June 12, 2016 Pentecost 4 Text: Luke 7:36-50 36 One of the Pharisees asked [Jesus] to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven-- for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (ESV)

The Two Sinners in Simon’s House

In our text for today, we meet two people. First we meet Simon. He is not to be confused with the apostle Simon Peter. This Simon was a Pharisee, both by party affiliation and by character. He invited the Lord Jesus to a banquet at his house.

Although Jesus was an honored guest, it seems that the ordinary courtesies due any guest were purposely omitted. There was no water for his feet, no kiss of welcome upon the cheek, no oil to anoint the head. The only thing Jesus got from Simon was a vacant seat. And Simon handled things so that Jesus, his guest, might feel that he was receiving, and not conferring, an honor.

The banquet room was filled with Simon’s guests. The feast was in progress and everyone was eating his fill. But suddenly, an unknown woman entered the room and interrupted the proceedings.

Here, we meet the second person in our text. St. Luke describes her as “a sinner,” i.e., as one who lived a life of open immorality. If she was a prostitute or an adulteress, the Jews would regard her with utter contempt. Oh, yes, she was unfit for the kingdom of heaven!

We don’t know her name. By way of application, put your own name down for hers. She was aware of her reputation. But that wasn’t why she came to Simon's house. She came because of the tremendous burden of guilt she bore. She knew of Jesus, had probably heard him preach, and knew that he was a friend of sinners.

She had faith in him before she ever met him. Think of the courage it took to intrude upon this “respectable” gathering. A formidable place to go, don’t you think? But what will love and great need not dare? When she finally saw Jesus, her search was over. She was ready to confess both her faith and her sins to him. And she would do so even before the strict and heartless Pharisees!

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But just then, tears welled up in her eyes and some of them fell on the Savior’s feet. She stooped down and, with her hair, dried up her tears. What beauty here! The sinner's head at the Savior's feet! Our highest and best belong there. The woman acted instinctively. She kissed his feet again and again,1 showing the intensity of her faith and love. And then she anointed his feet with costly oil. It was poured out freely upon his feet, presuming to touch only these, yet feeling herself unworthy to touch even these.

As Simon viewed the whole scene before him, he was aghast. That’s because he, like most of the Pharisees, was blinded by his own self-righteousness. He was zealous in keeping the Law of Moses. In his zeal for the Law, however, he elevated himself far above others and did not regard himself as one who was destitute of righteousness before God.

Simon, Simon, just look at you. Outwardly you make yourself appear holy, but inwardly you are “full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.”2 Outwardly you shine, but inwardly your soul is rotting away in impenitence and unbelief.

Simon, do you pray the Pharisee’s prayer, saying, “God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this woman who has but one prayer: “God be merciful to me, a sinner.”3

Oh, Simon, do you not know that he who exalts himself shall be humbled? And he that humbles himself shall be exalted?4

That thought had never occurred to him. Self-righteous Simon was certain that this woman was beyond any hope of salvation. But he was equally convinced that his exemplary behavior and moral fervor would get him into heaven.

Oh, Simon, how wrong you are!

Jesus, you may remember, admonished his hearers to look first at their own sins before condemning the sins of others. He said, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”5

Jesus, of course, speaks these words to us as well.  Why is it that we can see our neighbor’s lovelessness, but can’t see our own?  And what about our blindness? Why is it that we can see what is wrong with someone else, but we cannot see what is wrong with us?  And what about sinful pride? Why is it that a man who has a haughty spirit cannot see his own self-righteousness, but can see the same sin in everybody else? So I guess it’s fair to say that we have more in common with Simon, the Pharisee, than we know.

But Jesus will not let Simon remain blind as to his self-righteousness. See how our Lord deals with him. He tells a parable about two debtors and one creditor. One owes 500 denarii (about 1½ year’s wages). The other owes 50 denarii (almost 2 month’s wages). Neither is able to pay. But the creditor is gracious. So he cancels the debt of each. Jesus then asks Simon a question: “Which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he

Page 2 of 4 cancelled the larger debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.”6

Little did Simon realize that he just condemned himself. Jesus would now show him. On the one hand, Simon gave Jesus no water for his feet, gave no kiss of peace, and offered no oil to anoint his head. This lack of love shows that Simon felt himself to have no need of whatever Jesus could give him.

On the other hand the sinful woman knew herself to be a sinner in desperate need of forgiveness. Behold, then, her love: For water she shed tears of repentance, of all waters the most precious. For a kiss, she smothered his feet with kisses of pure devotion. For oil she bathed his feet with costly perfume.

Jesus then looked at Simon and said, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.”7 Her love was not the cause of her forgiveness, but the evidence of it. He then turned to her and made her pardon personal, saying, “Your sins are forgiven.”8 From this, Simon was to draw the conclusion that, since he felt himself in no need of what Jesus had to offer, his sins were not forgiven.

Jesus, thus, deals with two classes of sinners, the impenitent and the penitent. To all who are impenitent (and Simon is one example) Jesus preaches nothing but Law, for they must see their utter sinfulness. No word of forgiveness shall be spoken to them: not to Simon, nor to impenitent gossips, adulterers, or the self-righteous.

But to all penitent sinners, e.g., to the woman in our text, to penitent gossips, adulterers, and the self-righteous, Jesus preaches nothing but Gospel. These must now hear Christ’s words of forgiveness. And so Jesus says to the woman and to all who are penitent, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”9

Knowing that sinners could never save themselves, God sent his Son to earn salvation for us. He came as our great Substitute. Behold, then, the grace of God: When Christ lives a sinless life, God counts it as though you yourself have done the same. When he, laden with our sins, dies, God counts it as though you yourself have died for your sins. Indeed, because Christ is mankind’s great Substitute, the Gospel declares that, when Christ died, we died.10

Several decades ago, a pastor visited Jerusalem and wanted to visit the site where Christ was crucified.11 He told his guide that he wanted to walk to the top of the hill. The guide went with him. Once on the crest, the pastor removed his hat and stood with bowed head, greatly moved. “Sir,” the guide asked abruptly, “have you been here before?” “Yes,” said the pastor, “two thousand years ago!”12

My friends, we also died 2000 years ago. Faith clutches this truth tightly. Because Christ has already earned our salvation for us, we know that heaven is our home. All of our sins, past, present, and future were paid-in-full on Calvary. To trust in Christ alone is to receive forgiveness and eternal life.

Let’s revisit our text for the last time. On the day Jesus visited, we find two sinners in Simon’s

Page 3 of 4 house. One left forgiven; the other was just left. So far as we know, when Jesus left his home, Simon was still impenitent.

The other sinner was the nameless woman. She knew herself to be a sinner. Making no attempt to hide the fact, she came to Jesus in great humility, sorry for her sins, and trusting in him to forgive her. And Jesus did just that.

We stand before Jesus today, humble, penitent, and trusting. And, behold, the Savior speaks to us through his Word. He says to us, “Your sins are forgiven; they are forgiven and forgotten; they are forgiven and forgotten forever!” In the saving name of Jesus: Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Endnotes

1The Greek verb for kiss here is katephilei, the imperfect tense of the verb kataphileo (to kiss). The imperfect can mean that the woman kissed Christ’s feet continually, or repeatedly, or habitually, or inceptively. In this context, I take it to mean that the woman repeatedly kissed Jesus’ feet. 2In Matthew 23:27, Jesus says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness” (NASB). 3See Luke 18:10-13. 4See Luke 18:14. 5See Matthew 7:3, ESV. 6See Luke 7:41-43. 7See Luke 7:47, ESV. 8See Luke 7:48, ESV. 9See Luke 7:48, 50. 10In 2 Corinthians 5:14, St. Paul writes, “ … we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died” (ESV)/ 11The pastor’s name was R. G. Lee. See http://www.tlogical.net/biorglee.htm. 12Adapted from http://www.preaching.com/sermon-illustrations/11548354/?page=2. It should be noted that Lee visited an alternate site known as “Gordon’s Calvary.” The traditional site for the crucifixion is “The Church of the Holy Sepulchre.” See http://blog.bibleplaces.com/2009/09/gordons-calvary-then-and-now.html.

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