1 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:03,800 Good morning. Sure. 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:05,720 It's no matter where you're joining us from. 3 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:10,640 If you braved the weather and maybe you have all-wheel drive, 4 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:12,440 you're hoping you can get out of here today. 5 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:14,680 Good to have you here. I'm I'm praying we don't have to 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:15,680 worry about that. I don't know. 7 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:18,360 It was like I came in this morning and and there was no 8 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,120 lines on the parking lot. So I hope everybody was able to 9 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:27,640 navigate that together, but so glad that you're here with us or 10 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:31,280 joining us online. Turn to Luke Chapter 7, verse 11 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:35,400 36. This is week number four of our 12 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:42,080 series Who is Jesus? And it is I just want to say 13 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,480 it's always a privilege to be able to preach. 14 00:00:45,480 --> 00:00:49,560 It's always a privilege to spend time during the week to open up 15 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:55,160 God's word to learn, you know, the first person that a sermon 16 00:00:55,160 --> 00:01:02,280 ever gets preached to is myself. Anything I ever say up here, if 17 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:06,040 it's worth listening to is something that the Holy Spirit 18 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:10,480 has been working on my heart in first and this series 19 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:13,720 especially, you know, every series I I get excited about, 20 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:18,880 but this series especially, like I, I don't even care what it's 21 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:23,200 been doing for you. It's because in my heart, man, I 22 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:27,160 get, I've been so excited every one of these weeks to just get 23 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:31,800 back in to the word of God, to start into a new weeks. 24 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,720 Because usually I come out of here and I'll be frank, I'm 25 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,560 exhausted on a Sunday and I want to have a nap. 26 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:40,760 But I find myself just wanted to get back in and see what we're 27 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:42,400 going to learn about Jesus next week. 28 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,880 To be reminded of just how incredible he is, how unique he 29 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:51,160 is. To be reminded of how much I 30 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:53,040 love him and how much he loves me. 31 00:01:54,800 --> 00:02:01,800 And even though I am the one who designs these series, I have 32 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:08,199 every week just been like surprised to see what we're 33 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:13,680 going to see about Jesus. The goal every Sunday for me, 34 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,160 and I would say for all of us who have the privilege of 35 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:22,400 preaching at any of our sites at Forward Church is this, that we 36 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:30,320 together would see Jesus, that when we worship together, that 37 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:38,720 we would meet with God, that the Holy Spirit would help us to see 38 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:40,920 who God is a little bit more clearly. 39 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,280 And in order to do that, this Sunday as I was working through 40 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,680 and the Holy Spirit was working on me, prompting me as to how to 41 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,840 unpack this passage together, I just really felt the Holy Spirit 42 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:55,400 saying, hey, this Sunday needs to be a little bit different 43 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,840 than I would regularly preach. So what we're going to do is 44 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,800 we're going to take a lot of the time this morning to just really 45 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:07,840 live in this story. I, I want us to step into it. 46 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:13,880 I want us to put ourselves in the room to see what's going on 47 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:16,440 through the eyes of the characters that are there. 48 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,520 And then after we've gone through that and we've really 49 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,040 kind of been there, then we're going to unpack some 50 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:25,680 implications for us. So let me just pray that the God 51 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:30,320 would help us to see what he wants us to see about himself 52 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,520 and about us and to live in this story this morning. 53 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:39,280 God, as we open up your Word, we are grateful that you have chose 54 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:45,760 to reveal yourself to us through it, and that you've revealed to 55 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,760 chosen to reveal yourself to us through the Word made flesh who 56 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:54,520 dwelt among us through Jesus. Help us to see you for who you 57 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:57,080 are. Help us to see Jesus this 58 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:03,000 morning, to have fresh eyes as we look at this passage and to 59 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:12,160 be overcome by the reality of who Jesus is, who we are, what 60 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,760 you've done for us. I pray this in his mighty name, 61 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,640 Amen. All right, let's let's just 62 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:23,760 start reading verse 36. Then one of the Pharisees 63 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:28,960 invited him to eat with him. He entered the Pharisees house 64 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,120 and reclined at the table. So this is the setting. 65 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,720 There's a Pharisee, we're going to find out his name was Simon 66 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:41,680 and he has invited Jesus and we can assume some of Jesus's 67 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:47,040 closest disciples who are with him along over into the house. 68 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:50,280 Now I think it's probably important that we define some 69 00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:52,160 words and some reality. Maybe you've been in church for 70 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:54,880 a long time and you you just automatically understand that 71 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:58,000 word Pharisee, what it means. But that's not true for many of 72 00:04:58,000 --> 00:04:59,880 us. And So what is a Pharisee? 73 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,840 What does it mean that Jesus that Luke tells us there's a 74 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:06,280 Pharisee who invites Jesus over? Well, a Pharisee, that word 75 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:10,480 likely comes from the Hebrew word, which translates separate 76 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:18,520 because this is a, a group of people who believe that it is so 77 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,520 incredibly important that the Jewish people separate 78 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:26,160 themselves and distinguish themselves from the Gentile 79 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:30,320 culture, the Roman Greek culture around them and from the impact 80 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:37,080 of that culture and, and, and how it would sway them away from 81 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:42,320 faithfulness as Jews. They, they believed that the big 82 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,800 problem, and you can look back and you can see why they 83 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:46,520 understood this and they're not wrong in it. 84 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:51,600 That a huge problem in in Jewish culture throughout the totality 85 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:57,640 of it was that too much of foreign cultures, foreign gods, 86 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:01,200 foreign habits would creep in and move them away from 87 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,600 faithfulness to the one true God and faithfulness to the Torah, 88 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,560 to his law, which he had commanded them to follow. 89 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,880 And these particular, this particular psych, this 90 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,760 particular group believes that the law is encompassed not only 91 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:18,440 in the the Torah, the written word of God handed down through 92 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:22,600 the ages, that which we would now call the Old Testament, but 93 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:26,360 there it is always, it is also passed along through verbal and 94 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:29,280 oral laws and traditions that have been gathered up. 95 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:35,680 And they saw themselves then as the real Jews, the true Jews, 96 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:41,960 the faithful followers of God. Now he invites Simon the 97 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:43,880 Pharisee, who belongs to this group of people. 98 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,320 He invites Jesus over. And he could have invited Jesus 99 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:48,720 over for a couple of different reasons. 100 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,440 It's not specified, although I think we're going to see as we 101 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:56,920 walk into this story, a little bit of what the heart of Simon 102 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:58,920 likely was in this. But the first reason he just 103 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:00,720 could have been curious about Jesus. 104 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:06,160 Jesus had obviously made a name for himself through what he was 105 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:10,400 doing, through both his teaching and his healings and his 106 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:14,240 miracles. And Simon probably at least to 107 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,040 some extent, wants to find out more about this Jesus. 108 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:22,400 And so has he's in the area. He invites Jesus to come on over 109 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:27,800 for supper. He also, and I think this is 110 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:30,120 probably also likely part of what's going on. 111 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:35,600 He's probably looking for some additional evidence that Jesus 112 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:40,440 is not all who he claims to be. You know, we've already had 113 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:44,400 encounters in the book of Luke. If you've been tracking whether 114 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:48,600 you can go back to Luke 521, a group of these Pharisees already 115 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:53,720 decided this Jesus guy, he's a heretic, he's a blasphemer. 116 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:58,560 Remember back in Luke 521, they're aghast because Jesus has 117 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:03,440 said to a paralyzed man not just get up and walk, but your sins 118 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:09,160 are forgiven. And so my best guess that what 119 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:11,920 is going on here and what I think we see in the passage is 120 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:18,040 that this is a guy who is skeptical of Jesus but also 121 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,080 wants to appear to have an open mind. 122 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,040 Maybe you've encountered people like this before. 123 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:30,800 One of the things that I thought about is, you know, I have some 124 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:35,880 people in my life who would, and some of you will understand 125 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:42,880 this, fit the typical mold of a diligent Toronto Star reader who 126 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:49,160 also occasionally go to the dark side and read Rebel News so that 127 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:52,600 they can say that they're looking at both sides of 128 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,760 something. And I also have people who fit 129 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:58,760 the definition the other way. They are regular Rebel News 130 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:01,200 readers who occasionally go to the dark side and read the 131 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:03,760 Toronto Star. Most of the time those people go 132 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:06,720 to one side or the other just to find some arguments to prove 133 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:13,360 what they already believe. Deep down, I think this guy is 134 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:17,680 thinking, man, this guy, he's a blasphemer. 135 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:25,400 And he's, as we saw last week, a group of Pharisees say he's a no 136 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,120 good friend of tax collectors and sinners. 137 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,480 But I'm going to prove that for myself. 138 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:37,280 So Jesus, come on over. And so it says that it's 139 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:42,000 evening, they've gathered together and they're reclining 140 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:44,000 at the table. And, and I need you to, to, to 141 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:49,240 see this, to picture this, OK, because, because you need to see 142 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:51,480 the, the way the room would have been. 143 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:56,480 So there would have been a table laid out here with the food on 144 00:09:56,480 --> 00:10:00,640 it, probably, you know, maybe knee high and you would have had 145 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:06,200 some raised beds, cushions around this table. 146 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:11,080 And, and, and the meal would have had these individuals, 147 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,440 probably some of Simon's friends, some of Jesus's 148 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:18,640 disciples, but Jesus and Simon in particular with candlelight 149 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:21,320 in the room. It's dark in the evening, food 150 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,680 on the table. And they're leaning when it says 151 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:28,320 they're reclining at the table. Their feet are back towards the 152 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:31,760 edges of the room and they're in the center of the room leaning 153 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:35,160 in and leaning on an elbow and eating off the table. 154 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:38,360 Because remember, it's dusty and gross. 155 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:40,800 There's not showers and everything, and so you want to 156 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:43,920 keep your dirty feet as far from the table as possible. 157 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:49,920 Plus these guys, when they have a meal, it's an event. 158 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:52,880 Now, the fullers are very fast eaters. 159 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:57,920 I am the fastest of the fullers. I know this, like you can put a 160 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:02,000 meal down for me sometimes when we're at the restaurant, you 161 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,560 know how like 5 minutes later, the waiter waitress comes back 162 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:08,040 around to ask how your meal is for me. 163 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:09,760 They're asking how was your meal? 164 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:14,040 It's done. So this is foreign to me. 165 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,280 But when I've been in the Middle East, I know this. 166 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:21,520 I'm prepared for an event. We're going to spend a long time 167 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:24,440 sitting around chatting and eating. 168 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:28,880 And especially in a time where there's no electronics, right? 169 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:31,920 There's, there's no phones, there's no televisions, there's 170 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,640 no screen. This is what is going to occupy 171 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:39,680 your even in fact, this might be the most interesting thing you 172 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:42,720 get to do for a month. You have a visiting rabbi and 173 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:46,480 teacher in. And so the doors of the home, 174 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,320 because you're going to wonder in a second, how does this other 175 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:52,640 character enter in? The doors of the home would have 176 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:56,000 been left wide open with this person of interest in the 177 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:58,880 community. Simon would have left his doors 178 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:01,640 wide open to allow people to filter in and hear the 179 00:12:01,640 --> 00:12:04,640 conversation that's taking place over the course of the evening. 180 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:09,520 This is a public conversation with the visiting teacher. 181 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,280 It is both education and entertainment. 182 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:19,040 It's edutainment. OK, so they're sitting there, 183 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:22,400 they're discussing by candlelight, they're having 184 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:26,240 their meal, people are filtering into the room, others are 185 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,160 joining them. And Luke is now going to 186 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:34,720 introduce us to one particular person who enters the room, 187 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:42,560 verse 37, and a woman in the town who was a Sinner found out 188 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:47,320 that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisees house. 189 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:54,720 Luke tells us there's an intruder into the edges of the 190 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:58,840 room steps a woman. And not just any woman. 191 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:02,320 He tells us exactly who this woman is. 192 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:07,600 It's a woman who Simon would have never formally himself 193 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:13,200 invited into the house. There is no way that if Simon 194 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:16,800 knew she was going to be coming, he would keep the door open for 195 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,160 her because this woman was a Sinner. 196 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:26,360 In fact, the Greek word here that starts and in Greek would 197 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:32,240 actually read more like and behold, because what what Luke 198 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:35,920 wants us to see is that what is about to happen is startling. 199 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:41,880 It's shocking. He wants to emphasize that a 200 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:47,560 Sinner someone someone who polite society would rightfully 201 00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:53,480 recognize as disgraceful and shameful, and for a Pharisee to 202 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:56,480 have somebody who was that unclean enter the house would be 203 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:01,160 to make their house unclean. Never could they be associated 204 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,760 with this person. Most likely. 205 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:10,440 Best guess, and what tradition tells us, is that this woman was 206 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:16,480 a local prostitute. But whatever it was, the idea 207 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:22,440 that she was a Sinner is to say this is who everyone saw her to 208 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:26,040 be. That is her identity. 209 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:29,240 If you were to look at her, the first thing that everybody in 210 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:31,920 town, every local would know is she's a Sinner. 211 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:38,560 It is not hidden. It is her public identity. 212 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:48,680 She's notorious and she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. 213 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:56,000 She stood behind him, that is Jesus at his feet, weeping, 214 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:00,320 began to wash his feet with her tears. 215 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:06,320 She wiped his feet with her hair, kissing them and anointing 216 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:11,400 them with the perfume. The intruder now leads to the 217 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:20,680 scandal of the moment. This unwelcome, unclean woman 218 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:23,400 slips in amidst the shadows again. 219 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,080 I want you to picture this because we don't think this way. 220 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:31,720 But there is no electricity. The only light in the room 221 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:35,080 likely would have been those lights from the candles on the 222 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:37,600 table for those who are participating in the meal. 223 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:40,840 And so it's dark outside. It's supper. 224 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:43,680 The nights got long. And so in the evenings, as 225 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:47,680 people have crept in, it's easy to kind of slide in anonymously 226 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:55,280 into the shadows. This woman has slipped in, and 227 00:15:55,280 --> 00:16:00,400 she's been brought with her an alabaster jar of perfume. 228 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:02,640 It says, now, alabaster. What is alabaster? 229 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:07,120 It was a very expensive form of marble from Egypt. 230 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:14,840 And within this marble vase was perfume, which tells us this is 231 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,720 a very expensive item, a luxury item. 232 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:23,480 And she had come to see this Jesus. 233 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:28,480 But I think it's going to be obvious from the story as we 234 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:31,920 move forward. She comes to see Jesus not 235 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,280 because she doesn't know who Jesus is, because she does. 236 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:42,040 She's met Jesus before. She'd come to bring him a gift 237 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:49,120 to honor him, not so that he would do something for her, but 238 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:51,400 because she was convinced he already had. 239 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:57,800 She'd heard him. She had been one of those 240 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:01,200 amongst the crowds that Jesus continually drew amongst 241 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:06,800 himself, who listened to him preach, who listened to the 242 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:12,359 gospel that he shared, and who believed what he said, who 243 00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:17,200 repented. And in her gratitude towards 244 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:21,040 Jesus and what she believed Jesus had already done for her, 245 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:25,480 she had resolved herself to overcome what must have been 246 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:30,960 terrifying. Again, she knows whose house 247 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:34,840 she's going into. She knows how people see 248 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:40,080 herself, and she has decided that despite her fear and 249 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:44,040 despite her shame, despite the fact that she would be the most 250 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:51,680 unwelcome of guests, she needed to honor Jesus, to see Jesus so 251 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:55,640 much that she would bear all that to come in and bring him 252 00:17:55,640 --> 00:18:01,960 this precious gift. And so she comes in and when she 253 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:08,640 sees the Jesus whom she is so grateful for, she can't stop 254 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:10,640 herself. I, I love the fact that my wife 255 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:14,200 was up here and just had this moment of being overcome. 256 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:20,800 It's a small glimpse into what this woman experiences when she 257 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:24,960 meets Jesus again, when she sees and when she sees the count one 258 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:28,880 that she's come to honor, she's just completely overcome. 259 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:37,600 It says that she began to wash his feet with her tears. 260 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:45,400 What Luke is telling us is that her tears just start raining out 261 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,360 of her eyes. She starts bawling. 262 00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:53,400 She starts sobbing is literally in the Greek text. 263 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:59,320 It's the idea like that faucets have been opened and, and I 264 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:01,720 don't know if you know this. I know this because I'm an 265 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:07,080 expert at making messes. My wife is laughing over there 266 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,400 dust and water. They create a mess. 267 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,080 They create a mess. And so she she can't help her. 268 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,480 So she starts crying. But remember, she's crying on 269 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:20,200 his dusty, dirty feet because as we're going to see in a moment, 270 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:22,880 Simon didn't do anything to clean up his feet. 271 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:26,800 So his feet are filthy. The water's pouring out now. 272 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:28,880 It's making a mess. It's getting all muddy and 273 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:30,880 yucky. And so she just responds by just 274 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:33,960 taking her hair and washing those feet. 275 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:38,080 And then she takes that perfume that she's brought and she just 276 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:45,240 pours it on his feet. It is absolutely in every way 277 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:48,560 completely undignified. It says she keeps kissing his 278 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:53,560 feet. This idea of I mean, again to in 279 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:57,520 Middle Eastern culture to this day, it is a deep sign of 280 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:02,280 affection. Her heart is overcome with love 281 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:07,520 and affection for Jesus and she doesn't care. 282 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:11,360 She doesn't care how it looks. She doesn't care how undignified 283 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:13,160 it is. She doesn't care that, 284 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,600 especially given how many see her in this room, it's going to 285 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:23,080 be viewed as completely immoral. It's become an absolute 286 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:28,200 spectacle and scandal in the room and everybody begins to 287 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:31,600 notice. And then we read when the 288 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:36,560 Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, this 289 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:43,200 man, if he were a prophet, would know what kind of woman this is 290 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,880 who is touching him. She's a Sinner. 291 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:52,000 The scandal leads Simon to an accusation. 292 00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:59,640 Jesus can't possibly be who he claims to be, who others say he. 293 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:02,520 He can't possibly claim to speak for God. 294 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:07,320 If he had any of the type of connection that he claims he has 295 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,840 to God, he would never allow this woman to do this. 296 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:16,120 Now, there's two things I think you need to notice in this 297 00:21:16,120 --> 00:21:19,280 moment. First, this is not necessarily 298 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:22,360 probably the accusation that you and I would expect to be 299 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:27,280 levelled about someone who has a prostitute kissing their feet in 300 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:29,640 public, pouring out perfume onto them. 301 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:35,400 I think it speaks volumes to the character of Jesus just in 302 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:40,480 general, that Simon wasn't thinking there's something going 303 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:43,520 on between these two. There's something happening 304 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:49,320 here. Instead we see this. 305 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:53,040 Simon Says, no, he can't be a prophet. 306 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:57,080 He can't be a problem because he he doesn't know who she is. 307 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:02,000 Not he does know who she is. He doesn't know who she is. 308 00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:08,880 The second thing you need to see is this, Simon said to himself. 309 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:15,640 He said to himself, Simon's accusation is never verbalized 310 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:21,720 out loud, it's internal. And that's what makes what 311 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:27,640 happens next so so astonishing and actually self defeating to 312 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:32,080 Simon's original accusation. Because Jesus is about to show 313 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:34,440 not only does he know the thoughts of God, he knows the 314 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:39,240 thoughts of Simon. Jesus replied to him. 315 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:47,680 In response to Simon's thoughts, Jesus speaks, because Jesus 316 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:52,040 knows what's in the the mind and the heart of Simon without him 317 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:57,640 ever having to say it. He said Simon, I have something 318 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:01,520 to say to you. He said say it teacher. 319 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:10,600 A creditor had two debtors, 1 owed 500 denarii, the other 50, 320 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:16,320 and since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them 321 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:21,120 both. So which of them will love him 322 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:24,680 more? Simon answered. 323 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,120 And I think he's kind of hedging his bets here because he doesn't 324 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:33,280 want to get tricked by Jesus. I suppose the one he forgave 325 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:36,320 more. You have judged correctly, he 326 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:40,480 told him. Here we get the response, the 327 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,160 response to Simon's internal accusation. 328 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,120 Jesus tells Simon something that we call a parable. 329 00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:50,080 A parable is simply this. It's a an earthly and earthy 330 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:54,120 story that's meant to communicate a heavenly, eternal 331 00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:57,600 truth. He says, you know, there was a 332 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:02,800 an individual who was owed money by two people whom he had lent 333 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:07,400 money out to. One person he lent money out to, 334 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:11,680 they owed him what would be today the equivalent of about a 335 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:13,840 year and a half's wages for the average worker. 336 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:18,200 The other still owed a significant chunk. 337 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:21,280 It was approximately 2 months wages. 338 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:28,600 And this man forgives both the people who owed him money, not 339 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,720 because of anything they did. They weren't entitled to any 340 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:38,040 type of forgiveness. He out of his grace bore the 341 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:43,120 cost and forgave them. Let me ask you something, Simon. 342 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:49,040 Which of those two, the one who had a year and a half's worth of 343 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,880 wages, or the one who had two months worth of wages which, 344 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:56,040 which one do you think had a greater love for the one who 345 00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:58,920 forgave them, who paid their debts? 346 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:03,760 Which one do you think had greater gratitude in their 347 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:10,120 hearts? The answer, of course, was that 348 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:12,080 it was the one who had been forgiven more. 349 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:16,240 Simon knew that and he pointed out and Jesus said, you got it 350 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:18,320 right, Simon, absolutely. I'm not trying to trick you. 351 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:21,640 Just think about that. That's a simple principle. 352 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:25,000 The greater the forgiveness, Jesus says, the greater the 353 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:30,600 love, the more it is understood the extent of what has been 354 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,560 forgiven, the more a heart would be moved. 355 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:37,080 And so now Jesus is going to take this and he's going to 356 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:41,000 apply this truth to the current situation that's going on in the 357 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,680 home with both Simon and the woman. 358 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:48,080 Turning to the woman, he said to Simon, do you see this woman? 359 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:53,920 I entered your house. You gave me no water for my 360 00:25:53,920 --> 00:26:00,080 feet, but she with her tears has washed my feet and wiped them 361 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:05,280 with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she 362 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:07,440 hasn't stopped kissing my feet since I came in. 363 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:14,720 You didn't anoint my head with olive oil, but she is anointed 364 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:21,360 my feet with perfume. Therefore, I tell you her many 365 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:26,360 sins have been forgiven. That's why she loved much. 366 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:31,840 But the one who's forgiven little loves little. 367 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:37,520 Simon may have invited Jesus to come over to his house out of a 368 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:43,080 sense of curiosity or duty. Whatever it was, he definitely 369 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:45,960 gives no sign that he's grateful that Jesus has come. 370 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,840 He hasn't even done what would be expected in having an honored 371 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:53,760 guest into your house. A guest you would have respected 372 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:58,200 would have had his feet washed when he walked in, a guess that 373 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:01,480 you had any type of affection and welcome for that you wanted 374 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:03,400 people to know. I'm glad he's in my home. 375 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:05,720 You would receive him with a kiss. 376 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:12,440 A guest who was honored in any way in that setting, in that 377 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:15,760 time would have had some olive oil placed on his head to anoint 378 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:20,160 him. See, Simon didn't just forget to 379 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:23,400 honor Jesus when he came. It wasn't like, oh man, forgot 380 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:26,400 about that. Now he he withheld it, he 381 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:29,800 withheld it on purpose. And then Jesus says in 382 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:34,440 comparison, this woman, she comes in, she doesn't have any 383 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:35,560 water. It's not her home. 384 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:39,080 She washes his feet with her tears. 385 00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:44,440 She doesn't have a towel at the door to clean off his feet. 386 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:48,640 So she uses her hair, doesn't put olive oil on it. 387 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:55,320 She goes to the to the the most disgusting part of the body in 388 00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:59,320 that day, the feet, and she pours out the most expensive 389 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:01,040 gift she could bring to anoint him. 390 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:07,080 She esteemed him so much. She had such affection for him. 391 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:10,440 Her heart was so moved by him that she couldn't keep herself 392 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:16,720 from kissing his feet. There was a world of difference 393 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:21,640 in how these two people saw Jesus, and Jesus is saying, 394 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:25,080 because there's a world of difference in how you see me and 395 00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:30,120 see yourself. The difference boiled down to 396 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:34,840 what they believed about what Jesus had done by being present, 397 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,000 what they believed, what Jesus would do or had done for them, 398 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:40,720 and what they believed about themselves. 399 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:44,400 The difference was not in their need for forgiveness. 400 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:48,800 This is really important. They both needed forgiveness to 401 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:53,840 equal measure. Simon was every bit in need of 402 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:58,280 forgiveness is the Sinner. The difference is that this 403 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:01,760 Sinner, a woman, knew who she was. 404 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:08,360 She recognized the need and because of that, she had come to 405 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:12,400 a point where she had received the forgiveness that Jesus 406 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:17,480 offers. In receiving forgiveness, the 407 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:22,000 proof that she had previously been forgiven shows up by the 408 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,560 fact that she comes and she loves him. 409 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:30,800 She loves Jesus because she understands the magnitude of 410 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:35,680 what Jesus had done for her. Simon, on the other hand, when 411 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:40,240 Jesus comes in, displays little love for Jesus because he had 412 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:43,280 never come to a point of receiving forgiveness from 413 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:49,800 Jesus. Then he said to her, your sins 414 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:53,440 are forgiven. Those who are at the table with 415 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:57,600 him began to say amongst themselves, who is this man who 416 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:00,760 even forgive sins? We've actually gone from a 417 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:02,720 scandal to an even greater scandal. 418 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:07,320 You thought it was scandalous to have a prostitute washing the 419 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:10,320 feet of Jesus with her tears and her hair and kissing them and 420 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:12,800 pouring perfume on them. You want to know something more 421 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:14,600 scandalous? When a man claims to forgive 422 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:22,200 sins, when Jesus says your sins are forgiven, he is claiming 423 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:24,960 something that only one person has the authority to do. 424 00:30:25,040 --> 00:30:30,160 God, God and God alone has the ability and the prerogative and 425 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:34,320 the purview to forgive sins. So Jesus making a very clear 426 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:37,720 declaration of who he understands himself to be. 427 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:44,800 And when Jesus says your sins are forgiven, he's confirming 428 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:46,640 again, I need you to connect this and see this. 429 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:50,720 What had already taken place, right? 430 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:55,600 Jesus already said her many sins had been forgiven. 431 00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:59,680 She came to the house forgiven already. 432 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:05,920 She responded with love and affection towards Jesus, not in 433 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:11,160 order to get her sins forgiven. She responded out of the the 434 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:14,520 reality that she already knew and understood that her sins had 435 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:19,720 been forgiven. Jesus is just making known the 436 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:23,680 truth to this whole room with this woman already knew in her 437 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:28,120 heart she'd been forgiven. Now he's making it clear I 438 00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:32,200 already forgave her. And then Luke ends this 439 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:34,400 encounter with a final statement by Jesus. 440 00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:38,400 He said to the woman, your faith has saved you. 441 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:44,920 Go in peace. It wasn't the sacrifice made to 442 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:50,640 Jesus that saves her. It was her faith in what Jesus 443 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:56,640 had already done for her, right? Your faith has saved you because 444 00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:58,480 you already believed that you were forgiven. 445 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:02,520 And your faith is proven by the fact that you came here to honor 446 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:07,480 me in this way. The faith that she had been 447 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:11,720 forgiven was evidenced by the deep love that she had for the 448 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:14,760 one who had forgiven her. That's what Jesus wants us to 449 00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:19,440 see here. And the result of that is 450 00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:23,520 salvation, because salvation is received through faith, not by 451 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:26,920 what we do, but faith in what Jesus has already done. 452 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:34,200 And that faith leads to peace, the assurance that she is saved, 453 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:38,960 the absence of the shame that she has lived so much of her 454 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:45,160 life with the confidence of knowing both of those things. 455 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:48,960 She is saved, she is forgiven, she is redeemed, and she has no 456 00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:52,480 shame. So what does that mean for us? 457 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:59,600 Two things. One, Jesus can and will forgive 458 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:02,440 your sins. There. 459 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:08,720 Is this the point of this story? If you get nothing else to know 460 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:12,240 this, there is no sin and no Sinner that is beyond the grace 461 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:15,560 of Jesus Christ, beyond His ability to forgive. 462 00:33:16,960 --> 00:33:21,200 In fact, if you need to know one thing, if I was to ask you what 463 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:25,880 is the most dangerous sin one could commit, you probably come 464 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:27,800 up with a whole different list of things. 465 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:30,560 I think what Jesus would say to us through the story is the most 466 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:33,120 dangerous sin that anyone could commit is the sin of self 467 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:35,960 righteousness because that's the sin of Simon. 468 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:40,280 It's the sin that keeps you from believing that you need a 469 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:43,440 savior. It's the sin that keeps you from 470 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:45,560 believing that you need forgiveness. 471 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:50,920 And the Sinner that fails to see their need for forgiveness can 472 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:56,080 never be forgiven. In his parable to Simon, Jesus 473 00:33:56,080 --> 00:34:02,920 said since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave 474 00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:05,960 them. Paul uses that same word that is 475 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:09,880 translated here as graciously forgave in Romans 832. 476 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:15,920 Zach same word. He uses it to describe what what 477 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:20,719 God does for us through Jesus. Where he says he did not spare 478 00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:27,520 his own son but gave him up for us all graciously forgave and 479 00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:29,520 gave him up. Zach, same word in the Greek. 480 00:34:30,159 --> 00:34:33,920 It's just the context of how the sentence works that allows us to 481 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:36,679 translate. But Paul knows what he's doing 482 00:34:36,679 --> 00:34:42,480 as he shares this. God can graciously forgive us 483 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:48,840 because Jesus willingly gave himself up for us on the cross 484 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:52,520 so that everything that we have done and all the sins that we 485 00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:56,520 have committed were paid for and credited to the to him. 486 00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:02,400 So any debtor can be forgiven because there is no length or 487 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:05,240 amount of sin that Jesus blood doesn't cover. 488 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:12,480 Jesus, who alone does not deserve death, who alone lived a 489 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:16,760 perfect and holy life, dies on the cross, the death that 490 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:20,080 sinners deserve, so that any Sinner can be forgiven. 491 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:23,480 That's the gospel. That's the good news. 492 00:35:25,360 --> 00:35:30,920 Forgiveness is available for all who have faith in this reality, 493 00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:38,280 who believe it to be true that Jesus died to forgive me. 494 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:45,120 Have you trusted in Jesus and in Jesus alone for the forgiveness 495 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:47,160 of your sins? Not Jesus plus anything else 496 00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:49,280 that you've done. Not Jesus plus your resume, 497 00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:52,720 Jesus plus the good things that you've done, Jesus plus your 498 00:35:52,720 --> 00:35:55,760 religious activities, The death of Jesus alone. 499 00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:59,120 The blood of Jesus alone saves. And it is the only thing that 500 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:03,120 can save. Because here's the promise. 501 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:05,800 It's the same promise that was there for this woman. 502 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:08,320 This Sinner is the same promise that's true for all of us 503 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:13,040 sinners. If you call out to him in this 504 00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:18,360 very moment, not just you can be saved, but you will be saved. 505 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:25,640 Your sins are forgiven. Your sins are forgiven. 506 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:31,360 Go in peace. You now get to walk with the 507 00:36:31,360 --> 00:36:34,040 confidence of knowing you're forgiven. 508 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:39,000 The shame, the things that anybody and everybody else can't 509 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:41,280 forget about, you have been forgiven by Jesus Christ. 510 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:46,960 Wash clean. The second thing is this, the 511 00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:50,760 proof that we have been forgiven is a love for Jesus. 512 00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:56,160 The proof that you actually have been forgiven, that you get 513 00:36:56,160 --> 00:37:00,360 this, that you believe this, that your faith is there, not 514 00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:03,960 just some intellectual ascent, but that your heart knows this 515 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:07,360 to be true. The people often ask me, how can 516 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:10,640 I know that I've been forgiven? Well, the first answer is, if 517 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:12,960 you've called out to Jesus for forgiveness of sins, you're 518 00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:17,800 forgiven. The way that you know that you 519 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:22,800 have received that forgiveness is it results in a heart that is 520 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:28,280 moved towards love. Jesus says this himself in John 521 00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:33,240 1415. If you love me, if your heart is 522 00:37:33,240 --> 00:37:36,560 moved towards me, if you've understood forgiveness in your 523 00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:38,480 life, you will obey my commandments. 524 00:37:38,760 --> 00:37:42,280 And that the key to being more obedient is to understand in 525 00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:45,640 greater and greater measure the love that Jesus has for you. 526 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:50,960 It's not to try harder. It's to believe more that you 527 00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:58,960 are so loved and so forgiven. And a love for God, Jesus tells 528 00:37:58,960 --> 00:38:03,600 us, is inextricably linked with the love for others. 529 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:08,040 The way our love for God works itself out is that we love 530 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:12,640 others. I just want to put a plug for 531 00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:14,480 our Just Open the Door women's study. 532 00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:20,480 If Jesus, if you believe Jesus welcomes you in with 533 00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:26,040 hospitality, if he greets you and accepts you as you are and 534 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:29,840 brings you in not just into his home but into the family of God, 535 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:34,560 the result would be that you in greater and greater measure will 536 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:38,840 be a person of hospitality. You will invite people in. 537 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:42,840 You will bring them in not just into your home for a dinner, but 538 00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:47,240 into your life. And the more that you think that 539 00:38:47,240 --> 00:38:51,080 you don't need that, the deeper your need for it is. 540 00:38:53,840 --> 00:38:57,960 Listen, we have to be people who are shaped by love. 541 00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:01,880 The more we understand the love that Jesus had for us, the more 542 00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:04,160 we understand that forgiveness, the more we understand that 543 00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:05,920 welcome, The more we understand that grace. 544 00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:11,640 It moves us to forgiveness and grace and welcome, because the 545 00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:16,600 more you understand grace, the more gratitude grows. 546 00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:22,160 Why is she so overcome? She's so overcome because she 547 00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:25,120 knows how great the forgiveness is. 548 00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:32,600 Is your heart moved to grace? Is it moved to gratitude? 549 00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:35,120 Is it moved to love? Is it moved to mercy? 550 00:39:35,120 --> 00:39:37,760 Is it moved to forgiveness? I'm so sick of looking at 551 00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:44,640 Christians who are angry and bitter, who are unwelcoming, who 552 00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:46,640 hate the stranger and the foreigner. 553 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:52,080 You are not a follower of Jesus. That is not the way of Jesus. 554 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:56,560 We have all sorts of different conversations about how this all 555 00:39:56,560 --> 00:39:58,000 works itself out in the political sphere. 556 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:01,320 That's not for me to determine. But if your heart is cold 557 00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:05,040 towards people created in the image of God, you've got a 558 00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:08,760 problem in your heart. You need Jesus to step into it. 559 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:15,760 There's a reason that you have never, and I have never written 560 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:20,360 a thank you letter to a landlord or a bank when you've paid a 561 00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:25,200 bill on time because you've just gotten what you deserved. 562 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:28,320 When they pay off your bill or allow you to stay in the home. 563 00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:35,720 But how would you respond if someone came up to you today and 564 00:40:35,720 --> 00:40:40,600 told you your entire mortgage was paid off, your rent was 565 00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:46,840 covered for life, your credit card bills were wiped clean and 566 00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:51,560 could never be racked up again? What would your heart do? 567 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:58,040 How would you see that person? I want us to take some time here 568 00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:00,920 just at the end, and I want us to respond. 569 00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:08,920 I want you to just again, let's, let's just close our eyes, see 570 00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:14,120 you and God. I want you to 1st think about 571 00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:16,280 this. Where do you need to receive the 572 00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:22,640 forgiveness Jesus offers? This is something in your past 573 00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:24,320 you haven't been able to let go yourself. 574 00:41:24,320 --> 00:41:28,480 You're holding yourself to a standard refusing to forgive 575 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:31,680 yourself of something that Jesus has died on the cross to forgive 576 00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:39,320 you of. If Jesus has forgiven you, if he 577 00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:41,600 set you free, you are free indeed. 578 00:41:42,600 --> 00:41:45,280 Don't carry that burden anymore. Don't carry that shame. 579 00:41:49,680 --> 00:41:52,240 Is there something maybe even today where you just recognize, 580 00:41:52,240 --> 00:41:54,840 hey, I wasn't walking in the way of Jesus, my heart wasn't 581 00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:56,480 aligned? This is the great news. 582 00:41:57,120 --> 00:41:59,280 Jesus forgives and forgives and forgives and forgives. 583 00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:04,080 The entirety of what he does is he forgives us and he never runs 584 00:42:04,080 --> 00:42:08,640 out of forgiveness. Maybe it's the sin of self 585 00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:10,360 righteousness in your life today. 586 00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:15,960 I know there's been lots of times in my life where I've 587 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:22,600 talked about the other, that person, the person who's done 588 00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:24,960 things that need Jesus forgiveness more than I do. 589 00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:30,480 Repent to that you need. There is no hope for you apart 590 00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:32,680 from the blood of Jesus. There's no hope for anybody. 591 00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:36,720 The ground is level at the foot of the cross. 592 00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:47,960 As you take that to Jesus, He's saying, I forgive you, you're 593 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:52,360 forgiven, you're washed clean, go in peace. 594 00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:55,760 Now here's what I want you to do. 595 00:42:55,760 --> 00:43:00,760 I just want you to cry out to God with thanks for the 596 00:43:00,760 --> 00:43:02,240 forgiveness that you've received. 597 00:43:04,120 --> 00:43:09,640 He did not owe it to you. Nothing that you have ever done 598 00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:15,520 has earned his forgiveness. He loved you so much that he 599 00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:21,200 died so that you could be forgiven of everything, all of 600 00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:26,640 it. What type of love would do such 601 00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:31,520 a thing? What type of gratitude and love 602 00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:34,400 which should we have for someone who has done such a thing? 603 00:43:41,680 --> 00:43:49,000 Father, I just confessed. There's so many times in my life 604 00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:56,480 where I have failed to receive the forgiveness that you've 605 00:43:56,480 --> 00:43:58,120 offered. And I've carried a burden that 606 00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:03,520 was no longer mine to carry, carried shame that wasn't mine 607 00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:07,560 to carry. It's been lots of other times, 608 00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:11,400 Father, where I felt like I could just kind of pay you back 609 00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:15,840 for what I had done. Just work a little harder, try 610 00:44:15,840 --> 00:44:18,120 and be a little better instead of just taking it to you and 611 00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:23,040 knowing this is a debt I can't repay and receiving the 612 00:44:23,040 --> 00:44:27,400 forgiveness that was given God. There's been other times where 613 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:33,800 I've looked at somebody around me and felt in some way that I 614 00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:37,880 was superior to them, better to better than them, less in need 615 00:44:37,880 --> 00:44:39,760 than them. Of your grace and mercy and 616 00:44:39,760 --> 00:44:42,320 forgiveness in my life. God, I'm so sorry for being 617 00:44:42,320 --> 00:44:46,320 Simon. I want to have the heart of the 618 00:44:46,320 --> 00:44:47,800 woman. I'm a Sinner. 619 00:44:53,120 --> 00:44:55,280 Want to wash your feet with my tears? 620 00:44:56,840 --> 00:45:00,240 Break our hearts, God, break our hearts. 621 00:45:03,200 --> 00:45:05,120 And then help us to hear what you said to her. 622 00:45:08,280 --> 00:45:12,120 Our sins are forgiven. Go in peace. 623 00:45:16,320 --> 00:45:21,560 Let's sing to God together. Let's raise our voices to him 624 00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:25,160 together. Praise the one who forgives what 625 00:45:25,160 --> 00:45:29,000 others can't forget the one who brings us back to life.