Discipleship Matters: Extravagant Love for Others
Luke 7:36-50
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
05-02-2021
Pride vs. Promiscuity
When I picked up the phone, I knew it was serious. My friend Andy knew Maxine and I were home in Memphis and he asked if he and his fiancée could come over and talk.
We sat down in the backyard by the pool and Andy stared his thoughts. He said that he just didn’t know if he could go through with the wedding. His fiancee Linda sat quietly with tears in her eyes.
Andy had been “good.” Went to a private Christian school, committed his life to Christ at a young age, never had really done anything “bad.”
Like me, Linda had come to faith in college and she had not been “good.” And the thing that Andy couldn’t get past was the fact she wasn’t a virgin.
For several hours, we went round in circles with Andy. What she had done before Christ was forgiven and forgotten by God.
Finally, Linda said through clinched teeth, “You really do think that you are better than me!”
He looked astonished and something in Andy broke and he began to cry.
He said, “I’ve alway thought I was better than you and Jeff. Always. I am good and you guys are bad. But I’m not good, am I?”
We said nothing and he continued, “My pride is just as bad as anything you guys have done.”
With that realization, everything changed. They have now been married over 15 years.
What is a Disciple?
We are currently in a sermon series called “Discipleship Matters.”
We’ve been focusing on the question, “What defines a disciple of Jesus?”
We’ve bee looking at a list of characteristics that define a disciple from Pastor Dennis Rouse of Victory Church in Georgia:
A disciple is: passionate committed to Jesus Christ, they have an extraordinary love for people, they have the heart of a servant, they are sensitive and submitted to the Holy Spirit, they are governed by the authority of God’s Word, they live morally pure and they are evangelistic bold, they are engaged in Biblical community, they are just and generous, and they live their lives with purpose and on mission.
This is from his sermon series and book called 10 that’s been very helpful to me.
Several people said to me afterwards that this list was hard to hear because they didn’t see some of these characteristics in their lives.
So I thought we would take a few weeks and go some of this list to help us understand what a disciple of Jesus Christ looks like.
Last week, we learned that a disciple is passionately committed to Jesus.
A disciple loves Jesus more than any earthly relationship
A disciple is willing to take up his cross and follow Him
A Disciple is willing to give up everything for the Kingdom
This morning, we will see that a disciple has extravagant love for people.
3. What’s Love ’s Got to Do with It?
Rock and soul theologian Tina Turner asked the question we will focus on today, “What’s love got to do with it?”
C.B. Cousar wrote:
“Love is not one virtue among the list of virtues, but the sum and the substance of what it means to be a Christian.”
In English, we use this word in so many different ways. I love my wife and I love Barry Manilow. I love my children and I love oatmeal butterscotch cookies.
In Greek, there were three primary words for love:
Philia - this is affection regard, friendship, usually between equals. It’s where we get the word Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love.
Storage - love and affection, especially between parents and children
Eros - sexual love, passion. This is where we get the word, “erotic.”
But when the New Testament writers wanted to convey the love of God, none of these worked.
They basically invented a word, “agape.” This is a selfless, sacrificial affection that enables us to serve one another in love.
Paul wrote in Romans 5:
“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)
The entire Bible is a story of outpouring of this love toward us.
This kind of love takes the initiative:
Jesus said these famous words:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
God is extravagant in His love for us:
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (I John 3:1)
This love is not about feelings but about our will and actions. Love is a choice. As John MacArthur writes, “It is the permanent priority of the Christian life.”
Love is a fruit of the Spirit. In other words, you really can’t love like this until you are born again. And after you are born again, you can’t love like this in your own strength.
Because we have been loved like this, we can, with the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us, love God and others.
But the very foundation of being able to exhibit this love is found in an encounter between a prostitute and a Pharisee.
Turn in your Bibles to Luke 7:36-50.
Prayer.
The Invitation
“When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.” (v. 36)
It was not uncommon for a visiting rabbi to be invited to a prominent religious leader’s house for a meal after speaking at the Temple.
Was Simon, a very common name, actually interested in what Jesus had to say? Probably not. We already know from chapter 5 that the Pharisee’s were “watching” Jesus carefully.
This house probably had a courtyard with a fountain and garden and if the weather was nice they would eat outside in the courtyard.
The table was low to the ground and a person would lay (recline) propped up on one arm with their feet away from the table.
This would have been less a private dinner and more like a block party. People from the community would have wandered in and out and there were probably a lot of people around the perimeter of the room wanting to listen in to the conversation. There would even be poor people hanging around to et the leftovers. That would be expected.
But what happened next, was anything by expected!
The Party Crasher
“A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.” (v. 37-38)
Everyone saw her come in. Everyone knew her. There were mummers and whispering, “What is she doing here?”
She had lived “a sinful life.” This was a nice way to say she was a prostitute.
This is not Mary Magdalene or Mary of Bethany. Both of those women anointed Jesus but this is another time and context.
She learned that Jesus was eating at this house and devised a plan. She wanted to anoint Jesus’ head with this expensive perfume.
But standing there behind Him, she was so overcome by emotion that she burst into tears. These were tears of joy and gratitude. Martin Luther called her tears, “heart water.” Somewhere along the way this prostitute had met Jesus and everything changed.
With everyone in the room focused on her, she did something so scandalous that no one ever forgot it. She took down her hair.
In that culture, after the wedding night, a woman would put up her hair and never take it down again, except in private with her husband.
In fact, a woman taking down her hair publicly could actually be grounds for divorce.
To the Pharisees, it would have been less scandalous if she had stripped off all her clothes.
But she was focused on Jesus alone. She knelt in the dust and broke open the alabaster jar and poured it over his feet while kissing them again and again.
The entire house filled with the fragrance of this perfume.
A Judgemental Pharisee
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” (v. 39)
I’m sure that there were those in the crowd that were amazed, confused, or angry. But Simon was indignant.
He said to himself that if Jesus was a real prophet he would know who was touching him.
The word John uses here for touching has sexual implications. How exactly does Jesus know this prostitute? This vile sinner?
Obviously, Jesus is no prophet like the people were claiming.
He doesn’t understand what’s going on. So Jesus tries to help him with a story.
A Parable
“Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”Tell me, teacher,” he said. Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.” (v. 40-43)
In modern day numbers, one owed $500,000 and one owed $50. But the important part of the story is that neither had the money to pay him back. Both were hopeless without grace from the moneylender.
Imagine your bank calls you and says that your payment on your mortgage was late so they have decided to cancel your loan completely. How would you react?
Jesus then asks Simon which one of them will love him more?
Simon senses a trap and can’t even answer this obvious question. He finally says that he supposed the one with the bigger debt.
For the first time in this entire encounter, Simon has finally judged something correctly.
The Difference
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. (v. 44-46)
The question that Jesus asks Simon is so important - “do you see this woman?” Simon can only see her for what she used to be not what she is now.
Simon didn’t extend even the most common courtesy to Jesus. When someone entered your house, a servant would wash the guests feet. But that didn’t happen.
But this woman had wet her feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
When a guest entered a house, the host would kiss them on the check. But Simon didn’t do that.
But this woman had not stopped kissing His feet.
It was customary to pour oil on a guest’s head, but there was no thought of that.
But this woman poured perfume on my feet.
The reaction couldn’t have been more different. Simon showed no love for Jesus. This woman had had shown extravagant love for Jesus.
What made the difference? ?
The Driving Force of Love
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (v. 47-50)
Jesus said that this woman’s sins had been forgiven. The Greek tense means something that happened in the past with continuing effects.
Where did this woman come to faith? Was she in the crowds who listened to Jesus teaching? Was it in a personal conversation with Him? We don’t know.
All we know is a radical transformation had taken place. And out of that great forgiveness came great love. But he who has been forgiven little, loves little.
Simon knew Jesus was talking about him. Just like my friend Andy, he thought he was better than the woman but didn’t realize that he couldn’t pay his debt either.
This understanding of how forgiven we have been, leads a disciple to extraordinary love for people. But those who think that they are $50 sinners, don’t look or love like Jesus.
Extraordinary Love for People
Let’s look at four different types of people we are called to love.
Each Other
Extraordinary love starts with the family of God. It begins with us.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)
The way we love each other will actually prove to the world that we are His disciples.
Our love for each other helps a lost and dying world see the Gospel in action.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (I John 4:7-11)
Understanding how much God loves us and how much we have been forgiven, leads us to love extravagantly those around us, starting with the “family of believers.” (Gal 6:10)
The last three years, we have been rehabbing our reputation as a church. When I came here, CBC was known in the community as a church that didn’t love each other well. In fact, I had several people beg me not to take this church because of how it has treated pastors in the past.
There are still people that will not come back because of the hurt and pain they experienced in this congregation.
But that has changed, a lot, in the last three years. I’ve witnessed growth in this area as you have learned to love each other and Maxine and I well.
How do we continue to grow in our love for each other?
By focusing on the “one anothers” in the Bible. There are at least thirty one another instructions. How different would our church be if we took these seriously? Here’s my top ten:
Love one another (John 13:34 - This command occurs at least 16 times)
Honor one another above yourselves (Romans 12:10)
Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16)
Build up one another (Romans 14:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Care for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25)
Bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2)
Forgive one another (Ephesians 4:2, 32; Colossians 3:13)
Be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32)
Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Pray for one another (James 5:16)
Disciples show extraordinary love toward their church family. How are you doing?
Here’s some ideas:
Write a note of encouragement to someone who is struggling with health issues.
Make a meal for someone who has been in the hospital.
Call someone just to tell them that you love them.
Pray specifically for someone every day this week and then let them know.
Use your social media to celebrate what’s happening at our church.
B. The Least of These
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the story about separating the sheep from the goats at the end of the age.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the
kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matt 25:34-40)
Disciples show extraordinary love toward “the least of these.”
In our culture of prosperity, it’s easy to get insulated from the least of these. Some people look down on people who are hungry or sick or in prison or in need.
We have to ask the Holy Spirit to help us to have open hearts toward those in need.
I have a friend who by his own admission was pretty cold hearted toward people who would be considered the least of these.
He called me one day to tell me that he had seen someone with a sign saying that they were hungry. He said his usual thought would be “get a job” and keep driving. But something happened that day. He found himself thinking what it would be like to hungry and that it was really cold. He stopped and bought a sandwich and took it to him. He said half joking, “What’s happening to me?!” I said, “You are moving from a fan to a disciple.”
When’s the last time you feed someone who is hungry? I’m not talking about donating to the food pantry, although that is a good thing to do.
I took a group of students to a homeless shelter in New Orleans when we were on a mission trip.
One of the men came over to me and said something I’ll never forget. He said, “We aren’t animals in a zoo. We are humans with names.” I huddled up the students and told them to go sit with someone, ask their names, and listen to their stories. It was one of their favorite experiences from that whole trip.
When have you given clothes to someone who needed them? Not your old clothes that you didn’t want but nice clothes as a gift.
When’s the last time you visited someone who is struggling with sickness? Wrote to someone who is prison?
How are we doing with this as a church? This is one of the marks of being a disciple. Are do we treat “those people?”
When we moved back to Illinois from Florida, we were both trying to find jobs and we were scared we might lose our house. We applied for Medicaid and EBT (Food Stamps). These two safety nets saved us from bankruptcy.
I was sitting with a group of people, several of them who identify as Christians, and listened to them make fun of people on Medicaid and EBT. They said things like, “Must be nice to have the government buy your steaks and beer.” It was mean-spirited and judgmental.
They didn’t know, they couldn’t know, that we weren’t buying steaks and beer but that we were eating because of that help.
Brene Brown, in a TED talk that has been viewed over 15 million times, said this:
“We are those people…the truth is that we are one paycheck, one divorce, one drug addicted child, one mental health diagnosis, one severe illness, one sexual assault, one drinking binge, one night of unprotected sex away from being those people - the one’s we don’t trust, the one’s we pity, the ones we don’t want our kids playing with, the ones bad things happen to, the one’s we don’t want living next door.”
Let’s make a commitment to show extraordinary love toward the least of these because, one day, that could be us.
C. Your Enemies
One of the surest signs of spiritual maturity is your ability to handle conflict in a Biblical way, something we will study next week, and showing extraordinary love for your “enemies.”
We are always going to have people that we don’t necessarily like simply because of personalities. But this goes beyond that.
Jesus knew that there would be people that would oppose us, mistreat us, tell lies about us. Its part and parcel of being a disciple of His.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus laid it out:
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt 5:11-12)
And He continues a few verses down:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:43-45).
This is where the rubber meets the road. This is what separates followers from disciples.
A pastor I follow on Twitter shared the results of a straw poll he did on a book tour with 829 people.
76% of those who identified as Progressive Christians see “loving your enemies” as complicity with injustice.
78% of those who identify as Conservative Christians see “loving your enemies” as compromise with immorality.
He concludes with this question - do you think we might have a problem in our church culture?
Is your first response to your “enemies” to get revenge? Do you want to go on social media and rant about your rights and how you are being mistreated? Scripture really doesn’t give us that option.
Paul wrote to the Roman Christians that were being persecuted:
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:17-21)
When Maxine worked at a school, there was a teacher who decided she just didn’t like her. She was rude to her, talked about her behind her back, and generally made Maxine’s life hard.
Maxine decided that she was going to do exactly what Scripture says to do. She started by writing her a letter asking her forgiveness for anything that she had done to offend her. Then she would go out of her way to say nice things about her and do nice things for her. She never won her over, that we know, but others saw how Maxine responded and it a good witness for Jesus.
How are you doing with showing extraordinary love for those who are enemies?
Abraham Lincoln said the best way to defeat an enemy is to make them your friend.
We are going to stop here and take communion. This is an opportunity to evaluate yourself vertically and horizontally. How are you doing in your relationship with God? Are you currently in conflict with anyone that you need to make right?
D. The Lost
“As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matt 9:9-13)
The inclusion of Matthew in Jesus’ inner circle was completely baffling to the religious leaders. Matthew was a tax collector. He was a traitor who worked for the Romans. Most tax collectors got rich skimming money off the top of their collections. They were hated and were considered bad people.
But we find Jesus hanging out with “bad” people, like Matthew, all the time in the Scriptures.
There was another tax collector named Zacchaeus who wanted to meet Jesus so bad he climbed a tree to get a glimpse. Jesus ended up eating lunch at his house with other tax collectors and sinners. At the end of this encounter, Jesus declares:
“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
When we use the term “lost” it simply means someone who doesn’t have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ yet.
Jesus loved the lost. He ate with them, hung out with them, answered their questions, and set them free from their sin.
Do you love the lost? Do you love those who don’t know Christ yet? Or do you look down your nose at them? Judge them? Expect them to act like Christians when they aren’t?
Remember, cows don’t lay eggs. Lost people act like lost people because they are lost.
Bruce Frank asks a challenging question:
Do you become more angry at other people’s sins than your own? Are you more upset with the sins of our world than the sin in the mirror?
It seems like the older generation of Christians are quick to condemn culture while the younger generation slide toward conforming to our lost culture.
Instead, why don’t we focus on reaching the culture with the good news of Jesus? As a church, let’s make a commitment that we will do whatever it takes, short of sin, to reach people with the good news of the Gospel. We are to pray that the kingdom comes in me, through me, and then through the called out assembly known as God’s plan A for the world – the church.
Nicky Green is the head cheerleader at a large church in Bloomington. Women trapped in the sex trades have broken her heart. She put together and team and brainstormed how they could reach out to these women.
They put together a Mother’s Day basket and took them to one of the strip clubs. They asked the manager if they could give the baskets to the dancers. He shrugged and said he didn’t care.
They went back stage and explained to them what they were doing. In the basket were all kind of goodies but the most important thing to Nicky was the sermon CDs and her card. She told the girls that if they ever needed anything, please call.
A couple of weeks later she got a call from one of the dancers. She wanted to know if she could have more sermon CDs. She not only listen to the two in her basket, she went around and asked if she could have any others. Nicky took a deep breath and said, “Forget that, please come and hear it with me live. You can sit with me.”
This woman got quiet on the phone and finally said, “People like me aren’t welcome in church.” Nicky laughed and said, “Well you don’t know our church!”
Long story short, she did attend and then attended again and again. She committed her life to Christ and was baptized. What a lot of people didn’t know was that there were a whole of visitors that morning. A row of fellow strippers that had come to see her get baptized. And the manager. Who was this women’s boyfriend. And he committed his life to Christ! They got married.
The reason I know this story is because Maxine and I were present when the church commissioned this couple into their new ministry that will reach back into the strip clubs and help rescue others.
Why? Because those who have been forgiven much love much!
Do you have this kind of extraordinary love for the lost? Who in your life needs the hope of Jesus? Next week, we are going to see that a disciple boldly shares the Gospel.
Do you understand that this young lady might be a $500,000 sinner and you are only a $50, neither of you can pay? You need Jesus just as much as she does.
John Newton, the slave trader turned preacher who wrote amazing grace said this at the end of his life:
“Although my memory is fading, I remember two things daily - I am a great sinner but Jesus is a greater savior!
Ending Video: Live Like That
