FULLY REALIZED FORGIVENESS...The TEST of LOVE/Trust-II—Luke 7:36-50
Attention:
HITLER’s REALIZATION?
The following is presented as true yet many doubt its truth.
On September 28, 1918, during WW-I a Private Henry Tandey, a British soldier serving near the French village of Marcoing, encountered a wounded German soldier, but rather than shoot him, he spares the life of an upper 30-ish aged Lance Corporal.
As Tandey later told sources, during the final moments of that battle, as the German troops were in retreat, a wounded German soldier entered Tandey’s line of fire. “I took aim but couldn’t shoot a wounded man,” Tandey remembered, “so I let him go.” They were close enough to see into each other’s eyes. The German soldier nodded in thanks, & disappeared.
In another battle, Tandey would later earn a Victoria Cross for “conspicuous bravery.”
Tandey did not know the identity of the German soldier or the future atrocities to be associated with his act of 'forgiveness'. A photograph ran in London newspapers of Tandey carrying a wounded soldier at an earlier battle in Ypres, France in 1914. This scene was later portrayed on canvas in a painting by the Italian artist Fortunino Matania glorifying the Allied war effort.
Then British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, traveled to Germany in 1938 to engage Adolf Hitler in a last-ditch effort to avert another war in Europe. He was taken by the führer to his new country retreat in Bavaria. There, Hitler showed Chamberlain his copy of the Matania painting, commenting, “That’s the man who nearly shot me.”
Hitler would state in 1941, “When I returned from the War, I brought back home with me my experiences at the front; out of them I built my National Socialist community.”
Hitler didn’t fully realize his previous forgiveness received. He had a notorious lack of regard for life!
Thru these tests, one's authenticity becomes conclusive.
Jesus called Simon the Pharisee to task regarding two demonstrations of love.
A forgiveness that is fully Realized is reflected in a reciprocal/proportional appreciation.
!You can know whether God’s forgiveness is fully realized in your life!
?Where/How is that fully realized forgiveness tested?
9 tests of Realized Forgiveness.
Previously we found that Realized Forgiveness is tested in the crucible of...
1. RECOGNITION(:36-37a-b)
2. OPPORTUNITY(:36-37)
3—Realized Forgiveness is tested in the crucible of...
PERCEPTION(:38, 39)
Explanation:(38, 39)Contrast/Deserving vs. Undeserving
:38—“& stood at His feet behind Him weeping; & she began to wash His feet with her tears, & wiped them with the hair of her head; & she kissed His feet & anointed them with the fragrant oil.”
This anointing incident should not be confused or conflated with the similar incident recorded in Mat. 26:6-13, Mk. 14:3-9 & Jn. 12:1-8(which three seem to render the same event).—D. A. Carson, ‘The Gospel According to John’
The woman “stood” behind Jesus as He reclined at the table. “His feet” were thus openly bared behind Him as He faced the table. As she was standing, she was weeping. She purposely wet Jesus’ feet with her tears &, evidently bent down leaving her standing position, continuously “wiped” his feet with her hair.
She simultaneously “anointed” Jesus’ feet with the perfume. Jesus’ feet were thus beyond clean for they had the essence of sweetness upon them. This woman’s actions revealed the real heart of the inviter...the Pharisee(Explained Specifically in :44-46)....
1)The commonly acceptable thing to do for any guest would be to wash his feet—a task usually assigned to slaves(:44).
2)The uncommon thing to do was to weep in their presence & use those tears for cleansing.
3)The uncommon thing to do was to was to use one’s own hair as a towel for cleansing another’s feet.
4)The uncommon thing to do was to anoint the guest with overly expensive perfume...To treat this guest as royalty deserving special favor.
*“The word in the N.T. occurs here, of the prodigal's father (15:20), of the kiss of Judas (Mk. 14:45; Mt. 26:49), of the Ephesian elders (Ac. 20:37). Kissing the feet was a common mark of deep reverence, especially to leading rabbis”—RWP
“Standing”—isthmi—1) To cause or make to stand, to place, put, set; 2)To stand. Strong—a prolonged form of a primary staw(of the same meaning, & used for it in certain tenses); To stand(transitively or intransitively), used in various applications(literally or figuratively).
“At”—para—Preposition—1) From, of at, by, besides, near. Strong—a primary preposition; properly, near; i.e. (with genitive case)--From beside(literally or figuratively), (with dative case) At(or in) the vicinity of(objectively or subjectively), (with accusative case)--To the proximity with(local [especially beyond or opposed to] or causal--On account of.
“Behind”—opisw—Adverb—1) Back, behind, after, afterwards. Strong—To the back, i.e. Aback(as adverb or preposition of time or place; or as noun).
“Feet”2X—pouv—1) A foot, both of men or beast. Strong—a primary word; A “foot”(figuratively or literally).
“Weeping”—klaiw—1) To mourn, weep, lament—1a) Weeping as the sign of pain & grief for the thing signified (i.e. for the pain & grief), 1b) Of those who mourn for the dead; 2) To weep for, mourn for, bewail, one. Klaiw is to weep audibly, cry as a child. Strong—To sob, i.e. Wail aloud(whereas dakruw is rather to cry silently).
“Wash/Wet/Bedew”(See :44)—brecw—1) To moisten, wet, water; 2) To water with rain, to cause to rain, to pour the rain, to send down like rain. Strong—a primary verb; To moisten(especially by a shower). Used 7X.
“Tears”(See :44)—dakruon—1) A tear. Used 11X.
“Wiped/Kept wiping”(See :44)—ekmassw—1) To wipe off, to wipe away. Strong—To knead out, i.e. by analogy--To wipe dry.
From—ek—From, out—&—massaomai—from a primary massw(to handle or squeeze); To chew.
“Hair”(See :44)—yrix—1) The hair of the head; 2) The hair of animals. yrix is the anatomical or physical term for hair.
“Head”(See :46)—kefalh—1) The head, both of men & often of animals. Since the loss of the head destroys life, this word is used in the phrases relating to capital & extreme punishment; 2) metaph.--Anything supreme, chief, prominent. Strong—from the primary kaptw(in the sense of seizing); The head(as the part most readily taken hold of), literally or figuratively.
“Kissed”(See :45)—katafilew—1)To kiss much, kiss again & again, kiss tenderly. Strong—To kiss earnestly. Used 6X.
From—kata——1) Down from, through out; 2) According to, toward, along. Strong—a primary particle; prepositionally--Down(in place or time), in varied relations(according to the case [genitive case, dative case or accusative case] with which it is joined)—&—filew—To be a friend to(fond of [an individual or an object]), i.e. Have affection for (denoting personal attachment, as a matter of sentiment or feeling; specifically--To kiss(as a mark of tenderness).
“Anointed”(:46)—aleifw—1) To anoint. Aleifw is the mundane & common word for anoint. Xriw is the sacred & religious word for anoint Strong—from A(as particle of union) & the base of liparov[ from lipov(grease); Fat, i.e. figuratively--Sumptuous]; To oil(with perfume). Used 9X.
“Fragrant oil/Perfume”(See :37, 46)—muron—
:39—“Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This man, if He were a prophet, would know who & what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”
The focus is upon the man’s ‘belief system’(also :36 & 37) rather than the man who invited Jesus to a meal(:36) he is referred to as “the Pharisee” rather than by his given name(:40).
“The Pharisee”(Simon per :40-44) responded to this scene privately by personally assigning Jesus’ status as a prophet to ‘charlatan.’ Simon assumed that Jesus knew nothing of the woman’s reputation as a sinner & that was proof enough for him to discount Jesus’ words. Simon considered ‘sinners’ as untouchables—people to be shunned rather than those in need of ministering. The woman was in/at Simon’s house as well. Perhaps this portion of Simon’s house was openly accessible to all, perhaps a courtyard or porch.
*Simon’s reasoning was based upon supposition rather than fact regarding Jesus.
*“Religion has little if any grace or love”. Rather “it alienates & rejects rather than accepting & bringing...[others]...to God, who loves them dearly.”—Ken Durham in ‘Houdini Lives!’ Argumentation:
**Lk. 3:7-9—“Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, & do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down & thrown into the fire.”
**Lk. 5:27-32(Mat. 9:12-13; Mk. 2:17)—“After these things He went out & saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he left all, rose up, & followed Him. Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors & others who sat down with them. And their scribes & the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat & drink with tax collectors & sinners?” Jesus answered & said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
**Jn. 9:39—“And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, & that those who see may be made blind.”
Rom. 2:4-12—“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, & longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness & your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath & revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, & immortality; but to those who are self-seeking & do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation & wrath, tribulation & anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first & also of the Greek; but glory, honor, & peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first & also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, & as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law...”
**Jn. 16:1-3—“These things I[Jesus] have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.”
**Lk. 18:9-14—“Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, & despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee & the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood & prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ “And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, & he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Illustration:
*Recently(Spring 2015) Carrabelle began planting roadside palms, trees, ornamental grasses, saw palmetto, viburnum, etc../In response, complaints were heard ‘around town’ that our money should have been better spent on things closer to meeting the real needs of her people rather than for a ‘beautification project!’/No doubt, many approached the city about the ‘wasted’ money!/Others were thankful for the improvement & appreciated the money being spent in such a manner, as it makes our fair town more appealing to potential tourists, beach-goers, boaters, fishermen, & businessmen/Either way, The truth is...Carrabelle did not neglect more pressing issues in order to upgrade her outward appeal/Because Cbelle received an FDOT grant allowing us to aesthetically improve the eastern entrance to Carrabelle on Hwy. 98/PERCEPTION
Observing the same events yet seeing differently:
The pastor’s office trash can—Mrs. Jackie(custodian) sees: Lottery scratch off tickets, Cellophane wrappers from cigarettes & Beer cans/From one perspective, it looks as if I do not practice what I preach & it doesn’t look good for me/However, I gather those same items regularly(picking up after those who litter) on my way to the office to help keep the church grounds clean/PERCEPTION
We are told that the Amazon Rainforest is being devastated at an alarming rate/A tree can be a thing of beauty OR it can be a resource for providing monetary gain/PERCEPTION
Application:
?Your Forgiveness pass the Test of PERCEPTION?
?Your PERCEPTION reflect God’s Forgiveness?
?Do you Trust Jesus?
?God’s Forgiveness fully Realized in your life?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Hitler's Realization?
Action:
Realized Forgiveness is tested in the crucible of...
3. PERCEPTION(:38, 39)
1. RECOGNITION(:36-37a-b)
2. OPPORTUNITY(:36-37)
Pt. 3 only! Presented 04/12/2015am, to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE.(A Ave.)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
