Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: 1 Kings 21:1-21; Galatians 2:15-21; Luke 7:36—8:3

Sinful Women and Pharisees
Luke 7:36-8:3

In the previous story in Luke Jesus had been commenting on the fact that you just can’t make some people happy–notably the Pharisees. Verses 33-34 of chapter 7 tells us that John didn’t drink wine and fasted all the time, and he was accused of being demon possessed. Then Jesus, the Son of Man, comes eating and drinking, and He’s called “a glutton and a drunkard and a friend to the worst kinds of sinners!” And in this story we see how Jesus is a friend to the worst kind of sinners.

 

A Pharisee is throwing a big, fancy dinner party, and he invites Jesus. I’m not sure that was a good move on his part, but he did it anyway. Normally when a big party like this was thrown the house was left open, and those who hadn’t been invited to the dinner itself could wander in through the courtyard and listen to the discussion going on. After the party the left-over food was given to those in the courtyard, so the poor were fed, the host didn’t have a lot of food spoiling, and everyone was happy. This is why the woman, the sinful woman, could get in. So all of this lively dinnertime discussion is going on when, all of the sudden, (I imagine a dead silence coming over the room at this point) this woman walks up to Jesus and kneels at His feet. Crying, she anoints His feet and wipes them with her hair. We’re never told what sins this woman committed that brand her as a sinful woman. I like that. It leaves it open-ended for us, and any kind of sin that we need to ask forgiveness for. May be that’s why Luke didn’t elaborate: that way his readers could fill in the blank with their sin and know that Jesus forgave them just as He forgave this woman.

The Pharisee is not happy that his party has been crashed by this sinful woman. He’s even more appalled that Jesus is not rebuking her. Now we find out why he invited Jesus in the first place: he thought Jesus might be a prophet. Now he thinks differently. Of course, Jesus proves him wrong by reading his mind. He tells Simon a little parable about two debtors: one owed a creditor 2 years worth of wages, and the second owed 2 months worth of wages. The creditor forgives both debts—neither have to pay what they owed. Then Jesus asks “Which of the two will love this creditor more?” At this time I imagine that Simon has that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach because he knows Jesus is about to nail him. But to give the guy credit—he did give the right answer: The one who had been forgiven the bigger debt.

Jesus then explains how the woman and Simon are the two debtors in the story. The woman showed Jesus a lot of love; this woman who went far above and beyond the rules of hospitality to show her gratitude and showed by her actions how much she’d been forgiven. The loving attention she lavished on Jesus showed how much she owed Him for forgiving her many sins. Simon on the other hand didn’t even give Jesus the minimum show of hospitality: no water for his feet, no oil for his head, no welcoming kiss. He showed by his indifference that he didn’t even know he needed to be forgiven much less asking for it.

Jesus then turns and speaks directly to the woman: “Your sins are forgiven.” This causes another uproar as everyone around the table wanted to know what kind of man had the gall to forgive someone when only God could forgive sins. Jesus then tells the woman to go in peace; her offering of thankfulness and love has been accepted.

The woman knew she was a sinner, and she knew she could find forgiveness with Jesus. After He forgave her, she wanted to find a way to let Him know how much she loved Him. In a very public place, where she could have been humiliated, she thanked Jesus with tears, oil, and her hair. Jesus accepted her gift of love, and gave her the peace that had alluded her all of her life. Simon, on the other hand, never even realized his need for forgiveness. He was just a curious onlooker who wanted to know about this vagabond who might be a prophet. Although Simon invited Jesus into his home as his guest, he didn’t even offer Jesus the minimum refreshment normally given to guests. He had God under his roof and never knew it.

Normally this story is left with an either/or ending: Either you’re the woman or you’re the Pharisee! Now I am not an either/or person. I’m a both/and person. So instead of leaving this hanging with an either/or proclamation: You’re either the woman or the Pharisee, I have a both/and question for you. Did you start out as the woman, and have you become the Pharisee? Did you start out as the woman? When you were first saved and when you first started following Christ, did you show the same kind of love and joy and thankfulness that this woman showed? Max Lucado calls this risky love: “love that is willing to take a chance. Love that goes out on a limb. Love that makes a statement and leaves a legacy. Sacrificial love.” Is that where you started: with this woman at Jesus’ feet overwhelmed at the forgiveness and grace you received willing to do anything to express to Jesus how you loved Him? Did you start out as the woman?

Have you become the Pharisee? Somewhere along the way did you start taking forgiveness forgranted? Did you forget the debt you once owed? Did you forget the forgiveness that you received? Have you become like the “good people” I read in a modern version of this story who “seem to talk a lot about forgiveness” but don’t seem to live it? Have you lost the realization that God lives under your roof? Have you become the Pharisee?

As to the matter of the difference in the two debts: the lesser versus the greater debt. One commentary I read made the point that the amount of these two debts is irrelevant—the point is neither debtor can pay the debt. The same is true for the Pharisee and the sinful woman: neither can pay the debt they owe to God. Simon’s sin might have been cutting corners on his tax return, and the woman’s sin might well have been prostitution or may be she was a woman who humiliated her husband in public and beat her children. The point is neither one could ever work their way out of the debt they owed God. They both needed forgiveness. They both needed a Savior who was a friend to the worst kinds of sinner. And in the end I think that is why this is one of my favorite stories. This story shows Jesus hanging out with the worst kinds of sinners. Jesus is a friend to the arrogant, self-righteous Pharisee, and He’s a friend to the sinful woman that everyone looks down their noses at. The woman saw her need and received forgiveness. The Pharisee didn’t. And we need to make sure that once we’ve received forgiveness, we do not forget about the grace that has changed our lives and slowly become the Pharisee.

I read that “if our lives have been changed by an experience of God’s grace, we can never get over the fact that we have been forgiven. God’s love, experienced in forgiveness, becomes the controlling force in our lives.” So this week look at your life. Are you living like the woman: grateful for the forgiveness you received and the new life you’ve been given? Remember after this woman received forgiveness—she was no longer a sinner. In fact, an interesting note is when the story introduces her it says, “she was a sinful woman”—past tense. When she came to Jesus the old had passed–she was a new creation. She was a child of God. Is that how you’re living? Is that how you’re serving Jesus?

Or is Simon a little closer to how things are? Forgiveness is something you pray for because you’re supposed to: Adoration–check, confession–check, thanksgiving–check, supplication–check. Like the Ephesian church in Revelation have you lost your first love? The New Living Translation says it this way: “You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!” Have you forgotten the grace and forgiveness that made you a new creation? If you have, remember, Jesus is a friend to the worst kinds of sinners. Even those who somewhere along the way forgot how much they had been forgiven and became Simon. Come back. Remember what Jesus told the church in Ephesus: “Look how far you have fallen from your first love! Turn back to me again and work as you did at first.” Remember your first love and come back to Him because He’s still a friend to the worst kinds of sinners, “and work as you did at first.” Remember Him, come back and receive the same peace he gave to this now godly woman, and that He first gave you. Although I’m not sure this story ends in Luke 7:50. Let’s move on the Luke 8.

Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, Sphere: Related Content