God Honors A Contrite Spirit
Luke 7:36-49
Wed. Evening – July 12, 2006
I. Luke 7:36 (KJV) And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat (or food). The word “desired” isn’t used in other translations. Most of them say Simon “invited” or “asked” Jesus to dinner.”
A. Simon was a Pharisee. The Romans had power over this part of the world through government but the Pharisees controlled the people through “religion”.
a. Most likely Simon didn’t invite Jesus because he believed in Him as Messiah. He probably invited Jesus to dinner in hopes of catching Him saying or doing something that would prove He wasn’t really a prophet of God.
B. In the first few verses of this same chapter, Jesus had healed a centurion’s slave by speaking the Word. He had also raised a young man from the dead.
C. Verse 17 says, “And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.” So it was well known that Jesus was a worker of miracles.
a. People were flocking to Jesus. This got the attention of all the Pharisees because they controlled the people with religion.
D. In those days there was always someone claiming to be the Messiah. Some of them had a lot of followers. But they were looking for a leader who would overthrow the Romans.
a. Others who proclaimed to be the Messiah were not able to do the miracles that Jesus did.
b. Simon was curious, but he hoped to expose Jesus as an imposter.
II. Verse 37: Luke 7:37 (KJV) And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,”
A. “Behold”. In other words, “and know this”. This is something out of the ordinary.
B. The woman was a “sinner”. The Greek word for sinner was used for tax collectors and prostitutes. She was no tax collector. When Simon said, “Sinner” it was with a “hiss” and disgust.
a. This woman was a prostitute and had been around plying her trade long enough to be known by the whole town.
C. There is at least one other time when a woman anointed Jesus with oil from an alabaster box. It’s easy to confuse the two but they are not the same. The other time it was Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus.
a. Reading verse 11 of Chapter 7 you will find out this story took place in the city of Nain and the woman is not named.
III. Verse 39:“And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.”
A. Simon was probably very rich. It was customary to let others into the home to stand around during the banquets while they listened to what was being said during the meal.
a. Most of the noblemen of that day went to great lengths to satisfy their egos. They would let people in so they could see the lavish lifestyle and rich foods the host was able to offer his guests. The people would stand off to one side to hear the conversation taking place at the meal. They were permitted to ask questions periodically as long as it didn’t disrupt the meal.
b. The tables in those days were very low to the ground. They didn’t sit in chairs. The host and guests would always lie down with their feet extended behind them. They would rest on one arm and eat with the other.
c. Women were never invited to such a meal. They were free to stand off to one side and listen. We don’t know how this woman got in so close to Jesus. She sure wasn’t invited.
d. Since this woman was well known, it’s hard to know how she got in without being noticed but she may have covered her face with a veil.
B. As she stood behind Jesus she began to weep.
a. The word for “weeping” is the same word used to describe the crying of someone who is mourning the dead.
b. These were not just a few tears that she shed. She was crying very loudly and the tears were like rivers pouring out of her.
c. Her tears literally washed the Feet of Jesus.
C. You have to understand the traditions of that time to get the full affect of what took place that day. Remember, it was hot, dusty and dry in that part of the world.
a. In that day people wore sandals that were open, much like the “flip-flops” of today. It was customary for the host to wash the feet of his guests. Servants did the actual washing. Jars of water were kept nearby the door just for this purpose.
b. Secondly, the host would always anoint the guest with some perfumed oil. It was a gesture to refresh the guest. It was usually a very expensive perfume so it was also considered to be a mark of special honor.
c. One of the first things the host did when a guest arrived would be to put one hand on the shoulder of the guest and give him a kiss on the cheek. That was the standard way of welcoming someone to your home.
d. Washing feet, men kissing and having perfume on them seems strange to us today but it was always done when someone was invited to your home.
D. Here is a very important point: For a host not to do these things for a guest was considered to be a great insult.
IV. So we have Jesus lying down at the table with the other guests. Usually no less than 9 men were invited to a meal. Jesus and 8 others, with the host sitting across from Jesus. They are all resting on one arm, facing the table with their feet extending behind them.
A. The woman is just behind Jesus. There is only one thing that has moved her to come into the house . . . . total desperation.
B. She knows she is a sinner, no one needs to tell her. The whole town knows who she is and what she does for a living.
C. Men avoided her during the day but in the dark of night they searched her out.
a. It doesn’t say how long she had been a prostitute but she was well known which suggests she had been in the “business” a long time.
D. Now she’s standing directly behind Jesus. I believe she had been following Jesus from the first day He entered the city of Nain. She had either seen or heard, of the miracles He had done. She had heard Him teach. If you read through the Gospels you will find that just prior to this Jesus had said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28-30)
a. She had never heard anyone teach like that before.
b. She had been with many men in her life. “Love” was something she thought she knew all about but this Man was speaking about a different kind of love. He offered to give without expecting anything in return. It was a love with “no strings attached.”
c. For most of her life she had labored in sin and the burden of guilt was too heavy for her to carry any more.
d. Other men took from her but here is a Man that promised to give her something out of His love.
e. It wasn’t money.
f. It was something she had been longing for. It was “rest.”
1. Rest from her way of life as a prostitute.
2. Rest from the hateful stares of other women.
3. Rest from the abusive treatment of men.
4. Rest from the guilt & shame of sin that had become a heavy yoke around her neck.
E. By now there is no doubt in her mind that this is the Messiah, the One Man Israel and the whole world had been waiting for.
F. Standing behind Jesus she becomes convicted in her spirit and wants to repent of the life she has lived for so many years.
a. She had already noticed how the host had neglected to wash the Feet of Jesus. Neither had he anointed Him with oil, nor had he given him a kiss on the cheek to welcome Him.
b. The woman is not only moved by the conviction of her sins but she is shocked to see how Jesus has been mistreated with improper etiquette, which was so important in those days.
G. Unable to control herself she falls to the floor sobbing and lovingly & takes hold of the Feet of Jesus.
a. Back then women used makeup. They had rouge and mascara like they do today but they were made of different materials than today.
b. She is sobbing uncontrollably. Her tears flow down her cheeks and onto the Feet of Jesus. Mascara probably ran down her cheeks in dark streams.
c. Then she does something that shocks everyone.
d. Her hair was rolled up but she loosens it. Her hair falls, covering the Feet of Jesus.
e. In those days it was forbidden for a woman to expose her hair in public. On the day a woman married she bound up her hair and would never appear in public with it loose again.
f. But this woman is only concerned with one thing, to love Jesus. She isn’t worried about what people are going to think.
g. The fear of man had long departed from her nature.
h. Her tears literally wash the dust from the Feet of Jesus.
i. Then she dries them with her hair.
H. Most women of that day had perfume. The inexpensive perfume was made of olive oil and flower petals or spices to give it a scent. It was the most common and less expensive.
a. Women who could afford it had an imported perfume called “nard”. The Greek word for “ointment” (Strongs # 3464, "myron") suggests it was imported and very expensive.
b. They would keep the perfume in “boxes”, a cruse or bottle made from a soft stone called alabaster.
c. Some of them carried the perfume in a vial which hung around their neck on a necklace. Since this was a prostitute it could be that she carried had a vial of it with her.
d. After wiping His Feet dry from her tears, she poured the oil over the Feet of Jesus.
V. Verse 39, “Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.”
A. Simon the Pharisee saw what the woman was doing and noticed there was no reaction from Jesus.
a. This answered a question he had been asking himself. Was Jesus a true Prophet?
b. Now it’s clear to Simon that He is not. Simon thinks Jesus should have kicked her away and told her to get out.
c. Instead He just smiles while she washes and continually kisses His feet.
d. Simon was convinced that Jesus was not a prophet, the Messiah or even a Man of God.
e. Simon would never let a woman of her kind touch him. After all, she was a “sinner” (hiss).
B. But notice one thing in verse 39. Simon didn’t say these things out loud. They were just his thoughts. But Jesus knew what he was thinking.
VI. Verse:40 “And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.”
A. When Simon called Jesus “Master” it wasn’t in the same meaning that we would think of today. To call someone master today is to put them above others. It’s a title of honor.
a. In those days it just meant “teacher”.
b. So what Simon said was, “Keep talking, teacher”.
VII. Then in verses 41-48 Jesus says, “There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.”
VIII. Jesus pointed out that Simon had neglected to wash His Feet. He didn’t kiss Him on the cheek to welcome Him to his home and he didn’t anoint Jesus with oil. All were considered the standard rules of etiquette for that day.
A. But this woman who Simon despised had not only washed His Feet but kissed them and anointed them with oil.
B. In Simon’s mind he was in the right and the woman was in the wrong.
C. He thought Jesus was a phony and not a prophet or the Messiah.
D. Simon thought he was better than the woman.
1. He wouldn’t let her touch him.
2. He would never allow her in his home if he had known she wanted in.
3. What was even worst, he believed his opinions about her, his judgment was better than others and expected Jesus to act the same way.
E. All those things add up to “self-righteousness”.
IV. We have two sinners in our story, Simon the Pharisee & the prostitute.
A. At the end of the day one remained a sinner and the other left a saint.
B. Simon’s problem was self-righteousness. He didn’t repent.
a. The prostitute knew she was a sinner and she repented.
C. Let’s look at Simon.
a. Simon was quick to judge others.
b. He didn’t think he had any need of repenting or asking forgiveness.
c. He was a Pharisee. He knew scriptures by memory.
d. He was always well behaved in public. Everyone in the city would tell you that he was a moral man because he was a Pharisee. Subsequently, he must be in good standing with God.
e. He was respected and highly esteemed in the town of Nain.
f. He had not, and never would, commit a sin that would be publicly condemned so there was no need for him to ask for forgiveness.
g. It was easy for him to say the woman is a sinner.
h. But it was impossible for him to do is say, “I’m a sinner”.
D. The other sinner in our story is the prostitute.
a. Simon didn’t wash the Feet of Jesus so he was showing disrespect.
b. But the woman knew Jesus deserved more than respect.
c. He deserved a worshipful respect. So she washed His Feet with her tears and kisses.
d. As the tears poured out, her soul followed after.
e. Simon didn’t greet Jesus with a kiss on the Cheek but the woman knew that Jesus deserved more than a common greeting. He deserved a humble, broken-hearted greeting so she continually kissed His Feet.
f. Simon didn’t anoint the Head of Jesus with oil but the woman broke her alabaster box and poured her oil over the Feet of Jesus.
g. When she broke the box, or cruse of oil, she had to pour it all out because there was no way to put it back in the cruse. She was giving it all.
h. The scent of the perfume filled the air. Everyone knew something special had happened.
i. It was the scent of a broken spirit being renewed by praise and worship at the Feet of God.
E. Simon looked to himself with self-righteous vision.
a. When a person is self-righteous he doesn’t believe there is a need to repent because there’s nothing to repent from.
b. Self-righteousness is blinded to the fact that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
c. A self righteous person is in his, or her own, glory.
d. Self-righteous person judges others by comparing them with him / her self.
e. It’s a religious spirit and the object of worship is “self”.
F. It’s believing that “secret” sins of the flesh are hidden even from God. But read:
a. Isaiah 29:13-1 (KJV) Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
H. Here is something the world, and many churches, can’t understand: The Lord honors a broken spirit more than a religious spirit.
a. Is. 57:18: "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones"
b. We want revival? There’s the answer to personal & corporate revival. It’s a contrite spirit.
V. What is a “contrite” spirit.
A. To understand the word “contrite” we look to a pottery maker. A pottery maker will take the clay pots that have flaws in them (rejects) and put them in a machine called a “contriter”.
a. The contriter grinds the pots down to a fine powder so they can be made into new pots.
b. To have a contrite spirit is to have been broken and ground down to make a new vessel.
c. A contrite spirit is one that as been ground down so fine that it has no form of its own.
d. A contrite spirit is a humble & broken spirit.
e. It’s a repentant & unselfish spirit.
B. When the woman fell weeping at the feet of Jesus she worshiped Him from a contrite spirit.
a. The only way you can worship like that is when you’ve been through something.
b. She fell at the Feet of Jesus as a contrite spirit but rose up as a new “vessel”.
VI. Look at Isaiah 66:1-2: “Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? 2 For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist," Says the LORD. "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor (or dejected) and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.”
A. God says, “Who can build something great enough for My presence? I have created everything. Does man think he can improve on my creation and build a dwelling place that would give Me satisfaction?”
a. The Pharisees and all the religious men of that day took pride in the Temple that man had made as a welling place for God. In that day it was the most elaborate building ever created by man.
b. It glistened with gold. They say if you were coming to Jerusalem from the East when the sun was shining on the Temple it would reflect the sun so much that men could barely look at it.
c. But Jesus prophesied the Temple would be destroyed and deserted by God and that’s exactly what happened.
B. Several times in the O.T. scriptures God said He didn’t need a earthly building to dwell in. Simon and the others were students of the Word of God and should have known this.
a. God says Heaven is His throne and the earth His footstool.
b. How can man build something big enough to hold God?
c. If God needed a house for Himself to live in He would have made one when He created the world.
C. But look back at verse 2, Is. 66, “"But on this one will I look: On him who is poor (or dejected) and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.”
a. From the time of the fall of Adam, the only dwelling place God has ever wanted was in the heart of man.
b. We think this is a N.T. concept. In 1 Cor. 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
c. It was implemented in the N.T. by the death & resurrection of Jesus but it has always been the intention of God to live in the heart of man.
D. God has a heaven and earth of His own creation and He had a temple of man’s making, but He overlooks them all in order to come into a heart that is broken, humble and begging forgiveness.
E. Does this describe you? If you have asked Jesus to be Savior and the Lord of your life, God has moved in to your heart and made it His Home. Heaven and earth are there too.
F. One note in closing: Repentance is not a one time thing at the time of salvation. We still sin so we must still repent and ask the Holy Spirit to help us not commit the same sin again.
a. Every time a Christian sins and doesn’t repent, they’re serving eviction notice to Jesus and inviting a new tenant into their heart, the devil.
b. The devil already has a place to go and live and it was created just for him. It’s hell.
c. Don’t give him a chance to live where God has always desired to live, in your heart.
d. Remember Romans 8:37-39 (NKJV) “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
e. God wants permanent residence in your heart and there is nothing that can separate Him from you except unconfessed sin.
G. Alexander the Great was one of the most successful military commanders in history. He subdued most of his known world but he was conquered by his own lusts; he died in a drunken stupor.
a. The Christian conquers his own lusts in order to subdue the world within him.
b. We’ve not only conquered the outside world but we have been given the Word of God, the Holy Spirit and the Name of Jesus to conquer the world inside.
c. That makes us more than conquers! Glory!!!
