The following sermon, entitled A Debtor's Love for Jesus, was preached on the evening of January 8th, 2023 at Hope Protestant Reformed Church in Redlands, California. If you enjoy listening to our sermons, we encourage you to come worship with us. For more information on upcoming service times and Bible study opportunities, please visit our website at hopeprc.org. Let's open God's Word this evening to The Gospel according to Luke 7. Luke 7 and we will read verses 36-50. The whole of that portion will be the text for tonight's sermon. As you are turning there, notice some of the context in verses 11 And following, Jesus raises the son of the widow of Nain from the dead. And in light of that miracle, we read in v. 16, and there came a fear on all, and they glorified God saying that a great prophet is risen among us and that God hath visited His people. And this rumor of Him went forth throughout all Judea and throughout all the region round about. And then in verses 24-35, Jesus is preaching and points His finger, as it were, at the Pharisees who had rejected John the Baptist. So a part of the context is the contrast between the publicans and sinners who were glad to hear of John the Baptist and his preaching and the Pharisees who rejected it. And now with that in mind, Let's read verses 36-15. And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house and sat down to me. And behold, a woman in the city which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at me in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment and stood at His feet behind Him, weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears. And did wipe them with the hairs of Her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bitten Him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. He said, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors. The one owed 500 pence and the other 50. and when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore which of them will love him most?' Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head, with oil, thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at me with him began to say within themselves, who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace. As a congregation, in the coming days, we are to examine ourselves. That is the clear injunction of Scripture in 1 Corinthians 11 for those who would partake of the Lord's Supper. And the form for the administration of the Lord's Supper teaches us that we therefore must examine ourselves in three areas. In the area of our sinfulness, in the area of our faith, and in the area of our intentions. And an important aspect of that self-examination is taking God's Word and using it as a light to help us see our sins and where we have fallen short so that we might take those sins to our Savior, confessing them, seeking forgiveness, and seeking to turn away from them. And as your minister, in previous sermons regarding examining ourselves, I have encouraged you as a congregation to be deliberate intentional in this process of examining of ourselves. That is, we are to spend some time in this throughout the week. But that raises the question, why is that really necessary? Because after all, I already know that I'm a sinner. Why do I need to go through this process of setting my life side by side with the standard that is God's law to see how far short I fall? Because the reality is I already know the outcome. I already know what the result's going to be. I already know that I'm going to find, yes, I am indeed a sinner. So why do I need to go through this process? In fact, the very question that was put to me one of the last times I preached a preparatory sermon. And that question was put to me in all honesty. It was a genuine question and a fair question. And when the member of the congregation put that question to me, I felt as though I bumbled my way through the answer. It wasn't very clear. But a part of the answer that I gave to this individual to point him to this passage. And now, because I think it is an important question, I want to give that answer from this passage with greater clarity and with greater depth, because this passage is the answer to that question. Why examine myself if I already know the outcome, if I already know the result, as I'm going to find I'm a sinner? Because this passage reminds us that the outpouring of our love for Jesus Christ flows from and is the result of knowing the greatness of my debt that has been forgiven for Christ's sake. That is, there's a connection between the knowledge of my sins and the seriousness of them and the love that we express for our Savior. And it's with that in mind that we consider this passage, using as our theme, a debtor's love for Jesus. We will see that there are two different loves that are expressed in this passage. And standing behind that, there are two different debtors found in the passage. And in that difference between the two, we are reminded that there is one Savior. who is worthy of our love." So a debtor's love for Jesus. First, the two loves. Second, the two debtors. And then third, the one worthy Savior. The text that we are considering tonight begins with verse 36. And one of the Pharisees desired Him that He would eat with him. And he, Jesus, went into the Pharisee's house and sat down to meet. And now imagine yourself as a guest at that feast. You have been invited to the home of a Pharisee. And the text tells us later on this man's name is Simon. Not to be confused with any other Simon in the New Testament. This man is distinct from all the others. This is Simon the Pharisee. And now you are gathered around a table with other guests. You are not sitting at that table like you would in our day with yourself on a chair and your feet in front of you, but at this table you would have been reclined on a flat couch that had no back. And you would have one arm that you are using to hold yourself up. The other arm free to use for eating. And your body is at an angle to the table with your feet stretched out behind you. But while you were a guest, you were not the notable guest. The notable guest at this feast, this banquet, is none other than Jesus of Nazareth. That man that everyone is all of a sudden talking about. Rumor has it that He's even caused someone who is dead to live again so that everyone is saying that there is a great prophet risen up among us. And Simon the Pharisee has invited Jesus to a feast, to a banquet, to find out about this man. Is he really the prophet that everyone says he is? Imagine yourself at that table. What happens next would have been quite something. Because what happens next is that a woman enters in to the room. Verse 37, "...Behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at Me in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment." And then what follows, so a woman walks in. Now for a random stranger or someone that you did not know to walk into such a feast, that by itself was not out of the ordinary. For in that day when there was some large gathering for a feast, a banquet, Others were allowed to come in and to stand along the periphery, along the walls, and even mingle with some of the guests. So for someone to walk in, that's not out of the ordinary. But for this woman to walk in, that's something. Because she is a known sinner. Verse 37 reads, and behold, a woman in the city which was a sinner. And the actual word order there is a woman which was in the city a sinner. And the idea is she's known in the city as being a sinner. This is her reputation. This woman is the town pariah. The outcast of the city who has a bad reputation as a great sinner. And here she comes into the home of a strict Pharisee. This would have raised some eyebrows. No doubt people were thinking, what on earth is she doing here? Yet, she comes. And she walks directly to Jesus. She stands behind Him. And she is holding in her hands a flask that would have been white in color that had some sort of perfume in it. King James says an alabaster box, but it's really an alabaster jar. And as she stands there, she's weeping. Tears are flowing. And even as an observer, it's pretty obvious to you what she wants to do. She has this flask of ointment, of perfume, and it's evident she wants to anoint Jesus with it. And the question on your mind, and no doubt on her mind, is what is He going to do? Is He going to let her? Is He going to allow this? So everyone is looking at Jesus. And He does absolutely nothing to discourage her. He does not send her away. And that was all she needed to proceed with what she came to do to anoint her Savior. She stoops down still crying. And she notices that his uncovered feet are still dirty. They're still dusty from the dry roads that he's traveled on, and she's not about to anoint dirty feet. They need to be washed. And so she uses her tears, likely wiping them off of her cheeks and nose, and using those tears to wet His feet. And perhaps even as she goes about that, some tears fall directly from her eyes down to His feet like raindrops. And she washes His feet. And then to dry the feet and to remove the dirt that was on them, she lets down her hair and takes her hair and dries off his feet. But she's not finished yet. Because Scripture tells us she begins to kiss his feet. Not once, not twice, but again and again and again. And then finally she can do what she came to do, to anoint his feet. And she takes that alabaster flask that would have had a round bottom and a very long, thin neck, and she would have broken the neck. And everyone sitting in the room would have immediately smelled the sweet perfume. This is no ordinary ointment, but an expensive perfume, and she applies it to the feet of this Jesus of Nazareth. Imagine yourself as a guest at that table and consider the love of this woman for her Savior, because that's what this is. That's what Jesus Himself calls it. An act, an expression of love. Verse 47, Jesus says about her, Wherefore, I say unto thee, her sins which are many are forgiven, for she loved much. She came in her love for Christ. And that means, standing behind this is that at some time in the recent past, this woman was brought to faith in Jesus Christ. She had heard Jesus Christ preaching. That's what He was doing in the context. He was preaching to the people and that was His main work during His earthly ministry to preach concerning the Kingdom of Heaven. And evidently, this woman was one of those sinners and publicans heard Jesus Christ and was brought to saving faith. And she saw in Jesus Christ the only One who could deliver her from her sins. And now, with her heart overwhelmed with joy that the long-awaited Messiah has come, she wants to show her love. She wants to express her love. And so she goes and either retrieves from her home or goes out and purchases this alabaster jar, this alabaster flask of perfume. And having purchased it or retrieved it, she now intends to track down Jesus Christ and she learns, well, He's in the home of Simon the Pharisee. Having learned that, she goes and performs this beautiful act of love. And consider the love being expressed here. This is a courageous love. Because her reputation as a sinner, and if she's going to do this, she has to enter into the home of a strict Pharisee. Did she hesitate at the door? Maybe. But if she did, love compelled her still to enter. To show her love for her Savior. What is more, this is a genuine love. And that comes out from the tears. These are tears of repentance. This woman is sorry for her sins. She's ashamed of her past, but it's not just sorrow. There's also an apprehension that there's mercy to be found in this Jesus of Nazareth. And it's especially the thought of His mercy towards her, a sinner, that makes the tears flow. What is more, this is a humble love. And the humility of her love comes out in the fact that she goes to His feet. She does not dare go to try to anoint His head, but His feet. And what is more, she takes her hair The hair of a woman is her crown, her glory, and she uses that to wipe away her feet. She understands that as a believer, my head belongs at my Savior's feet. There's humility here. And what is more, this is an affectionate love. For she kisses Him. And I love how the King James puts it when later on, Jesus says about it, that she has not since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss My feet. She planted one fervent kiss after another upon His feet. And what is more, we see in all of this that this was a costly love. For what does she bring? She doesn't just bring ordinary olive oil, but she brings this ointment, this perfume, something that would have been expensive, that it's a one-time use. You have to break open this flask and you use all the contents and then it's gone. And it's when you start to look at her love and analyze her love, you can readily see why Jesus himself says, she loved much. And that raises the question, could the same be said about us? That we love much? Would you or I ever do such a thing at the feet of our Savior if we were given the opportunity? Do we perhaps look at this woman and think, this is a bit over top, you know? Do we love our Savior? Could our love be described as a courageous love? A humble love? A genuine love? An infectionate love? A costly love? Is our love like that of Simon the Pharisee? Because you see, there's a sharp contrast here between two different loves. One who loved much, and one who loved little, which is a kind way of saying not at all. And Jesus Himself, would expose and point out this lack of love on the part of Simon the Pharisee. He does that in verses 44-46. Verse 44, Jesus says to Simon, and he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house. Thou gavest me no water for my feet. but she hath washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head." Simon, when I came in, you did not send a servant to wash my feet. You did not even provide a basin and a towel for me to wash my own feet. And while that might seem like not that big of a deal to us who live in the 21st century, We have to understand that in that day and in that culture, Simon is sliding Jesus Christ. This is hospitality 101 in Palestine. We live in a dry and dusty land, and therefore, when a guest comes into our home, we have their feet washed. And Simon doesn't do it, but this woman, she uses her very tears to wash his feet. But it was not just the washing. It was the lack of greeting too. That's v. 45. Thou, Simon, gavest me no kiss, but this woman, since the time that I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. On that day, if you were going to greet some friend or a special guest who was coming your way, you would give a kiss on the cheek. And Simon does not give that type of a greeting. And in that, we see a sharp contrast with this woman from the time that Jesus entered, did not cease to kiss His feet." There's a contrast here. But then it goes one level deeper in the fact that He never anointed this guest. That's v. 46, "...My head with oil, thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed My feet with ointment." In light of the contrast, we could read it this way. Not even my head with ordinary oil. You see, there's a difference between oil and ointment. The one is just ordinary olive oil that's not that expensive versus this costly perfume that the woman used. There's a contrast here and Jesus exposes it. He exposes the shabby treatment of his host. Simon failed in that he omitted the basic elements of common courtesy and ordinary hospitality. And what all of this shows us is the lack of love that Simon has for Jesus Christ. He did not invite Jesus Christ into his home because he loved the man or because he held him in a high honor. But at best, he invited him on account of curiosity to find out, is this man really the prophet that everyone else says he is? That's at best. More likely, there's a deep skepticism in Simon. He's filled with doubt almost certainly. so that likely he is looking for evidence that would contradict this notion that this man is a prophet. And it's in harmony with that that we read what we do in v. 39. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, that is, everything that's happening, he spake within himself, saying, This woman, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner. We read that he was speaking within himself. If you were sitting at that table, all eyes would have been on this woman and the interaction with Jesus of Nazareth. And no doubt, everyone was fixated on this. And as this event unfolded, everyone was thinking their own thoughts. Maybe there was murmuring taking place. And v. 39 is giving us an insight into what Simon was thinking. Here's the evidence that this man is not the prophet. Now it's very clear, he has a negative view of what's taking place here. He does not approve of what the woman is doing to Jesus. But what is more, he especially does not approve that Jesus is allowing this woman to so touch His feet. And this conclusion is what we read in v. 39. This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner. He cannot be a prophet because either He does not know that this woman is the sinner that she is. And a prophet should surely be aware of that. Or, if he does know she is a sinner, and he's allowing this, well, that's even worse. That he would let such an immoral person touch his feet in this way. That was Simon's thinking. And Jesus would answer it. Thereby showing He really is a prophet when He can know what's going on in Simon's own mind. Jesus answers it by pointing out this contrast between the two loves that we've already seen, and by going a step deeper and explaining why there are these two loves by pointing out the fact that there are two debtors. in this narrative. That's what Jesus does in v. 40 and following. He speaks of there being two debtors. He tells a parable. V. 40, And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors. The one owed 500 pence and the other 50. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. We have here the parable of the two debtors, and it's so simple, so straightforward, it requires almost no explanation. Jesus speaks of two debtors, men who took out loans from the same creditor or money lender. What they What was different about the two was the amount of debt that they owed. The one owed 500 pence. That is 500 denarii. That is a denarii being what the average ordinary working man could expect to earn in a single day. One, a 500 pence debt. The other, only a 50 pence debt. So the difference is the debt that they owe, but what they have in common is that neither one of them can pay it. Neither one has any means to get out of debt. Yet in spite of that, the creditor, the money lender, frankly forgives. That is, freely remits, cancels both debts. A simple, straightforward parable. And having told the parable, Jesus adds a question. Verse 42, End of v. 42, "'Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?' Simon of the two, who do you suppose is going to be more thankful?' Simon of the two, who is going to have a greater reason to express their love for this benevolent moneylender? And Simon is no doubt trying to figure out what Jesus is doing here. And he answers in the most casual way he can possibly muster. For in v. 33, we read, Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And Jesus immediately adds, you are absolutely right, Simon. The end of v. 43, and he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged Simon, there's a connection between the knowledge of what one has been forgiven and the love that that person will show to the person who forgave him. And now having told this parable, Jesus applies it directly to Simon and this woman. and that he goes on to show their contrasting love. In the parable, he starts with the forgiveness and moves to the love, but when he goes to apply it, he starts with the love and he'll work backwards to the forgiveness. He starts by exposing this contrast between the two different loves because that's what everyone could see. That's what's visible. That's what's on the foreground. Everyone who is in that room, every guest at the table could see the contrast between the way this woman treated Jesus and the way that Simon treated Jesus. And that's verses 44 through 46. We've already explained the heart of them, but now we re-read them, taking them in light of their context as Jesus applying the parable directly to Simon and this woman. Verse 44, And he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house. Thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman, since the time that I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil, thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment." Do you see the contrast in these two loves? And now what stands behind this? What explains this is that we have two different debtors. The one who knows her sin and the one who does not. And that's the point Jesus makes in verse 47. Wherefore, I say unto thee, her sins which are many are forgiven. For she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." Simon, do you see it? This woman knows her sin. She's ashamed of it. She's sorry for her past. And thus, she's looking to the only one who can forgive her. In reality, she's already been forgiven, and she's now basking in the wonder of that forgiveness, and it's knowing her forgiveness that is what's driving her to show her love. Simon, do you understand this? This outpouring of love is the direct result of knowing the greatness of her debt that's been forgiven. That is how we must understand v. 47 and the point that Jesus is making. That is, when He speaks of two debtors and two different debts back in the parable, really, not v. 47, it's evident that With regard to this woman, it's her conscious awareness of her debt that's in view. In other words, though Jesus speaks of two different debts, and one owing 50 and another owing 500, His point is not that if God Himself looks down from heaven and compares Simon's debt to this woman's debt, that God Himself would conclude this woman owes 500 pence and this Simon owes only 50 pence. That's not the point. But the point is that this woman, in contrast to Simon, understands that she is a debtor. She's aware of her sinfulness and that by her sins, she has provoked her God. And that in turn helps us to understand what Jesus means by forgiveness and the point He's making there. Because in v. 47, He says, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." And now, when we take this all together, the point is not that there are different degrees of forgiveness. That you can be forgiven much, or you can be forgiven little, and that if you're forgiven little, you still have some more to pay. That's not the point. There are not different degrees of forgiveness. But one is either forgiven or one is not forgiven. And this woman was indeed forgiven. And she had the assurance of faith that her sins were forgiven. That's the point, because her sins had already been forgiven. And that comes out in the specific verb that's used in the original Greek when Jesus says in v. 47, Wherefore, I say unto thee, her sins which are many are forgiven. The idea is have been already forgiven. They were forgiven in the past and this woman is still enjoying the forgiveness of sin. She's still basking in the awareness and the assurance of it. And that then helps us understand Why Jesus puts it in the order that He does. Maybe that caught us off guard when we read v. 47, "'Wherefore, I say unto thee, her sins which are many are forgiven for because she loved much.'" And now there are some who take that statement, her sins are forgiven for or because she loved much and say, well, Our loving God is a part of the ground, the basis, the reason for Him to forgive us of our sins. This is the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. They say we are justified by a faith that is formed by love. That is, you have to take faith with the love that is the fruit of the faith, put those together, and that's the basis for our forgiveness. And they would appeal to this very passage. See, look at the order. Her sins are forgiven for she loved much. But that's not the point. Jesus is not here teaching that our love is the reason or ground for the forgiveness of sins. But instead, the point is obviously, the love is the evidence that this woman's sins have been forgiven. And that comes out in part from the verb, which we already noted the meaning of, that he is saying very directly and explicitly, her sins have been forgiven. That is, when she was brought to faith, when she believed in Jesus Christ, as she sat under His preaching. And what is more, The fact that the forgiveness of sins is the basic, the fundamental thing, is what came out in the parable. In the parable, Jesus started with the debts and the forgiveness of that debt, and then He moved to the question of who's going to love more. And it's in light of that that when we hear Jesus say, that her sins are forgiven, for she loved much." That's like one of us saying, it rained for it is wet outside. If any one of us would say that, no one would think that the wetness caused the rain. That the wetness is the reason for the rain, but just the opposite. The rain is the reason it's wet outside, and the fact that it's wet outside is the visible proof, the visible evidence that it rained. Well, that's the point that Jesus is making here. When He says, her sins are forgiven for she loved much. It's not her love that is the cause, the ground, the basis, the reason for her forgiveness. But her love is the evidence. It's the proof. It's the demonstration that her sins have been forgiven. So that the overall point then is that this expression, this outpouring of love is the result of and flows out of her knowledge of the greatness of her debt that has been canceled. There's a connection between the knowledge of our sins and how bad it was and the love that we show for our Savior. And does that not underscore the importance of knowing our sin and our misery? Because it's only when I understand I am a debtor and that I have nothing to give to my God to get myself out of this debt, that we ever look to Christ and we go to Him seeking the forgiveness of sins. And it's only when we know the forgiveness of sins and the greatness of the debt that's been forgiven that we will ever love Him as He is to be loved. And that means if our love is waning, if my love is not what it should be, That's almost certainly because I have forgotten the wonder of forgiveness. And that's a real danger for us. That we start to minimize our sin. We start to think that it wasn't all that bad, the debt wasn't that great. And that temptation is always there, but it's especially there when we compare ourselves to one another. That's what Simon was doing. Simon was comparing himself to this woman and his conclusion is, I the Pharisee am righteous. This woman is a sinner. He held himself above her. And that's a temptation for us. to focus on the sins of others to the point that we become blind to our own. So much so that we start to think that we have relatively little that needs to be forgiven. And all of this underscores the importance of God's law and the knowledge of our sins. This is the reason the Heidelberg Catechism begins where it does. Lord's Days 2-4 on the knowledge of my sin and misery. Lord's Day 2 beginning with, whence knowest thou thy misery? Out of the law of God. Because when I stand before that law of God, and I'm focused only on that perfect standard, then it doesn't matter how I compare to anyone else. All that matters is how I compare to that standard. And I see I fall so far short. I am the chief of sinners. And that's what we need to know in order to be reminded of our need for our Savior. In order to be overwhelmed once again with the good news of the Gospel in the spirit on to love Him. And that then reminds us of the importance of examining ourselves. Go all the way back to the introduction. Why? Would I go through this process? Why take the time to analyze my life and the different facets of it in the light of God's law? I already know the outcome. I already know the result. I'm a sinner. Well, the reason is because of this connection that we've seen. That the outpouring of our love is the result of knowing the greatness of our debt that's been forgiven. Now to be clear, when in the passage we have two different debtors, there is one whose sins are forgiven and one whose sins are not forgiven. It's black and white. There's forgiveness or no forgiveness. But there's still a principle there between the knowledge of their deliverance and the love that flows out of it. In that when we start to minimize Our own sin. That's going to have a negative impact on our love for our Savior. But when we are deeply aware of how bad it is, and we are once again amazed at the forgiveness of sins, that all of that debt could be forgiven, that's then what spurs us on in a life of loving service to our Savior. And it's with that in mind that we recognize the importance of being deliberate. Being intentional. In this week of self-examination, we're to give this more than just a look and a promise. It's important that we spend time. Not because spending time is what qualifies me to come to the Lord's table. Not that. but because it's going to spur that loving obedience. That's what happens when we take our lives and say I'm going to look at my life and go through each one of the Ten Commandments. Two each day, Monday through Friday. Read the Heidelberg Catechism and its explanation and prayerfully examine myself and I'm going to see more than that I'm a sinner. I'm going to be reminded of all the specific ways that I have sinned. That's one approach. Another approach is to take each sphere of our lives. That is, for myself, it would be saying I am a husband, a father, a pastor, and you can go down the line of the different stations I have with their corresponding callings and say this is what God's Word expects of husbands and fathers and pastors and so on, and I'm going to see not just that I'm a sinner, but more than that, I'm going to see how I failed as a father, as a husband, as a pastor, and down the line. Or maybe we go through Ephesians 4-6. We just had that explained to us over the past several months. We're familiar with those passages. And we look at each passage in turn and we see, I have not walked in love. I have not been imitating my God as I ought to. I have not obeyed my parents like I should. I have provoked my children to anger. I have not been a faithful servant in the workplace. I have not been a good master in the workplace. And we're led to see our sin. And now the purpose of all this is not just so that we see how bad it is and wallow in our sinfulness. Nor is the purpose that, well, here's all the things I know I need to correct in order to be able to be worthy to come. The point is not, here's how I earn my way back into God's favor by righting all the wrongs. But the point is to bring us to our knees, to go to the cross, and to say, Father, I have nothing with which to pay you. And my debt is not just a 50 pence debt. It's the 5,000 pence debt. It's the 10,000 talent debt. That's what I really owe. And thus, my prayer is forgive me. For Jesus' sake, forgive my sin. And when we come to the Lord's table that way, we will leave with hearts that are burning to show our love for such a God and for such a Savior. For He is indeed worthy of our love as the one Savior. He is the one we need to see at this table. Not Simon, not the woman, but Jesus Christ. We are to look to Him as the one in whom there is forgiveness. That's the word in verse 47. Verse 47, "'Wherefore, I say unto thee, her sins which are, many are, have been forgiven.'" Removed. Taken far, far away. That's the idea of the word forgiven. And it reminds us of the scapegoat. That Old Testament type which the priest would lay his hands on and that goat would then be let out into the wilderness by a strong man never to be seen again. That's forgiveness. And notice, it's all of our sins. This woman is a notable sinner, but yet Jesus, He acknowledges that, but they're all gone. Verse 47, "'Wherefore, I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, they're all forgiven.'" Not just a few. Not just the ones that are not quite as bad as the others, but all of them are forgiven. And what's so beautiful about this passage is how Jesus assures this woman of that. Because in verse 47, He is talking to Simon about the woman. And really, that would be enough. It would have been enough for her to hear Jesus say about her, your sins are forgiven. Her sins are forgiven. But He doesn't leave it there. but he communicates it directly to her. Because after that in v. 48, we read, and he said, unto her, thy sins are forgiven. This is a word of absolution. He makes it crystal clear that her debt is paid. And what is more, He tells her the blessing she has in light of that, verse 50. And he said to the woman, thy faith has saved thee. Go in peace. Peace. It's one of the fruits of our justification. That because we've been reconciled to our God on the basis of Christ's saving work, we can now have peace with this God. We can have fellowship with this God. And because we have peace with God, we can now have peace in our own hearts, minds, and souls. And all of that on the basis of Christ's saving work. This is His Word to the woman. Thy sins are forgiven. And that's His message to us. That's His message to us through the preaching. When God's Word goes forth, He is declaring to the believer who receives that Word by faith, your sins, though they are many. are forgiven. But He communicates that not only in the preaching, but also in the sacraments. For even as Jesus Christ was not content to just say it about this woman in her hearing, but He brought the message directly to her, so Jesus Christ does that in the Lord's Supper. When the bread and the wine are handed out and placed in your hand, And when we partake of those by faith in Jesus Christ, it's as though Christ Himself is coming and speaking directly to you and me, child of God, saying, your sin, it's forgiven, it's gone, it's removed. And He's able to say that on the basis of His saving work. You see, there were some at this table who questioned His ability to forgive us of our sins. Verse 49, "...And they that sat at meat with Him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?" They understood that by absolving sin, He was exercising a divine prerogative. They understood He was doing something that only God Himself can do. And they did not believe He had that right. And so they asked, who is this that forgiveth sins also? But now though they asked it in unbelief, it's a fair question. Who is this that's able to forgive sins? Because after all, God does not just wink at sin. He doesn't just sweep it under the rug. His justice will not allow that. If there's going to be forgiveness, there has to be justice. So who is this that can forgive us of our sins? It's the One who took those sins. And paid for them. Paid the debt that we owe That is, even as this woman used her hair to remove the dust that was upon Jesus' feet, in a far greater and more astounding way, Jesus took the sin of her hands, of her mouth, of her heart, of her mind, and took it upon His shoulders. And He carried it all the way to the cross where He paid the debt. He suffered God's wrath for our sin. And thus, we're reminded that forgiveness is very costly. To go back to the parable, Jesus said in the parable, He, the moneylender, the creditor, frankly forgave them both. That is, freely without any sort of cost. But we understand that while it's free for us, the ones who are forgiven, it's not free for the one doing the forgiving. It was costly. And it cost nothing less than the blood of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of our God. That was what was required to pay the debt. And yet God was willing to give His Son. And Christ was willing to go through with it all. And it's for that reason He is worthy of our love. Beloved, there is nothing that is too much. There's no act of love too extravagant or too costly. There's no such thing as too much affection for Jesus. We can never, ever go over the top of showing our love for Him because of all that He's done for us. And so as those who know the forgiveness of our sins and the greatness of the debt that has been forgiven, let us love Him. Love Him directly by worshiping Him, serving Him, and love all those that He has placed in our path as an expression of that love for Him. May God grant us the grace to do so. Amen. Our Father which art in Heaven, we thank Thee for the love of our Savior Jesus Christ and His willingness to die on our behalf to pay the debt that we owe. Father, fill our hearts with love for Thee and for our Savior Jesus Christ. Work that in us, especially in this week as we examine ourselves and are reminded of the greatness of our debt. Hear this prayer for Jesus' sake. Amen.