“Love – A Visible Response”
Luke 7:36-50
INTRODUCTION: We continue in our series on ‘Great Events In The Life Of Jesus’.
TONIGHT – We take a look at a prostitute who has an encounter with Jesus.
7:36 – The Pharisee’s name was “Simon” – 7:40. Pharisees were self-righteous Jews … separatists who thought they were better than everyone else. AND … they WERE … as far as their outward actions were concerned. They took pride in the fact that they obeyed God’s Law to the nth degree. BUT … their hearts weren’t right with God. They did it to earn points with God … to impress Him … to look good.
Simon had heard about Jesus. Jesus had recently healed a Centurion’s servant … raised a widow’s son from the dead. Simon wouldn’t be caught dead in one of the crowds gathered around Jesus (too many sinners there!). SO … He invites Jesus to a dinner party at his house (Jesus was a popular teacher at the time). THIS WAY, he could control who was around … not have to associate with the “riff-raff”.
STORY – A lawyer, defending a man accused of burglary, tried a creative defense to get his client off the hook. “My client,” he told the judge, “merely inserted his arm into the window and removed a few paltry items. His arm is not himself, so I fail to see how you can punish the whole individual for an offense committed solely by his arm.” “Well put,” the judge replied with a grin. “Using that same logic, I sentence the defendant’s arm to one year’s imprisonment. Your client can accompany the arm or not, as he chooses.” The defendant smiled. With his lawyer’s help, he detached his artificial limb, laid it on the bench, and walked out.
The Pharisees are like the man in this story … he wanted to detach himself from the “riff-raff”.
Jesus accepted the invitation … He always saw such events as opportunities to minister.
7:37 – A dinner party, tho private, was always open to the public to gather on the fringes. No sense in throwing an expensive shin-dig, if no one knew about it … if you couldn’t impress those who weren’t invited. OFTEN, the poor would come and eat the left-overs after the guests had left.
This prostitute had heard that Jesus was there … so she comes to see Him. She had heard Jesus preach before … and had trusted Jesus to save her from her sins … which were many. NOW … she sees the opportunity to get close to the One whom she believed to be the Son of God … the Savior … the Messiah.
“alabaster box of ointment” – a perfume jar … the most valued possession she had. She no longer needed it for her occupation. She had used the perfume in her profession to entice men … BUT NOW … she had left the old life behind. She wanted to start her life all over.
7:38 – “stood at His feet behind Him” – In Bible times, they didn’t sit at a table like we do today … they RECLINED on a mattress on the floor (NOT like the picture of “The Last Supper”). When she got close to Jesus, she began to cry uncontrollably … her tears fell on the feet of Jesus. She dried them with her hair.
CUSTOM: Women wore their hair in a bundle. It was a shame for a woman to put her hair down in public. For a married woman to do this, it was grounds for divorce. It was only to be done in the privacy of home. BUT … she was an outcast anyway … she didn’t care how it looked. She had come to honor Jesus!
“kissed His feet” – They were dirty, smelly, rough. BUT … she didn’t care. She had come to honor Jesus.
“anointed them with ointment” – She was pouring the same perfume that she had used to seduce men, onto the feet of Jesus … ALL OF IT. The aroma must have permeated the whole house. If she hadn’t been noticed before, she was noticed NOW!
LESSON: This woman wasn’t ashamed of her worship of Jesus. She didn’t care what anybody thought. She outwardly expressed exactly what was in her heart.
Last week in our Revival Services, we witnessed extravagant joy in Andy Cook. Some of you might have been offended. Others might have been shocked. Still others might have been envious. BUT … one thing I think we all observed … it was GENUINE.
Haven’t you ever WANTED to shout “Amen” … but held back … BECAUSE … you were too embarrassed to express your true feelings? Last week, some of you shouted “Hallelujah” for the first time in Church, when you found the Scripture passage that you were to turn to. It felt GOOD, didn’t it? And you weren’t embarrassed, were you? WHY? Because everybody else was shouting “Hallelujah” when THEY found the Scripture passage.
This woman DIDN’T CARE what anybody else thought. She had all this love bottled up in her … and she HAD to EXPRESS it. AND … it made some eyes pop open wide, and some jaws drop down.
7:39 – Jesus knew what Simon was thinking – “spoke within himself”. “If Jesus was REALLY a prophet from God:
o “He OUGHT to have the discernment that this woman is the town prostitute.”
o “If He DOES know … and ALLOWS her to act this way … He couldn’t be the Messiah.”
SIMON: “Look at her … touching Him like that … making such a fuss over Him. They both ought to be ashamed of themselves!”
7:40 – JESUS: “Simon, I’ve got something to say to you.”
SIMON: “Let’s hear it … and you’ve better have a good explanation for what’s going on.”
JESUS GIVES A PARABLE – 7:41-42
Let’s put it into terms we can understand … $500/$50
7:43 – SIMON: “The one who had the most at stake, will love him the most … the one with the biggest debt.”
JESUS: “Very good, Simon … you’re exactly right.”
There are several things I want us to see in this parable:
o Pardoned Sinners Will Love. It’s implied that BOTH will love the one who forgave their debts. The question is NOT … “Which one will love him?” … BUT … “Which one will love him MOST?” BOTH of them will love the one who forgave their debts.
When kindness is shown & received, LOVE WILL BE FELT. That’s just NATURAL. Luke 6:32 - “For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.” You’re going to love those who treat you with kindness, love, grace & mercy … you can’t help it. Even DOGS love their owners who are kind to them.
If you receive forgiveness from God, it’s only natural that you love Him in return … AMEN? Let me be frank with you … If you don’t love Jesus, you have never been forgiven of your sins. OR … put another way … If you have been forgiven of your sins, you WILL love Jesus.
AND …
o (Pardoned Sinners Will Love)
o Pardoned Sinners Will SHOW IT. – 7:44-46
CUSTOM: In Bible times, when you had an honored guest in your house, you showed him some common courtesy. You washed his feet … you greeted him with a kiss (like a handshake, today) … you put oil on his dry, parched skin to soothe him from the heat of the scorching sun.
JESUS: “Simon, you didn’t even offer me the common courtesies … you shunned Me … you showed Me disrespect … you were rude to Me. This woman has treated Me with the respect & honor that you should have. Why do you think she did this, Simon?”
7:47 – “Simon, you have sins, too … but you can’t see them. You’ve never ASKED forgiveness of your sins … you’ve never RECEIVED forgiveness of your sins. Simon, you don’t love Me at all!”
If you love Jesus, you will SHOW IT.
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR THOSE YOU LOVE?
o You THINK about them. There’s not a day that goes by, that I don’t THINK about Harriet … several times a day. How much do you THINK about Jesus during the day? How much you THINK about Jesus, shows how much you LOVE Him.
o You DO THINGS for them. I DO THINGS for Harriet. WHY? Because I love her. How much you DO for Jesus, shows how much you LOVE Him.
o You want to PLEASE them. If you love somebody, you don’t want them MAD at you … you do everything you can do to make them happy .. to PLEASE them. Does your life PLEASE Jesus? It shows Him how much you LOVE Him.
o You aren’t ASHAMED of it. I’m not ashamed of my love for Harriet. I don’t care who knows. “I love Harriet!” When you love Jesus, you won’t care who knows.
o You CARE ABOUT what THEY care about. If it’s IMPORTANT to Harriet, it’s IMPORTANT to me. WHY? Because I love her.
Do you CARE ABOUT what Jesus CARES ABOUT? WHAT DOES JESUS CARE ABOUT?
o His Day – Have you ever forgotten your wife’s birthday? I have. It showed I didn’t care! (may God & Harriet forgive me!) Jesus has a DAY. I’m not talking about Christmas (although we often ignore Him on His birthday!). I’m talking about SUNDAY. There are people who CLAIM to LOVE JESUS … who aren’t interested in coming to Church to celebrate HIS DAY. They won’t be here tonight … or Wednesday Night. Jesus cares about HIS DAY. If you love Jesus, you will care about what He loves.
o His Book – What if you received a birthday card, or a letter, from someone you claimed to love … and never opened it. It would prove that you didn’t really CARE about them. What if they called you on the phone, and when you answered it & found out it was them (or Caller ID), you hung up on them. What would that prove? It would prove that you didn’t really CARE about them … wouldn’t it? What are you telling Jesus, when you don’t open up your Bible except on Sunday Morning Worship Service? It’s telling Him that you don’t really LOVE Him. BECAUSE … you don’t CARE what He CARES about … His love-letters to you.
o His People – If you say you love me … but don’t love who I love … I would have a problem with that. Jesus loved you enough to DIE for you. If I love Jesus, I will love you too. Jesus knows all about you … and loves you anyhow. I don’t know everything about you … BUT … if I CARE about Jesus … and WHO He loves … I will love you too. If you love Jesus, you will love His children … even though they are sinners … just like you.
BUT … Let’s look at the question in 7:42 … “Which of them will love him MOST.”
Every pardoned sinner will love Jesus. You HAVE to … or you’re not saved. BUT … some will love Him MORE. Some will love Him with a GREATER DEGREE of love.
WHY DO SOME LOVE JESUS MORE THAN OTHERS?
o Their Love Has Grown – Do you love Jesus more NOW … than when you were first saved? Has your love GROWN? I loved Harriet BEFORE we were married. I loved her MORE after we were married. I love her MORE today than I did 32 years ago.
That doesn’t mean that love doesn’t rise & fall. There are some days that I don’t love her as much as I do other days (may God & Harriet forgive me!). I’m sure the same thing could be said for each one of us. When I do or say something stupid … or hurt her feelings … or ignore her … or take her for granted … or am thoughtless toward her … she may not love me as much.
Love fluctuates. There may be times when you just don’t love Jesus as much. Maybe He has done something that you just can’t understand how He could do such a thing if He really loved you. AND … you don’t love Him as much. OR … maybe He has blessed you beyond your wildest expectation … and you love Him a lot.
Love fluctuates … it’s not always to the same degree. BUT … you still love Him … if you are His child. AND … your love should be continually GROWING.
WHY DO SOME PEOPLE LOVE JESUS MORE THAN OTHERS?
o They Are Indebted To Him More. In our parable, the one who was forgiven $500 will love him more than the one who was forgiven $50. I don’t think Jesus is just telling us here that the one who had lived a more sinful life before they were saved, will love Jesus MORE after they are saved … than the one who was saved who had lived a good, moral life (though, that is often the case).
I think it has more to do with our SENSITIVITY to sin. We are ALL sinners. All it takes is 1 sin to condemn you to Hell. You may have had more sins for Jesus to forgive than I had (I was saved when I was 11). Does that mean you will love Him MORE? No. Jesus forgave ALL my sins … just like He forgave ALL your sins.
Outwardly, the prostitute had more sins than Simon the Pharisee. The focus is NOT on the NUMBER of sins … BUT … on the SENSITIVITY to sin. Simon didn’t see anything in his life that needed to be forgiven. He didn’t see himself as a sinner. The prostitute saw herself as a sinner … AND … was SENSITIVE to the sin in her life.
That’s why Jesus said – 7:48
Simon could JUSTIFY his sins … he didn’t see that he had anything to be forgiven of. Simon didn’t love Jesus. He didn’t see any need to. WHEREAS … the prostitute saw that she had much to be forgiven of … AND … when Jesus forgave her, she loved Him much.
LESSON: The more SENSITIVE you are to your sins, the MORE you will love Jesus. The MORE you realize the grace, mercy & love of Jesus in your life … the MORE you will love Him.
CONCLUSION: HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE JESUS?
Simon thought that God loved him because he was so GOOD. The Prostitute knew that Jesus loved her IN SPITE OF how BAD she was. SEE THE DIFFERENCE? Maybe you don’t love Him enough ... BECAUSE … you don’t see how much Jesus has forgiven you.
If you love Jesus … you will SHOW it. You will DEMONSTRATE it. It will be VISIBLE. AND … you won’t be ASHAMED of it.
STAND - PRAY
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:
“Love – A Visible Response”
Luke 7:36-50
7:36 – The Pharisees wanted to impress God with their goodness.
- They detached themselves from the common sinners.
7:37 – The sinful woman wanted to worship Jesus.
- She no longer needed the perfume of her old profession.
7:38 – She didn’t care how she was perceived … she came to honor Jesus … she wasn’t ashamed of her worship of Jesus.
7:39 – Jesus knew Simon’s thoughts about Him & the woman.
7:40 – Jesus has a message for Simon.
7:41-42 – Jesus gives a parable.
7:43 – Several things to note:
o Pardoned Sinners Will Love.
- It’s natural to love those who are kind to you – Luke 6:32
- If you are saved, you WILL love Jesus!
o Pardoned Sinners Will Show It – 7:44-46
- Simon had shown disrespect & dishonor to Jesus.
7:47 – What do you do for those you love?
o You Think About Them.
o You Do Things For Them.
o You Want To Please Them.
o You Aren’t Ashamed Of Them.
o You Care About What They Care About.
What does Jesus care about?
o His Day – Your love for Jesus shows by how you honor His day.
o His Book – Your love for Jesus shows by your Bible reading.
o His People – Your love for Jesus shows by your love for others.
Why do some love Jesus more than others?
o Their Love Has Grown – Love fluctuates … but should always grow.
o They Are Indebted To Him More – The more sensitive you are to sin in your life, the more you will love Jesus.
7:48 – Simon didn’t see any need to love Jesus … because he wasn’t sensitive to sin in his life.
CONCLUSION: How much do you love Jesus?
- If you love Jesus, you will show it … it will be visible … you will never be ashamed of loving Jesus.
PRISCILLA BAPTIST CHURCH – Ray Scott, Pastor
