I. Introduction
A. So, Simon invited me to his house for dinner, and I went because I knew some of the best of our society would be there.
a. But I also went because I heard he was going to be inviting the man called Jesus.
b. If the stories about him are true it’s about time he mingled with the right people.
c. He’s famous all over Israel as a man who can perform miracles, but he surrounds himself with the worst people.
i. Tax collectors, filthy fisherman.
ii. Some say he even allows women to travel with him, and not just as servants.
d. The dinner party was wonderfully arrayed, as I knew it would be.
e. We all arrived in anxious anticipation of our meeting with the man Jesus.
f. When he arrived I must say I was disappointed.
i. He was dressed simply (everyone knows you dress for a dinner party).
ii. He didn’t have servants with him.
iii. Who goes to a party without any personal servants?
iv. And he sure didn’t look all that special.
g. Well, the dinner party begins, and I’m sure would have gone off spectacularly in spite of the “honored” guest’s attire; except that the worst possible thing happens.
h. Just as we are reclining at the table the most despicable woman enters the room.
i. A woman with a reputation, if you know what I mean.
j. If I was Simon I would want to know who let her in the house and make sure he was never employed in society again.
k. The next part makes me shiver every time I think about it.
l. That woman, if you even want to call her that, falls at Jesus’ feet weeping uncontrollably, muttering unintelligible words.
m. She then dries his feet with her hair!
n. What does this Jesus do?
i. He acts as if he enjoys it!
ii. Then she takes out a bottle of expensive perfume, where a woman like that could get expensive perfume like that is a crime in itself.
iii. She takes out this perfume and pours it on the man’s feet.
o. Does he rebuke her?
p. Does he recoil at the touch of this sinful woman?
q. Simon reacts, of course, as we all would have; with disgust and indignation.
r. But Jesus rebukes him, and then has the gall to tell the woman her sins are forgiven, that her faith has saved her.
B. ***Let’s rewind, and look at the story from a different angle***
C. Simon the Pharisee invited me to his house for dinner; dinner parties among society tend to be opportunities for everyone to brag about how much they have, at a time when many of our people are starving and are oppressed at the hands of our own leaders and the hands of the Romans.
a. But I went because I heard that Jesus was going to be there.
b. He’s famous all over Israel as a man who can perform miracles.
i. There are rumors that he is more than a man.
ii. He certainly is no respecter of persons; he ministers to the meek and lowly, and he ministers to the high and mighty.
c. We all arrived in anxious anticipation of our meeting with Jesus.
d. He arrived in the simple garb of a rabbi, with no entourage
e. There wasn’t anything about his appearance that screamed “this is the Messiah,” except for one.
i. When he looked at you he seemed to know you.
f. Then the most unexpected thing happened.
g. Every time I think about it my heart leaps within me.
i. A woman entered the room, weeping uncontrollably.
ii. She was a woman with a reputation as a prostitute.
iii. The look on the faces of most of the guests, and especially Simon, was one of horror.
iv. But she seemed so broken, so remorseful.
h. She fell at Jesus’ feet weeping uncontrollably.
i. It was obvious that the shame and embarrassment she was currently subjecting herself to was nothing to the shame and embarrassment she felt because of her sin.
ii. Jesus looked at her only with compassion, and with love.
i. She then took out a bottle of expensive perfume (I wonder how long she saved her money to purchase it), and poured it on his feet.
j. Simon, the fool that he is, was indignant.
k. But Jesus rebuked him and did the most beautiful thing.
l. He told her her sins were forgiven; that her faith had saved her.
D. ***Now let’s read the story: Luke 7:36-50***
a. What’s the point of an encounter like this?
b. The power of love, and the power of forgiveness, in breaking the chains of sin.
c. Yes, but it is deeper than that.
d. Notice that the bulk of this passage deals with the Pharisee, his response to the sinful woman, and Jesus’ response to the Pharisee.
e. The point of the passage is that before we can ever get to the “your sins are forgiven stage” there is a fundamental shift that must take place within us.
f. That’s what we’re going to spend the rest of the morning talking about.
II. The Wrong Kind of Righteousness
A. What is righteousness?
a. Righteousness is defined as the state of acting morally.
b. In other words, doing the right thing.
c. But Biblically it goes even beyond that.
i. To live righteously, Biblically, is to passionately pursue the right way, the right path.
B. Doesn’t this Pharisee want the right way, the right path?
a. Isn’t he acting morally?
C. Here’s the thing.
D. The Pharisee’s path was correct (at least initially)
a. He was pursuing righteousness.
b. That is a good thing.
E. The Pharisee’s assessment was correct.
a. This woman was a sinner.
F. But here is the problem.
a. His righteousness had become self-righteousness.
b. Righteousness is the path to life.
c. Self-righteousness is a kind of spiritual pride, and Proverbs says pride goeth before destruction.
G. Righteousness is of God.
H. Self-righteousness is sin.
III. The Sin of Self-Righteousness
A. Why is self-righteousness sin?
a. Why is the Pharisee’s reaction to the sinful woman as much a sin as her sinful life?
b. The beginning of the answer to this question is verse 47 – “He who has been forgiven little loves little.”
B. This is the danger that every Christian who has been in the faith awhile faces.
a. We can forget where we came from.
b. We can forget that the change in our life is a result of the righteousness, grace, and mercy of God and not our own effort.
c. We can forget that apart from the love of Christ we are no better than the worst of sinners.
d. And so we skew our view of righteousness.
C. Self-righteousness says “I am the standard” when God should be the standard
D. Self-righteousness looks at the sinner with contempt, while God looks at the broken person behind the sin.
E. Self-righteousness loves self, while true righteousness subjugates self to the will of God.
F. Self-righteousness glories in our achievements for God, whereas true righteousness recognizes that accolades all belong to God.
G. How would you view the sinful woman who walks into the room?
a. Through the eyes of the Pharisee or through the eyes of Jesus?
IV. Righteous Love
A. Jesus teaches the Pharisee a lesson.
a. Remember from where you came.
b. Remember why you are who you are
c. It is only because of Christ’s love and mercy.
B. So, before you look at that person with hate or contempt check your own life.
C. Before you condemn the sin in someone else’s life, remember the compassion God had for you.
D. It is a good thing to stand for righteousness.
a. It is a good thing to be against sin.
b. To stand for what is right.
c. To fight for what is right.
E. However righteous love always keeps these things in mind.
a. The standard is not my opinion, it is God’s Word.
b. While Jesus always called sinners to repentance, he never looked at them with contempt.
