A Forgiven Heart – Luke 7:36-50
“I experience a sense of hopelessness when I am intensely aware of my depravity. Even despair. Darkness threatens to overcome me. I also know what it is to be forgiven by God and others. To experience the freedom of being released from my sin. To feel the exhilaration that comes from being loved completely and accepted for who I am.”
Quote from opening paragraph of this chapter, Women of the New Testament,” Pg. 21 (Phyllis J. Le Peau)
The sinful woman isn’t named! What a gracious way of the Savior saying, “You’re forgiven, and I’ve got you covered…by my blood shed for you at the cross.” With God’s forgiveness, there’s no need to rehearse the past. And aren’t we all thankful for that.
At first I never thought about it, but you know we can all fill in the blanks with “our names” can’t we. Regardless of what we’ve done, thought, said or imagined, apart from Jesus Christ, we are that sinful woman. This goes for men too if you happen to be a man and picking up this writing. Aren’t we all grateful for the forgiveness we have in our Savior?
Forgiveness….there’s nothing greater than hearing those words, whether it’s from Scripture reminding us that we’re forgiven, or from a friend or family member sharing with us that we are forgiven. It cleanses the air in which we live with others…..freeing ourselves to be real and transparent.
It’s absolutely incredible that a Holy God would take our place at the cross and die for what we should die for, just so we could be brought into a relationship of closeness that our Creator wanted for us all along.
When I even consider the sins I’ve been forgiven for, it brings perspective on the sins of others. As the saying goes, those who live in glass houses should never throw stones.
This event took place at a “dinner party” if you will, at the home of Simon, a Pharisee. He was considered to be respectable, upstanding, and knowledgeable and perhaps felt honored that Jesus would attend this get-together with like-minded people.
The dinner party was in full operation when a “sinful woman,” who was not invited to the gathering, appeared on the scene. She wasn’t obnoxious or trying to call attention to herself. Actually her appearance was not even evident, at first. She was on a “mission of appreciation” to the Lord.
Sometimes in our culture, we’ll bring a little gift to give our host or hostess who’s invited us to their home. This woman showed up with not only a heart of love, but with an expensive gift of perfume. Her intention wasn’t to wear the fragrance, but instead was pouring it out in worship and adoration to Jesus, the One who had previously forgiven her.
The social custom on the day was to wash the feet of your guests with water, anoint their head with oil and offer them a kiss of greeting. Sandals and dusty ground would bring about dirty feet, and so it was a kind gesture to your guests to have their feet cleansed a bit when they appeared at your home. Mr. Upstanding-Pharisee Simon neglected all three.
In Jesus’ day it was customary to recline while eating. Dinner guests would lie on couches with their heads near the table, propping themselves up on one elbow and stretching their feet out behind them. I personally think that’s a little uncomfortable, but they were certainly use to it.
This (formerly) immoral woman appeared at the gathering rather unnoticed at first. Because of their positioning at the table, they may have been occupied in conversation without notice of her entry. But perhaps her tears and the fragrance of the perfume were now filling the atmosphere.
I don’t know about you, but if that had been my background, I wouldn’t have chosen the all-male dinner party to make a public appearance. It was an invitation for humiliation to say the least.
She appeared at the feet of Jesus and cared for him in such a worshipful way; the very thing Simon should have had attended to.
Her reputation followed her to this gathering though. She was disrespected, considered as a low-life woman and to be shunned and avoided. According to others, her life didn’t gain approval of the crowds. No doubt her presence caused a stir to say the least.
Simon, at this point was definitely doubting any credentials of Jesus’ being a profit, after all, if He was, He would have known the “shady and immoral background” of this woman.
We need to be a little careful in pointing our index finger in a “shame on you” fashion toward Simon. Can’t each of us be just like him at a moment’s notice? You know, camping on the sins and shortcomings of others, without taking the slightest notice of log of sins in our own lives.
Jesus doesn’t convey to Simon that he can read his thoughts, He just begins to tell a story about two people in financial debt to a money lender. One owed a lot of money and the other, not as much, and how both their debts had been cancelled due to the kindness of the lender.
Wouldn’t we just love for the bank who holds our house mortgage to swing into this kind of action toward us!
This was quiz time for Mr. Simon. Which debtor felt the greatest appreciation to the lender? Simon got it right….the one who owed the most. Hearing Simon’s “right answer,” Jesus leaps into current social dilemma pointing out that this woman honored Him in all the right ways: washing his feet, anointing his head with oil and kissing his feet.
Simon should have been embarrassed at his lack of attention to this social courtesy. For this woman to “show up” where she wasn’t invited, and then to extend the loving hospitality of greeting that Simon should have extended to Jesus…this was incredible.
If I was this woman, with her background, this gathering would be the last place I’d make a social appearance. But her “self-invited” presence had nothing to do with the focus on her. The focus of her presence was Jesus. She was so over-whelmed with gratefulness to Him for His forgiveness and cleansing of her life. The slate of her sinful past was washed clean! The tears were tears of joyful worship, appreciation and devotion to Him for his extravagant love shown to her.
Simon’s viewpoint saw nothing in this woman but disgust. The “lens of his heart” was full of condemnation towards her. She was a sinner…no bones about that. But what the lens of his heart “didn’t see” was “his own sin.” He considered himself a tidied -up Pharisee, a respectable and upstanding citizen, thank you very much.
He was unable to see the obvious…that he was a sinner too in need of forgiveness. The forgiveness his dinner guest was willing to extend to him, if he was willing.
This “newly forgiven woman’s repentance” turned her world upside down. Jesus, even though He knew her condition of sin, couldn’t wait for her to turn to Him. He had compassion on her because Jesus knew what sin did to her. He knows what it does to us too. It keeps us far from God and afraid to approach Him.
We can rejoice because he knows each of us….and our capacity for sin. His heart and arms were open to her and to us, as we come to a merciful Lord and Savior. I love it that He doesn’t ask us to “clean up our act first,” but come “as we are,” regardless of the dirtiness of our lives, and He’ll work in us to bring change.
The truth is that Jesus is more willing to receive us….than sometimes we are to come to Him. Is that incredible or what! Oh to be more like Him….accepting people “as they are, not as we’d wish them to be.”
Jesus, in his poignant way, tells another one of his stories-to-make-a-point to the guests, with emphasis on Simon about “indebtedness.” This woman’s extravagant demonstration of love was because she recognized the severity of her sin. Simon was actually blind to his real condition.
The point of this story is that to the extent we’ve been forgiven and “realization of it,” that is the extent to which we’ll love Him and yearn to be devoted to Him.
So, I guess that it’s okay to once in a7while have a glance at our past to appreciate the extent of His forgiveness for us personally, and then move forward to greater love for our Savior.
Poor Simon…he was so self-righteous in his attitude, he never saw his need.
I’m learning from this scenario that it’s best if I never compare myself with anyone but Jesus. For if I do, I may be tempted to think I’m not as bad as another.
The problem with that, is that Jesus died not only for what I have done, but my “potential for sin as well.”
What a wonderful Savior we have!
Cups of Cold Water 