LUKE 7:36-50
INNOCUOUS INTRUDER INSPIRES INSTRUCTIONS
I: THE INTELLECTUAL: LUKE 7:36
A. Interest.
B. Intimidate.
C. Indulgence.
II. THE INTRUDER: LUKE 7:37-38
A, Irony.
B. Invisibility.
C. Indelible.
III. THE INCARNATE: LUKE 7:39-50
A. Intuitiveness.
B. Instructions.
C. Inclusion.
Unlike the previous “Supper Scene” with Matthew, this one with Simon is different. In the first of this series, we see where Matthew was so proud to introduce his newfound Friend to his friends by throwing a party. By giving this party, it is evident that Matthew had made the decision to believe in Jesus, and to embrace Him as his Saviour. He had left all to follow this Rabbi, and he was proud to proclaim Him as his newfound Friend. Indeed, he was proud to announce to all that he was going to follow this Man of Galilee.
However, the scene we have in Luke’s gospel concerning this Simon is different. Edersheim, in his voluminous work on, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, details an interesting picture of this entire episode and we find, according to this Jewish author, a different setting of this meal than the one where Matthew honored Jesus. This will be discussed shortly.
It is at this feast given by Simon where we see a lady enter and bathe the feet of the Master with her tears. This episode happened sometime in the earlier part of the ministry of Jesus. We see a similar scene at the close of the ministry of Jesus, where a woman enters the house where Jesus sat at mealtime, and bathes His head with perfume. Again, Edersheim likens these two events to the two times of the cleansing of the Temple by Jesus-one at the start and the other of His ministry. Edersheim also debates whether this lady was Mary or someone else. What he does say about the event as they unfold in Luke is that an anonymous woman entered the house and did something so unique that stands as a symbol of deep devotion.
This event happened sometime around the raising of the Widow of Nain’s son. Jesus was now popular and many heard Him preach in the streets and the countryside. He was attracting many people who were curious about Him and there were many of these curious people who embraced Him as their Saviour. Such was the woman of our text, but not the host of this meal as provided by Simon the Pharisee.
I. INTELLECTUAL: I named the first part of my sermon concerning the host-Simon-as the smart one. The reason for this title is that he was a Pharisee. We can say all we want to say about this group and many things have been spoken about them. Regardless of what we say concerning them, the one thing we cannot deny them is the fact that they were very smart. It has been estimated that during the ministry of Jesus, there were only approximately 30,000 Pharisees in Israel. These were the ones who knew the Law; these were the ones who could argue even the minutest points about the Law; and, they usually won. They were the Purists of old Israel. They were the intellectuals, the brainy ones, the ones who could argue well and they were the ones who wanted to keep the law and the land pure from the influence of the pagans who surrounded the nation of Israel.
A case in point to prove the intellectual superiority of this group is the fact that God chose one of them to write nearly half of the New Testament to prove to his fellow Jews that the old had passed and that a new day had dawned upon Israel with the coming of Christ. That man’s name was Saul of Tarsus. Simon was one of this group.
As I read the Scripture before me, I see where this Simon was not a believer in Jesus, but he had a great deal of Interest in Him. I do not find where he openly believed in this Jesus before or after the meal, he gave in honor of Christ. What I do find is that Simon had a great deal of interest in Him, probably from hearing Him preach and from the rumors of His healing powers. Wanting to find out more about Jesus, he decided that he would give a feast for Him, and at the meal, he could talk more candidly to Jesus about who He was and from where did He come. I do not think that Simon was interested in becoming a believer in Jesus, but rather he wanted to “convert” Jesus to his way of thinking. Simon’s mind was trained to discern facts, facts and more facts, and the only way to get those facts straight in his mind would be to invite Jesus to come to his house for an informal meal. Somehow, he was able to approach Jesus, make the invitation, and then proceed with the meal. However, I feel that Jesus, the ever-vigilant One, knew what He was doing and Simon’s intent, yet He went for a decent meal and to talk to Simon.
I also notice something else about Simon: he was not a good Host. This fact is later borne out by the Master when Jesus begins to talk to him about the lack of common courtesy He was not shown when He entered Simon’s home. I am not certain as to why Simon did not show these common courtesies to Jesus, i.e., no water for Jesus to wash His feet, no Oriental kiss of welcoming Him to his home and no perfume to help way lay the smell of the dust and odors Jesus would encounter upon walking in the open and dusty lands of Israel. I have to ask myself if these missing items of welcoming was intentional or were they merely oversights? Surely, a man of Simon’s intellect would know the standard routine of welcoming someone into his home. Was this a way that Simon had to set the stage for an attempt to batter Jesus later with questions about the Law and Himself? Was Simon sending hints to Jesus that this was not going to be a give and take type of an encounter? Simon’s heart was revealed in part when the lady came to Jesus and bathed His feet with her tears. He passed quick judgment upon her without saying a word. I have a feeling that this Supper Scene was strategically set to Intimidate and humiliate Jesus. However, by the time the meal was concluded, Simon’s true heart was revealed to him and to his guests and his plans went awry.
Jesus knew from the start what He was up against and yet went anyways. He went not to embarrass Simon, but to convert him. He went knowing that Simon was out to embarrass Him, but He went anyways. I am amazed at Jesus. He went places, endured much, received much criticisms and hatred by people yet He never lost His cool. He went where He was really not wanted. He endured much from Satan’s minions, yet He did it all to bring the truth to the world in order to save it-if people would only yield to Him.
Besides this INTELLECTUAL having a form of Interest in Jesus, enough to try and to Intimidate Him, Simon proved to be Indulgent to the lady who came to see Jesus. Again, I have to ask myself if this was a set up of some form of entrapment upon Jesus. When this lady entered, she went to Jesus and began to cry as she stood at His feet. Many are aware of the custom of eating in that day, and this meal was served in that typical custom of reclining on cushions or the floor. As such, the one who was eating had his legs and feet extended outward and to the side of the dishes set before him. This lady came into Simon’s house-he who was a purist, who would never associate with such a lady of the evening, came into the midst of the group of men, went to Jesus and stood at His feet. The Scriptures tells us that Simon recognized her as a lady of ill repute and he watched to see what Jesus was going to do.
Normally, such a woman coming into a home like Simon’s would be ushered out, or used for carnal reasons when no one was around. Yet, there she stood and Simon did not move a muscle or voice a word to rid his pure and clean home of such sin. Instead, he watched what Jesus was going to do and thought things in his heart. So far, his plans were not going as he had planned.
Regardless of the situation, I see that our Master never castigated her. He never degraded her by any actions. He never moved a muscle nor withdrew His feet from her tears. He reclined and ate while the Host looked on and wondered at this unusual scene. It is interesting how this woman showed herself-she had to know where the meal was being served. Was she there before with just Simon? He knew her and did not eject her. How strange!!! If I am correct, I have to assume that this lady was probably embarrassed upon coming there-she knew her reputation these men had of her. I wonder if she knew that her mission that night concerned her newfound Saviour. What ever it was, when she made her way to the men at meal, she stood at the feet of Jesus and she cried. Why?
II. THE INTRUDER: The Bible is not clear as to the time she entered the house. It does not tell us how she was able to enter or how she knew where the meal was being served. All we know is that when she came to the assembled men at the meal, she approached Jesus and that was as far as she went. We can hypothesize about her mission-whether she was asked to come to snare Jesus or to worship Him. Added questions surface to my mind. If she was asked to come to snare Jesus then she was alerted as to His being there and where He probably was reclining. Alternatively, did she see Him enter the house and felt that she must go to worship Him, regardless of what would happen once inside the house?
I do not have all the answers, but I see an Irony in these verses. When she came in and stood at the feet of Jesus, she accepted Him as her Saviour. Maybe she believed in Him before this time and she entered the house at her own risks just to worship Him. Maybe, just maybe, she entered the house with nefarious designs, but when she met Him, there was something about Him that convicted her of her sins and she accepted Him there on the spot-to be her Saviour. Regardless as to the time when she accepted Him as her Redeemer, she came to Him, stood there at His feet and cried. Her emotions overtook her and she bowed at His feet, bathing them with her tears, wiping them with her hair, kissing His feet and putting perfume on them. All the time, Jesus never looked at her yet He knew her. Simon knew her and in his mind called her a woman of the evening.
The question then arises as to how this lady became a person that was there yet was not seen by Christ until later. It appears she was Innocuous. What she did that night to the feet of Jesus was harmless, non-offensive, and done out of pure love. While others watched, she proceeded to worship Him, while He never looked at her. She was impervious to the rest of the people in that room. Her heart of hearts took over her soul and body and she quaked under the weight of pure love for this her Saviour. She either had heard Him speak before or became a believer in Him or as she walked into that room that night and had one look at Him. She gave her heart to Him immediately for His redemption. Regardless of the time when she became a believer, she could not stop adoring Him and worshipping Him. Her actions were truly harmless and sincere. Oh, may my devotion be that open and sincere.
Besides the Irony and she being Innocuous to every one there, I feel that this INTRUDER left an Indelible mark on the pages of Holy Writ for all of us to see and study. Sometimes we feel that we have to worship our Lord in prescribed ways-not this lady. Sometimes we feel that to show any type of emotions in our devotion to Jesus is out of place and against all decorum-not this lady. She was never told that the only way to worship Christ was inside a building called a church. She was never told that true repentance and forgiveness of one’s sins must never be noted by any outside emotions. She was never briefed on what was the proper way to worship Him. Instead, she worshiped Him at a private home and at mealtime. She worshiped Him alone amidst all those, which were there that night. She cried openly and unashamedly with her devotion to her new Saviour. She did not care who was there; she did not care if she cried; and, she did not care if Jesus ever looked at her or not-she had found Him and that was all she needed. Oh, how I wish we were freer in our services of worship. Oh, how I wish that we would take a closer look at this woman and her Indelible way she shows us how to worship. I believe that the world is crying out for something that is real and genuine and that can be felt on the inside of man’s being. It is too bad that we have overlooked the indelible stamp of worship she has given us and we have boxed into a neat little package the proper way to worship Jesus. We need to be more expressive in our love for Him. We need to cry over our sins and rejoice over His forgiveness. This nameless lady has shown us some real gems-let us take them to ourselves, polish them, and set them upon the mantel of our hearts. Let us learn from her-the value of allowing our emotions help us to worship Him better.
III. THE INCARNATE: Besides the host, the woman and others who could have been there, there is One who was the Center of attraction and that One was Christ. What He did and what He said shocked the attendees at that meal. Not only did He expose the duplicity of the hosts, but He also forgave a woman who came into the house with her own set of reasons and wound up anointing Jesus with her tears. As I noted earlier, there are two scenes in the New Testament where Jesus is anointed. One is in these verses of Scriptures, at the beginning or near the beginning of His ministry on Earth and the other one was at the close of His time to be with man before He was offered up as the Sacrifice for our sins. The two anointing are different. Here His feet are anointed with tears-He had a long way to walk on this Earth before He was finished with His mission. The last anointing was on His head: He was to lay down His life for mankind and offer up His head and body for the sacrifice for all of us.
In this part of the Scriptures I see where the INCARNATE was very Intuitive, when He saw inside of Simon’s heart and mind. Luke records that Simon thought negative things in his heart about Jesus and this sinful lady. How did he, Simon, know this lady? In his heart and mind, he thought that if Jesus was truly a prophet as He claimed to be, then why did He allow this sinful lady touch his feet in public. While Simon thought on these things he no doubt decided that Jesus was a fake and that if He were truly of God, He would recoil at the touching of His feet by such a lady. Jesus knew what Simon was thinking intuitively and began His questioning of debt and forgiveness. This had to rattle Simon. “How could this Rabbi know what I was thinking?” thought Simon.
Before Simon could recover from this inner revelation of him in front of all of the guests, Jesus turned-up the heat on this duplicitous man by asking him why was He not shown the common courtesy offered to everybody when any one entered a house in that time? With this Inquisition, Jesus exposed Simon to every person there the real reason for the treatment He had just received. Jesus simply informed all by these series of questions, that Simon did not ask Him to come to his house so he, Simon, could become a believer in Jesus. No, Simon invited Jesus to try and prove to himself and to all that Jesus was not who He claimed to be. The tables were turned on Simon due to his treatment of Jesus at this meal and Simon was exposed as a typical Pharisee who was brilliant but rude.
I stand amazed at this scene before me. Jesus knew from the start what Simon was trying to do and He waited until the opportune time to expose a man with a wicked heart and devious manners. Simon had orchestrated the entire evening-even securing the lady of the night, to prove that Jesus was just a charlatan. Everything fell through for Simon. He did not treat Jesus with common courtesy; he arranged that the lady would be there; and, he was sure that Jesus would reveal Himself to be just an ordinary man. Nothing worked. When the lady did appear, she felt overcome by Jesus. She could not do anything but bow at His feet and cry, anointing them with her tears and wiping them with her hair. All the time that this was taking place, Jesus never looked at her but kept His steady eyes on Simon.
After exposing Simon as a fraud and as a mean spirited person, Jesus then turned to the lady who by now had to feel uncomfortable due to what Simon made her or paid her to do. All of that was over and Jesus spoke words of comfort to her by telling her that her sins were all forgiven. What a relief she must have felt as He pronounced her Inclusion into the ranks of the redeemed. She left that supper scene that night rejoicing that she had been forgiven of her sins. The Scriptures never tell us if Simon ever became a believer in Him or not, but we do know one thing, Simon went to his bed that night with a different view of Jesus than what he had before.
This was one “Supper Scene” which must be viewed in the light of the hypocrisy by Simon the Pharisee and of the holiness of Jesus.
