The Outcome of Forgiveness
May 2, 2021 Morning Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: When we have been forgiven, we are able to love and forgive others.
Focus Passage: Luke 7:36-50
Supplemental Passage: and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. (Matthew 6:12 NLT)
Introduction: On the Lord's day a group of missionaries and believers in New Guinea were gathered together to observe the Lord's Supper. After one young man sat down, a missionary recognized that a sudden tremor had passed through the young man's body that indicated he was under a great nervous strain. Then in a moment all was quiet again. The missionary whispered, "What was it that troubled you?" "Ah," he said, "But the man who just came in killed and ate the body of my father. And now he has come in to remember the Lord with us. At first I didn't know whether I could endure it. But it is all right now. He is washed in the same precious blood." And so together they had Communion. It is a marvelous thing, the work of the Holy Spirit of God. Does the world know anything of this? H.A. Ironside.
I. The Proceedings (36-38)
a. According to The Pulpit Commentary, feasts were often open and attended by people who were not invited. They didn’t necessarily dine with the guests, but they stood around the outerparts, listening to the conversation. The woman here is likely one of these passersby who had heard that Jesus would be there.
b. Several have identified the woman in this account as the same who anointed Jesus’ feet before His crucifixion. Scholars seem to have discounted this and say it is a separate occasion with a different woman.
c. The woman was a notorious sinner; most likely a prostitute. However, her sin was too great to continue and she sought an encounter with the Holy Jesus. It was a bold move to make to go into a Pharisee’s home, who, at the time, was the model of holiness.
d. Perhaps she had heard Jesus preach before and was drawn to Him. Perhaps she had the container of perfume for some other reasons. Perhaps she was standing back listening, when the guilt of her sin overcame her and she began to cry. Perhaps seeing her tears fall on Jesus, she bent down to wipe them away and got carried away with emotion. Perhaps she realized the seriousness of her sin and desired more than what her life was giving her. Perhaps it was the smell of the perfume that drew Simon’s attention to her.
II. The Parable (39-43)
a. Jesus knew Simon’s thoughts (we’ll talk about Simon in a minute)
b. Jesus presented a parable to Simon in much the same way that Nathan presented a parable to David
c. Jesus told a story then asked a question. The answer revealed not just Simon’s understanding, but truth.
d. In the same way as Nathan with David, Jesus turned the parable on Simon
III. The Pharisee (44-50)
a. Simon wasn’t really sure what he thought about Jesus
b. He had Him for supper perhaps to investigate personally, to hear His good teaching, or perhaps even as entertainment for his guests
c. It was obvious that, while Jesus may have been the central guest, He was not a guest of honor. Simon had not even offered the basic courtesies of a welcome and foot washing.
d. The apparent weightiness of sin can be judged and compared among men, but God sees sin as sin.
e. Jesus was pointing out that even though Simon thought himself to be holy, that he was a sinner just as the woman. The difference is that the woman knew the gravity of her sin whereas Simon did not.
Application/Call to Obedience: Let those who cry out that there is no originality in the Gospels find a parallel to this story in any of the religions or philosophies of the world. Pardon for a notorious sinner was an unheard-of thing, and is so still outside of the Bible. Even the Pharisees of Christ’s day did not believe in it. But this was Christ’s very mission. All need forgiveness; and if we think we have been forgiven little, it only shows our little sense of sin.—Hastings.
How big is YOUR sense of sin? Has the thoughts of your sins ever brought you to tears? Do you feel that your sins aren’t nearly as bad as other people’s sins? If so, you are as guilty as Simon the pharisee. Sin is sin in the sight of God. It separates us from Him. It causes us to be condemned to death. “But God demonstrates His love for us, that while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us.” The Bible says, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:9-10 NASB)
