3Circle Church
Luke 7:36 (ESV)
One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.
Jesus was willing to eat with insiders and outsiders.
Pharisee = to separate
Luke 7:37-38
And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.
Sinner = technical term meaning prostitute
“The issue is not whether we will worship, but what. Even better, whom and how.” - John Piper, Desiring God
Hebrews 4:16
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
2) Humble
James 4:10
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
3) Honest
John 4:23-24
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
4) Sacrificial
2 Samuel 24:24
But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
Luke 7:39
Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “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.”
The woman outwardly revealed what she believed about Jesus, while the Pharisee revealed inwardly what he believed about Him.
Luke 7:40-43
And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
Authentic salvation produces a posture of gratitude.
“I suppose” = acknowledgement of the point, without receiving the truth
Luke 7:44-47
Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “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.”
Both the sinful woman and the sinful Pharisee revealed their heart conditions through their outer actions.
Simon: Jesus was a dinner guest // Woman: Jesus was Lord
Luke 7:48-50
And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Jesus is claiming to be God with His authoritative declaration.
The woman was not saved by her actions, but by her faith in Jesus.
Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.