There are two
kinds of sinners in the world today:
those who know they’re sinners and those who don’t. For instance, in Luke 18 Jesus told a parable
about a Pharisee and a tax collector who both went up to the temple to
pray. He says the Pharisee confidently
stood up and bragged about all his righteousness to God and named all the
faults with everyone else that he never was guilty of. He even bragged that he wasn't like the tax collector standing behind him. On the other hand, the tax collector was too
ashamed of himself to even look up to heaven and he could only plead with God
to have mercy on him because he knew he was a sinner. The tax collector knew he was a sinner and
the Pharisee didn’t. The tax collector's
sensitivity to his own sin made him humble, and made him cry out to God for
mercy. The Pharisees pride in himself
blinded him to his own sin, and his own need for mercy, and therefore kept him
from ever asking for God’s mercy.
Jesus is Invited to Dinner (v36)
Events and
parables contrasting these two types of sinners abound in the NT. Our study today in Luke 7:36-50 contrasts
another set of these two types of sinners.
This time we see a Pharisee and a woman who had “lived a sinful
life”. The occasion begins in verse 36 when
Jesus, ever in demand socially, is invited by a Pharisee named Simon to come
and have dinner at his house. Jesus was
always getting invited over – even by Pharisees (Luke 11:7; 14:1). Sometimes it was for his honor, and
sometimes, it was to try and trap him – as the Pharisees were often trying to
do (Luke 14:1). This may have been
Simon’s intention, but, we don’t know that for sure because there were many
among the Pharisees who secretly supported Jesus (John 3:1-2; 12:42; Acts
15:5). Perhaps Simon was in Nicodemus’
camp and was hopeful that Jesus really was the Messiah. If so, as we will see, Simon has some religious
trappings to overcome first.
Let’s point out 2
things regarding verse 36. First of all,
Jesus knew his host’s intentions because He is God and as so He is
omniscient. He demonstrates His
knowledge of all things – even men’s thoughts - throughout the Gospels and even
in this passage. Accepting the
invitation demonstrates His grace and love, even when He knows evil motives lie
behind their hospitality.
Second, we should
note that Jesus didn’t just eat with “sinners and tax collectors”. Liberal preachers really want you to believe
that Jesus shunned the elite classes and favored the outcasts. They desperately try to paint Him as some
social rebel who tried to protest and take down the establishment. But over and over again Jesus is found dining
with the rich, righteous, and influential and not just the poor, sinful, and
outcasts. Why would He do this? Because all men need salvation.
Sinner on the Scene (v37-38)
Well the dinner
party gets interesting when a woman with a bad reputation arrives
uninvited. Notice verse 37 and 38 with
me [Read].
Many theologians
believe she had been a prostitute. So
when she walks through the door things get tense. We might say she was the elephant in the
room. People were uncomfortable being in
the same house with “that woman”. It was
improper. I was asking myself this week,
“What would possess a woman to barge in
on a high profile dinner party she was not invited to, and most definitely not
welcome at?”
Well, while
studying I found out some context about the culture in that day. Apparently, Pharisees like Simon here would
have a dinner party with other prominent religious leaders. And at these dinners these men would discuss everything
from points of the Mosaic Law, to cultural and social ideas of the day to
anything else that was important. It was
a place where weighty opinions were offered on all things going on in Jewish
society.
Now the thing was
these discussion dinners were often open to the public, and the doors to the
house would be left open and room in the dining room around the walls would be
available for anyone off the street to come in and listen to these heavy
hitters talk. It was a chance to literally
be a “fly on the wall”, photobomb a Pharisee or two, and hear the who’s who
give commentary on all things Jewish.
Knowing that helps us understand that this
woman wasn’t exactly “barging in” and crashing Simon’s party. As part of the public, she had a generic
invitation to come in. But still, it was
awkward. And it was only going to get
more awkward. She didn’t come to listen
to Pharisees. She came to worship
Jesus.
Notice what Luke
tells us she does. First of all she goes
to Jesus. Verse 37 says that when she “learned
that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house” she went to that
house. When she found out where He was
she went to Him. That is the call to all
men, to come to Jesus Christ for salvation.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me all you who are weary and
burdened”. In John 12:32 Jesus
said, “When I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all men to myself.” In the Millennial Kingdom Isaiah 2 says all
nations will come to Jesus the King of kings in Jerusalem to worship Him and
hear Him teach. The first thing she did
was to go to Jesus.
Have you come to
Jesus Christ? Have you turned to Him and
come to Him to receive His free gift of forgiveness and eternal life? You have to come to Him at the cross, where
He died for your sins.
Once she arrived
– which made everyone uneasy enough – she started to act in a very bizarre
way. Luke says she stood behind Jesus at
His feet, weeping so hard that the Lord’s feet were soaked from her tears. Realizing this she used her own hair to wipe
His feet clean, then proceeded to kiss His them, and finally pour the whole jar
of perfume on His feet. If the Pharisee’s
conversation had put anyone to sleep they were wide awake now. People had to be thinking, “What is Jesus going to do?” “Is
Simon going to throw her out?” “She must be out of her mind!” No, actually, when you worship the Lord Jesus
Christ you are in your right mind. There
is nothing more right for your mind. It
is those who don’t worship Him who are out of their minds.
You might be
wondering “How can she be standing behind
Jesus and be near His feet?” Because
they didn’t eat dinner the way we do. We
sit in chairs with our feet under a table.
But their tables were low to the ground and rather than sitting,
everyone would lie down on their sides/elbows on some comfy rugs. Everyone’s heads would be near the table
while their feet would be extended away.
So when she walked up behind Jesus His feet would be the first thing she
encountered.
While everything
she did seemed bizarre, it actually wasn’t.
It was customary in that day for a host to do 3 things for their guests
when they arrived.
First, have their
feet washed since the roads were muddy and dusty and everyone wore
sandals. This was done by the lowest
servant in the home. John the Baptist
said he wasn’t worthy to untie the sandals of Jesus. This woman washed Jesus feet. A person’s worship is only as real as their
humility.
Second, a host
would pour oil on their guest’s head.
Living in a hot, sticky, sweaty climate body odor is a problem and baths
are few and far between. It was part of
hospitality to refresh someone by pouring oil atop their heads to provide a
pleasant aroma.
And thirdly, a
host greeted his guests with a kiss, a sign of hospitality, the affection of
friendship.
The point here is
that what she was doing was actually
the customary way of receiving a guest in an honorable way, even though how she did it was quite unusual. To underscore that point notice in the next
verse that Simon was not offended by what she was doing. Rather he was offended that Jesus would let
someone like her do it.
Measuring Jesus the Wrong Way (v39)
It
was probably Simon, the host of the party, who was most uncomfortable with what
this woman was doing. But,
interestingly, he keeps his thoughts to himself. Of course, our thoughts are never known only
to us. God knows our every thought. Hebrews 4:12 and 13 say, “The
word of God…judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s
sight. Everything is uncovered and laid
bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” And so the Holy Spirit inspires Luke to tell
us what Simon the Pharisee thought to himself as he watched this woman worship
Jesus. Verse 39, “…”
Notice what Simon
is doing: Simon dismisses the possibility
that Jesus is a prophet. He assumes that
Jesus doesn’t know who this woman is.
But Simon is wrong. Jesus does
know who this woman is. He knows who
everyone truly is.
Two things. First of all, Simon was right, she was a
sinner. But, his implication is that she
was a sinner and he was not. In
identifying her as a sinner Simon was not identifying himself with her. His assessment of her sin was as much an
affirmation of his own righteousness. He
could be satisfied that he never had done anything she had a reputation for,
and so he thought because he hadn’t committed her sins, he wasn’t a sinner. He sat comfortably on his moral throne. Oh, how he was in for a lesson. There was not only a sinner at Jesus’ feet,
but one face to face with Him too.
Application: Do we think highly of ourselves because we
think lowly of others? Do we think that
we’re not sinners, or bad sinners because we always see everyone else as worse
than us? There’s a reason it’s called “Looking down” on people. It’s because we think we’re higher than them,
better than them, looking down at them in their pitifulness while we sit high
atop our moral stallion. If our
self-esteem is built upon the condescending criticism of others we have a
Pharisee’s kind of pride. We need to humble
ourselves and confess such an attitude as sin.
Secondly, Simon
makes the mistake of measuring Jesus with the wrong criteria. He thought Jesus was like him as a man of God
and would never allow such a sinful woman near him. So since Jesus wasn’t acting like Simon
expected Him to act – that is, like himself – he thought Jesus could be written
off.
Oh how arrogant,
and oh, how common, isn’t it? How often
do we think God is just like us? How
often do people dismiss God because they think they are more moral than He is? God doesn’t measure up to their moral code so
they think they are morally superior to God.
Desmond Tutu, a very liberal Anglican Bishop said he “would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven” and instead choose “the
other place.” Or listen to Richard
Dawkins and the New Atheists condemn God for genocide in the OT. Or listen to people smugly judge God as evil
for allowing evil in this world. God is
the Judge and all are accountable to Him - yet so many today think that God is
accountable to them and that they are God’s judge. But God says in Psalm 50:21, “You
thought I was altogether like you. But I
will rebuke you and accuse you to your face.” God warns in Job 40:8, “Would you discredit my
justice? Would you condemn me to justify
yourself?”
That is a very
dangerous thing to do. We need to be
very careful that we do not begin to think that Jesus is supposed to be like
us- rather than us becoming like
Him. We are most susceptible to this
when we are ignorant of God’s Word. The
Bible explains who Jesus is. Unless we
are informed by the Scriptures as to Whose image we are supposed to be
conforming to, we are left with our own ideas.
Our own ideas. Our image. Our made up image of Jesus. What we think Jesus is like. Which usually means…. like us. “You thought I was altogether like you…” This is a bad place to be and studying the
word of God, sitting under sound Biblical preaching is the only way to be
Biblically informed, and not end up deformed spiritually.
Simon dismissed
Jesus because Jesus was not like him. He
used the wrong criteria to measure Jesus.
He didn’t look at Jesus the right way.
But this was Simon’s problem with everyone. He saw Jesus the wrong way. As we’re going to see Simon saw the woman the
wrong way. And clearly, as a smug,
self-righteous Pharisee, he saw himself the wrong way too. Pride distorts your perspective so badly – of
everyone else and of yourself. It makes
you see yourself as better than everyone else while seeing everyone else as
inferior to you. Jesus said in Luke
14:11, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled.
But whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Do you allow this
kind of pride in your heart? Certainly
none of us are immune from it, but, we must not allow it to have a home in
us. A spirit of pride will cause
division, back-biting, grumbling, and snatch our peace away. We need to pay careful attention to this Pharisee
kind of pride in our hearts. It won’t do
for those of us who call on the Lord Jesus Christ - and it doesn’t honor Him.
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