there's no big sinners
and small sinners.
There's no people
too far gone
and people that are
just needed
a little bit of help.
No there's only
one kind of people
one kind of person
in this world
sinner.
And a savior
who forgives.
That's what this is about.
It's pointing to that.
So here's the response
today.
Fall at his feet.
Bring your tears.
Pour your heart out.
Live in that relationship
and let grace do for you
what religion never could.
Because here's what
you're going to find.
Jesus.
That's what you're
looking for.
You know how I know that?
Because he's seeking you.
Maybe that still small
voice in your heart
and he's saying
that's what you need.
It's the greatest thing
that will ever happen.
And the only way
we can love him
is because
he first loves you.
That's why he came.
That's his mission.
Because when grace
walks in
shame has to leave.
Jesus replaces it all.
He makes all
things
new.
Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord
for his
grace.
Would you stand
with your heads bowed
and with your eyes closed?
Close.
Thank you.