Luke 7:40
“Simon, I have something to say to you.”
The event which occurs in the house of Simon the Pharisee stands out to me as one of the most fascinating in the New Testament. No miraculous healing takes place: the deaf do not hear, the blind do not see, nor are the dead raised. Yet this story is both priceless and timeless in the truth it reveals. It is the story of two people and their view of Jesus. Simon was a religious man that showed interest in Jesus. He valued Jesus more than many of his contemporaries.
While other religious leaders were plotting the death of Jesus, Simon was opening his home to Him. He was willing to invite Jesus in, dine with Him, and listen to what He had to say. Then there is the woman. She is quite different from Simon. She is described simply as a sinner. In all probability, she was a prostitute. When she entered the house she did what was customary for the host to do, she washed the feet of Jesus, but in a very unorthodox way. Instead of a bucket of water and a towel, she used her tears and her hair. It seems she came to Jesus with the purpose of anointing Him with perfume. As she approached Him, she became overwhelmed with emotion, and began to express worship with reckless abandonment. Those who looked on were shocked, both by the behavior of this woman, and by the reaction of Jesus. In response to this Jesus said,
“Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
This woman’s unrestrained worship flowed out because she knew what Christ had done for her. She knew she was a sinner and desperately in need of the Savior. She placed the highest value upon Jesus, and gave all that she had. Simon was no less in need of Christ than this young woman. His sins, though different, were no less. He was as desperately in need of a Savior as she, but his religious activities blinded him of his need.
How about you? Have you seen your need for the Savior? Do you understand that He has forgiven you of a debt greater than you could ever pay? How do you respond to this? Do you come to Him prepared to worship? Are you willing to give all you have and all you are, to show your love to Him, for all He has done for you? After all, Jesus said the greatest of all commandments was to love Him.
To understand His love for us, we do not need to sin more, we simply need to understand that we are sinners. Take time right now to worship Him, and when you gather for public worship, come prepared to give of all that you are.
Pastor Jim
Questions for Luke 7
- Who was sick and ready to die?
- What was the attitude of the centurion in vs 6-7?
- What word describes the heart of Jesus towards the widow?
- What was the response of the people when Jesus raised the widow’s son from the dead?
- What is Jesus description of John the Baptist?
- Who interrupted the meal that Jesus was having with a Pharisee?
- What did she do to Jesus?
- What did Jesus do for her?
Old Testament:
Leviticus 12- Bad Connection
Leviticus 13- Unclean
Giving is an important part of being a Christian. Our checkbook often reflects our heart. The things that matter most to us are the things on which we spend our hard earned money. When we are struggling about whether we can trust God with our finances, we are sometimes reminded of this verse. While it is true God is trustworthy and we will never be able to out give Him, I think we have missed a key message from this verse. Note with me the context; Jesus has been speaking of the Father’s mercy. He tells us God is kind to the unthankful and the evil, and we should be like our heavenly Father. Rather than being critical of every action, we should forgive one another.
The scribes and Pharisees are complaining about Jesus’ actions. They do not think He should meet with sinners. I hear this complaint every time we gather as a church for corporate worship. It is not the voice of the Pharisees that I hear, but my own voice. I begin to think of all the reasons why I cannot enter into the presence of God, enjoy access to the throne of Grace or experience His work in my life. I am reminded of my sins, both the things that I have done and what I have failed to do. Along with those thoughts, comes an overwhelming sense of not being worthy to enter His presence. It is at that moment when this great truth rings out from His Word:
Since man’s greatest problem is sin, man’s greatest need is for a savior. We don’t have to look too far to see that we are a fallen race. War, prejudice, and crime are all around us. Even within our own homes we have anger, lust, fear and unforgiveness. We are a people desperately in need of God. The great news of the Bible is that God came to save. The Bible speaks of the all-sufficient work of Christ upon the cross. So effective was His sacrifice, that any and all who believe on Him will be saved from the penalty of sin. That my friends is the good news of the Gospel.
John the Baptist had a thriving ministry. We read that multitudes, or large gatherings of people, came out to hear him preach. We read that this crowd was made up of a cross section of society. There were religious people, tax collectors, and soldiers, as well as what we might call the everyday man; all of whom had come out to hear John speak.
Sometimes, we wonder if our lives could ever really make a difference. We see others who are being used by God, and we think, “of course God uses them, they are so…” But when it comes to us, we think, “God can’t use me because…”
Every parent has the same goal. We desire the best for our children. We want to see them achieve more than we have. We want them to make it through childhood not having been distracted or derailed by vices, but to be prepared to live godly lives and make good life choices. What a blessing for Zacharias and Elizabeth to read that their son, “grew and became strong in spirit”.
Paul explained to the Corinthian church the simplicity of the Gospel message. He stated that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again on the third day; all according to the Scriptures. That was the message the first believers declared to their world. They went into their homes, streets, marketplaces, schools and places of business, declaring the Son of God died for our sins and rose from the dead.
We have come to the most solemn and most important of all Biblical events. The entire life and ministry of Jesus, as well as the whole of human history, has been leading up to these events. Jesus declared, no one could take His life, but that He would lay it down (John 10:18). That day has finally arrived. Without a fight, Jesus, the creator and sustainer of heaven and earth, was taken by the mob, condemned by the the courts, beaten by the soldiers, and nailed to the cross. There on a cross of wood, amidst the clamor of the mob, He would bear the penalty for the sins of all humanity. Louder than all the jeering of the mockers, the laughing of the soldiers, the accusations of the pharisees and the weeping of the disciples, rang out the cry “My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?”
Mingled into the fabric of the betrayal, arrest, conviction and crucifixion of Christ, is the story of Peter’s denial. What happened to him? He went from confidently stating he would never deny Christ, to hiding his faith, denying his Lord, and bitterly weeping. While we never start out to fall, the path we walk will always determine our final destination. Peter’s path inevitably led to Peter’s fall. Let’s take a few minutes to notice the steps leading to his failure, that we might avoid these same pitfalls.
