In Jesus Holy Name June 13, 2010
Text: Luke 7:36-50 Redeemer
“A Harlot Crashes the Party”
Dallas Willard a brilliant Christian thinker, theologian and professor at USC School of Philosophy in his book “Divine Conspiracy” writes:
“Jesus offers himself as God’s doorway into a life that is truly life.” He has invited us “to be His apprentices in eternal living” by imitating him. (Dallas Willard... Divine Conspiracy p. 15-17)
He slipped into our world through the back roads and outlying districts of one of the least important places on earth and has allowed his program for human history to unfold ever so slowly though the centuries.#
We know that the Almighty creator of the universe “established a beachhead in an ordinary human existence in the person of Jesus. It is through the Gospels, the eye witness accounts of his life, death and resurrection that we watch Jesus step into the public arena to expose his life in various public settings to make God’s love and forgiveness available to the world.
The Gospel of Mark begins: “Jesus came to Galilee announcing the good news from God.” In Matthew’s account of Jesus we find this well known phrase: Jesus came preaching: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (4:17) This is simply a call to each of us to reconsider how we have been approaching life. Jesus invites us to be involved with God and His eternal purposes to bring those who are spiritually hungry, the message of forgiveness. We are to be the human factor in the lives of those in whom the Holy Spirit is already at work but they need a human voice and hand to bring them to the knowledge of God’s love.
Jesus began his ministry at the north end of the Sea of Galilee, the city of Capernaum. Where ever there were synagogues his status as a Rabbi opened doors for him to teach. His speaking in synagogues allowed him to penetrate the social fabric of his people because the synagogue was the central focus of life in the Jewish community.
That’s why Matthew writes: “Jesus traveled all through Galilee teaching in the Jewish synagogues everywhere preaching the Good news about the Kingdom of God… He healed every kind of sickness and disease. The report of his miracles spread far beyond the borders of Galilee so that sick people came to him from Syria. Enormous crowds followed him wherever he went, people from Galilee, the Ten Cities, Jerusalem, Jericho and all over Judea, even from across the Jordan.” (Matt 4:24)
“All of which brings us to the home of a very “nice” man named Simon, a Pharisee who had invited Jesus to dinner in his home in Capernaum. According to custom, Simon’s honored guests would have reclined around a great serving table, while uninvited guests would be allowed to stand silently around the perimeter of the room.
In a day when streets were dusty and dirty and people scuffed around in sandals, it was expected that a good host would instruct a slave to wash the feet of his guests. If the host wanted to show his honored visitor special esteem, he would do the job himself. Neither Simon, nor the Pharisee’s lowest servant, greeted Jesus with this customary gesture of hospitality.
Simon’s slights might never have made it into Scripture if his dinner and his discussion hadn’t been interrupted. The cause of the commotion was the arrival of a woman from the community; a woman who had what used to be called a “sullied reputation.” Having heard Jesus was dining at Simon’s house, she decided to go and see if she could get close to the Rabbi who spoke seriously of sin and sincerely about forgiveness and salvation.
Suddenly there she was, down on the floor by Jesus, tears of gratitude pouring down on his feet.
The Holy Spirit had been at work convicting her conscience. In John 16 Jesus said: “I will send the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, and when He comes He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” So, undeserving, she dared not greet Jesus with a kiss upon his cheek, or His hand. Unworthy she could not bring herself to anoint His head with oil. She did what she felt appropriate… she knelt down and wiped away the tears with her hair, and then anointed the feet of Jesus.
What a shocking scene for Simon and his fellow Pharisees. He really could not force her out of the house… it was too late for that… so in his mind he battled a surge of doubt about Jesus. “If this man were a prophet” he mused in his mind… “then he would know what kind of woman this is, for she is a sinner.”
Of course, good manners prevented Simon from verbally voicing his opinions. Even so, the Lord, who knows the secrets of every heart, spoke to Simon, just as if the Pharisee’s thoughts had been spoken out loud. Jesus who had endured Simon’s public insults, spoke up in defense of the woman who had wept at his feet.
Jesus then tells a mini parable about a man who lent money to two people: $50,000 to one and $5.00 to the other, let’s say. When they could not repay, the man simply forgave the debts. “Now Simon,” Jesus asks, “Which one will love the man most?” Simon replied that it would be the one who had owed most.
That is correct. Jesus now positions Simon and the street walker side by side to compare their hearts.
Simon, look at this woman, he said. When I entered your home, you didn’t bother to offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You refused me the customary kiss of greeting, but she has kissed my feet again and again from the time I first came in. You neglected the usual courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has covered my feet with rare perfume….. Yes, her sins are many… they are forgiven, for she loved me much, but the one who is forgiven little, shows little love. (Luke 7:44-47)
Only after He had told a mini parable for Simon’s benefit does Jesus turn and speak to the weeping woman. “Your sins are forgiven….Your faith has save you. Go in peace.”
That is the message from the Throne of God, that Jesus came to bring. Throughout his life He fulfilled all the laws which Simon, that woman, you and I, have broken. In His death He carried all the sins of Simon, that woman, you and I have committed to the cross. So that we might be forgiven an innocent Jesus was nailed to a cross, and because He gave his life as a perfect substitute, all who believe on Him will not perish but have everlasting life. His resurrection is the guarantee.
Forgiven… what great news! It should make us rejoice & sing!…. But I’m afraid that this gift of love has become a bumper sticker theology. You are familiar with the words: “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” So let me ask you a question. “Just forgiven? Is that all there is to being a Christian?”
This bumper sticker theology has leaped out of traffice and onto Christian trinkets. There is a little bookmark adorned with flowers, bows, green sprigs, and fourteen tiny pink hearts, with a tassel on the top. In the center is a wide-eyed teddy bear that looks as if it might have inadvertently just done something naughty. He message below is… as you will now expect… Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.”# (Dallas Willard Divine Conspiracy p. 36)
Well, it certainly needs to be said that Christians are forgiven and forgiveness does not depend on us being perfect. But what the bumper sticker theology really communicates is that forgiveness alone is what Christianity is all about. It says that you can have forgiveness while in every other respect your life style, your behavior is not different from that of others who have no faith in Jesus at all.
It is true that God is in the business of forgiveness but he does not leave the character of one’s heart and life untouched. Helmut Thielicke, theologian, points out that we often wonder if the celebrities who advertise foods and beverages actually consume what they are selling. He goes on to say that this is the very question most pressing for those of us who claim to follow Jesus. Surely something has gone wrong when moral failures are so massive and widespread among us. Perhaps we are not eating what we are selling.#
Should we not take then more seriously the words of Jesus when he said: “If you love me then you will obey my commands.” (John 14:15) Who ever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” Don’t we pray… “forgive us our trespasses just as we forgive those who trespass against us…” It is an action of love, an action of obedience.
The primary act of faith is forgiving. It is the characteristic act of God, the Father of Jesus Christ. If we follow him in faith, it is the first thing we do in our following.#
“It is not easy, I do not pretend to do it well. Nor does anyone else I know. I forgive others because I love Jesus and he has forgiven me. Sometimes my emotions do not want to forgive…. But I know it is an act of my will, not my feelings. I forgive in a stumbling search to imitate Jesus. I see people here who practice forgiveness with love. They have heard the words of Jesus and are following him in an act of faith. Forgiveness is what holds us together.
Try it. You say we will every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer. Try it at a business meeting or a social gathering, particularly if the course of the talk is arousing your antagonism. Instead of counting to ten, say silently, “In the name of Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins.” If you do it often enough you may even be able to say the words out loud.# (from Robert Hoyer's book Seventy times Sever p. 22 & 29
