Luke Chapter 7:36-50 Part #1

Hello, this is Matt Slick from the Matt Slick Live Podcast, where I defend the Christian faith and lay out our foundations of the truth of God's Word. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network.

This is part one of a special two-part episode. Do you feel like you're on a religious treadmill? Do you feel like Christianity is just a system of rules and regulations?

I can do this, but I can't do that. Do you feel like your efforts to reach God, find God, and please God are futile? Do you feel like your faith is dead or alive? Today, Pastor Russ Andrews will walk us through Scripture to answer these questions. Join us on Finding Purpose, glorifying God by helping men find their purpose for living. For more information and to connect with Russ Andrews and Finding Purpose, you can visit us online at findingpurpose.net or connect with us on Facebook. Now let's listen to Russ Andrews as he teaches us how to be a Christian without being religious. Today's message features Pastor Peter Rochelle. It is great to be here. I've been wanting to come for a long time, and I'm grateful to our good friend and our brother in Christ, Russ, for extending me the invitation to come tonight.

You know, I wanted to come years ago, and I remember just begging Russ, hey, when are you going to let me come and speak? And he just said, you know, you're not quite ready. And so I sent him a tape.

That's how long ago it's been. I sent him a cassette tape. I said, hey, listen to this.

Tell me what you think. And I think after you listen to this tape, you will invite me to come. And he listened to the tape and he said, Pete, you're just still not ready. We advanced a little bit. We started doing CDs. And a couple years later, I sent him a CD and I said, Russ, listen to this CD.

I've grown a lot. Listen to this CD. And I think after you listen to this CD, you'll invite me to come. And he listened and he said, Pete, you're still not ready.

And then we advanced a little bit more and we got the internet and the website and we got stuff online. And I said, Russ, you got to check out this sermon I have online. Go listen to it. And I'm really convinced that if you listen to this sermon that I have online, you'll invite me to come and speak. And he listened and he called me and said, Pete, you're just, you're still not ready. And I said, well, Russ, I tell you what, I'll come for free. And he said, now you are ready.

Now you are ready. I'm grateful for Russ and I am so appreciative of his friendship. And he's been a dear brother of mine for many, many years. And the first time I ever met Russ was at an FCA event that was at his house.

Rushman and Smith were in FCA and I just come on staff with FCA. And I remember, to be honest, being a little bit intimidated going in this very opulent neighborhood. And I don't want them to think I'm breaking in or anything like that, you know. But I go and Russ comes to the door in shorts and a T-shirt. And he introduced himself. I introduced myself.

He hugged me. And it's like there was this kindred spirit right away. And I love Russ and I love what God is doing in his life and has done in his life.

And this ministry is evident of that. And just know I am so thrilled to be here. I'm so honored that God would give me this privilege to come and to share a little bit out of his word. And I pray to God that he would encourage your heart and my heart tonight as we get into his word. So join with me in Luke chapter 7. You have been in the book of Luke. Tonight we're going to be in chapter 7, finishing up chapter 7.

We want to begin in verse 36 and we want to go down to verse 50. And as I was preparing to do Luke 7, 36 through 50, I thought about two evangelism encounters that I had that happened many years ago. One, I've been involved with a wonderful camp. Another camp, Oak Hill is a wonderful camp. Another camp they'll call Camp Willow Run.

And so for about 12 years I've been going up to Camp Willow Run and I speak a special week. All the kids are incarcerated. All the kids are serving time. Most of the kids are felons and they have just done some horrendous things. And so I get the privilege to go up there every week for, every summer for a week.

It's called the Juvenile Justice Week and I get to preach God's word twice a day and share with these kids the good news of the gospel. And after one of our meetings a female wanted to speak to me. My wife was with me and so we got her and we pulled her off to the side and she began just to share her heart. And her demeanor was one of sadness. Her demeanor was one of she was very heavy and weighty. Her demeanor was one of shame.

In fact she very seldom looked up at us and made eye contact with us. But we patiently listened and allowed her just to share her heart and she began to share how she got in trouble basically. And how she ended up in prison. And she began to tell us things like she got involved with drugs and alcohol. She got involved with sexual immorality and she started sleeping around with various boys in her high school. She was a high school age student. She began to tell us how she began to get involved with violence and gangs and those kind of things. She began to tell us the reason why she was actually incarcerated. And she said I assaulted my mother. And she said it was bad and she begins to weep as she's telling us this. And then she says I don't know if God could ever ever forgive me. I've done so much stuff.

I've done so much bad stuff. I don't know if God could ever ever forgive me. And we listened but we encouraged her with the gospel. And we encouraged her that Jesus loved her and Jesus came to save her and to forgive her for all of her sins. And we were so pleased that she accepted Christ as her Savior. And we were so pleased to see her the next morning in the worship service singing and lifting up her hands with tears streaming down her face. And we just praise God that He is a God who forgives even the greatest sinners.

And then I thought about another encounter that happened shortly after this encounter. A college student, a female, sharing the gospel with her and I remember saying this. I remember saying are you saved? That may not be the best language to use. I get that.

Sometimes people don't understand what you mean when you use terms like that. But she said saved from what? And I'm thinking to myself, duh, saved from sin, right?

I mean Jesus came to save us from our sins, to die on the cross that we might be forgiven and we might become new creations in Christ. And then she began to tell me that she was a good person. In fact her father was a pastor. She had gone to church all of her life. She literally told me this and you have probably had encounters like this with people before. She literally told me that she really had never really sinned. She said I like to dance and I sometimes like to listen to non-religious music but that's like the worst thing I do. I like to dance and listen to music.

But I'm a good person. I graduated from college. I'm in graduate school. I'm going to work with kids.

I'm getting my master's in psychology and I'm going to work and help kids. I am a good person and we talked for hours and she was never convinced that she was a sinner. As we approach Luke chapter 7, there are two individuals in the story. One individual gets it. One individual understands that she is a sinner in need of forgiveness, in need of a savior.

There's another individual in the text that doesn't have a clue. Follow along with me in your copy of God's Word beginning in verse 36. Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. And as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears.

Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is, that she is a sinner. So Jesus answered him, Simon, I have something to tell you.

Tell me teacher, he said. Two men owed money to a certain money lender. One owed him 500 denarii and the other 50. Neither of them had money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both.

Now which of them will love him more? Simon replied, I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled. You have judged correctly, Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman from the time I entered has not stopped kissing my feet.

You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little. Then Jesus said to her, your sins are forgiven. The other guests began to say among themselves, who is this who even forgives sins? Jesus said to the woman, your faith has saved you. Go in peace. As we look at this passage of scripture tonight, I think there are three really main ideas that jump out.

Here's the first. Jesus is the savior who forgives the greatest sinner. That is like the main thought of this passage. I believe that Jesus is the savior and Jesus forgives even the greatest sinner. Here's the second main idea that I think will flow through this and closely follow those who have been forgiven much love much. Those whom God has forgiven for much sin, they love God much.

And then here's the third thing. The promiscuous as well as the pious need Jesus. The promiscuous as well as the pious need Jesus.

Let's jump in this morning. Here's my first main point here. Jesus, as we walk down the text is discriminate. Notice the text in verse 36. Again, it says, now the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him.

So he went to the Pharisees house and recline at the table. Jesus is very indiscriminate. And what I mean by that is Jesus hangs out with all types of people. Jesus accepts hospitality from sinners and tax collectors.

You saw that back in Luke chapter five verses 27 through 31. And we also saw it back in chapter seven verse 35 that Jesus will hang out with sinners. Jesus will hang out with tax collectors, but Jesus also accepts hospitality from Pharisees. And we see here that Jesus is invited into this Pharisees house.

His name is Simon and Jesus shows up because Jesus is indiscriminate. Jesus is no respecter of persons. Jesus will hang out with anyone who invites him to hang out with them. Jesus welcomed and hung out with all types of people. And I believe Jesus did this because he understood that all people are sinners and all people need forgiveness.

He came as the savior of the world to save people from their sins. All people, no matter who they are, whether they're pious or whether they're promiscuous, like we'll see in this text, need salvation, need forgiveness, and only Christ can provide that salvation and that forgiveness. What about you and me? What about you and me when it comes to people that we might hang out with? Are we like Jesus in this sense?

We're indiscriminate. We're like Jesus in this sense. We will hang out with all people. We'll welcome all people, no matter who they are.

And here's why. Because we believe all people are sinners and all people are in need of a savior. And that savior is Jesus Christ. And the Bible is clear, right? That for all of sin and falling short of the glory of God.

And the Bible is clear that the wages of sin is death, but there's this free gift from God and it's eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And it doesn't matter if you're noble or if you have no nobility at all. It doesn't matter if you're rich or you have very little money at all. It doesn't matter if you're high class or low class.

It doesn't matter who you are or where you've been or what you've done. All people need Jesus. And like Jesus, we ought to hang out with people no matter who they are. If we have opportunity, then we might introduce them to the one who can forgive them of all of their sins.

Jesus, I love this about it. He goes to the Pharisees house and you all have probably already observed this even in the Gospel of Luke. Oftentimes when it came to Pharisees, man, they were at odds, right? The Pharisees were trying to trap him. The Pharisees were trying to lock Jesus up, so to speak, and force him in a corner and trap him. But Jesus still goes. And I love this about Jesus. Notice the second thing. There's a woman in the text who's sinful, but she's repentant. We see this in verses 37 and verses 38.

Notice what happened. The text tells us in verse 37 that Jesus is reclining at a table. In this day, literally this is how they would have meals. They would recline. They wouldn't sit like you and I would sit when we eat dinner or when we go out to a restaurant. They would literally recline and they might put an elbow on the table like this and then their legs would be stretched out like this and they would eat like this reclined at a table.

And Jesus is there. The custom of the day was to recline at the table. And verse 37 tells us that a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee's house.

Also in this culture, houses were more open and literally you could just walk in someone's house, particularly if there was a guest there and you could just observe the meal, hear the conversation. Evidently that's what this woman does. Now she wasn't invited to come. We don't get that sense from Luke. She sort of crashes the party.

But in a sense, in this day you could just walk in to a situation like this. And she walks in and it says that she had a sinful life in that town. She learned that Jesus was eating at this Pharisee's house and so she brings this alabaster jar of perfume.

This is a very expensive type of perfume. When you go to Mark 14 as well as John 12, there's another story of a lady named Mary who was Lazarus and Martha's sister. She also comes in those stories, different story though, and she brings this expensive bottle of perfume that was in an alabaster jar. And notice what the text says about this woman here again.

There's several things. First of all, don't miss the fact that it says that she lived a sinful life. Most commentators would say she lived a promiscuous life. Most commentators would suggest this phrase here means she lived an immoral life, that she was a woman of the streets. She was a prostitute.

And this prostitute walks in to where Jesus is reclining at the table. Notice the second thing about her. She lived not only a sinful life, but she did it in that town. In other words, everyone knew her. Her sin was no secret. Everyone knew how she was living. It was common knowledge. Her sin was on public display. I like the way Pastor John MacArthur says it.

He states it like this. He said, in all likelihood, she was a prostitute, a professional adulteress, immoral, impure, and living a flagrantly sinful life at a public level. She was immoral and impure and unholy, and everybody knew it. I know we got only men in the audience here, but imagine this. If your sin, and not just your sin, your sexual sin was on display for everybody to know. Imagine the shame in that.

Imagine the weight of that. Everyone knew who she was and what she was involved in. But look at the next thing. The third thing about her. She comes with a repentant heart. She crashes the party. She's an uninvited guest, but she brings this alabaster jar of perfume.

And I think this was intentional here. I believe she came with the motive and the desire to pour it on Christ, to use it for Christ. And it really speaks of her heart. Yes, she's lived a sinful life. Yes, she's living a moral life.

Yes, everybody knows all about her in that town. But she comes, I believe, with a changed heart. She brings this alabaster jar of perfume, and then she's standing behind Jesus, you all, and she's at his feet, and she's weeping. And she begins to wet his feet with her hair. And then she wipes his feet with her hair and she kisses them and then she anoints them with this perfume. It's very interesting here in the original Greek language. Listen to this. This will let you know how moving and how emotional this scene was.

I don't know if we can quite capture it just in our English translation of the Bible. This is really a moving scene, you all. This is really emotional. This is incredible what happened.

The word wet here. Just picture her. Picture Jesus reclining at the table.

Picture his legs extended back this way. Picture this lady just standing there and she begins to weep. She begins to weep. I believe she maybe had had some contact with Jesus prior to. Maybe she heard him preach.

Maybe he spoke to her and said something specifically to her. But she had some kind of encounter with Jesus maybe prior to this and she comes and she just moved and she knows he is the one that can forgive her of all her sins. And so she's sitting there, standing there rather, and she's weeping. And as she's weeping, the tears are landing on Jesus' feet as his legs are extended. The word wet, that she wet his feet with her tears, is the Greek word brecho.

And it literally means to rain. This woman is weeping so terribly that the tears are rolling off her cheeks, dropping on Jesus' feet like rain. Is that not incredible?

That is just incredible to me. She is bawling. One day my daughter was walking our dog. We had to get rid of the dog. The dog is with Jesus now.

It just didn't work out. But anyway, one day she was walking our dog and our dog would just poop in places where he shouldn't poop. I mean, you could walk him for an hour, he would not poop, and then he would get to where he shouldn't and he would go.

We have a neighbor that just loves his yard and he's a little bit of a grouch. And Harley, our dog, I named him after my motorcycle, the Harley Davidson motorcycle, he pooped in Mr. Kevin's yard. And Mr. Kevin just comes out and he's upset. And my little Kristen, who's my heart, she's just sitting there and she's got Harley and he's going in at her and he's just fussing at her. And she comes home, you all, and like she is just weeping. I mean, just this, I mean, tears are just everywhere. Her shirt is soaked. She can't even talk.

There's this picture of my little Kristen and she is just, she is just undone with emotions and she is just weeping to the point where she can't even speak. I wonder if that's the scene here. That word wet, his feet wet, would literally imply she's crying and it's like rain is falling.

And we see the emotion of this. And then she kisses his feet. The word kiss here in the Greek is kataphileo. And it's a demonstration of great affection and it implies love as well. Phileo is the Greek word for brotherly love. And so this woman as she cries and she's weeping, as tears are flowing out of her eyes onto Jesus' feet, she begins to wipe his feet with her hair and she begins to kiss his feet as a demonstration of affection and love for the Savior.

What a moving picture. This kissing here, this Greek word is the same Greek word that the prodigal son's father is described as doing. You remember he sees his father, you'll get to Luke 15 later on as you keep going through but he sees his son. His son is still a way off but he sees him from the distance. And what does the father do? He just takes off running. This picture of emotion, this picture of excitement, this picture of affection and love for his son. And he takes off running towards his son and what does he do when he sees his son? His son has his speech in hand like I'm going to tell him, you know, I'm a sinner and I'm no longer ready to be called his son and just make me a servant. He's got this speech ready and what does his dad do? His dad just jumps on him, hugs him, kisses him, kataphileo. This affection, this love.

My son who was lost, he's now found, he's home and there's great rejoicing. It's the same word that is used to describe the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20. Paul is on his way to Jerusalem. They're never going to see Paul again. The Holy Spirit's already told Paul he will never see them again. And they are moved with emotion, you all, and great love and affection for Paul and they embrace Paul and they kiss him, kataphileo. That's what this woman does, you all, to Jesus' feet.

Let me ask you a question. Can you identify with this woman? Can you identify when maybe you first became aware of your sin and how awful it was? Can you identify when you had that point in your life where your sin was just heavy and weighty and you felt the guilt and maybe the shame? And can you remember when you encountered Jesus? And did your heart have a posture like what we see in this lady in the text where because of your sin and the conviction of your sin and you realize that you were a great sinner that your heart mourned and grieved?

That really is a proper response when we understand our sin and when we understand that Jesus is the Savior who can forgive our sins. When I came to Christ, I was about 12 years old. I grew up here in Raleigh and most of the kids that I hung around back then were a little bit younger. The neighborhood that I grew up in and I hung out in, most of my friends were a few years younger than me. And so I was the older one. I was more athletic than my younger friends because I was older and stronger and bigger and that kind of thing. I was a little bit of a bully.

I was. And I would get into fights. We would do various things. We, we, we stole things from convenience stores. We looked at pornography. I remember they had the magazine. It wasn't internet then, but magazines and you can go into 7-Eleven and they had the comic books, the sports illustrators, and then right next to them, you had the adult and it was out in the open. I remember with my friends, we would go and we would look and we would steal even magazines. Yeah. And put them in our shirt and walk out the convenience store. I remember getting in fights and all sorts of things.

And I remember you all, I got in a fight with a girl who was three years younger than me. Being a Christian is not about being religious, but about having a dynamic, alive relationship with Jesus Christ. You've been listening to Finding Purpose with Pastor Russ Andrews, glorifying God by helping men find their purpose for living. You can discover more about finding your purpose in life by checking out the resources at findingpurpose.net or connect to Finding Purpose on Facebook. Pastor Russ would also like to extend a special invitation for you to join him and over 300 other local men to study God's Word together every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in downtown Raleigh. Find out more at findingpurpose.net. This is the Truth Network.