Luke 7:36-50 "If He Only Knew" This passage sounds very much like a story in Matthew, Mark, and John. In Matthew 26 and Mark 14 we hear that a woman anointed Jesus' head, while he was eating at the house of Simon the Leper in Bethany. The disciples were indignant about the expense, and Jesus says, "calm down, this was done in preparation for my burial." In John 12 we hear that the woman was Mary, the sister of Lazarus, and that she anointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair and that Judas was the indignant disciple. Those three accounts can easily be harmonized. Luke's account is quite different. It is Simon the Pharisee who invites Jesus over. (And it would seem to take place in Galilee though that's not certain) No one complains about the expense, Jesus makes no reference to his death, and Jesus makes a very different point about the forgiveness of sins. But it is easy to see why Luke includes this story here. This one story sums up everything that Jesus has been saying and doing since the beginning of his ministry. In Luke 4, Luke tells us about the basic purpose of Jesus' ministry that he is the one who brings the Kingdom of God. And through his preaching and power, the kingdom advances. (And Jesus himself draws attention to the parallel between his ministry, and that of Elijah and Elisha). In Luke 5-6 we hear about how Jesus called disciples, cleansed the unclean, and confronted the Pharisees. Jesus has come to call not the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. Who were the righteous? The Pharisees believed that they were "righteous Israel"-- and that God would one day condemn the wicked, and vindicate the righteous, and that until that day, it was the calling of the righteous to become all that Israel was supposed to be. But Jesus has repeatedly rebuked the Pharisees, and declared that, in effect, He is the true Israel. He has said that he is the bridegroom of the Kingdom (the wedding of God is at hand) He has said that he has authority on earth to forgive sins (doing what only the temple could do) He has said that he is Lord of the Sabbath. And when, earlier in chapter 7, John the Baptist expressed doubt because Jesus appeared to be merely another Elijah or Elisha, Jesus appealed to Isaiah 35 the promise that the coming of the kingdom (the restoration from exile) would be accompanied by the blind receiving sight, the lame being healed, and the unclean being cleansed. 1. The Pharisee and the "Sinful Woman" (7:36-39) And so now Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to come and eat with him. Simon appears to be interested in Jesus, but also a bit suspicious. Indeed, according to Jesus' words in verses 44-46, Simon overlooked some of the normal hospitality that would have been due his guest. And as they reclined at table (In those days they did not sit in chairs, but reclined on couches with heads pointing in and feet pointing out). a "woman of the city, who was a sinner" learned that he was there. We are not told what her sin was but the implication is that she was a prostitute. In the Pharisaic vocabulary there are three kinds of Jews. There are the faithful the righteous those who are devoted to the Law. Then there are the am ha'aretz the people of the land (in Greek the hoi polloi) These are the ordinary folk who are not helping matters, but they are the ones whom the Pharisees are trying to get to live faithfully. But then there are the sinners those who are deliberately flouting the law. And she fits into this third category. These are the Jews who are cut off from the community. They are unclean they are sinners and no righteous Jew would have anything to do with them. (In our context, they are like those who grew up in nominal Christian homes, but now have no apparent interest in religion.) She came to the Pharisee's house. If you had company over, a famous preacher who was in town, how would a prostitute get in?! There are two things to understand about the situation: one is that middle eastern homes (in rural areas, to this day) are open and all sorts of people may come and go as they please; the other is that when you had an important guest it was common for others to gather around and listen to the conversation. Nonetheless, while it would not have been physically difficult to enter this house, it would have been very awkward socially. She is unclean. She is a sinner. She is coming to the house of a Pharisee. She has every reason to believe that she will be rejected by Simon and his friends. She is the classic example of apostate Israel! (Deuteronomy 23:18 forbade bringing the wages of a prostitute into the house of the Lord) She knows all this. She knows that according to God's law, she could not come to God at the temple. She knows that she was cut off from Israel. She has no place in the kingdom of God. But she comes to Jesus! And she stands there at his feet, weeping. And her tears fell on his feet the tears of an unclean, sinful woman! And she wiped them with her hair cleaning the dirt and grime of the Galilean roads with her hair! Not a towel. Not her skirt. But her hair! She is down on her knees kissing his feet, wiping his feet with her hair-- taking his dirt his "uncleanness" upon herself. It is a very ironic moment, that this "unclean" woman washes the physical dirt off of Jesus' feet, in the hope that somehow he can make her clean. And she takes an alabaster flask of ointment (very expensive and quite probably something she had purchased for her business!) But now she takes the ointment and anoints his feet. She did not come to Jesus to make a show. She has come in repentance. How do I know? The same way everyone else in that room would know. It is like the magicians burning their books in Ephesus (Acts 19:19). She is turning from her sins and laying herself at Jesus' feet. She does not say a word. She does not try to speak to him. If she can only take the job of the most menial of slaves, and just wash his feet, then she will be content. Because she knows that he is her only hope! Of course, in doing this, she touches him! And when something that is unclean touches something that is clean, the clean is contaminated by the unclean! At least, that is how Simon thinks. He is well-instructed in the law. He knows that this sinful woman is contaminating Jesus! It's bad enough that she came in here I would have thrown her out in any other circumstances. Hmm. But this is interesting. Now at least I know what to think of this "teacher"! If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner! 2. The Parable of the Two Debtors (7:40-43) Simon, I have something to say to you. Say it, Teacher! Simon, of course, has no idea that Jesus knows what he is thinking. But quite frankly, Jesus didn't need to be able to read minds. Anyone with half a brain would have known exactly what Simon was thinking! But we are told that Jesus answered Simon. Now, Simon hadn't said anything out loud, but Jesus knew what he was thinking, and so he answered Simon, and said, A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more? (7:41-42) Simon, being a fairly bright guy, answered, The one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt. (You can almost hear him thinking, "that should be the right answer, but Jesus has a funny way of asking questions...") But Jesus is not asking a trick question. He is being very straightforward with Simon. You have judged rightly. What do you make of this? Debt was a major problem in the ancient Jewish world (as it is today). When the Jewish rebels seized Jerusalem in AD 66, the first thing they did was hack into the computer system and wipe clear the financial records thereby canceling all debts in the region. (Or, they did the equivalent thing burning the treasury, where the records were kept!) Jesus often uses debt in his parables. And here he uses the imagery of a moneylender discovering that two of his debtors can't pay. And so he cancels their debt. Have you ever had a moneylender cancel your debt? Has your bank ever said, "Oh, are you having trouble making payments? Well, just don't bother. We'll just cancel the debt. Have a good day!" Normally they say, "Oh, are you having trouble making payments? Well, then we'll just jack up your interest rates, make nasty phone calls three times a week. Of course, money lending was a bit more personal back then. You probably don't know your lender personally. But the reputation of moneylenders in the first century was no better than they are today! So Jesus is talking about a remarkable concept: a moneylender who cancels debt! And so Simon's somewhat tentative response is perhaps understandable. I suppose it would be the guy with the bigger debt. But what's your point, Jesus? 3. The Pharisee and the Forgiven Woman (7:44-50) Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little. In other words, you can see how much she has been forgiven by her love. And he said to her, Your sins are forgiven. What is Jesus doing when he forgives sins? Certainly, he is forgiving their sins. But what does it mean to have your sins forgiven? The transaction or legal aspect is easy. God will no longer count her sins against her. But what does it mean to have your sins forgiven? Jeremiah speaks of this in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Jeremiah says that when God restores Israel from exile, he will make a new covenant with his people. And when God restores his people and makes a new covenant with them, I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Why was Israel in Exile? Because of their sins. The restoration from exile is marked by the forgiveness of sins. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. (Jeremiah 33:7-8) Ezekiel said the same thing. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezek 36:24-26; Ezek 37:23) Isaiah says it over and over and over again! The exile had been caused by Israel's sin. When Jesus' comes proclaiming the forgiveness of sins, Jesus is saying, "the Exile is over." "I have come to restore my people and to give them peace shalom!" That's why he says to the woman, "your faith has saved you. Go in peace." Those who believe in me are the renewed people of God. You are part of my kingdom. You see, the Pharisees' objection to Jesus is not that he associates with sinners. The Pharisees didn't care if people associated with sinners! They would just shun you if you did! The objection to Jesus is that he claims to be bringing the Kingdom of God, and he is letting sinners into it! When Jesus claims to forgive sins, he is claiming that the Exile is over. And he is claiming that anyone who trusts in him and his Kingdom-announcement is welcome in his Kingdom. Whatever you have done, whoever you have been, you can be restored to membership in God's kingdom. And you don't have to go through a bunch of mumbo-jumbo in the temple. You can do it right here! Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace! Go with the Shalom of God upon you. But she's a prostitute! She's a sinner! The objection of the Pharisees is that "Jesus was celebrating the messianic banquet, and doing so with all the wrong people." (Wright, 431) But they shouldn't have been surprised. In the evening we've been looking at David's wandering in the wilderness, as he collects a rag-tag band of followers, awaiting the coming of the Kingdom of God. That is what Jesus is doing. Those who long for the coming of the Kingdom, are flocking to Jesus. The established rulers (Saul in David's day, the Pharisees and the priests in Jesus' day) have failed to be what Israel was called to be. And so Jesus, the Son of David, is establishing the kingdom of God, calling sinners to himself. Why? Because sinners are the ones who know they need to be forgiven! They know that they are broken. They know that they are unclean. The church of Jesus Christ is to be the place where the broken and unclean find wholeness and cleansing. This is why we confess "one baptism for the remission of sins." Baptism is a sign of cleansing a washing with water. As Ananias said to Paul, Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name. (Acts 22:16) Baptism is also the sign of entrance into the covenant community. It marks us as members of the kingdom of God as those who have died with Christ, who have put off the old self and are now identified with him and his Kingdom. You were once unclean unwashed strangers and aliens from the promises of God. But you have now been included in the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Your sins have been forgiven and that means that you have a right relation to God. But it also means that you have been restored to humanity! Because you are a part of Jesus' kingdom you are a part of his family. And we are to live as that renewed family. We are go forth in peace. I say that every week. "Go in peace." I say it to you because Jesus says it to you! Jesus' three words to the forgiven woman are the structure of the liturgy! Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace. And because you have been forgiven much, love much! We are to be a place where "sinners" find forgiveness and peace. When people like this woman hear that we are in town, they should respond like her! Wow! Do you mean to say that there is a place in the Kingdom of God for me? It is worth pointing out that the total number of Jesus' disciples during his own lifetime was 120. I have no doubt that there were many hundreds (perhaps thousands) more that believed in him, but remained in their own villages. So I'm not saying that every week we should expect to see a prostitute believe in Jesus! But our love for one another, and our love for those around us, should cause people to say: They love much they must have been forgiven much!