Hosting Jesus, The Vip (Luke 7:36-50) Series

Bovon recognizes this issue, and says this: "Luke is not interested in the exact moment that the forgiveness occurs."

Franc¸ois Bovon and Helmut Koester, Luke 1: A Commentary on the Gospel of Luke 1:1–9:50, Hermeneia—a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2002), 297.

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Our story ends, verse 50, with Jesus and the woman:

(50) Now, he said to the woman,

"Your faith has saved you.

Go in peace."

If we read verse 50 as Reformed Calvinists, working with a Reformation understanding of words like "faith" and "salvation," we're going to be a "bit" bothered by this verse.

Does faith save you?

Or does Jesus save you, by faith?

People reading these verses with strong interpretive filters find themselves wanting to give Jesus a little help here.

But I think what Jesus (and Luke) means by salvation here, is different from the way we use it. What does it mean to be "saved" in the gospel of Luke?

The easiest way to teach this is by cheating ahead to Luke 19:9, the conclusion to the story of the wee little man Zacchaeus.

(9) Now, Jesus said to him that

"Today, salvation to this house has come, ["salvation" is focused]

inasmuch as he too, a son of Abraham, he is." ["a son of Abraham" is focused]

To be saved, is to move from being outsider, outside of God's covenant community, to being welcomed, and forgiven, and accepted by God. When you welcome Jesus, God welcomes you, and invites you into this people. "Salvation" includes the hope of life after death, but the focus in Luke is on what you gain right now. Let's turn back to our story, Luke 7:50:

(50) Now, he said to the woman,

"Your faith has saved you.

Go in peace."

"Go in peace." That's another way to think about salvation. You are free to go in "shalom," peace. God brings you into a place of wholeness, and prosperity, of restored relationship with God and others. You become full members of the covenant community. You aren't defined by your past, by the terrible things you used to do. Jesus doesn't hold that against you. He forgives that.

I think this is a word that many Christians need to hear today. Jesus has forgiven you. You may remember your sinful past. You may know who you used to be, and everyone around you might remember that as well. There will always be a Pharisee who remembers your sin, and holds it against you.

But Jesus has forgiven you. You are clean, and forgiven. You don't need to go through life feeling dirty. You don't need to view yourself, the way the Pharisee views you.

And if you've received that forgiveness, and really value it, what should the end result be?

Astonishing love. If you've really received the grace God gives, you will love Jesus in a messy, teary-eyed way. People won't know what to make of you. They will look at you, and see the tears, and the snot, and the hair everywhere. But all the woman focuses on is Jesus.