"The Unrepentant Pharisee & The Repentant Sinner Woman”

“THE UNREPENTANT PHARISEE & THE REPENTANT SINNER WOMAN”

LUKE 7: 29-31==32-50 12-06-08

Back in the days of our text it was customary in Israel that when an invited guess would come into the house of the person that invited him, that it was a respectable thing to do in giving the honored guess a kiss on the cheek to show honor and as a welcome to the guest.

But as we read this passage here in LK. 7: we’ll notice that this was not the case when Jesus comes into the Pharisees home, we’ll also see that a sinner woman was there and she did greatly honor Jesus and showed her love and gratitude toward Him as she had been forgiven of her many sins.

It was customary in that day for outsiders to come to a banquet so they could watch the “important people” and hear the conversation, they didn’t eat with or mingle among the guest, but only listen and observed what was said.

This explains how this woman had access to Jesus. He was not behind locked doors. In that day women were not invited to banquets.

Jewish rabbis didn’t speak to women in public, nor did they eat with them in public.

A woman of this type would not be welcomed in the house of Simon the Pharisee. Her sins are not named, but it seems that she was a woman of the streets with a bad reputation.

Let us not say that this woman is Mary Magdalene as some have said, there’s not any scripture that she is, but she seems to be a very sinful woman and known around town, Simon would never talk to her in public although he may have after dark as nobody could see him.

Let me say that Jesus had been telling about John the Baptist earlier before He was invited to Simons, and He had said that the Pharisees acted like a bunch of spoiled brats, before Simons.

Listen as I read a portion of today’s text in LK: 7: 29-31 29And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. 30But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. 31And the Lord said, ** Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? ** 32They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.-- 33For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. 34The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! 3 5 But wisdom is justified of all her children.

Let me stop right here and say that Jesus had just finished accusing the self righteous Pharisees of acting like a bunch of petted little children, so most likely Simon the Pharisee that we’re about to read about, didn’t invite Jesus to come eat with him and his other guest because he wanted to honor Jesus, as we read the rest of the account we’ll notice that his motive appears to be to try and trap Jesus in some thing that Jesus might say, he hopes to humiliate Jesus before his other guest.

36-50 36And 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. 37And, 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,

38And 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.

Again let me remind us that at that time there in Israel people didn’t sit at a kitchen table as we do today, the customary way was to sit on a seat much like a couch with their feet most of the time at their side and slightly behind them.

39Now 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.

40And Jesus answering said unto him,*** Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. [a parable] ** 41There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?