Luke 7:36–50 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.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the 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.”

Yesterday I asked how you thought Jesus might judge Simon and the woman mentioned in this passage. Think about their actions. Simon saw the woman in his home and was no doubt outraged. But then he saw what she was doing: crying, wetting Jesus’ feet, wiping them with her hair, pouring oil on them. Immediately his judgment extends to Jesus and he thinks: “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.”

 The actions of this woman imply a prior encounter with Jesus. She must have heard the message of love and acceptance and forgiveness no matter who you are or what you have done. And she took it to heart. She showed up to offer a gift to Jesus, but at the sight of Him she was overcome with emotion. She starts to weep, uses her tears to wet the feet of Jesus, dries them with her hair, and then poured the perfume on them.

How would you have judged Simon’s thought? What about the woman’s actions? Jesus, seeing what the woman did and knowing what Simon was thinking, tells a story.

“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon’s reply sounds at least non-committal and perhaps even disdainful: “I suppose the one who was forgiven the greater amount!”  Jesus said he was correct, and then drives home the point. This woman was displaying her love. Her love was not the cause for her forgiveness, but the response to it. What Jesus was saying was “You can tell she was forgiven much by how much love she is showing.”

At the same time, Jesus was pointing out that Simon was part of the DO NOTHING club– you gave me no water for my feet, no kiss, no oil. Even though Simon invited him to eat in his home, he had not shown Jesus what would have been considered common courtesies. Jesus pointed out his failings, his shortcomings, his sin.

Do you think it was Jesus’ desire that Simon remain in his sin? Absolutely not. The same forgiveness Jesus offered to this woman was available to Simon. Jesus was eating with sinners – both Simon and the woman – because He wanted them – and every other sinner in the world – to take advantage of the love and mercy and forgiveness He was offering. He had come to this earth for all of them. He lived without sin for all of them. He died to pay for the sins of all of them. And His resurrection was for everyone as well. So it was no big deal for Jesus to eat with them, to spend time with them, to share His message of love with them.

There is something happening in a lot of new mission starts in this country that makes a lot of sense. It is something you can do, too. Rather than placing the emphasis on bringing people to church (and by that I mean inviting them to attend a worship service) they are encouraging each other to spend time with people where they live. Members are encouraged to invite their unchurched friends and neighbors to their home. Many of them have a cookout and ask several families to come. They don’t have a Bible Study or hand out any literature. They just spend time with them. There is no set agenda other than being a friend. Get to know them and let them get to know you. Build relationships and share God’s love in tangible ways. The point is to spend more time BEING the church.

Jesus was willing to spend time with sinners. He ate with them. How about you?