Sermon Central
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"Paying Back" To Jesus? Series
Contributed by Paul Clemente on Nov 29, 2011 (message contributor)
Summary: Follow the example of worship of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet!
Do we owe anything to God and why??
God has given us everything we need!
In our passage this morning we will learn from a woman who tried to pay back God. What did God say about it? Please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke; we are now in Chapter 7; we will look at v36-50 today; we will go back to v1 of Luke 7 next week.
Before reading our text, let us remind ourselves of what Jesus Christ has done so far through the Gospel of Luke:
Jesus started His ministry on earth in Luke 4; turn there briefly with me to v16-21….
Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Savior Messiah!
And look at v31…. v36….
Luke 7:21…..
And so, Jesus had publicly proclaimed Himself to be the Savior God Messiah and He had proven it with many miracles. Today we will learn how a Pharisee and a woman responded to this Jesus. Before we read the passage, let us define what a Pharisee is.
We note in Luke 5:30 “But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ’sinners’?"
And we read in Luke 6:6-7, “The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.”
The Pharisees were a group of trained religious men so set in their beliefs that they even separated themselves from other sects and other teachers of God’s Law. The Pharisees were religious men but they were so prideful and stubborn that Jesus constantly rebuked them. But now we see one who invites Jesus to dinner!
Read along with me Luke 7:36-50….
Why do you think the Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner??
We note in v39 that the Pharisee, whose name is Simon, was judging Jesus. But in v40 we note Simon calling Jesus a Teacher! Simon the Pharisee noted that Jesus was a prophet and a teacher, and no doubt, Simon also heard and maybe even witnessed the miracles of Jesus. Simon was curious about Jesus but yet he questioned Jesus!
Simon the Pharisee was a “seeker”!
Simon was wondering about this Jesus Christ!
And how did Jesus respond to this “seeker” Simon?
Jesus accepted “Seeker” Simon’s invitation for fellowship but also taught him a lesson!
We also see a woman in the story. She wasn’t invited to the dinner but she showed up with a jar of perfume. We need to note that during Jesus’ time whenever someone important is invited to dinner, the home is open to anyone; and so this woman, obviously who had knowledge about Jesus, went right to Jesus, wept and washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, her hair, and the expensive perfume she brought!
Was that woman a “seeker” like Simon??
What was that woman’s intent in finding Jesus??
The woman came to Jesus to worship Him!
And what did Jesus say about her in v50??
The woman heard about Jesus and likely witnessed the many miracles by Jesus then she took action and went directly to Jesus! I’ve said this often and we see it here again: True faith is taking action in what you believe! How is our faith compared to this woman?
The woman knew she needed to be saved from her sins and she believed Jesus as her God and only Savior! She worshiped Jesus Christ! How did she worship Jesus?
The woman was aware that the public knew who she was but she went ahead and sought out Jesus anyway! How did she worship Christ?
1. She sought out Jesus and was not ashamed to be in public with Christ!
2. She wept at Jesus’ feet! (What do you think that meant??)
Her tears signified her sincerity of worship and adoration of Jesus Christ!
3. She washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and hair!
(What do you think that meant?)
What did Jesus teach when He washed the disciples’ feet?
4. She kissed Jesus’ feet! (What do you think that meant??)
Jesus commented how much she loved Him!
5. She poured a jar of perfume at Jesus’ feet!
What is an alabaster jar of perfume worth? We read in the Gospel of Mark, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor."
The woman poured about a year’s wages on Jesus’ feet! What did that mean?
