Cancelled Debt (Luke 7:36-50)

Cancelled Debt
Luke 7:36-50

INTRODUCTION:
James Garfield was a part-time preacher and principal of his denominational college. They say he was ambidextrous and could simultaneously write Greek, with one hand and Latin with the other. In l880, he was elected president of the United States, but after only six months in office, he was shot in the back with a revolver. He never lost consciousness. At the hospital, the doctor probed the wound with his little finger to seek the bullet. He couldn't find it, so he tried a silver-tipped probe. Still he couldn't locate the bullet.

They took Garfield back to Washington, D.C. Despite the summer heat, they tried to keep him comfortable. He was growing very weak. Teams of doctors tried to locate the bullet, probing the wound over and over. In desperation they asked Alexander Graham Bell, who was working on a little device called the telephone, to see if he could locate the metal inside the president's body. He came, he sought, and he too failed. The president hung on through July, through August, but in September he finally died-not from the wound, but from infection. The repeated probing, which the physicians thought would help the man, eventually, killed him. So it is with people who dwell too long on their sin and refuse to release it to God.

We can carry around the burden of our sins to the point that the burden causes us to break - emotionally, spiritually, maybe even physically. Or we can give our sin-burden to Jesus Christ; allow Him to carry it on the cross - freeing us to worship God with our whole heart and our whole lives.

THE LUCAN BACKGROUND TO OUR EVENT:
At this point in his Gospel account, Luke gives an interchange between Jesus and a Pharisee named Simon which includes a parable Jesus gives on the nature of forgiveness. Luke has already recorded the song of Zacharias, the father of John the baptizer in which Zacharias sings about his son being the “prophet of the Most High” (1:76), to prepare the way for Jehovah (a quotation from Malachi 3:1; see also 7:27), by giving to the Jews the “knowledge of salvation” which consisted of “the forgiveness of sins” (1:77).

I want to point out to you… go to Luke 4:18-19… Jesus is in the synagogue in His home town of Nazareth and He is reading from the Isaiah scroll, specifically from Isaiah 61:1-2. Please observe these two words from verse 18: “He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed.” Those two highlighted words are the same word translated “forgiveness” in 1:77. In other words, Jesus came to provide forgiveness between God and man. He can to “release” those who are captives to Satan through their sins. He has come to “set free” those who are chained to their sins, who believe they themselves have to carry the burden of their sin.

John the baptizer preached the forgiveness of sins (3:3) which was received through immersion in water based on one’s repentance. Many Jews were being baptized by John (3:7), including tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 21:31-32). Jesus also taught immersion for the forgiveness of sins, just like John (John 3:22-23, 26; 4:1-2). The first confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees relative to Him forgiving sins was in 5:20-24, where Jesus miraculously healed the paralyzed man, to show that the “Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” (5:24). It is very likely that this woman in our event, has already responded to the preaching of John or Jesus, has repented of her sins, and has been immersed for the forgiveness of those sins. Her thankfulness for that blessing motivates her now to come to Jesus to express that gratitude.

THE IMMEDIATE CONTEXT - 7:18-35:
I want to point out to you the immediate context because it will influence how we interpret the event with this woman…

Two disciples of John the baptizer have been sent to Jesus with the question: “Are you the One who is coming or do we look for another?” Jesus responded by quoting a few passages from Isaiah, like Isaiah 35-56 and 61:1-2 to show John that Jesus was, in fact, the Promised Messiah, which was evident by the miracles He was performing.

Once the messengers left, Jesus turns His attention to the crowd, to ask them just who did they think John was? He was not a reed blown around by the wind. He was not dressed in royal clothes as if he only preached what the king wanted people to hear. In fact, he was a prophet of God, greater than anyone who had ever lived - because he was the forerunner of Jesus Christ (ver. 27).

But then Luke writes in verses 29-30 that many tax collectors and others responded to John’s preaching by being baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. In this way, they acknowledged God’s justice - that He was just and fair to condemn sins and He was just and right to provide a way to be forgiven of those sins.

However, there were others - primarily the Pharisees and “lawyers” / scribes - who rejected God’s intention, by refusing to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. Having set out that historical note in verses 29-30, Luke records further commentary by Jesus…

In verses 31-35, Jesus tells the Jewish audience what they are like… If a child plays a flute in the marketplace, the Jews refuse to dance. If a child does the opposite and sings a funeral song, the Jews refuse to mourn. John lived a simple life, but the Jews refused to respond to his preaching. Jesus lived the opposite type of life - at least in their eyes, He ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners - but the Jews still refused to respond.

So Jesus’ comment in verse 35 sets the stage for the event we’re going to look at now. Jesus says, “Wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” The verb “to vindicate” here is the same verb used in verse 29 for “acknowledging God’s justice.” When tax collectors and sinners respond to either John’s preaching or Jesus’ preaching, and they repent of their sins, they prove the wisdom of God sending His messengers to preach repentance.

Luke has given us an example of a “tax collector” entering the kingdom of God when he wrote about Matthew back in 5:27-32 and when he writes about Zacchaeus in chapter 19. An example of a “sinner” who will enter the kingdom of God is now given in this sinful woman. Please observe the noun “sinner” appears twice (7:37, 39); “sin”appears three times in 7:47-49. Luke does not tell us what kind of sinner she was; it is easy to assume she was a prostitute, but the sin itself is not relevant. She is an example of a sinner who has responded to the Gospel message and her response to Jesus vindicates the message that Jesus was preaching.

SCENE #1 - THE PHARISEE INVITES JESUS - 7:36-39:
A meal in the first century would begin with a servant washing the hands and feet of the guest and anointing them with perfumed oil. The initial courses of the meal would be served while the servant was doing this chore. Then the main meal would be served. Meals could also be more public in the first century with neighbors potentially wandering into the meal and talking with guests. From this perspective, this woman’s actions are not unusual. Her reputation, of course, would make it unusual.

Alabaster was an expensive and soft rock. It was used frequently to preserve ointments and perfumes.

One of the famous Pharisees, who are becoming His enemies (5:17-6:11), hosts a dinner and invites Jesus as an honored guest (ver. 36). This is one of three meals Jesus has with the Pharisees (11:37-54; 14:1-24). In that same city, there was a certain woman whom Luke identifies as a “sinner.” This woman heard that Jesus was in the home of Simon and brought an alabaster flask of myrrh (ver. 37). The text suggests that the woman already knew Jesus and was already thankful.

In the first century, these meals were eaten at a table sitting close to the floor, in the form of a “U,” with the host sitting in the center with honored guests sitting closest to the host, with the most honored sitting to his right. Because the table was sitting close to the floor, guests would lean on the left elbow, eating with the right hand, with the legs extended backward toward the walls. The woman stood behind Jesus, close to His feet (ver. 38), and was wetting His feet with her tears and wiping His feet with the hair of her head, and anointing His feet with the myrrh from the alabaster flask. Letting down her hair might not have been as scandalous as some scholars write, but it was certainly out of the ordinary. Observe that the phrase “His feet” is used three times in this same verse, illustrating the humility of the woman to wash a “stranger’s” feet.

The Pharisee, Simon the host, saw the behavior, and the fact that Jesus had not sent her away, and thought within himself that Jesus surely could not be a holy prophet of God acting this way (ver. 39). “She is a sinner!” “Would know” (ver. 39) translates a verb in the imperfect tense. In this particular context, it would denote the idea of a general principle. If Jesus was a prophet, He would have the knowledge of this woman’s character that He ought to have. He would not be ignorant. Additionally, the conditional statement - “if…” - is in the form of a second-class conditional statement, suggesting that Simon, the speaker / Pharisee, doubts the truthfulness of the statement. At this point, based on Jesus’ response to this “sinner!” Jesus could not be a prophet.

SCENE #2 - JESUS’ PARABLE - 7:40-43:
Simon replied, “Teacher, speak.” Then Jesus gives a parable using two debtors. One (ver. 41) owed the creditor a debt equal to more than a year’s salary (500 days), while another debtor owed the creditor the equivalent of a month and a half’s salary (50 days). Then Jesus told Simon (ver. 42) that the creditor “graciously forgave” both. The Greek verb has “grace” as its root word and literally means “to be gracious to…” It is usually translated as “forgive.” It is used also in verse 43. He then asked which of the two would love “more?”

Simon responded that he supposed that the one with whom the creditor was more gracious would love more (ver. 43).

SCENE #3 - JESUS BLESSES THE FORGIVEN WOMAN - 7:44-50:
When Jesus turned toward the woman in verse 44, it appears that perhaps Jesus pointed toward the woman or at least motioned toward her. He directed Simon’s attention to her by saying, “Do you see this woman?” We wonder if Simon had really seen the woman, if he had seen her as a person made in the image of God. Jesus did. Then Jesus contrasts Simon’s behavior toward Jesus with the woman’s behavior.

When Jesus entered the house, Simon did not offer water with which Jesus would wash His feet, nor have a slave wash his feet (ver. 44). But the woman wet His feet with her hair and wiped them as well. Simon did not greet Jesus with the typical kiss (ver. 45), but the woman did not stop kissing His feet and the word here for “kiss” is the intensified form of the verb, as it is in verse 38. When Jesus entered (ver. 46), Simon did not give Jesus olive oil to anoint His head, for refreshment and fragrance, but the woman anointed His feet (rather than His head). Again, “feet” is used four times in 7:44-46.

For all these reasons, Jesus points out (ver. 47), He is telling Simon that she is reflecting her deep love for Him. Her sins had been forgiven; the perfect tense in the Greek language suggests that Jesus had already forgiven her before, either at His preaching or at John’s preaching. Because she was so thankful for her forgiveness, she loved much. In contrast, the one who is forgiven little (such as Simon, or at least Simon thought he was forgiven of little likely because he had committed few sins), loves little.

Finally, Jesus directed His attention to the woman and said, once again, that her sins “have been forgiven” (ver. 48). Again, the tense of the verb in the Greek suggest that this woman’s sins had been forgiven before she walked through the door. The other guests, sitting at the same table with Jesus in the same home of the Pharisee, were asking themselves who Jesus might be if He presumes to have the authority to forgive sins (ver. 49)!

In one final message, Jesus gives the woman peace and hope, telling her that her faith - in responding to Jesus in trust and obedience - has saved her. So she could leave with a settled state of mind, with tranquility in her thoughts, and peace in her heart. She was forgiven by God. Nothing else truly matters.

CONCLUSION:
The focus of this text is not primarily the fact that the woman was forgiven. The purpose of the text is to highlight how she responded to Jesus after having her sins forgiven. If we want Jesus to carry the burden of our sins, we have to give that burden to Him, first of all. As He says in Mark 16:16, we have to trust Him and be baptized into Him in order to lay our sins on His shoulders.

But what further do we do? We have to accept that forgiveness once He offers it. Once we have done what Jesus tells us to do to be forgiven, we have to accept that forgiveness. In other words, we have to forgive ourselves. We have to give Him that burden we carry rather than continuing to carry it ourselves. We have to forgive ourselves.

The woman’s profound display of affection is a clear sign that she knew she was freed from her moral “debt” which she owed God for her sins. When you and I realize that we have truly been forgiven and so saved from an eternal hell with Satan and his angels, we will not stop worshipping and praising God and His Son, our Savior. The primary motivation for worship is thanksgiving.

Paul will write: “Where sin increases, grace abounds” (Rom. 5:20). Everyone needs the grace of God to be saved; when we are saved, the feeling of our indebtedness to Him should run deep.

This woman had not been welcomed into Simon’s home as a guest, but as a forgiven sinner, Heaven embraced her at death with open arms.

Take home message: Do what Jesus says to do to be forgiven. Then accept that forgiveness - forgive yourself too. And worship Him with all your heart and all your soul.