Lessons in Forgiveness
Luke 7:36-50
Sept. 1, 2001
Introduction
A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death.
"But I don’t ask for justice," the mother explained. "I plead for mercy."
"But your son does not deserve mercy," Napoleon replied.
"Sir," the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for."
"Well, then," the emperor said, "I will have mercy." And he spared the woman’s son.
Our passage of Scripture today focuses on an episode where Jesus exemplified mercy, though not in the earthly sense, but rather in the eternal sense.
It is the story of a woman who does not deserve mercy, yet finds it in the face of the Savior.
And as we look at this passage, I want us to note how Jesus responds to the people in the story, particularly the Pharisee and the sinful woman.
Keep this in mind as we read the passage and look at the lessons we can learn.
My purpose this morning is to extend the offer of forgiveness from Christ to any who would seek it.
Please read along as I read this passage. If you are using the Bibles in the seats, this passage can be found on page 731.
Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and 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.
39 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."
40 Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.
41 "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
43 Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
44 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. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
50 Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
I want to talk about three things about how Christ offers forgiveness that are illustrated in this passage. And the first is that…
I. Forgiveness knows no social structure.
It is not only for the privileged few, nor for the not-so-privileged many.
Jesus places no class restrictions on forgiveness. And all through Scripture Jesus reaches out to the rich and poor alike.
In this passage we have an interesting study in contrasts regarding how sinners are viewed.
Verse 39 tell us that Simon had no doubts of the woman was. She was a sinner.
The Pharisee saw sinners as impure to be avoided at all costs in order to not become unclean. He keeps a woman like this one at a great distance, making it clear that her lifestyle (whatever it was – Scripture doesn’t tell us the nature of her sinfulness) is not endorsed.
Jesus, on the other hand, talks and preaches about sin, but he does not isolate Himself from sinners.
He understands that for the light to shine in the darkness, the light must engage the darkness.
This woman had a notorious reputation, yet Jesus received her into His company, and extended His divine forgiveness.
Let’s bring this home a bit. What if someone like Hugh Hefner or Madonna came to our church seeking to be at the feet at the Jesus?
Would we be like the Pharisee, looking to get away from them, or would we be like Jesus, seeing past the past and seeing the plea for forgiveness?
That’s a tough question, and I don’t like to think about it much because I know all to well that I might just react like the Pharisee.
I pray that when something like that happens, I will display the grace of Christ, inviting them to know the grace and mercy available to all sinners.
By the way, it will happen sometime here. Maybe not Hugh Hefner or Madonna, but someone with a reputation will come here looking for the forgiveness of Christ.
May God grant us love and grace as we confront them with the love of Christ.
There’s a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail.
Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father.
On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.
There are so many people in our area who are looking for forgiveness and love from the Heavenly Father, and we need to show them how to find it in Christ.
On Thursday I was in Redfield, meeting with some of the area pastors, and we were giving a bit of our stories of how we came to Christ.
Pastor Steve Wilkins shared how a guy name Larry Marshall started coming to church in Redfield. Some of you know Larry, who served for a while as the director of Wesleyan Native American Ministries.
Larry wanted to date a certain girl, and the girl’s parents made the condition that the date was to be church attendance. That sounded okay to Larry, because he wanted to date the girl.
Larry at that time had long hair and drove a fast car. And as he walked into the church, he was met with the following from one of the greeters at the church:
“You are an abomination to God.”
How’s that for love and compassion!
Well, your reaction to that statement registers on your face. We would have been offended if it were us.
Think of how our visitors would feel if we greeted them like that.
Fortunately, in the case of Larry Marshall, God sovereignly worked to bring Larry to Christ anyway.
In fact, Larry, not knowing what an “abomination” was, thought it sounded pretty cool. God is good, amen?
Jesus told a parable in Matthew about a Pharisee who was praying about how great he was. He was so full of himself, he didn’t see the tax collector who could not even lift his head to heaven and was beating his breast calling out, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Jesus said that it was the tax collector who went home justified, not the Pharisee.
And in our passage this morning, Jesus tells the story of two men, each in debt, neither having the ability to repay, yet forgiven by the moneylender.
And Jesus uses this story to tell Simon that it is not social status that brings righteousness, but the mercy of the one who grants it, God Himself.
Forgiveness knows no social structure.
Next,…
II. Forgiveness acknowledges the presence of sin.
Here’s what I mean by that.
Jesus, like the Pharisee, saw that this woman was a sinner. He did not excuse it. He did not try to explain it away.
He simply forgave it.
A number of years back I heard the story of a young man who appeared before his new principal for disciplinary action.
He asked the young man why he was in trouble. The boy answered that his dad was not at home, his mom was unemployed, and his friends were in gangs.
The principal, reading the document sent with the boy simply replied, “This says you’re here because you’re a thief.”
What I want us to see here is that sin is sin.
We are responsible for our actions. This woman recognized that as well.
She did not try to rationalize her sin. She does not try to blame a harsh or abusive childhood.
She doesn’t blame the economy or the influence of her neighbors.
She doesn’t blame anybody except herself. And she seeks forgiveness not for her childhood, not for evil influences in her life, but for her sins.
We don’t need forgiveness for what others do to us, we need forgiveness for our actions toward God.
And He is ready to forgive. And here’s some more good news: His forgiveness is not based on how much good we do weighed against the bad.
And that’s good news because we are so steeped in sin before coming to Christ that we have no hope of it coming out in our favor.
John R. Stott says,
The Gospel is good news of mercy to the undeserving. The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not the scales.
Forgiveness recognizes the presence of sin.
Thirdly,…
III. Forgiveness is available for those who repent.
Two things to note:
A. She sought it wholeheartedly.
I would guess that this woman had seen Jesus on more than one occasion. She had probably witnesses His love in action, and silently wondered if she was worthy of His compassion and mercy, her soul crying out, “Will He forgive even me?”
She saw that Jesus was nothing like the Pharisees in their attitudes toward sinners. She saw something different. She saw hope.
And she seized the opportunity to come to Him, barging in on Simon’s dinner party.
I think she barged in, because of Simon’s reaction to her actions toward Jesus. Had she politely knocked at the door, she probably would have been turned away.
So, not taking the chance, she came in and went right to the One who could give her soul the cleansing she so desperately needed and the rest and peace she so desperately wanted.
She came to Him, holding nothing back, certain He knew all about her, though probably not understanding how, but certain that He could forgive.
She sought to restore a relationship with God that had been broken.
And not only did she seek the forgiveness wholeheartedly,…
B. He gave it wholeheartedly.
Just as she held nothing back, neither did Jesus. He didn’t pause. He didn’t make her beg. He didn’t have her set an appointment with his secretary or anything like that.
He forgave. And He forgave it all.
Remember the story Jesus told Simon about the two men with the debts?
This woman had a big debt, and Jesus cancelled it.
And get this: there were no strings attached.
She had already repented, throwing herself on the mercy of Jesus.
My guess is that she left her life of sin and served Christ the rest of her days.
Repentance is the requirement. She did not have to confess to a religious leader. She didn’t have to pay money or offer a sacrifice.
She didn’t have to sign a contract for good behavior. She didn’t have to go to jail or take any type of punishment.
She repented. And that was good enough for Jesus. He forgave because he saw her heart breaking from the weight of her sin, and He lifted the weight with a simple declaration of forgiveness.
Repentance is so important, because to truly repent, to truly turn from your sins, you need to see the gravity of your sins.
If you think God owes you something because of your supposedly good life, you are in for the shock of your eternal existence.
If you think you can live a sinful life because you are resting in your baptism as a baby, you not only don’t understand the significance of repentance, you don’t understand the grace of God in His working to bring you to heaven.
Repentance opens the door to salvation.
I’d like to meet that woman when I’m in heaven. Her story will be incredible as she relates seeing the love of Christ from afar, and experiencing it up close. I’m sure her eyes will sparkle with love and joy as she describes looking into the eyes of the Savior, and knowing that His love overcame her shame.
Forgiveness knows no social structure, it assumes the presence of sin, and it is available for those who repent.
Conclusion
In our time, this morning, I have been focusing on the forgiveness offers to those who come to Him for it.
But I want to turn our attention back to verse 49 for just a moment.
The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?
Who, indeed?
The underlying thought behind the question was that only God can forgive sins. And they were absolutely right.
Only God can forgive sins. And Jesus forgave the sins of the woman. He took on the role of God, and He was able to do that because He was God in the flesh.
Jesus, the son of the Father, came to earth to offer forgiveness and salvation.
His death on the cross made it possible. He suffered in our place, taking our punishment, so we could know forgiveness and eternal life in heaven.
So now, I would tell you this morning that the offer is still out there.
If you are here this morning and you are weighed down by your sins, allow the Savior to wipe your heart clean and give you a home in heaven.
We sang a new chorus this morning, called Come Just As You Are. And that really is the only way you can come.
The sinful woman could not make herself clean, and neither can you. She came just as she was, sinful and heartbroken. You need to do the same.
Throw yourself on His mercy, confessing your sinfulness and desire to turn from it with His help. Call on Him to forgive you and give you eternal life, believing that His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the grave makes it possible.
And trust that God will do as He promises: give you a place in heaven.
I am going to lead you in a prayer if you want to give your life to Christ this morning, but first, I want us to sing that chorus one more time.
Please stand as we sing.
(Sing Just as You are)
Prayer for Salvation
