The Love Of The Forgiven Luke 7:33 Series

THE LOVE OF THE FORGIVEN

Luke 7:33-50

Bob Marcaurelle bmarcaurelle@charter.net

From the clatter and clash of the crowds of Galilee who stood for or against Jesus, Luke tells us of one beautiful woman who stepped from the crowd, found cleansing and changing, and showered our Lord with grateful love.

The religious snobs called her a “sinner”, but people like her bring honor to the word , for every congregation of saints is composed of those who acknowledge that they are sinners - sinners saved by the grace of a merciful God. In a way, what we have here is the third and the greatest miracle recorded by Luke since the delivery of the Sermon on the Mount.

The first miracle, the healing of the Centurion’s servant (Lk. 7:1) was great, because it involved the restoration of health.

The second miracle, the raising of the widow’s son at Nain (Lk. 7:11) was greater, because it involved the restoration of life.

But the third miracle, the salvation of a Galilean prostitute, was the greatest, because it involved the restoration of a soul to God.

Warren Wiersbie said it met the greatest need, produced the greatest results and cost the greatest price. The two characters in the drama are Simon, the self-righteous churchman who served his god faithfully, but in cold blood and this woman who served her God faithfully with warm hearted devotion. Nowhere in the Bible do we see more clearly the difference between a church member, who has religion, and a child of God, who has Jesus. Look first at...

I. THE SPLENDID SCENE (7:36)

Jesus fame was spreading throughout the land. He was being called a “great prophet” and the people’s verdict was “God has visited His people” (Lk. 7:16-17).

But this “prophet” had little in common with the religious leaders. He associated with sinful people to tell them of God’s great love and was labeled by these leaders, “A glutton and a drunkard and a friend of...sinners” (Lk. 7:34).

Not content merely to be different, Jesus took the offensive against their self-righteous hypocrisy and preached, “The Pharisees and experts in the Bible rejected God’s purposes for themselves because they were not baptized by John” (Lk. 7:30)

In other words, these supercilious, self-righteous, church-going snobs needed to take their stand with prostitutes and thieves and foul mouthed folk and confess and forsake their sins. This was more than the Pharisees could take, and in a few days their clash with Jesus would break out into open warfare.

Today we view a minor skirmish that took place before the outbreak of war. Jesus was in some Galilean town and a Pharisee named Simon invited Him to dinner. We have no idea who this Simon was. His name was common (there are several mentioned in the New Testament) and there is no evidence that he is Simon the leper, in whose home in Bethany, another woman anointed the feet of Jesus (Matt. 26:6).

Neither do we know why he invited Jesus. It was not out of any commitment to Christ for everything in the story points to his dislike of the Lord. Hospitality was a gracious art in Palestine and common courtesy to guest involved three things.

At the door the host would place his hand on the guest’s shoulder and give him the kiss of peace or welcome. Since those were the days of dirt roads and sandals, servants would come and pour cool water on the feet of the guest. Finally, a touch of oil or sweet smelling spice was placed on the head a sign of joy (Is. 61:3). Not a one of these was done for Jesus (v. 44-45).

Usually there were many guests when a Rabbi or teacher was present. Can you imagine the embarrassment when Jesus was snubbed, and treated like an intruder? Why then did he invite the Lord? It could have been curiosity. It could have been to criticize Him and expose Him as a false prophet. It could even have been to feed his own pride by having a famous person in him home. Barclay calls him a “collector of celebrities.”

The simple truth is, we do not know. But this we do know, Jesus goes anywhere He is invited. Even self-righteous sinners are offered the Father’s love.

Entering the banquet hall Jesus and the other guests would lie on their side on cushions spread around the extremely low table. Leaning on their left arm and eating with their right they would bend their knees so their feet would point toward the wall. A strange custom of that day was to have cushions all around the wall so people other than the invited guests could come in and listen to the discussion and conversation. This was especially true when a famous Rabbi, like Jesus, was the guest of honor. And so we have a splendid scene that is filled with not-so-splendid people, who in their self righteousness, feel they are too good to take their stand with sinners.