Sunday June 13, 2010 Luke 7:36-50

Greetings, it’s going to be another rainy weekend. Some sun would be nice. The text for Sunday continues on in the seventh chapter of Luke. The insights I have gained for this story come from Dr. Kenneth Bailey. He has written commentaries on many of the stories and parables of Luke, explaining the implied Middle Eastern background. One of his best books is “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes”. I recommend it highly.

Some background to this story helps. Jesus has been speaking in the area and the woman has heard him. He has been teaching that people’s sins are forgiven. To people such as this woman, who is implied to be a prostitute, this is remarkable. The Pharisees taught that a person must:
1. Confess their sins
2. Make compensation-some people like shepherds, prostitutes and tax collectors couldn’t make compensation to the people they had sinned against so they were lost to God forever-they had no hope.
3. Sacrifice in the Temple and keep the law from now on to demonstrate their sincerity.
4. After this God may forgive them.

Jesus starts teaching them a different way, changing the order:
1. Forgives sins – Welcomes all to God which is a “Costly Demonstration of Unexpected Love”.
2. Repentance – the person has “allowed” themselves to be “found” and in response to the forgiveness of their sins offers love to the forgiver (Jesus). In the Old Testament it was only God who could forgive but now Jesus has the presence of God and he too can forgive sin.
3. Go in peace and sin no more – Keep the commandment Jesus gave “Love others as I have loved you”.

Jesus taught there were two types of sinners: (everyone fits into one of the two categories)
1. Lawkeepers – who condemn the lawbreakers.
2. Lawbreakers – who look at the lawkeepers as hypocrites.

Sin is made up of two actions; evil deeds and failure to do good.

V36 Simon a Pharisees invites Jesus to his home for a meal after the morning prayers. The purpose of this is for Simon and his fellow Pharisees to “set Jesus straight” on his forgiveness of sins. They will humiliate him. Jesus will then realize his error and correct it. Upon entering Simon’s house, Simon should have made sure that Jesus was greeted with a kiss, his feet were washed and he was anointed with olive oil. Simon does none of these things for Jesus while he does them for the other guests, a blatant show of disrespect towards Jesus. Jesus should have gotten mad at the lack of hospitality and left but he didn’t. He stayed to teach them.

V37 A woman who had heard Jesus teach about forgiveness earlier asked where Jesus was going to be eating and learned he would be dining at Simons house. The very pious would allow the poor into their homes to sit around the outside wall while an important meal was being offered. After the meal they would be allowed to eat the leftovers. They could listen to the guests but not interact with them. She is listening and observing what is taking place. She has arrived before Jesus and noticed the lack of hospitality.

V38 She observes that Jesus was purposefully slighted by his host in order to humiliate him and she can’t point it out to anyone so she begins to weep. She has much love for him because he has shown her forgiveness. She realizes that she can do something for this man, who has shown her forgiveness, with her tears so she bathes his feet with them. She can’t ask for a towel and all she has is her hair so she lets down her hair to wipe his feet with. This was very scandalous as the only man to see a woman’s hair was to be her husband on their wedding night. By the act of letting down her hair to wipe his feet she is communicating some kind of bond or commitment with Jesus. She couldn’t get to his head because they were reclining on couches for the meal so she kisses his feet and anoints them with the oil she had brought. By pouring out the oil she used in her trade she is communicating her repentance or change of lifestyle, she won’t need it anymore.

V39 Simon and his guests observe this woman’s action and think to themselves if Jesus were truly a prophet he would know who is touching (fondling) him. Jesus should tell her to stop it but he doesn’t. He is allowing a lawbreaker (the woman) to touch him. He knows if he stops her it will crush her and she will be lost to God forever by his rebuke so he allows her to continue.

V40 Jesus spoke up telling Simon he had something to say to him. Simon calls him teacher (but doesn’t believe it – fake flattery) and tells him to go ahead.

V41 Jesus tells Simon a parable. There are two debtors who owed a creditor money. One owes a little and one owes a lot.

V42 Both debtors are unable to pay the creditor so the creditor forgives both loans. Which debtor will love the creditor more?

V43 Simon replied the one who owes more will be the most grateful and love the creditor more. Jesus replied that Simon had answered correctly.

V44 Jesus then looks at the woman at his feet and rebukes Simon. Jesus says I entered your house Simon (the words have a ring of cold steel) and you gave me no water for my feet but she has done her best to make up for that slight by washing them with her tears.

V45 You, Simon, gave me no welcoming kiss but she is doing her best to make up for that slight by kissing my feet which no one would ever do.

V46 You, Simon, did not anoint my head with oil but she is anointing my feet with the ointment she brought to make up for that slight.

V47 Therefore her sins which have been many, as a prostitute, have already been forgiven (he reconfirms her previous forgiveness from an earlier time) and she is showing me, the forgiver, great love. The one who loves me little, Simon (a lawkeeper but sinner by the omission of welcoming greetings) is forgiven little.

V48 Jesus then tells the woman that her sins are forgiven. The anger that the other guests have toward this woman are now directed at Jesus. He has shown her, a prostitute, a “Costly Demonstration of Unexpected Love” which equals “Grace” by taking their anger at her and her actions upon himself.

V49 The rest of Simons guests start to mummer amongst themselves “who does this man think he is that he can forgive sin?” We know that only God can forgive sin in the Temple. This man is equating himself with God.

V50 Jesus tells the woman “her faith has saved her, go in peace.” What faith has saved her? She hasn’t spoken a word the whole time. It was her actions and risk of rejection by Jesus that demonstrated her faith in him and his message of forgiveness. She entered into his suffering of humiliation by his host and attempted to correct it to the best of her ability. She sees in Jesus the forgiving love of God and Jesus accepts her judgment about him, he does carry the forgiving love of God as the Son of God.

Going back to the opening paragraphs we have Simon a Pharisee believing and teaching a strict order of forgiveness by God that renders many people lost with no hope of entering into God’s family. We have Jesus teaching the people that interpretation of forgiveness is wrong. God first forgives and as a result of receiving forgiveness the people are reconciled to God – their relationship to his is restored. No one is lost unless they choose to be – they don’t accept God’s forgiveness. We have the woman, a prostitute (a lawbreaker - who looks at Simon as a hypocrite for his shameful actions), as a blatant sinner who knows it. We have Simon the Pharisee who thinks he is pious and righteous also as a sinner by purposefully humiliating a guest invited into his home (a lawkeeper - who looks down on lawbreakers instead of helping them). We have the sin of evil deeds by the prostitute and the sin of omission by Simon in his absence of welcome after issuing an invitation.

Now, where does each of us fit into this scheme? Are you a lawbreaker or a lawkeeper? Do you hold to a strict interpretation of forgiveness or do you attempt to include and treat all people as forgiven, if they choose to accept it, including the lowest of our society? Remember only God can look into their hearts to know their status, we can’t so we must believe their word. Do you commit sins by doing evil deeds or do you commit sins by omitting kindness, caring and honor to people. The fact is we are all sinners and there isn’t a ranking of sin from not so bad to horrible. Sin is sin. We each need to examine our own sinful ways and repent of them instead of focusing on others sin to the exclusion of our own sin. We need to follow Jesus’ command to love others as he has loved and forgiven each one of us.