Luke 7:40-50
Notes
Transcript
********** Start Timer **********
Please turn back to Luke 7.
-We’re going to be finishing our study...
…of the event that is contained in verses 36-50.
-While you’re turning...
…be reminded of what we learned…
...the last time we were here.
Remember:
Jesus had been invited to a Pharisee’s house for dinner
While He was reclined at the table...
…a woman who was infamous for her sinful lifestyle comes in.
She begins to:
Weep over Jesus’ feet...
Washing them with her tears.
Wiping them with her hair
Then she starts:
To kiss His feet repeatedly
Anoints them with an extremely expensive perfume
-If you’ll remember, my premise was, that...
…this was an act of:
Profound humility
Deep Contrition
Reverential Affection.
In response, we saw that the Pharisee...
(Rather than delighting in her repentance)
…makes an indictment against Jesus, for...
(Assumedly) Not knowing who she was...
And in that, allowing her to touch Him.
Verse 40 picks up with Jesus’ initial response to him:
Let’s read it together:
Luke 7:40–50 (ESV)
40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
44 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.
45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.
46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.
47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”
50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
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Pray
-Verse 40 begins with Jesus’ initial response to the Pharisee.
And remember what Luke had told us in the previous verse:
Luke 7:39 (ESV)
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.”
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-Now, the first time we saw Jesus reading someone’s mind...
…was in Luke 5 at the healing of the Paralytic, where...
…He had proven that He was...
...a whole lot more than just a prophet.
There, He proved that He was Divine!
And that, as God Incarnate, He had the authority (on earth)...
...to forgive sins!
-And, today’s text is going to parallel that text...
…in a big way.
-Now, in building up to that grand crescendo...
…Jesus, gives Simon/us a lesson about the nature of forgiveness.
Look a verse 40, again, with me.
Luke 7:40 (ESV)
40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
He’s about to see that Jesus knows...
…”who and what sort of person”...
…everyone in the room was!
Much like the prophet Nathan did to King David...
…Jesus is going to use a parable to show the man his sin...
…and to ensnare him with his own words!
Look at verse 41.
The parable begins:
Luke 7:41 (ESV)
41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
-Now, let’s break this down before we...
…go on to the next verse:
He begins with a moneylender.
What does a moneylender do?
He lends money at interest to make a profit.
Whose money does he lend out?
His own.
Next, we have two debtors.
What are those?
People who are in debt.
People who owe money.
To whom are they indebted, here?
To the moneylender.
Do they actually owe him the money?
Yes!
They are justly indebted to him.
Now, look at the amounts:
-One owed 500 denarii...
-The other only 50.
Remember, that a denarius...
…was a Roman coin worth about a days labor for a common worker.
So let’s do the math.
If they:
Worked 6 days a week...
Gave every dime of their earnings to their creditor...
It would take the man who owed 50 denarii:
Over two months to pay it back.
The man who owed 500 denarii...
…would have to work for:
More than a year and a half!
Think about your own wages...
…and consider the difficulty that this...
…would pose to you...
…particularly as you had to support your family in the meantime.
Factor that in, and they’re both going to...
…be in this man’s debt for many years.
This is a heavy burden on both...
…but to the one, it's almost insurmountable.
He’s gotten himself into a lot of trouble.
-Now, this is, of course, another place...
…where Jesus is describing debt as analogous to sin.
This is something He did quite often.
For instance, in “The Lord’s Prayer,” he said:
Luke 11:4 (ESV)
4 ...forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us...
In the S.O.M., he said explicitly:
Matthew 6:12 (ESV)
12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
The foremost example of this is, of course in Matthew 18.
Do you remember the question...
…that provoked that parable?
Matthew 18:21–25 (ESV)
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.
24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
You remember the rest of the story:
The King showed him extravagant mercy...
…in releasing (forgiving) him of all of that debt.
He then went and enslaved someone who...
…owed him comparatively little.
And the King finds out and (essentially)...
…casts him into hell!
That parable concluded with this warning:
Matthew 18:34–35 (ESV)
34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.
35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
-Now, the analogy is the same in our text...
…but it’s proving a different point.
Look at verse 42
Luke 7:42 (ESV)
42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both....
So again, let’s break this down.
NEITHER of the debtors, were able to pay.
He could have sold:
...them, their property, and their families...
…to collect what was rightfully His!
He owns them...
Because they owe Him!
But, He does something totally unexpected...
He shows them grace.
He forgives (releases) their debt.
-Don’t overlook something, here.
Who wins in this transaction?
The debtors
At whose expense?
The Creditor’s
You see, it isn’t just that He’s given them their lives back...
He’s done so at great personal loss!
-I’m not really trying to make a statement about...
…the nature of God’s forgiveness, here.
(We need to be careful with that)
But, I am trying to help you to...
…put yourself inside the parable...
…and take from it what they would have.
The one man would have had to go to debtors prison for...
A couple of months.
He is spared that...
…because His creditor bears that burden himself.
The other man would have been in debtor’s prison...
For years!
But, he too, is forgiven...
…by his creditor’s self-sacrifice.
How do you think these men...
…will feel about their creditor now?
They’ll sing his praises!
But, Jesus asks this:
Luke 7:42 (ESV)
42 ...Now which of them will love him more?”
And the Pharisee gives the obvious answer:
Luke 7:43 (ESV)
43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” . . .
And then, like Nathan’s...
...”You are the man!” . . .
Jesus says:
Luke 7:43 (ESV)
43 . . . “You have judged rightly.”
Here’s why I say that.
The man who owed 50 denarii...
Is clearly the pharisee
He doesn’t think he has much to be forgiven of.
The man who owed 500 denarii...
Is actually a woman!
He represents the sinful woman in our text.
Here’s the indictment:
Luke 7:44–46 (ESV)
44 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.
45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.
46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.
He’s saying that her penitent actions...
…speak much louder than his external piety!
He tells him:
Luke 7:47 (ESV)
47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much...
In other words...
…here’s why this woman is doing such...
Elaborate
Extreme
Humiliating things:
Because she IS a great transgressor...
And she knows it!
Because she very much deserves...
...the eternal torments of hell...
And she knows it!
But, the One she has so grievously sinned against...
…has released her of her debts...
And now she knows that!
And her heart is overflowing with...
Love
Gratitude
...for her benevolent master!
-But, in contrast, Jesus says:
Luke 7:47 (ESV)
47 ...But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
Be careful not to turn this parable...
…into an allegory.
The point is not that Jesus:
Had forgiven the Pharisee a little bit...
…just not as much...
…so he isn’t loving Jesus like she is.
The point is that, the Pharisee:
Didn’t think he had much to be forgiven of.
So, the prospect of possible forgiveness...
…did little to arouse his affections!
But, the woman:
Recognized the great gravity of her debt...
…and thus, the grandeur of the prospect of her forgiveness!
And, that’s what He assures her of in verse 48:
Luke 7:48 (ESV)
48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Literally:
Luke 7:48 (LSB)
48 . . . “Your sins have been forgiven.”
-Now, this brings up a couple of important questions.
The first is asked by the other dinner guests in verse 49:
Luke 7:49 (ESV)
49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”
They have the same question as...
…the Scribes and Pharisees in Luke 5:
Luke 5:21 (ESV)
21 . . . “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
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You see,
Sin...
…is any disobedience to God’s will.
Sin...
…is "missing the mark” of the...
...standard of God’s moral perfections.
i.e., “falling short of the glory of God!”
So, ultimately...
ALL sin, is against God.
Ergo, only God can forgive it.
So, who is this man...
...”who even forgives sins?”
Immanuel!
God, in human flesh.
That’s:
Who He is
Why He can EVEN forgive sin.
-Now, there’s a second question that this begs...
…that these folks didn’t even know...
…that they needed to ask...
But, we “upon whom the end of the ages has come” . . .
Are aware of
Must ask
What is it?
How can Jesus tell her:
Luke 7:48 (LSB)
48 . . . “Your sins have been forgiven.”
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…when He has yet to take that loss upon Himself...
…on the Cross!?!
I know that I take you here a lot...
But it’s so important that you understand this:
It’s the same reason that...
Abraham
Noah
Moses
David
…can have any hope of eternal life.
It’s because of what was decreed...
....in the eternal counsels of the Godhead...
…that the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the earth!
It’s because the persons of the Godhead...
…Covenanted together to redeem a people...
…through the means of the Cross.
It’s because of the certainty of God’s faithfulness to that Covenant.
The text is Romans 3.
Romans 3:23–28 (ESV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
This is the situation with the woman in our text.
Verse 50 clears up any doubts.
Luke 7:50 (ESV)
50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you...”
Faith in whom?
Jesus!
What’s the result?
Justification!
Being right with God!
No longer an enemy
No longer at enmity
He tells her that, NOW, she can:
Luke 7:50 (ESV)
50 ...go in peace.”
You too, can have peace with God!
You too, can be forgiven an insurmountable debt!
But, this/He is the only way.
Faith in Christ is the only way.
But, to have faith in Him, means that...
…you have to stop having faith in yourself.
That’s Repentance!
The Pharisee didn’t do that...
…and that’s why he remained in his sin.
This woman of ill repute...
Released her self-confidence
Put her hope and trust in the righteousness of Christ...
And God:
Released her of her indebtedness to Him.
And nothing short of that...
… is what it takes to be at peace with God.
Scott, could you please come up?
Brethren, this is one of the things that...
…the Lord’s Supper signifies to us:
That we are at peace with God...
Because we have partaken...
… in the body and blood of Christ...
…By Faith!
That we have been:
Released from our debts against Him...
And have been seated at His family table!
If, by faith in Christ, you are a part of His family...
…and you have professed that faith through the waters of baptism...
…then we encourage you to take your seat...
…at the table of Christ with us this morning.
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Go down and serve.
Luke tells us:
19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Pray
Partake
Matthew Clarifies this about the Cup:
Matthew 26:27–28 (ESV)
27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you,
28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Pray
Partake
Well, Amen! Go in peace!