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Jesus’ Grace Produces Love Luke 7:36-50 Key verse 7:47 “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven–for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Friday in the previous week, I found graceful words at the post of Shepherdess Ami’s Facebook. “I want to love God alone.” It was simple, but so graceful. I replied to her confession with “Amen!” I prayed that her aspiration of loving God alone would be fulfilled someday. In this passage we will meet two very different people. One is a promising religious leader named Simon. The other is a nameless woman who had lived an immoral life. However, the woman loved Jesus with her whole heart like Sh. Ami. Jesus forgave the woman’s terrible sins. Jesus rebuked the Pharisee’s cold heart and self-righteousness. We want to learn how to acquire Jesus’ grace of forgiveness. And we must realize that Jesus’ grace produces true love. Part 1. A sinful woman came to Jesus by faith (36-38) Look at verse 36. “Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.” By this point in Luke’s gospel, the Pharisees look friendly toward Jesus. They first appeared in Luke 5:17, when Jesus forgave a paralytic’s sins and then healed his paralysis. It was God’s life giving work through Jesus. But Pharisees did not accept this God’s grace. Instead, they began to raise theological arguments against Jesus. They complained to Jesus about eating and drinking with tax collectors. They continued to criticize Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. By God, they were chosen to be shepherd for their time. But they were useless to God and a hindrance to gospel ministry. Now, one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to his home for a dinner party. Maybe this particular Pharisee thought of himself as a broad minded man who could get along with any kind of person, regardless of religious differences. Perhaps he used to invite celebrities to his home to improve his social standing. It is evident that he did not invite Jesus with a pure motive; his basic attitude is cynical and critical. Of course, Jesus knew his intention. But Jesus did not hesitate to accept this invitation. Jesus practices his own teaching, “Love your enemies.” Jesus went to the dinner party and reclined at the table. We usually think of Jesus going around Galilee with his disciples with their hungry stomachs. But here, Jesus is in the home of a Pharisee for a dinner party among the social privileged. Servants were coming and going, carrying expensive foods and wines. When Pharisees gathered together, they entertained each other with sophisticated stories and dialogues. Look at verse 37. “When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’ house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume…” Suddenly a woman came in who had lived a sinful life in that town. Perhaps she had lost her purity as a woman and slipped into an immoral life. How did it happen? We don’t really know. It may have happened when sinful pleasure overcame her life. Maybe she was seduced by a worldly-handsome guy, like “Hun-Nam”, or “Chado-Nam”. If she were a “Myoungpum-Nyeo”, she may have succumbed to the temptation of “Don-Nam”, the rich man. Or maybe it began when she inadvertently visited the wrong website on her computer. In any case, she had made a fatal mistake that plunged her into an immoral lifestyle. Now she was known in her town as “the woman who had lived a sinful life.” She could have no hope of marriage or decent family life. She was a tainted woman, a source of shame. Worst of all, she suffered from the torment of demons as a result of her sinful lifestyle. This poor woman heard that Jesus had come to her town and was eating at the Pharisee’s house. The name of Jesus was so sweet to her soul. She must have hear how Jesus healed the sick, drove out evil spirits and preached good news of the kingdom of God to the poor like her. Maybe she heard Jesus’ words, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Lk 5:31,32). Anyway, when she heard the name, “Jesus,” faith came into her heart. This faith gave her the power to approach to Jesus. As a public sinner, she should not dare enter the Pharisee’s dinner party. But she went in boldly by faith. As she appeared, some may have gasped: “What is she doing here?” But she didn’t pay any attention. The shield of faith protected her heart from all accusers. She went to Jesus and stood behind him at his feet with her alabaster jar of perfume. The alabaster jar of perfume was very expensive. She wanted to give it to Jesus to express her love and affection. Perhaps the gift was not really appropriate. The alabaster jar of perfume was not really a fitting gift for Jesus. But it was the best treasure the woman had. It expressed the giver’s great affection. It was her way of saying to Jesus that he was the most precious one to her. Look at verse 38. “…and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.” She was standing right behind Jesus. She must have realized the holiness of God in Jesus. She also realized the terrible nature of her sinful life. She remembered father, mother, and the people she had injured, emotionally and spiritually, for her pleasure-seeking life. Most of all, she realized that she had brought pain to God’s heart. Tears began to well up in her eyes and roll down her cheeks. They fell on Jesus’ feet until his feet were wet with her tears. Then she noticed that Jesus’ feet had not been washed. She was shocked at people’ indifference to Jesus. She could understand that Jesus was rejected for the sake of sinners like her. So she began to cry all the more until her tears had wet Jesus’ feet thoroughly. She wanted to dry his feet, but she had no towel. So she began to wipe his feet with her hair. Maybe she had beautiful blonde hair, and it was her trademark. In the past, she had spent hours washing, conditioning and drying her hair. Hair is so important to a woman. Paul said that a woman’ hair is her glory (1Co 11:15). But now she took her beautiful hair and began to wipe Jesus’ feet with it. It was her deep repentance. She no longer wanted to use her beauty and talents for the sake of self-pleasure. She wanted to use the most valuable thing for the glory of God. After she had dried his feet, she began to kiss them. Then she poured her alabaster jar of perfume on Jesus’ feet. She gave her treasure to Jesus, pouring out her affection with holy respect. She gave her heart to Jesus. She offered her life to Jesus as a living sacrifice. It was a spiritual act of worship. What a beautiful meeting between the Messiah and a sinful woman! However, to Jesus, it was not easy to receive this woman at a dinner party surrounded by the social elite. As a spiritual leader, he had to maintain absolute purity in his relations with women. Anyhow, he should not be associated with a woman who had lived a sinful life. Yet Jesus didn’t mind. Jesus was sure to be misunderstood and criticized. Yet he allowed her to express her affection to their full. Everyone else despised this woman, but Jesus did not. Jesus accepted her broken heart. Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifice of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Part 2. Jesus teaches Simon the grace of God (39-50) The meeting between Jesus and the woman was most beautiful. Through her sincere repentance and Jesus’ embracing love, they formed a heart-to-heart relationship. But the host of the dinner party, Simon the Pharisee, did not understand what was going on. When he saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is-that she is a sinner” (39). It was a typical Pharisee mentality: public sinners were to be shunned. The Pharisees did not know how to open the door to the kingdom of God. They knew well how to isolate people, cut them off, and despise them. When Jesus did not act like a typical Pharisee, Simon doubted Jesus’ spirituality. Simon spoke about this to himself. Nevertheless, Jesus answered him. Jesus said, “Simon, I have something to tell you” (40). At Jesus’ words, silence must have fallen upon the dinner guests. They were all eager to hear what Jesus would say. Simon said, “Tell me, teacher.” Then Jesus told him a parable. Look at verses 41-42. “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more? Here Jesus spoke in terms of money, a subject in which Simon was probably interested. A denarii was about a day’s wages. In contemporary terms the men owed the moneylender about $50,000 and $5,000 respectively. The size of their debts was different. But neither one had the ability to pay back what they owed. So the moneylender canceled the debts of both. Canceling the debts was a gracious act of the moneylender. He could have thrown them into prison. Instead, he freely forgave the debts of both. The moneylender’s act describes the grace of Jesus toward sinners. Sin can be paid for only with life-blood (Heb 9:22). No one can redeem his own soul, for even if we give our life-blood to God, it is contaminated with sin. We simply do not have the resources to pay off our debt of sin. But God forgives our sins. To forgive our sins, Jesus, the holy Son of God, paid the price by shedding his own blood on the cross. John the Baptist cried out when he saw Jesus, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). Our debt of sin is forgiven by God’s grace alone (Eph 2:8,9). This is God’s free gift to men (Ro 6:23b). Still, sinners like to point out how they are a little better sinner than others. But we are all equally unable to pay our debt of sin; we are saved only by the grace of Jesus. Some people abuse this precious grace as a license to sin (Ro 6:1). Such people are spiritual perverts. They know nothing of God’s grace. At the end of the parable, Jesus asked, “Now which of them will love him more?” This was the point. Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Look at verses 44-46. “The he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.’” Simon did not really see the woman. Instead, he saw his own preconceived idea that she was a sinner. He did not understand her at all. The Pharisees were supposed to be shepherds for suffering people. But without knowing the grace of Jesus they were spiritually blind and cold-hearted. Jesus came to this Pharisee’s house. What a wonderful grace! But Simon thought he was doing Jesus a favor by inviting him to his dinner party. He might have expected Jesus to feel honored. He was indeed spiritually blind. The Son of God came to his house for dinner–and he treated Jesus like a beggar. Jesus told Simon fact by fact how cold-hearted he was. On the other hand, the affection of the woman is remarkable. So Jesus came to a conclusion in verse 47. “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven–for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Jesus did not ignore the fact that the woman had been a great sinner. But when she sincerely repented before Jesus she received the grace of forgiveness of sins. According to Jesus’ teaching, there is a reciprocal relationship between grace and love. Those who have received more grace love Jesus more. St. Paul was such a man. In his self-righteousness and ambition, he had persecuted Jesus’ people. But the Risen Christ met him on the road to Damascus. Paul found himself a terrible sinner. The Risen Christ forgave all his sins and made him a servant of God (Ac 9:15,16). Then Paul preached the gospel and raised disciples of Jesus throughout the Roman world. The seeds planted by Paul grew into a mighty work of God that conquered the Roman Empire. Even so, Paul never forgot Jesus’ grace. He said, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them–yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1Cor 15:10). Like St. Paul, those who truly know the grace of Jesus work hard for the gospel. They love Jesus with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. Look at verse 48. “Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’” Jesus had already accepted the woman’s repentant heart. But it was very important that he tell her explicitly, “Your sins are forgiven.” This was Jesus’ declaration as the Everlasting Judge that her sins had been paid for. Her debt of sin was canceled. Then Jesus said to her, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (50). Jesus credited her faith for her salvation. Jesus’ grace is always available. But only those who claim this grace by faith receive salvation. Jesus gave her true peace in her soul. She was right with God. She had a personal relationship with Jesus, our savior. She had become a princess in the heavenly kingdom. In this passage we learn that we can come to Jesus by faith. Jesus does not despise our broken and contrite hearts. Jesus accepts our repentance and gives us the grace of forgiveness of sins. This grace is freely given. But it is most costly and precious. It leads us to love Jesus with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. May Jesus grant each of us the grace of forgiveness of sins that produces love in our souls. |
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