Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Starter Kit

Interactive Bible Study on Luke

STARTER KIT

PAUL E. MILLER

BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A PRAYING LIFE Interactive Bible Study on Luke

LEADER’S MANUAL

PAUL E. MILLER 2014 seeJesus Press

By Paul E. Miller

The mission of seeJesus is to help people see and reflect the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus through our discipleship resources and training. seeJesus P.O. Box 197 Telford, PA 18969

Phone: 215-721-3113 Fax: 215-721-6535 [email protected] www.seeJesus.net

Editor: Julie Courtney Copyeditor and Proofreader: Lydia Leggett Layout Design: Pat Reinheimer Cover Design: Seth Guge

All Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. To Julie Courtney

Julie Courtney was one of the first people to teach one of our interactive Bible studies when she gathered a few women at a friend’s house and taught the Person of Jesus study in 1998. A Muslim woman who had never held a Bible and was desperately lonely came to the study, opened the Bible, and then later her heart to Christ. Julie came on as part-time staff in 2000 and then full-time in 2004. She has tirelessly worked at any job that came her way these last ten years. Julie has remarkable flexibility and adaptability—in spite of the fact that she readily admits that she strongly dislikes change! Julie is our most versatile trainer in seeJesus. She has lead Person of Jesus, A Praying Life, Small Group Leader Training, and A Loving Life Seminars. Increasingly she is a sought-out speaker, not because she is flashy or sophisticated, but because she lets the Word speak for itself. She is gifted at helping a group come alive around the Scripture. So to Julie Courtney, my friend and fellow worker, I dedicate Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus. Oh, by the way, she was instrumental in coming up with the title!

Table of Contents

Quick Start Guide ...... vii

Part 1: A Broken Woman and a Grace-less Man 1. Grace for a Broken Woman (Luke 7:36-39) ...... 3 2. The Basis of Grace (Luke 7:40-44) ...... 15 3. Truth for a Grace-less Man (Luke 7:44-46) ...... 25

Part 2: A Lost Son and an Angry Son 4. Teaching the Law to a Law-less Son (Luke 15:11-16) ...... 39 5. Showing Grace to a Messed Up Son (Luke 15:17-24) ...... 51 6. Showing Grace to a Grace-less Son (Luke 15:25-32) ...... 65 7. Allergic to Grace (Luke 15:11-32) ...... 75

Part 3: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector 8. Grace-Resistant or Grace-Receptive (Luke 18:9-14) ...... 87 9. The Ground for Grace (Romans 3:22-28) ...... 97

Part 4: A Blind Man 10. Crying for Grace (Luke 18:35-43) ...... 109

Part 5: A Tax Collector 11. Intrusive Grace (Luke 19:1-5) ...... 121 12. Responding to Grace (Luke 19:6-10) ...... 133 13. Grace to Repent (Luke 19: 1-10) ...... 141

Part 6: The Good Samaritan 14. How Inclusive Is Grace? (Luke 10:25-29) ...... 151 15. Grace Looks (Luke 10:30-33) ...... 161 16. Grace Binds Itself (Luke 10:30-35) ...... 169 17. Discovering the Objects of Grace (Luke 10:25-37) ...... 177

Part 7: Mary & Martha 18. Resting in Grace (Luke 10:38-42) ...... 189

Appendix: Definitions of Key Words ...... 199 Bibliography ...... 201

seeJesus Interactive Studies Quick Start Guide

This Quick Start Guide will: ● Show you how the manual works. ● Help you solve problems in interactive study. What Is Unique About seeJesus Interactive Studies? Our Method ● Questions Instead of Lecture. People enjoy discovering Scriptural insights on their own. They feel more involved and respected when they are asked for their opinions. ● Insightful Questions. The questions in the study have been taught and revised by the author and trainers for the best phrasing to elicit the best possible response. The questions are carefully sequenced so that each question logically follows the preceding one. ● Balanced Between Interactive Teaching and Mini-Lectures. Though the heart of the study is interactive teaching—comprised of insightful questions—a lesson that is all interactive runs the risk of participants only sharing their feelings, thus missing good content. So every lesson also contains a good deal of direct teaching. ● Simple But Deep. The study is entirely laid out for the leader in this manual. You just need to follow it along. And though the manual is simple to use, it contains depth of insight. ● Gospel Focused. Almost every lesson is tied to the death of Jesus on the cross. The power for change in us comes not from human effort but God’s grace. ● Worshipful. At times the participants (and you) will be led to worship because of the loveliness of Jesus, the Scriptures or spiritual insights. Worship means being still in the face of the majesty of Jesus. Our Content ● Biblical Insight. The study digs deep into the biblical text. It teaches participants to study the Bible, which results in their deepening love and respect for God’s Word. ● Historical Insight. By drawing on biblical archaeology and our growing understanding of the Ancient Near Eastern world, the study brings Scripture to life. ● Heart Insight. The goal of each lesson is not just behavioral change in the participants, but also insights into their hearts and how that drives their behavior. ● Jesus Insight. Participants discover things about Jesus that they have never seen before. ● Critique of Modern Culture. These studies invite participants to turn from the inward-seeking bent of Western culture to an outward-seeking focus on God’s kingdom and people. How to Teach seeJesus Interactive Studies Get to know the lesson. ● Read the lesson at least three times before teaching it, underlining or highlighting parts that you think are especially helpful. ● Make sure the length of each lesson fits the time restraints of your group meetings. If it does not, then either divide the lesson into two sessions or skip parts of a lesson. Quick Start Guide vii Learn the layout of a typical lesson. ● “10 mins”: The approximate duration of each point in a lesson is written next to the title of that point. They are estimates to help you plan. ● “Review”: Brief instruction which reviews the content of the previous lesson and shows how the cur- rent lesson fits the study unit as a whole. ● “Q.”: Interactive questions in bold type are the heart of the material. ● “Teach”: A short section of instruction. Do not linger—they may be read briskly and without addi- tional comment. ● “Draw”: A map, chart or sketch that illustrates a principle on a flip chart or whiteboard. ● “Historical Background”: Introduces information about the cultural or historical setting of a biblical passage to illuminate the group’s understanding of the text. ● “Old Testament Background”: Similar to the Historical Background; provides Old Testament setting to the passage being examined in a lesson. ● “Modern Culture”: Teaching point that demonstrates how our modern culture is in tension with a biblical worldview. ● “Theological Background”: Introduces theological ideas suggested by the text. ● “Person of Jesus Insight”: Ties text in with an insight about the person of Jesus. ● “Literary Insight”: A Greek or Hebrew literary insight that brings the text to life. ● “Personal Illustration”: An example, usually in the form of a personal story that helps apply the material in a lesson to the life of the participant. It’s ideal if you can come up with your own personal illustration. ● “Principle”: A concise, practical statement that applies to our lives. ● “Teaching Tip”: Advice to the teacher about how to handle teaching or group interaction. Many tips to the teacher do not appear as a “Teaching Tip” but as italicized text in brackets. For example: 1. [Write their answers.] (Always with the flip chart icon, as it is here.) Indicates that you should write their answers on the flip chart. 2. [Teach what they do not say.] Indicates that there are nuances in the answer to a certain question that you will likely have to teach after participants have time to share their thoughts. See it taught. ● The interactive style is best caught. If you haven’t participated in a lesson, we strongly recommend watching the videos of a lesson being taught. Our Resource Library at seeJesus.net has three videos of our trainers teaching interactive lessons to a small group. Watching these videos will help you understand the style of interactive studies. Apply the lesson to your life. ● The church will be transformed and the world captured by the beauty of Jesus not because we are good teachers, but because people see Jesus in our lives. If we are just communicating abstract principles and not striving to obey, then we risk becoming and creating Pharisees. But if we are repentant and obedient before God, then others will see that our faith is authentic, and they will be drawn to repentance as well.

Ask seeJesus for help. No question is too unimportant.

We are only a phone call or email away: 215.721.3113 or [email protected].

viii Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study How the Leader’s and Participant’s Manuals Work Together What’s included in the Leader’s Manual? ● The Leader’s Manual has everything a leader will need to teach a lesson. ● All of the numbered questions (Q1, for example) in the Leader’s Manual are also in the Participant’s Manual. The unnumbered questions are only in the Leader’s Manual. ● Any text that is longer than a sentence or two that has a gray vertical bar next to it in the margin is included in the Participant’s Manual. ● If only a few words from bulleted items are in the Participant’s Manual, then these words are bolded. ● The charts in the Participant’s Manual have no words except the headings. As you draw out the chart you will need to add the text. The Purpose of the Participant’s Manual ● The Participant’s Manual is for the participants to take notes during a lesson. ● It also includes application questions at the end of each lesson. These questions can be discussed after the lesson if you have time. Or the participants can work on them at home for their devotional. If they work on them at home, it may be helpful to discuss a few at the beginning of the next lesson. How This Interactive Bible Study Works Using guided questions. ● The heart of this interactive Bible study is questions that help participants understand the text and their hearts. When people discover truths on their own, those truths are more interesting and memorable than if they had been lectured to. Because participants are discussing and listening, they get to know the people in their group at a deeper level. ● Many of the questions have multiple answers. When participants realize that, they relax because the study feels less like school, where many may have memories of the fear of giving a wrong answer. The multiplicity of answers facilitates the development of conversation and community. ● Move through the questions at a brisk pace. If you answer every question exhaustively, the lesson will drag. Be aware of your group’s responsiveness and if you need to linger on a question, then linger. Open-ended discussion. ● The lessons are student-centered but teacher-directed. That is, the leader is moving the lesson along a set course. If a lesson is only student-directed, it can easily degenerate into everyone sharing opinions. You will end up knowing what is on the mind of the participants but not the mind of God! Encourage participants to respond. ● As much as possible, the leader should acknowledge a person’s answer by commenting on it and showing how it fits into the lesson. ● Answer every question of the participants. You want to create an atmosphere in which they feel safe to bring up an issue even if it has nothing to do with the study. Their concerns are important. Write the participant’s answers on a flip chart or whiteboard. ● Why write down their answers? 1. It helps them remember. 2. You can refer back to what someone had said. 3. It stimulates discussion; others can ponder and compare answers. 4. It honors what they say. ● Write the participant’s answers word-for-word instead of rephrasing them. Why? What they say is important, and doing this encourages them because you take their input seriously. ● If you are a poor speller or have bad penmanship, you can turn it into a joke or have someone else write for you. ● Write LARGE!

Quick Start Guide ix ● Write their answers when you see the flip chart icon. That means the question is a brainstorming one with multiple answers. ● Use the flip chart to draw other visuals such as charts and maps. Many people are visual learners, and visuals bring stories to life. Selecting a flip chart. ● Large flip chart with stand ⅙ A large flip chart (34 in. by 27 in.) is ideal because it allows you to go back and review sheets from earlier in the lesson and from previous lessons. ⅙ Make sure easel has a bar across the top to hold the tablet. ⅙ Make sure easel has telescoping legs so you can adjust to the height. If you are seated in a living room make the chart level with your chair so you don’t have to reach up. ● Alternatives to a flip chart ⅙ White Board. Requires special markers and a dry eraser. ⅙ Small White Board. You can get small white boards that you can prop up on a chair for groups with few people. ⅙ Smaller Flip Chart. Office supply stores have several small table-top flip charts that you can use for smaller groups or around a table. ⅙ 8½ by 11 Writing Pad. This works well with small groups of 2-4 around a kitchen table or at a restau- rant. So you don’t have to support it with your hand, you can clip it to a stand-alone computer document holder. Shortening a lesson. ● The average length of a lesson in this manual is 50 minutes. Here are options for shortening a lesson: ⅙ Eliminate or condense some points. We have listed the approximate teaching time for each lesson point on the title page of each lesson, so you will be able to shape your lesson to your time limit. ⅙ Interactive teaching (asking questions) is slower than direct teaching (lecturing), so you can save time by teaching directly some of the interactive material. ⅙ Split the lesson into two lessons. A word for experienced teachers. ● We encourage you to follow the lesson plan carefully so you understand how the study works. Each lesson has been carefully crafted through many hours of development, so it is good to learn first how they are taught before attempting any major alterations of your own ● However, an experienced teacher may want to make a lesson plan his or her own by adapting it (1) to the time constraints of the teaching time, (2) the group and its needs, and (3) his or her own particular preferences. Application. ● During the lesson: ⅙ Application is seldom stated in a “go and do thou likewise” fashion. We want to avoid participants viewing this study as simply a “How-to” or “Self-help” course. ⅙ seeJesus Interactive Studies are not just behavioral workouts but heart workouts as well. Sometimes, the greatest achievement of a lesson could simply be leading the participants to enjoy the beauty of Jesus and his love. ● After the lesson: ⅙ If you have time, you may want to ask the questions from the application section at the end of the chapter immediately following the lesson. ⅙ Or you can have the participants work on the questions at home as devotionals. The next time you meet, take a little time at the beginning to go over their answers.

x Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study Solving Problems in Interactive Teaching One or two people answer all the questions. ● Be upfront: “Okay, let’s hear from some others now. We haven’t heard from some of you.” ● Be direct but light: “Tom, your answers are right-on, but it is time to hear from some other people in the group.” ● Handle it privately: “Sue, you really do a nice job answering questions, but I am concerned that Bob and Doris have not gotten much of a chance to say things. Do you mind waiting on some of your answers to give them a chance?” The whole group is silent. ● Silence is not bad. The group may simply be pondering their answers, so be silent and wait after you ask a question. If you answer your own questions, participants will stop answering them. Try counting silently to twenty before speaking. If there is still no answer, try re-wording the question. ● Handle chronic silence by dividing into groups of three. Give each group the same question to work on and let them discuss it for a few minutes. Then reconvene the entire group and have one person from each group report their conclusions. It injects energy into the group and gets people interacting. One or more people in the group are quiet. ● Just let them be quiet. Some people are just naturally quieter. (The Bible calls that wisdom!) It is important that they feel safe in the group and not be pressured to talk. ● Some are quiet because they do not want to be embarrassed by giving a wrong answer. Since the questions in our manuals are written in a way that does not require Bible knowledge, you can encourage your group by saying things like, “I’m not hunting for a deep answer here. Just tell me what comes to your mind.” ● Occasionally ask them questions directly: “Bob, What are some of your thoughts on this question?” Be careful about putting people on the spot, however. Do this only if you know the person and sense that he or she would not mind. The question gets multiple bad responses. ● Give a hint. Hints are often listed in the lesson. ● Make the question easier by narrowing down where to look for an answer. For example, if it is a Bible question give the verse that has the answer. ● Rephrase the question. Someone gives a wrong answer. ● Most of the questions are geared for either multiple answers or relatively obvious answers, so this does not happen often. But there are questions that have only one answer. ● Point the person back to the text: “Where do you see that in the text?” ● Point the whole group back to the text without putting the particular person who gave the wrong answer on the spot: “Let’s stick to the text with our answers.” ● Disagree directly: “I do not think so because….” ● Disagree gently: “It is possible, but I have not heard that before.” Answers are vague—not grounded in the details of the passage. ● “That is possible, but what does the text say?” ● “Where do you see that in the text?” ● “That is an interesting observation. What you say is quite true.” Then restate your initial question and get the group to focus: “Look at the story we have just read.” Someone leads the group off the subject. ● Let him or her go on the tangent and then go back to your question. If the person persists, then suggest that you talk about it after the study. Quick Start Guide xi ● Be sensitive to the subject and the person raising the issue. If it appears to be just a trivial or purely intellectual subject, go back to your lesson plan. But if it appears to be connected with a heart issue or something the person is really struggling with take the time to answer it or ask others in the group what they think. Poor readers or non-readers. ● The simplest aid is to write the text out on the flip chart ahead of time and tape it to the wall. Read it slowly several times, point to the words as you read, so they can hear it and pick up most of the words. Can I Include Non-Christians in a Group? ● seeJesus Interactive Bible Studies are geared for both seekers and mature believers in one group. Instead of preaching at a seeker, the content of the study slowly draws them into seeing Jesus. The study does not assume that unbelieving participants are pursuing a relationship with Jesus. ● Both can learn from the study because relationships are difficult for all of us, and everyone can benefit from an in-depth, insightful study of the Scriptures. The study puts everyone on a level playing field. The questions do not assume any prior knowledge of biblical material, nor does it expect participants to have a biblical worldview.

xii Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study Resources from seeJesus

To order, log on to www.seeJesus.net Questions: call 215-721-3113 or email at [email protected]. seeJesus Interactive Bible Studies: ● A Loving Life Interactive Bible Study: (17 lessons) A loving life is what we all want. But loving people is hard. This 17-lesson study will help you discover Ruth’s amazing biblical portrait of love with a small group or Sunday School class. Here is the help we all need to embrace relationship, endure rejection, cultivate community, and reach out to even the most unlovable as we discover the power to live a loving life. Leader’s Manual and Participant’s Manual to be used in conjunction with each other. ● Bethesda Series: Compassion Leader’s Manual and Student Manual: (19 Lessons) Adapted from The Person of Jesus study, this curriculum provides flexible teaching plans for use with young adults/adults affected by disabilities. Through stories, illustrations, and activities, this curriculum will help learners apply biblical truths to daily life. ● Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus: (18 lessons) An interactive Bible study that immerses you in the world of grace. We look at seven scenes from the gospel of Luke where Jesus either tells stories about grace or models grace in his interactions with people. ● The Person of Jesus: (48 Lessons) Looks at how to love by focusing on the one truly good man, Jesus of Nazareth. The winsome insights, coupled with an energetic, interactive format, lead Christians and seekers alike to discover a Christ so personal, so rich in love. What unfolds as people study the person of Jesus is unstoppable: Jesus at the center of community. seeJesus Books: ● A Praying Life: By reading A Praying Life, you’ll learn how to become like a child running to your Father. The book can be combined with our A Praying Life Discussion Guide. ● A Loving Life: This book offers the help we need to embrace relationship, endure rejection, cultivate community, and reach out to even the most unlovable around us as we discover the power to live a loving life. Companion to A Loving Life Interactive Study. ● Love Walked Among Us: The book invites you to get to know Jesus and to observe his life as it unfolds in the gospel narratives. The study will encourage you to imitate Jesus’ way of loving people. Companion to The Person of Jesus Interactive Study. seeJesus Videos or Audio Studies: ● A Praying Life DVD and CD: An 11-session video study for small groups or Sunday School classes that teaches people to develop a life of private prayer by coming as a child to your heavenly Father. To lead this study you will need the A Praying Life Leader’s and Participant’s manual. The Leader’s manual includes teaching notes. ● The Love Course: A 32-week study similar in content to The Person of Jesus except it is a lecture series on MP3 files (free downloads from our website: http://seeJesus.net/studies/the-love-course.) The study immerses the participants in the life of Jesus and what love is. There are 5 units, each with a manual of detailed lecture notes and a six-day weekly devotional assignment that is suitable for individuals or small groups.

Quick Start Guide xiii Seminars from seeJesus

The Person of Jesus Seminar A seminar is the most effective way of introducing small group leaders in your church to The Person of Jesus study. Four lessons are taught from the Leader’s Manual, and after each one, participants can see how straightforward the material is to teach. Most people find it to be a worshipful time, spending six hours thinking about Jesus. Participants also learn how to use the study with seekers in our post-modern world. A Praying Life Seminar Many of us are quietly defeated in our private prayer lives. We’ve tried praying, but it just does not seem to work. So we feel a combination of frustration and guilt. In this seminar, we will learn step-by-step how to begin a private life of prayer in fellowship with our heavenly Father. This seminar is not for victoriously praying Christians, but Christians who often find themselves defeated in the trenches. Small Group Leader Training This is advanced training in leading interactive Bible studies in a small group setting. Each participant will prepare and lead a lesson from our Person of Jesus Interactive Study to a group of 4-6 people. They will self-evaluate and then be evaluated by one of our trainers. A Loving Life Seminar A loving life is what we all want. But loving people is hard. Here is the help we all need to embrace relationship, endure rejection, cultivate community, and reach out to even the most unlovable as we discover the power to live a loving life.

Please call the office for pricing and/or to schedule any of our seminars.

We are continually working on new material and seminars. You can check our website periodically for our new releases.

xiv Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study Goals of Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus

There are several distinct goals for the Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus study: 1. An immersion in Jesus: How he loves people, how he thinks about love, how he balances law and grace. Immersing yourself in the mind of Jesus reshapes our own mind. 2. Grace: This whole study, more than anything else, is an immersion in grace. We move back and forth between Jesus’ treating people with grace and his teaching on grace. Grace is truly amazing! 3. The Heart: Again and again, we examine the human heart through the lens of grace, holiness, and repentance. The study works to uncover our deeper, heart motivations. 4. Justification by Faith: The link between Jesus’ parables on grace and Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith is clearly drawn. It introduces untaught Christians to some of the complexities of Romans in a clear story format. So the study backs into theology through story. 5. Law: The “law” gets a lot of bad press these days. We look at how the law and the Gospel balance one another, and how critical they are both for one another. 6. Repentance: Repentance is not often talked about in our churches and usually reserved for “big sins,” but every encounter with Jesus leads to some kind of repentance. We discover how repentance works. A repenting life is the goal of this course. 7. Holiness: Biblical holiness is almost a foreign language in our culture. But sadly, it is also seldom talked about in the church. We examine holiness, what it looks like in our lives. How holiness is not just a state, but a path.

The Christian world is saturated by grace—sometimes by cheap grace. In the early 90s, just after I’d finished the first draft of a discipleship course called Sonship, I began to notice that some of our graduates were using grace as an excuse to do what they felt like. Grace was merely a means for feeling good about themselves. The larger secular world is also increasingly dominated by law-less grace, where grace becomes a demand. All of this leaves Christians confused. How does grace work with holiness? Are we still under obligation? Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus is an 18-lesson interactive Bible study that immerses you in the world of grace. We look at seven scenes from the gospel of Luke where Jesus either tells stories about grace or models grace in his interactions with people. The way Jesus embodies grace and receives broken sinners sometimes takes my breath away. For example, when I’m discipling men who are struggling with sexual temptation, I encourage them to repeatedly confess their sin, turning again and again for forgiveness. Most of us shut down from God with repeated sin. When a particular sin captures us, we begin to think we are hopeless. But knowing that you can’t out-sin God’s grace gives us the courage to keep returning to the battle, to keep picking ourselves up after a failure and set our hearts anew to holiness. The opposite problem of underestimating grace is isolating grace from a Christian moral frame. When we isolate grace, lawlessness can creep into the church. Jesus is never merely about grace in the abstract. In the stories Luke tells about Jesus, we see a richly textured world filled with the beauty of God’s character. Our uni- verse has a givenness to it, an order and design, that reflects the character of God. In the past when our culture was more influenced by Christianity, we all knew the law of God. But now in a post-Christian world, we can’t assume people have Judeo-Christian values. We can’t teach grace in a lawless vacuum. In Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus we emphasize parts of Scripture we used to presume everyone knew—the Jewish moral frame. In writing and designing this study, I’m assuming participants are relationally in tune but theologically illiterate. So participants discover the theology through the story. We frequently move from Luke’s stories into Paul’s theology. An interactive, discovery approach works well in a post-modern world where suspicion of authority, particularly religious authority, is high. In seeJesus studies most of the major ideas are discovered by the participants. They own what they discover. The style of our interactive studies creates an experience around a Bible passage where 15 minutes into the study you are almost living in the scene. So you are overwhelmed not only with grace but with Jesus, with him, the person of Jesus. And, as Augustine said, if you get your loves rightly ordered, then everything else works!

Quick Start Guide xv

PART 1 A Broken Woman and a Grace-less Man

LESSON 1 Grace for a Broken Woman

Read Luke 7:36-50

36 One of the Pharisees asked him 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.”

1. The Woman’s Past 10 mins

We’re going to focus on the opening scene when the sinful woman makes her entrance. Read all three lessons before teaching this lesson so you have a feel for the whole scene. Historical Background: “A Sinner” The woman’s description as “sinner” likely means she is a prostitute or she has committed adultery in the village.

Lesson 1: Grace for a Broken Woman 3 Q1. Jesus briefly describes her sin. Did any of you catch it? Hint: it is in the last part of the story, v. 47. (Hold on Hints for about 30 seconds to give them time to ponder the answer. It is better if they can get the answer without the hint, but if you delay longer than 30 seconds it will slow the learning down too much.) “Her sins, which are many....” Whatever she did, she did a lot of it.

Q2. This woman has likely committed adultery multiple times. What is the effect of adultery or prostitution on marriages and families? Various answers. It is devastating. A marriage can recover but it is devastating. Most often it destroys the marriage and the kids. It is like a bomb going off in a home.

Q. So what is Simon’s concern? Is Simon’s concern legitimate? This woman has likely destroyed at least one family. She could destroy more. Yes, his concern is legitimate. The local marriage wrecker is in his house.

To further understand Simon’s reaction to this woman, we need to look closer at Simon’s world. Historical Background: Holiness ● Passion for purity. Simon’s primary concern is purity. This passion for purity goes back into the past. Impurity, a lack of holiness, led Israel into captivity. It is also a passion for the future. A saying in the Talmud said that the Messiah would return if all Israel went one day without a sin. ● Impure by association. You become impure by associating with impure people or things. Pharisees like Simon emphasized outer formal impurity and not, like the Hebrew prophets, purity of the heart. ● If you went into the Jewish bookstore1 in Capernaum, one of the scrolls you would see was “Ben Sirach” written about 175 BC. It gives us a feel of Simon’s mindset:

“So no one pities a person who associates with a sinner and becomes involved in the other’s sins” (12:14).

“What does a wolf have in common with a lamb? No more has a sinner with the devout” (13:17).

“A prostitute is regarded as spittle....” (26:22). Mikveh Photo of a mikveh next to the temple in Jerusalem. Men would enter down the left side, immerse themselves, and come up the right side. The purpose was not physical cleansing, but spiritual. Notice the wear on the steps on each side. century mikvehs are all over Israel. Photo courtesy of Todd Bolen/BiblePlaces.com.

1 Of course, there were no bookstores in Capernaum because scrolls were so expensive. 4 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study 2. The Woman’s Present 15 mins

Now that we have a feel for Simon’s mindset, let’s look more closely at the scene. Historical Background: Simon’s Feast ● Sabbath feast. It is likely that we are in the Galilee region and Jesus has preached at a local synagogue. It was common to invite a visiting rabbi to the Sabbath meal after he had spoken. A number of the dinners Jesus is invited to in Luke occur after a Sabbath synagogue service. ● The Greek custom at a feast was to lie down at a low three-side table (a Triclinium) on a cushion with your feet away from the table. This had become common in Jewish culture. ● “The Men’s Room” was the actual name for the dining room. This was an all-male gathering. ● Foot washing was very important in those days, because the people wore open sandals and walked along very dusty or muddy roads. ● In this culture bathing was infrequent, and there was no deodorant. But women typically carried a small alabaster jar of perfume around their necks on a string, so that they could perfume themselves. If she is a prostitute, then she would have used this in “plying her trade.”

Ointment Photo of alabaster jars found in Israel dated 600 BC. Notice the handles on the smaller jar for carrying it around the neck.

Q3. Let’s look at all the things the woman is doing in order from the text. First write down the numbers 1 through 5 so when people mention an item you can put it in its place. Then they can see what is missing. 1. Entering the room at the start of the feast carrying an alabaster flask. 2. Standing behind him weeping. 3. Weeping, begins to wet his feet. 4. Now seated, continuing to weep, wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair. 5. Begins kissing his feet and anointing them with perfume.

Q. When did she start weeping at Jesus’ feet? Jesus gives us a hint after the parable. v. 45 “From the time I came in.”

Q. How much weeping do you need to be doing to soak someone’s feet while you are standing above them? A lot.

Lesson 1: Grace for a Broken Woman 5 Q. So how loud is this opening scene? How strong must be her crying to create this many tears? It is very loud. She is likely drowning out conversation.

Literary Insight: Weeping and Kissing ● The word for weeping [brecho] is a particularly strong word that is used to describe rain showers in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:45) and in the book of James (5:17). Jesus’ feet were actually being cleaned, she was weeping so much. ● The word for kissing is also a particularly strong form of the verb meaning “to kiss eagerly, affection- ately or repeatedly.”2 ● Even in ancient culture, it was rare to kiss someone else’s feet. There is one reference in the Talmud (the Jewish writings in 3rd-5th century AD) to a freed murderer kissing the feet of his lawyer when he was overcome with gratefulness to the lawyer for getting him off.3

Q. So what has this woman done to Simon’s feast? Crashed it.

Next she lets down her hair. Historical Background: A Woman’s Hair In the Ancient Near East and most traditional cultures even today, a woman only lets down her hair in private with her husband. Here are some sayings from this era collected by the scholar Kenneth Bailey, from the Mishna and the Talmud 4:

A man may divorce his wife and leave her no financial settlement “if she goes out with her hair unbound, or spins in the street, or speaks with any man.”5

Rabbi Meir talks about a “bad man who sees his wife go out with her hair unfastened and spins cloth in the street with her armpits uncovered and bathe [sic] with the men.... Such a one it is a religious duty to divorce.”

Q. So how might Simon interpret her letting her hair down? As a lewd act.

Teach: Letting Down Her Hair Later we will see that Jesus sees this as an innocent gesture. One scholar said, “How completely the woman was overcome by. . . gratitude towards her Savior is shown by the fact that self-consciously she took off her head-covering and unbound her hair in order to wipe Jesus’ feet.... Evidently she was so shocked at having bedewed Jesus with her tears, that she entirely forgot her surroundings.”6

2 Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1993), 847. 3 Joachim Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus, Second Revised Edition (London: SCM Press, LTD, 1972), 126. 4 Kenneth E. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 248. 5 The mishna was the oral law written in 220 AD from the teachings of the Pharisees during the Second Temple period (570 BC - 70 AD). Jesus reacts strongly against this, which he calls the “teachings of the elders.” The mishna was written down after Jesus’ time but generally reflects his era. 6 Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus, 126. 6 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study Q4. Quick recap: What disgusts Simon about this woman? ● She’s an adulterer. She has wrecked families. ● She’s crashed his party. ● She’s making a scene with her weeping, touching Jesus, and undoing her hair.

3. Simon’s Reaction to Jesus 10 mins

Q5. How does Simon relate to Jesus during this opening scene? What has he dis- cerned about Jesus? Hint: What does Simon think to himself about Jesus in v. 39? He judged Jesus for not judging the woman.

Q. What does Simon mean when he says, “If this man were a prophet…”? Jesus doesn’t realize that the woman at his feet is a mess.

Simon has likely heard the report that Jesus has just raised a widow’s son to life in the village of Nain.

Q. Listen to the crowd’s reaction in Luke 7:16-17 to the raising of the widow’s son. “They were all filled with awe and praised God. ‘A great prophet has appeared among us,’ they said. ‘God has come to help his people.’ This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.”

Q. What title do they give Jesus? Jesus is a prophet. Historical Background: Prophets Raising Dead Sons Here’s why the crowd said, “A great prophet has risen among us!” ● Elijah. The prophet Elijah had raised a widow’s son at Zarephath. Just like Elijah, Jesus met the woman at the gate and gave the son back to his mother. ● Elisha. Elijah’s disciple, the prophet Elisha, also raised a dead son at Shunem, only a mile from Nain. ● Jesus. When Jesus raised the widow of Nain’s son, he was deliberately reenacting what these two prophets had done. A prophet was someone who saw people from God’s viewpoint and spoke to them the words of God and acted with the power of God.

Q. So why does Simon think that Jesus isn’t a prophet? Read the answer after their answers. Simon discerns (like a prophet!) that Jesus is not a prophet because Jesus does not see this woman clearly. If he really saw, he would recoil from this disgusting house-wrecker.

Q6. Let’s drill down. What is Jesus doing that so bothers Simon? ● Jesus is not doing anything. That bothers Simon. ● He’s just silently receiving her. ● He’s not telling her to get lost.

There’s more...

Lesson 1: Grace for a Broken Woman 7 Q7. Simon’s disdain of Jesus began even before the woman came into the room. How do we know that? Hint: What does Jesus tell Simon about how Simon greeted him? Jesus tells Simon that Simon treated him rudely by not washing his feet, anointing him with oil, or kissing him. Historical Background: Greeting a Rabbi A well-known rabbi such as Jesus was to be greeted with a kiss, oil on the head, and foot washing. The neglect of these was the equivalent of a public put-down or slap in the face. It is like inviting someone over for dinner and ignoring them or not greeting them. Simon’s greeting of Jesus is rude. Historical Background: Biblical View of the Person as “A Center of Surprise” ● Simon has put both Jesus and the woman in a box. Simon has inhaled the spirit of paganism that puts everyone in boxes. In paganism you are defined by your past or your family. So if you’ve committed adultery, then that defines you. For instance, in paganism, the Old Testament Jacob, who is very crafty and deceitful, would be “crafty-Jacob.” ● The Bible never traps people in their sin. Jacob, to use the words of the Hebrew scholar Robert Alter, is a “center of surprise.”7 That is, God doesn’t view people as “categories,” such as “mentally ill” or “bi-polar” but as persons who can change. So the biblical view of the person makes grace possible. We are not fixed in stone. We are not frozen by our birth, status, or past. Repentance can happen.

Modern Culture: The Return of Paganism Our world is returning to the world of paganism by giving people fixed descriptions. In particular, psychology gives people fixed descriptions that trap people in behavior. Here are some examples: ter- rible-twos, bi-polar, etc. Scholar David Powlison puts it this way (a summary), “The label seduces us, initially providing identity and understanding, but as soon as you take it on you are trapped, narrowly defined by that label.”8

4. Jesus’ Reaction to the Woman 10 mins

Let’s see how Jesus reacts to the woman.

Q8. How does Jesus relate to the woman in the opening scene? Focus on Jesus’ response to her, not on what she is doing. This is subtle because Jesus doesn’t say anything. ● He lets her love him. ● He lets her touch him and move close to him.

Q. How do you think most men would feel at this luncheon if this woman came in and started crying over them and wiping their feet with her tears? Really awkward.

7 Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative (New York, NY: Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group, 1981), 126. 8 Personal conversation with David Powlison. 8 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study Q. In particular, what offends Simon about what this woman is doing? Simon men- tions it specifically. She is touching him. The present tense, “she is touching” suggests continuous action.

Q9. What does human touch convey? Teach what they do not say. Tenderness, compassion, friendship. Jesus often touches people when he heals them or they are afraid.

Q. What are some of the things human touch can convey between members of the opposite sex? There are multiple answers. ● Human touch is very personal. ● Touch can potentially begin a path to sexual intimacy. (This is Simon’s focus.) ● Between a husband and a wife, it is wonderful. ● But between people that are not married, it can be destructive. Jesus warns against inappropriate touch when he says, “If your hand offends you, cut it off.” ● It can also be a way to express friendship. This was Jesus’ focus.

Draw

Draw a line across your flip chart. On the left end write “-100 (Embarrassed)” and “+100 (Honor)” on the right, with a zero in the middle.

-100 (Embarrassed) 0 +100 (Honor)

Q. Where would most men place themselves on this scale, if they were in Jesus’ position? Why? -100. They would be embarrassed.

Q10. Why would they be embarrassed? What would they be concerned about? ● They might be concerned about what others would think of them. Others might wonder why they let her get so close to them physically. ● They might be afraid of the perceived sexual connotations of this woman touching them. ● They might be afraid of their own sexual desires.

Q. Where is Jesus on the chart? +100 Why? Various answers.

Q11. What kind of man is willing to receive love from a despised woman and even count it an honor in this all-male gathering? What kind of man would not be bothered by her undoing her hair and wiping his feet with it? This is one of those questions where you hope participants sense the wonder of Jesus! ● Someone who had a huge heart of love, with a superhuman approachability. Because of love, he is willing to risk the disdain of the other guests. He is totally accepting of her brokenness. It is a unique combination of humility and compassion. ● Someone who is pure of heart. Not afraid of his own sexual desire. Lesson 1: Grace for a Broken Woman 9 Q. Have you ever noticed that it is hard to receive love? Why do you think that is? To receive love requires openness, vulnerability, a complete absence of self-protection.

Q12. What is the difference between Jesus’ view of purity or holiness, and Simon’s view? Use the questions below to draw out some of the answers in the chart. They are radically different.

Q. What are their different views of how to relate to bad or impure people?

Q. How does a holy person act around unholy people?

Q. Are people capable of change?

SIMON JESUS

Outward Purity Inward purity Keeping away from bad people Moving towards needy people Legalism, law-only centered Beautiful blend of grace and law Put people in a box People are capable of change Trapped by your former sin Freed by God’s grace Focus on past failure Focus on present change

Teach: Jesus’ View of the Person Simon’s view of the person was frozen. The sinful woman was defined by her sinfulness. In contrast, Jesus treats her (and us) with dignity by leaving space for us to emerge. He doesn’t overwhelm our per- sonhood. He respects our dignity.

5. Jesus’ Silence 15 mins

Q. In this first scene, before Jesus tells the parable, do we know for sure what Jesus’ attitude is towards the woman? No, we don’t.

Q. Why don’t we know? Because Jesus is silent. He doesn’t say anything. He just silently receives her. Luke doesn’t say anything about Jesus responding to her verbally.

Q13. What is the effect of Jesus’ silence? That is, if you were one of the disciples with Jesus, how are you feeling? What questions are on your mind as the woman washes Jesus’ feet? ● Bottom line, it is very awkward. 10 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study ● It opens the door to you judging Jesus like Simon! ● It puts you in an ambiguous, uncertain place. You aren’t sure what Jesus is oing to do. This is the most important point.

Teach: Jesus Creates Ambiguity What Jesus is doing is not clear. Jesus is present, but seemingly disengaged. Jesus often deliberately creates situations where he is present but seemingly not in control.

Here are a few examples of other stories from Jesus’ life where he does that: ● After the disciples have been rowing all night on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus walks on the water past them in the boat, deliberately not going to them. The disciples are afraid until Peter calls out to Jesus. ● After his resurrection, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene but doesn’t tell her who he is. ● When Lazarus is sick, Jesus deliberately delays until Lazarus dies, creating anguish for his two sisters, Mary and Martha.

Q. Have you ever seen Jesus do that in your life, give you a tough situation where he is seemingly silent? Rhetorical question. Various answers.

Q14. Why do you think Jesus does this? Why does he remain hidden? Various answers. Teach what they don’t say. There are three principal dynamics: 1. We emerge because Jesus is quieter. That means that because Jesus is silent, we can react, start talking, or come alive in some way. He doesn’t overwhelm the conversation. Ambiguity means that we are left in limbo so we have to reach out to him. We grow because he is hidden. 2. We see him better. 3. We end up closer to Jesus. We have a real relationship. God’s silence grows our faith.

Read John 11:14-15

Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Because Jesus “was not there” he created a situation where they “may believe.” We want to see... What God shows us...

Creates space for faith to grow. Jesus Jesus

us us

We want a big Jesus, constantly, visibly Jesus in the corner—his presence is present so we never have to worry. subtle, at the edge. He doesn’t overwhelm our space. That creates space for a real relationship. Lesson 1: Grace for a Broken Woman 11 Teach: Space Creates Room for Us to Grow Instinctively we want Jesus to completely fill the space. But if that happened there’d be no room for relationship. We’d never grow. For example, if you are with a narcissist, the narcissist fills all the space by talking about himself. You can’t really have a relationship with a narcissist because you, the friend, can never emerge. It’s not complicated, if someone is always dominating the conversation, they suck the air out of the room. Depending on whether you are using the Participant’s Manual or not, you can ask generic questions such as “What struck you about this lesson? or “What did you learn from this study?” Or you can just go directly to the Lesson Application questions on the next page to end the lesson.

12 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study Lesson 1 Application

Reflecting on categorizing or stereotyping people.

Q. Can you recall a time when someone judged you or put you in a box? What was it like? Give a specific example.

Q. Are there ways that you categorize or freeze yourself?

Q. Do you have a sin in the past that freezes you, that you just can’t get over? Be sensitive to people’s responses, but help them to see that confession and repentance is freeing.

Q. How does Jesus’ command, “Your sins are forgiven,” liberate you to be like this woman?

Person of Jesus Insight: Let Jesus Love You Picture yourself, with your sin now, at Jesus’ feet weeping, receiving his forgiveness, his blood washing over your past, and healing you.

Q. Are you more like Simon or Jesus as you relate to people around you? Do you freeze people in their sin or do you see people as a “center of surprise,” capable of repentance and change?

Q. Why do you think we are so quick to freeze people, including ourselves?

Q. How do you both be discerning of people and yet not put them in a box? You absolutely need the Holy Spirit, the very presence of Jesus in you.

Lesson 1: Grace for a Broken Woman 13 Modern Culture: Secular-Liberalism Secular liberalism tries to be the person of Jesus without 1) Jesus’ atonement (the cross), 2) Jesus’ presence (the Holy Spirit), and 3) Jesus’ body (the church). It always fails. It ends up creating a law out of compassion that is used to marginalize people. That’s what political correctness is. You can’t do Jesus without Jesus.

Reflecting on the silence of God.

Q. Has God ever been distant or hidden in your life?

Q. What does it feel like when God is hidden or silent?

Q. What kinds of things is God doing during that silence?

Q. Can you recall a time (or relationship) where you tend to be quieter? What is the value of that? The value of our quiet is that it makes room for God.

Q. What do you do with your spirit that wants to talk or “fill the space”? The only way to endure during those times when you know you have to be quiet is to pray.

14 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study LESSON 2 The Basis for Grace

Read Luke 7:36-44

1. Faith Leads to Love 15 mins

Today we are just going to focus on the parable in vv. 40-44. Historical Background: Denarii A denarius was a small silver coin about the size of a US nickel. It was a day’s wage for a laborer. In modern American culture that is about $150 since no taxes were withheld.1 So 50 denarii is about $7500 and 500 denarii is about $75,000. Show a denarius. [Purchase on Amazon: “Replica Coins from the Bible - New Testament,” approx. $16.] Hold a denarius up along with $150 cash to show them comparable value.

Q. In this parable, who is the 50-denarii sinner? Simon.

Who is the 500-denarii sinner? The woman.

1 This will vary from culture to culture.

Lesson 2: The Basis for Grace 15 Q1. According to the parable, what is the effect of knowing that you are a 500- denarii sinner? How does that affect your behavior? It makes you a better lover because you are filled with gratitude.

Q2. Now for the first time, we discover Jesus’ view of what the woman has been doing at his feet. How does Jesus interpret her weeping? What does Jesus see about the woman that Simon doesn’t see? ● She is repenting. ● Her repentance shows itself in an act of overflowing love by weeping, anointing, kissing, and drying with her hair. ● We are watching the thankful overflow of a person who sees their need for grace and has been forgiven.

Q. Just to make sure we all see this, from the parable, how do we know that Jesus sees her display as repentance? You might be able to skip this question if they already answered it. ● She is the 500-denarii sinner who has been forgiven an enormous debt. ● The 500-denarii sinner, like the sinful woman, is overflowing with gratitude. She expresses that gratitude by weeping at Jesus’ feet.

Q. So by implication, what has already happened in this woman’s heart prior to this feast? She had earlier either heard Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness or experienced in some way his forgiving heart. Historical Background: Why She Weeps It was customary for a visiting rabbi such as Jesus to be invited home after the Sabbath synagogue service for a meal. So likely she heard a message from Jesus on forgiveness at the same synagogue that Simon was. Overwhelmed by the discovery that she could be forgiven, she has crashed Simon’s feast with her display of overflowing gratitude.2

Q3. So to summarize: Both Jesus and Simon see a woman weeping at Jesus’ feet. How does Simon interpret the scene? How does Jesus interpret it? ● Simon sees an adulterous woman and house-wrecker who is now wrecking his feast. ● Jesus sees a repentant woman, broken by her sin. One is a grace-filled vision that sees people; the other is a law-only vision that sees people as objects.

Let’s reflect on Simon’s sins.

Q. What is it like to live with a self-righteous, critical person? Awful, it is like being in prison. No matter what you do, they correct you. It is a form of mental slavery.

Q. If adultery is a house-wrecker, what does pride and self-righteousness do to a family? It is a house-wrecker as well. Pride is the source of most family breakdowns. It leads to harshness, bit- terness, and jealousy. Both Simon and the woman are house wreckers.

2 Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus, 127.

16 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study Q4. What are the differences between the woman’s sins and Simon’s “sins”? (Draw a chart). To draw out the answers below you may need to give hints, i.e. “The woman’s sins are open, but Simon’s sins are…”

SIMON’S SINS WOMAN’S SINS

Hidden & private Open & public Pride, disdain, thanklessness Adultery Destroying & marginalizing the weak Destroying families Didn’t get caught (yet!) Got caught Can’t see his sin Can see her sin Judging spirit Loveless

Q. So, how are Simon and the woman similar? They are equal sinners. Both need forgiveness.

Q5. In the parable, what is the connection between God’s grace and our love? Which comes first, grace or our love? God’s grace creates our love.

Q. The word for our receiving God’s grace is faith. So what is the order of faith and love? What comes first? Faith creates love.

Draw Faith Love

Read Galatians 5:7

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

Read 1 John 4:10

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Lesson 2: The Basis for Grace 17 Gospel Connection: Faith First The great discovery of Martin Luther in the Reformation (1517 AD) is that faith comes before love. The church in the Middle Ages got faith and love all mixed up. It is important to get the order right because we can’t begin with our love. Our love is never enough. But we can begin with God’s love for us. That’s what faith is. That means we can begin with our helplessness, our weakness. That is what the “sinful” woman is doing in this story. She begins with her helplessness. A simple definition of grace is “faith is first.”

2. Understanding How Grace Works 20 mins

Let me explain the Parable of the Two Debtors with a chart.

GOD’S HOLINESS

BECOMING A CHRISTIAN GROWING AWARENESS OF HOLINESS

TIME LINE SIMON

WOMAN GROWING AWARENESS OF MY FLESH

OUR FLESH

Explain the Cross Chart. Draw out the Cross Chart using the guide below. The word “Flesh” is the Apostle Paul’s word for “Our Sinful Heart.” Martin Luther called it our tendency to be curved in on ourselves. 1. Draw timeline. Line represents a timeline of our life. 2. Write “God’s Holiness” on top and “Our Flesh” on the bottom. God’s holiness (upper part) is matched by our sinfulness (lower part). What we should be and what we are, mirror one another. 3. Draw shaded lines over God’s Holiness and Our Flesh. Before we are a Christian, God’s holiness and our flesh are veiled to us. We don’t see ourselves well. 4. Draw an X where we become a Christian and lines coming out of the X gradually widening out. When we become a Christian, we begin to see our sin. 5. Draw small cross on left. The only way we can see our sin is in the light of the Cross. We see our true need and our need for a Savior.

18 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study 6. Draw big cross on the right. Growth in holiness means that we see more and more of our sin. But we see that sin in the light of the Cross. So our view of Jesus grows bigger. 7. So an immature Christian (on the left) has a small cross and mature Christian (on the right) has a big cross.

The Cross Chart and Luke 7 1. Simon doesn’t see his sin. So he only needs a small Savior. Write “Simon” next to the small cross. 2. The woman sees her sin, so she has a big view of the cross and her need for forgiveness. Write “Woman” next to the big cross. 3. Because Simon has a small view of his sin, he loves little. Because the woman has a huge view of her sin, she has a huge view of Jesus.

Key Insights of the Cross Chart 1. Growing holier means you might feel less holy! Simon feels holy. The woman doesn’t. This is helpful because it keeps us from being shocked at how evil our heart (our thoughts and motivations) can be. This helps us face our sin instead of trying to cover it. 2. The flesh is always there. Our “Flesh” is the old sinful part of us. Each of us is capable of 500 denarii sin, right up to our death. We will never get rid of the pull of the sinful heart this side of heaven. That is encouraging. It keeps us from feeling defeated when it feels like we aren’t getting any better. 3. The flesh’s power will get weaker. We will always have the pull of the flesh, but not the power. But we don’t have to give in to the pull of the flesh. We can feel the pull, but we don’t have to submit to it. Feeling the pull is not sin. Giving in to the pull is sin. Like this woman, owning up to the flesh opens the door for grace in our lives! 4. The bigger our cross, the more we love. An increase of seeing our sinfulness in the light of the cross means that we become more holy. Just like the woman, we become better lovers of people. 5. Faith. The best cure for the pull of the flesh is a life that, like this woman, is crying out for grace all the time! We call that faith.

Case Study: A Young Husband A young man confessed to his wife his problem with pornography. It was very humbling and painful to tell this to his wife. It was not the first time that he confessed this sin, but she quickly forgave him. He told a friend, “Confessing this sin to my wife was the low point of my summer.”

Q6. What’s wrong with the young man’s saying “Confessing this sin to my wife was the low point of the summer”? Apply the Cross Chart. It was actually the high point of the summer! Confession was when he got his integrity back, when he stopped hiding. The low point of the summer was when he sinned and hid it.

Questionnaire: “How Big Is Your Cross?” 1. When you are criticized by someone (when the veil is pulled back on your Flesh) do you focus on your part, or when the other person shared it (bad timing), or how they shared it (bad tone), or on how they are messed up also (bad heart)? 2. When you are unjustly criticized by someone, do you treat the other person like an idiot? 3. Do you find yourself quick to judge people to analyze what is wrong with them?

Q7. What are some of the ways we can keep our cross small? ● Quickly defending ourselves. ● Seeing how the other person does exactly the same thing. ● Talking with other people about what the other person told you, trying to get their confirmation that you are right. Lesson 2: The Basis for Grace 19 3. How Jesus Relates to Simon 10 mins

Let’s reflect for a minute on how Jesus is relating to Simon in this story.

Q8. What’s the difference between blasting Simon and Jesus’ method of telling Simon a story? ● A parable is a gentle way of entering Simon’s world. It lets Simon own his own repentance. ● A story is inviting and interesting. ● A story is more distant and easier to discuss. ● So it provides a mirror to his behavior that is easy to look at.

Ask this next question only if the answer wasn’t given above.

Q9. How is telling a parable a gentle way of Jesus stepping into Simon’s shoes? Instead of first directly confronting Simon, Jesus enters Simon’s world.

Teach: Incarnating ● The most basic move of love that describes Jesus’ whole life is called incarnating. Love always goes into another person’s shoes, steps into their world. Instead of explaining our point of view, it tries to see the other person’s point of view. ● The Golden Rule (“Do to others what you want them to do to you.”) is an invitation to incarnate. In order to “do to others” you first have to reflect on what “you want to be done to you.” Jesus uses our selfish tendencies as a way to get us to think about, to incarnate with other people’s needs.

Q. If Simon and the woman are both equal sinners, why does Jesus make Simon only a 50-denarii sinner and the woman a 500-denarii sinner? Jesus is telling the parable from Simon’s point of view. Even though they are equal sinners, it feels to Simon like he has very little sin. The way the parable is framed enters Simon’s world: a world that has a high view of himself. This is just another way that Jesus incarnates with Simon.

Q10. Why does Jesus ask Simon a question at the end of the parable instead of just telling him? There are multiple answers. Teach what they don’t say. ● Jesus is incarnating with Simon. ● When you ask a question, you draw the person out. ● It allows Simon to state the answer in his own words. He condemns himself instead of Jesus having to do it. Simon owns his insight.

Q. What is remarkable about Jesus’ incarnation with Simon’s world? What is Simon’s world like? Simon’s world is self-centered and proud. Jesus is incarnating with someone who is a spiritual mess.

20 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study 4. Jesus Helps Simon See 15 mins

Let’s now watch Jesus’ gentleness with Simon.

Q11. What kind of tone do you notice in Simon’s answer to Jesus’ question, “The one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the debt”? It is slightly hesitant, cautious. Maybe he is wary of a trap. One scholar called it “grudging admission.”3

Q. Given the clarity of the parable and Jesus’ question, what’s interesting about Simon’s response? He answers a clear question warily! It is clearly a reluctant or grudging answer.

Q12. What is interesting about Jesus’ response “You have judged correctly”? Teach what they don’t say. Simon is doing nothing but judging incorrectly! Jesus underlines a negative by emphasizing a positive. It is a gentle way to deal with sin.

Q13. How do Jesus’ words to Simon in 7:44 reinforce what his body is doing? It might help to visualize this part of the story by briefly acting it out, or just point out the juxtapositions of people. He looks at her (implied) and he tells Simon to look at her: “Do you see this woman?”

Q. Why do you think Jesus turned toward the woman and told Simon to look at her at the same time? He wants to teach Simon how to look at people, to be a true prophet.

Teach: Jesus’ Body Jesus’ body language mirrors his words. His body always matches his words. He is trying to get Simon to love this woman by showing him how to look at her. He is teaching Simon how a prophet – in fact, how God – sees people. So in summary, Jesus looks at the woman in order to help Simon see her and stop judging her. Judging is the opposite of seeing.

Q14. Quick Review: What are the four ways that Jesus incarnates with Simon and helps him see? 1. Tells a parable. 2. Tells a parable from Simon’s point of view, labeling Simon as the “50 denarii sinner.” 3. Helps him own the parable by asking Simon for the parable’s conclusion with a question. 4. Demonstrates with his body how to love by looking at the woman.

Teach: Self-Righteousness Jesus is helping Simon take the beam out of his own eye. Self-righteousness is the most difficult sin to repent of because the nature of self-righteousness is to not see yourself. Self-righteousness is like bad breath; everyone else notices it but you.

3 Darrell L. Bock, Luke Volume I:1:1-9:50, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 1994), 700. Lesson 2: The Basis for Grace 21 Summary of the Story and Parable Especially listen for the word “see” or “look.” A prophet is someone who sees people from God’s point of view. Simon discerns that Jesus is not a prophet because Jesus does not see what this woman is really like. However, the woman does see what she is like—that is why she is weeping. Jesus, as a true prophet of God, sees not only why she is weeping but also sees what Simon is really like. Simon cannot see himself because he is blinded by his self-righteousness. Because Simon can’t see himself, he is unable to see the woman. To help Simon see the woman and himself, Jesus first tells him a story to help him see his true condition. Then Jesus teaches him how to look at the woman by looking at her himself while he tells Simon to look at her. Then Jesus compares Simon’s behavior with the woman’s. Jesus is a prophet unlike any other.

You can ask generic questions here such as: “What struck you about this lesson?” or “What did you learn from this study?” Or you can just go directly to the Lesson Application questions on the next page to end the lesson.

22 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study Lesson 2 Application

Reflecting on incarnating.

Q. What struck you about how Jesus incarnated with Simon?

Q. How well do you incarnate with people?

Q. Why is it so hard to incarnate?

Q. What would your life look like if you incarnated more?

Q. Think of one close relationship. How well do you incarnate in that relationship? What would that person say? Possibly discuss this in small groups.

Reflecting on faith.

Q. How do we see faith in the woman’s life? In her falling at Jesus’ feet.

Q. What happens if you try to begin with love and not faith?

Q. Why is it encouraging that we can always begin with faith?

Reflecting on our flesh.

Q. Why is it encouraging that our Flesh (the dark side of our heart) will never get better?

Q. What is the difference between the pull of the Flesh and the power of the Flesh?

Q. How could you use the doctrine of the Flesh as a cop out?

Lesson 2: The Basis for Grace 23 Reflecting on the Cross Chart.

Q. How can you tell if you have a big cross or a small one?

Q. What do we like about having a small cross?

Q. Where are you on the Cross Chart?

Q. What is the connection between seeing your Flesh and seeing the Cross?

Reflecting on love.

Q. Where does love come from? What is the energy for love?

Q. Explain how you can feel like a big sinner and yet be a big lover?

24 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study LESSON 3 Truth for a Grace-less Man

Read Luke 7:44-50

Re-read 7:36-43 for review. Review the last two lessons.

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.”

1. Jesus’ Honesty with Simon 15 mins

Q1. What is Jesus doing in vv. 44-46? Rebuking Simon and honoring the woman. Historical Background: Welcoming a Guest1 ● Jesus begins his rebuke with, “I entered your house.” That is a formal cultural statement that says, “I became your guest. As your guest, I should have been treated with respect.” ● Oil was relatively cheap. Israel was a center of olive oil production, used for cooking, lighting, washing, and anointing. Perfume, on the other hand, was expensive. ● Feet and shoes, to this day, are a sign of degradation in the Middle East. In the Old Testament when another king was subjected, he would literally be used as a footstool. An angry Iraqi threw his shoe at President George W. Bush to show his disdain for him.

1 Kenneth E. Bailey, Poet & Peasant, and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: William B Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1983), 16.

Lesson 3: Truth for a Grace-less Man 25 Begin at the top of the page with Simon and the bottom with the Woman. With each comment, draw an arrow going up or down. Then your drawing will reflect what Jesus is doing with Simon and the woman. Notice that Jesus starts at Simon’s feet and works his way up to his head.

SIMON 2 WOMAN

1st: “You gave me no water for my feet.” 2nd: “You gave me no kiss.” 3rd: “ Y ou did not anoint my head with oil.” 3rd: “ but she has anointed my feet with ointment.” 2nd: “ but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.” 1st: “ but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.”

Q. What is Jesus doing with Simon and this woman in this social setting? Elevating a messed up and despised woman, and humbling a proud man. Historical Background: Turning the World Upside Down In the context of Jesus’ culture, what Jesus does is shocking. He exalts what the culture despises (a woman who has committed adultery) and humbles what the culture exalts (a religious man in good standing.) When Jesus came to be circumcised in the temple (Luke 2:34), the old man Simeon told Mary that Jesus is “appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel.” We are watching a scene where that is happening, one person going up and the other going down.

Q2. Jesus doesn’t just compare Simon and the woman; each time she surpasses Simon in two ways. What are those ways?

Simon’s Failure Woman’s 1st Action Woman’s 2nd Action

1st You gave me no water She wet my feet with And dried them with her for my feet. her tears. hair.

Has not ceased to kiss 2nd You didn’t kiss me. She kissed my feet. my feet since I got in.

You didn’t anoint my She has anointed 3rd ...with ointment. head. my feet.

2 This insight and chart is from seeJesus Trainer, Timo Strawbridge, Lakeland, Florida. 26 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study Q. Why does Jesus underline the sharpness of the contrast? Jesus goes out of his way to describe an overflowing exuberance on the woman’s part. Her actions aren’t just opposite of Simon’s, but much greater than his. Modern Culture: Art and Life The symmetry that Jesus has discovered between Simon’s three missing actions and the woman’s three substitute actions reflects an ancient and forgotten Jewish way of viewing life. The Hebrew mind saw design in life just as we see design in biology, chemistry and physics. They saw it in the story of their lives. So they were always hunting for patterns of God’s presence. Here Jesus sees an artistic pattern in this scene and creates a poem out of it. We can easily imagine him, experiencing surprise at Simon’s initial rudeness and then, as the woman washes his feet, realizing that she was doing what Simon wasn’t doing. Then Jesus created two works of art to help Simon see: a parable and this rebuke. Historical Background: Jesus’ Gentleness in His Rebukes3 ● Jesus first rebuke, “you gave me no water for my feet,” isn’t even a request for a servant. Jesus could have washed his own feet. But Simon didn’t even give Jesus water so he could wash his own feet. ● Jesus’ second rebuke, “you gave me no kiss,” is slightly ambiguous. In the ancient world, how you kissed a person showed your ranking. So for example, equals kiss one another on the cheek. A disciple kissed his rabbi’s hand. But Simon had done neither. Jesus could have said, “You didn’t kiss my hand,” but he makes it vague so as not to insult Simon.

Q. When Jesus says to Simon, “But he who is forgiven little, loves little,” does Jesus mean that Simon doesn’t have lots to be forgiven? No, Simon just can’t see his sin. Simon is forgiven little not because he sins little, but because he is blinded by his self-righteousness and can’t see how sinful he is.

Refer back to Cross Chart. Simon has a high view of himself, which leads to self-righteousness and a low view of the Cross. He doesn’t see his need for forgiveness, therefore no need for love.

Q. So who is the 500-denarii sinner? Simon.

Q. So who is the sinner who has defiled the feast? Simon!

Scholar Kenneth Bailey “The great unrepentant sinner (whose presence defiles) is Simon, not the woman. The prophet has not only read the woman’s heart, he has read Simon’s heart. The judge (Simon) becomes the accused.”4

Q. How do you think the woman felt when Jesus spoke about her publicly? Too good to be true.

Q3. What is Jesus doing for the woman when he rebukes Simon? ● Empowering her. ● Defending her. ● Exalting her.

3 Bailey, Poet and Peasant, 16-17 4 Bailey, Poet and Peasant, 19. Lesson 3: Truth for a Grace-less Man 27 2. Understanding Jesus’ Honesty 10 mins

Q4. Do you think Jesus is bothered by Simon’s rudeness? Yes. People will usually be silent or say no. After a moment, say, “This is a difficult question. Let me suggest that the answer is yes. Here’s why.”

Q. Is it wrong to be bothered when someone treats you rudely? No.

Q. Was God bothered in the Old Testament when Israel treated him badly? Yes.

Q. Why else would Jesus publicly rebuke Simon and describe his behavior as offensive if he wasn’t bothered? Yes, Simon’s rudeness bothered Jesus. Historical Background: Suppressing Emotions ● We think that spiritual people like Jesus are not bothered partly because when we are bothered, we tend to overreact and let our anger boil over. But being bothered by sin is simply God’s justice in us recoiling from evil, God’s image in us reacting to sin. “Being bothered” can be a good thing. ● Another reason we don’t think Jesus was bothered is we think that a spiritual person floats above life. So a truly loving person does not feel pain when insulted. That is why Jesus is usually por- trayed in movies as disconnected. This false, plastic spirituality comes from Greek philosophy that imprinted the early church. The philosopher Plato taught that the physical world was less real and the spiritual world was more real. The result is that Jesus ends up looking weird or plastic. He’s not a real person who feels.

Now let’s reflect on how law and grace work together.

Q5. How would most of us react if we were treated rudely by the host of a party? Who would we talk to about it and when? We would likely say nothing aloud at the party or to the host. We would likely mention it later to close friends who we trusted. They would agree with us how disgusting the host’s behavior was.

Q. Why would we handle it that way? Why would we not handle it the way Jesus does? We are too afraid of how people would treat us. The host might retaliate.

Q. What is refreshing about the way Jesus handles Simon? It is so refreshing to see people who are upfront and fearless. You always know where you stand with them. Jesus is giving Simon truth. It is exactly what Simon needs to hear.

Q6. What would happen if Jesus had related to Simon the way he (Jesus) related to the woman? Simon would not have been saved. Simon needed to hear the truth. He didn’t need to hear grace. The message of grace is incoherent if you haven’t first been broken by truth.

28 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study Q. Why doesn’t Jesus relate to Simon the way he does the woman? Because Simon needs the truth (the law) and she needs grace.

Read John 1:17

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

Q7. How do we see grace and truth in this story? Who gets grace and who gets truth? The woman gets grace and Simon gets the truth.

3. Jesus Forgives the Woman 10 mins

Re-read Luke 7:47-50

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.”

Q. Look back at v. 47. What seems to come first in her life, being forgiven or her love?

Literary Insight: What comes first, forgiveness or love? Translation: “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

The phrase “for she loved much” suggests that her forgiveness was a reward of her love. But most scholars point out that the parable clearly states that her seeing her forgiveness lead to her love. That is, in joy that she had been forgiven 500 denarii, she poured out love.5

Q8. What is the connection that Jesus makes between forgiveness and love? You cannot love unless you are forgiven. Only then do you have the power for love. We are watching the overflow of love that comes from her experience of forgiveness.

Q. How does knowing you are forgiven enable you to love? When you know you are forgiven, you are open that you are a mess. You are deeply humbled by your failures. You see that all of life is a gift that you do not deserve. So it is easy to give what you do not own. It is easy to love when you have been humbled.

5 The Greek tense is perfect passive. A perfect tense indicates a present condition that results from a past action. Also for, given the larger context, means therefore. Multiple scholars agree with this change: Bailey, Poet and Peasant, 17; Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus, 127; Klyne Snodgrass, Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), 89. Lesson 3: Truth for a Grace-less Man 29 Q. How is the opposite true? How does thinking you don’t need forgiveness choke love? Simon does not have any sense that he needs to be forgiven. So he feels superior to both Jesus and the woman. When you feel superior, you are incapable of love. Even your attempts at love grate on other people because you are above them.

Draw:

Faith Love (The experience of forgiveness)

Q9. So if her sins are already forgiven, why does Jesus openly forgive her? Teach what they don’t say. ● It is a way of restoring her to community. That is, it communicates a message to all the men in the room. ● It is a way of restoring her soul. That is, it communicates a message to her soul. It heals her at the deepest level.

Old Testament Background: Year of Jubilee In the Old Testament, every 50 years all debts were to be cancelled (Deut 15:1-3, Lev. 25:10-55). Jesus has just announced in his home town of Nazareth that his presence has brought the year of Jubilee (Luke 4:16-21).6 So now, as the Lord of the Jubilee, Jesus is forgiving debts, beginning with this woman’s sin. The King has arrived, freeing debtors!

Q. What is odd about Jesus telling the woman, “Your sins are forgiven”? Jesus is not the one sinned against!

Q. Imagine this scenario: Bob hits Sue. A complete stranger goes up to Bob and tells him, “Bob, I forgive you for hitting Sue.” What is odd about that? We would think he was nuts! Bob sinned against Sue, not the complete stranger. Historical Background: Jesus’ Forgiveness ● N. T. Wright (British scholar) says that Jesus’ forgiveness of the woman is like “a private individual approaching you on the street and offering to issue you a passport or a driver’s license—or, perhaps more appropriately in this case, a private individual approaching a prisoner in a jail and offering him a royal pardon, signed by himself.”7 ● Jesus’ forgiveness of her sins only makes sense if he were in some sense sinned against. The only other person who we sin against when we hurt someone is God himself, the Creator of moral law.

6 Snodgrass, Stories With Intent, 87. 7 Nicholas Thomas Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God: v. 1: Christian Origins and the Question of God (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1996), 435. 30 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study 4. Substitution 10 mins

Q10. What is the reaction of the other guests in this scene to Jesus’ forgiveness? Do they seem pleased that this woman has been liberated from her sin? They seem shocked.

Q. What question do the guests ask? “Who is this who forgives sins?” Person of Jesus Insight The question of the guests is the fundamental question of the story. Who is this man? It is also the fundamental question of each of our lives: “Who is this who forgives sins?” Where are you in relationship to him?

Q. What happens to Jesus’ reputation (in the eyes of Simon and the guests) because he loves and forgives this woman? His reputation is weakened.

Q. What has Jesus done for her reputation? He has honored her. Draw picture of exchange.

Honor, Empower Protect

Jesus Woman

Shame

Q. What kind of exchange does this remind you of? The gospel: Jesus’ substitutionary death for us. Draw cross in the middle.

Gospel Connection: The Exchange of Love ● Sin always has a price. If someone hurts us, we might exact that price when we distance ourselves or tell someone else about it. We have many ways to make them pay. But if we forgive, then we pay the price ourselves. We absorb into ourselves the cost of their sin. Jesus absorbs into himself the cost of our sin. ● By loving this woman, Jesus takes on her disdain. That kind of exchange always happens when you love. It is the heart of Jesus’ saving work on the Cross.

Lesson 3: Truth for a Grace-less Man 31 ● In high school, if you are friendly with a person that others consider a “loser,” then you are consid- ered a loser as well. Their disdain comes on you. ● To be compassionate to this woman means that Jesus takes upon himself the curse that society has put on her. Only twenty years after Jesus’ death, Paul writes, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). ● Jesus’ forgiveness of this woman is like writing out a check for a billion dollars. At the Cross, he puts the money behind the check. In other words, the mini-substitution we see in this story looks forward to Jesus’ substitution of his life for her sins.

Q11. If Jesus is suffering in this scene from his identification with this woman, then when she weeps at his feet and feels the disdain of Simon and his friends, what is she doing in relationship to Jesus’ suffering? She is joining Christ in his suffering. Remember, her suffering is not redemptive, but nevertheless it is real suffering. The Christian life is a joining with Christ in his sufferings. This is a basic pattern of the New Testament. (See Colossians 1:24, Philippians 3:10, 2 Corinthians 4:8-10.)

Scholar Dietrich Bonhoeffer “Being swept into the messianic sufferings of God in Christ happens in the most varied ways in the New Testament.... through the actions of the woman who was a sinner.”8

5. Grace and Law 10 mins

Let’s think about this woman’s adultery and its impact.

Q. Assuming that her sin is adultery, does Jesus imply that adultery is okay? No.

Q12. In this whole story, including the parable, how does Jesus indicate that adultery is wrong? Teach what they do not say. ● Forgiveness is the center of Jesus’ parable to Simon. The woman is a sinner who needs forgiveness, like the debtor. ● Jesus tells the woman her sins are forgiven. You only forgive someone when they have done something wrong. In Jesus’ compassion, he does not minimize God’s law. He perfectly combines compassion and truth, compassion and justice.

Modern Culture: Adultery ● In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that we can commit adultery in our hearts just by how we look at another person (Matthew 5:27, 28). He affirms and strengthens the Old Testament prohibi- tion against adultery and sexual sin. ● Our modern culture has secularized grace. That is, it has removed God from grace. Secularism takes the fruits of Christianity and throws away the heart. When grace becomes secularized, it becomes a law, a demand, i.e. we must extend grace, even to the extent that adultery or sexual sin is no longer wrong. Everyone is to be accepted as they are.

8 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Meditations on the Cross, ed. Manfred Weber (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1998), 61. 32 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study ● A definition of modern religious liberalism: “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” —H. Richard Niebuhr

Chart of Grace-Law ● Grace-Without-Law Cliff. Sin is always accepted even if the person doesn’t repent. There are no absolutes. God is like Santa Claus, liking everybody. ● Law-Without-Grace Cliff. Sin is taken seriously but no room for grace. There are absolutes. God is a stern, moral judge.

No Truth– Grace Only T R U T H

No Grace– A

Truth Only N D

C E

6. Shalom 5 mins

Let’s look at the last thing Jesus says.

Q13. Why do you think Jesus closes with this blessing, “Your faith has saved you, go in peace”? Why does he bless her? Teach what they don’t say. It is what Jesus will tell someone after he has healed them. This is like a healing miracle, except instead of healing her body, he is healing her soul and her social standing.

Q. Why doesn’t Jesus say to the woman, “Your love has saved you”? Teach what they don’t say. The whole point of the story is that our doing, our obedience, doesn’t save us. What saves us is our brokenness. Faith means that you have a huge view of your sin and an equally big picture of a forgiving God.

Literary Insight: Shalom Shalom, the Hebrew and Aramaic word behind “peace,” means more than “not fighting.” It means a community characterized by peace, prosperity, unity, and love. It is a piece of heaven on earth.

Lesson 3: Truth for a Grace-less Man 33 Q14. What does shalom have to do with what Jesus has done in this mealtime community? Teach what they don’t say. Jesus created a community of shalom by his bold love out of this mealtime group. He created shalom for this woman and these men. He brought justice for the weak. He empowered the downtrodden outsider.

Q. What kind of community is Jesus creating by the way he handles this prominent man and this despised woman? ● A community where man and woman are treated equal before God. ● A community that empowers the weak—in this case, a woman. ● A community where justice is done, where favoritism isn’t given to the prominent and powerful.

Scholar Kenneth Bailey “In a man’s world and at a banquet of men, a despised woman is set forth as a heroine of faith, repentance, and devotion. She is the champion in these regards over a man. The inherent worth of women and the fact that the ministry of Jesus is for women and men is powerfully affirmed in this drama.”9

Q. Do you think Simon ever “got it”? Various answers. Historical Background: Names in the Gospels There are two reasons for thinking that Simon “got it.” The first is that we know what Simon was thinking about Jesus in some detail. It is the kind of information only Simon could have told. Secondly, we know Simon’s name. Since we know his name, it is quite possible he was known in the Jewish community and likely the person that told Luke this story.10

Q. What are some reflections on this lesson? What struck you about Jesus or how you see yourself? (You can ask these questions here, or you can proceed to the Lesson Application.)

9 Bailey, Poet and Peasant, 21. 10 Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony (Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge, U.K.: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006), 40, 45-47. 34 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study Lesson 3 Application

Q. What is difficult about balancing truth and grace in relationships?

Q. What does balancing truth and grace drive you to? Prayer. You have to be led by the Spirit. Love is far too complex to do on your own.

Reflecting on honesty.

Q. What are you like with honesty? How do you tend to be bad at it?

Q. What can you learn from Jesus and how he is honest with Simon?

Reflecting on emotions.

Q. If Jesus is upset at how Simon treated him (what the lesson teaches), what can we learn from Jesus how he handles his emotions?

Reflecting on forgiveness.

Case Study: A Young Wife Her 13-year-old son walked into their bedroom when she was in bed with a man from their church. Even though she was a Christian, she never got over the guilt and the shame. She lived with the pain of her infidelity her whole life. Just after her husband’s death 45 years later, she finally confessed to her daughter. Her daughter told her that she’d known about it her whole life. Her mom slipped into depression the following day and never came out of it.

Q. What did this wife and mom need to hear?

Q. How does knowing you are forgiven liberate you?

Reflecting on substitution.

Q. If your spouse (or friend, co-worker, child, etc) does something you don’t like and you feel hurt, what are emotional ways you can exact a price?

Q. How does love absorb evil?

Lesson 3: Truth for a Grace-less Man 35 Q. What kind of substitution are you doing when you choose to overlook a sin against you?

36 Grace Through the Eyes of Jesus Interactive Bible Study