So the parable itself is only a couple of verses, but it's found in the middle of a very interesting context. I think the context is always unique. When the Lord began to speak a parable, sometimes, as we learned last week, it was just the result of an interruption. He was interrupted, and we don't like to be interrupted, but when the Lord was interrupted, He capitalized on the moment. and always brought about some very significant truth. Well, there's no interruption here, but notice how the parable emerges in verse number 41, 42, 43. So we'll read Luke 7, 36. 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 meet. And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, When she knew that Jesus sat at meat 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 ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden 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. 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. 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, and 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 meat 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. May the Lord bless this reading. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for this narrative. Thank you for this account. Praise you, Lord, that you've preserved it for us and that we may now have a moment to consider it. We pray for insight. We pray for the ability to discern the single purpose of your spirit in recording it. I pray that we'd understand the application. We know that it was spoken to people many years ago, but by extension it is spoken no less directly to us, and we pray, Lord, that you would teach us tonight. We thank you for the simplicity in which you taught. I thank you, Lord, that you stooped to our level. And yet, because of our spiritual ignorance, even the simplest parables are lost upon us except you would enlighten our minds and hearts. So I pray for grace, Lord, both to speak and to respond to that which is spoken, and we pray for your blessing to be upon this time, for we ask it in the Savior's name. Amen. When you come to Luke's Gospel 7, You will find that it records three miracles. The first miracle, verse 1 through 10, is the healing of the centurion's servant. It's a remarkable incident. The centurion was a man who had authority, so therefore he knew what it was to tell people what to do. And he reckoned if he had authority, Christ had even more authority. So whenever Christ would make his way to the centurion's home to heal his servant, the centurion reckoned, look, you don't even need to come, Lord, just speak with that same authority and that healing will be brought. And so, of course, the Lord speaks and the healing comes before Christ ever enters that home. So that's a miraculous event. There's an even greater miracle recorded in verse 11 through 17 because it's not just the healing of a sick person but it's actually the resurrection of a dead person. There is that incident. very common scene I suppose there is a casket leaving the city going to be buried outside and so in that sense there's nothing unusual about it what is unusual is the extent of grief because this is a woman and it's her only son and furthermore she is already being bereft of her husband and so it's a widow and of course therefore she's got no financial assistance and so all of the challenges that she would encounter now with her son also gone in addition to her husband tremendous grief and the Lord draws near and he does what no Jew would have done and that's he touched the casket and of course he conferred life to that boy and that boy sat up in a most remarkable way so the first miracle was great the second one was greater but then the greatest miracle of all of Luke 7 is actually the forgiving of a sinful woman why is it we look at healing and resurrection as a miraculous thing and look upon forgiving someone their sins something lesser But forgiveness is clearly the greatest miracle because forgiveness meets our greatest need. God can heal the body. God healed the body of two people here, one raised from the dead, but doubtless, both of these people eventually succumbed to some kind of illness and eventually died, but the one who received forgiveness of sins today lives in glory and lives with this salvation that lasts not just for a number of months, years, but lasts for eternity. Forgiveness produces the greatest results. We don't read again of the centurion's servant. We don't read again of this man who was raised from the dead. But we read again of this woman who received the forgiveness of sins because her life was dramatically changed. Forgiveness is the greatest miracle also because it required the greatest price. It doesn't cost the Lord. that much to heal the sick or even to raise the dead, but it cost his son's death on a cross for him to be able to save the lost and to forgive them from their sin. And so it's in the context of the miracle of forgiveness that the Lord speaks this next parable for our consideration, the parable of the two debtors. The parable of itself is very short, found between verse 41 and 43, and it was spoken under most unusual circumstances involving one Simon the Pharisee and an adulterous woman, and the A parable is so much a part of the narrative that many times when you look for this parable in lists of parables, you don't even see it because it is so encapsulated in the surrounding narrative. But because that's the case, we'll never understand the parable unless we understand the circumstances that provoked it. And for that reason, then we've got to understand the entire narrative. And remember again how important it is when studying the parables to focus upon the main thing. What is the main driving point? Well, we're going to get to that, but it circulates all around the theme of forgiveness. We're going to further define that in a moment, but this parable is primarily about this subject of forgiveness. So the narrative describes a dinner party hosted by Simon the Pharisee, and surely there were other guests invited, but we know that the guest of honor was the Lord Jesus himself. There is some question as to why Simon the Pharisee invited or put on this dinner party. Some are very quick to defend him and say, well, yet all the Pharisees were not wicked. I mean, we have this connotation that every Pharisee was a hypocrite, but we know that Nicodemus was a very sincere man. He was a man who genuinely, honestly was concerned about spiritual things. So maybe Simon the Pharisee was just curious as to who the Lord was and had some very real questions for him. Some are of that opinion, others think Simon was not so sincere. Because we learned from the narrative, he didn't treat him like a real guest. There were certain things that he failed to do. And when you look at the narrative, it seems that he was brought to be interrogated more than to be entertained. And so whatever the motives were, what is important to notice here is that the Lord went to this man's house. And it's interesting when you read the scripture how often the Lord was found in the homes of people whose motives may or may not be that pure. One Bible commentator pointed out he said it was part of his plan to accept hospitality whenever it was proffered to him in order that he might thereby reach all classes and conditions of men. So wide was his sympathy that he ate not only with the tax collector Levi but also with the Pharisee Simon. It takes great humility to go to someone's house and to receive hospitality when you know they've got ulterior motives. I mean, you've all received those invites to a wonderful dinner, three courses, but at the end of it, you know there's gonna be that time-sharing, long, drawn-out affair, and they're gonna twist your back up and down, and so that hospitality just does not look so hospitable when you know that there's some other motive. But what humility in the Lord. that even when he knew the motive was off, still went because he had desire to reach needy souls. So whatever Simon's motive was, this much is certain that the dinner did not turn out quite the way he had planned. And as the narrative unfolds, three very important facts about forgiveness unfold. And so tonight, if we're gonna look at a theme emerging from this parable, it would be simply facts about forgiveness. And the first fact is this forgiveness is something that we all need. All right, forgiveness is something that we all need when you look at verse 36 there is one word that makes this dinner party perhaps a little different than what we're used to the eastern dinner party was a more long drawn out affair notice in verse 36 and he went into the pharisee's house and he sat down and the word sat down is the word recline And so most often the dining room or the dining table was up long, and pushed up alongside the table were couches without backs or sides, and the dining posture, remember you were told as a child, don't put your elbows upon the table, where in the East, there was always an elbow upon the table, usually the left elbow was on the table, with the other hand free for eating, and the feet then down behind you on the side, away from the table, of course, for purposes of hygiene. But the posture made it a much more relaxed affair. It was an event, and it was common then to invite a visiting rabbi for a Sabbath meal in order to honor him or to discuss theological issues or social issues or cultural issues of the day, and this became kind of an entertainment. Of course, before the information source of newspapers, TV, and Internet, this was a very important thing. It had a cultural significance. And that's why the table here was not just a place that was for open, you know, for guests, but also it was open to the public. Now imagine having a meal wherein you had five or six invited guests, but then you left it open to the public. Well, such were the Eastern dinner parties. Local people could come in and they would stand around the perimeter of the walls, oftentimes hoping that they would get some crumbs of information. I'm sure a lot of rumors began in times like this, but they're standing, they're listening. And oftentimes the poor would perhaps get something to eat, but more often some information that would be instructive to them in some way. So here they are, sitting in a unique setting, but into this dinner party walks somebody that immediately everybody knew. And we know that it was somewhat of a surprise because look at the language in verse number 37, and behold, right? So the exclamatory phrase here indicates Lucas wants to draw attention to what he's about to say. Now behold, pay attention, a woman in the city which was a sinner. Can you imagine? Did you just see who walked in? I can't believe that she actually came. Maybe there was some noise that she was going to come, but now she's here, right? How awkward is this? And of all homes, right? Simon the Pharisee. So the contrast between Simon the Pharisee and this woman couldn't be greater. And the fact that Simon was a Pharisee was emphasized in the text. And the Pharisees were of the opinion that salvation came to those who kept the law. They were convinced that not only were they law keepers but they had the ability to keep the law. And so if salvation were to come it would be by a Messiah who would deliver them from the rule of Rome and establish the old kingdom of David and Solomon and give them the place that they really deserved. Why? Because they merited by their obedience to the law, and so the place they would get would be a place that they had rightly laid claim upon. And so this heresy, of course, made themselves righteous. They were righteous in their own eyes, and they had no place for people in the church of their day, for sinners, or for people who broke the law. And they knew, and of course it seems everybody knew, that this woman was a gross lawbreaker. Well, now into this guy's house walks this woman. Herman Hanco, he writes, a Dutch theologian and pastor, writes on what that might have been like. Notice what he says. The woman was known to be extremely wicked. She was not only a harlot, but she was also, as was Rahab on Jericho's wall, a public harlot, known as such by all in the village where she resided. She was shunned by the good people of the village who crossed the street to avoid meeting her. When she went to do her shopping, the clerks took her money only reluctantly because her coins were soiled by her handling of them and by the means she used to earn her livelihood. The children mocked her. The adults scorned her. She was the town whore. So that puts things in perspective. And into this dignified, self-righteous man's dinner party walks the town whore. And so the contrast between the Pharisee and the woman illustrate the different kinds of sins and the fact that everybody needs God's forgiveness. So let's look at the contrast between the two because in the two you'll notice here is an instance of the sins of the flesh and the sins of the spirit. The woman was a sinner. The text says in verse 37, which was a sinner. Verse 47 says she was guilty of many sins. The Lord does not minimize her lifestyle in any way. He calls it as it is. She was a sinner. She was guilty of many sins. But that's not to say that Simon was not also guilty. Simon was also a guilty man, although we didn't see that. In Matthew 23, the Lord rebuked the Pharisees for their self-righteousness, for their unwillingness to admit their sins. They were guilty, but of different things. Guilty of hypocrisy. They were guilty of pride. They were guilty of condemning others, even in order to exalt themselves. The Bible says they were covetous. They were covetous not only of money, but of prestige and of power. She was guilty of gross sins of the flesh, but he was guilty of gross sins of the spirit. G. Campbell Morgan said, the sins in good standing, and so the sins were so different. But how is it that we are so in tune, especially in a religious community, with the sins of the flesh? Why, because there they are, right? The sins of the flesh, we can see them, they're right in front of you. But all we can pray tonight, in light of what we learn here, to be equally in tune with the sins of the Spirit, because we all need forgiveness. This woman which was a sinner is no different. Simon was equally a sinner. Simon needed forgiveness just like this woman. And I think we need to pray that God would give us an awareness that sin is not something that we do merely outwardly, but something that we can be very guilty of inwardly. And whereas we may escape outward immorality, we may not escape inward hypocrisy. We all need forgiveness. Notice also in the narrative here there is a description of the sins of Qamish and the sins of Omish. Simon knew what this woman had done. In fact, everybody knew what this woman had done. But he forgot what he himself had not done. Notice in verse 44 we read that he provided no water, he provided no kiss, and he provided no oil. These three things constituted social expressions of hospitality. The Lord didn't pay attention to merely what the woman did, but he paid attention to what this man failed to do. And it is too bad that this woman fell into sin, but it's even worse that Simon was living in sin and didn't know a thing about it. And so the person who does not do what God requires is just as guilty as the person who does what God forbids. Again, we all need forgiveness. It's amazing. We overlook so many of the things that we fail to do, but equally fall under the category of sins that need to be forgiven. Sins of commission, sins of omission. Notice in the narrative here, open sins and hidden sins. Everyone at the feast knew who this woman was. They knew her lifestyle. Her sins were open. But only Jesus knew the sin of Simon. Notice in verse number 39, now in the Pharisee, which had bidden him sought he spake within himself." This is something he never said, but it's recorded in Scripture. Why? Because the Lord knew exactly what he thought. This man here is having questionable thoughts as to the integrity of Christ as a prophet, but the Lord knew exactly. One of the words for sin in the Bible means to miss the mark and Simon had missed the mark even though he thought he had arrived and in the final judgment it really doesn't matter what you and I see in our own lives or what anybody else sees. What really matters is what God sees. So here is this woman everybody else could see but in Simon's life only God could see. Let's remember then, if God has enabled us to escape outward sin, that we can still be very guilty of hidden sin, things that only God can see. And it's very important to realize that we are sinners whether we feel guilty or not. Here's a man who did not feel his guilt. And you see, that's the point of this whole parable. Both of the men in the parable were in debt, and both of them were bankrupt. We read here the difference was one was 500 pence in debt, one was 50 pence in debt, but the difference is not the guilt, right? Some people interpreting this say, well, the 50 pence, that must be Simon the Pharisee, and the 500, well, that must be this harlot. But that's not the case at all. The two amounts represent a difference in their sense of guilt. As in their sense of guilt, their guilt was equal. Hidden sins are no different than open sins. Sins of omission are no different than sins of commission. So there was no difference because the Bible says once you've broken one commandment, you are guilty of breaking them all. So the difference then is in their sense of guilt. She only felt her guilt and her need of mercy 10 times, it would seem, more than this man. And you go over to Luke 18, you'll notice the same thing. That Pharisee, he was a guilty man. Because the Bible says he went home condemned and he didn't see it. And you know, it's interesting to note that the people who did see their sin in scripture were those that walked closest to the Lord. And what a valid or what an important thing it is then to walk with the Lord so that we can see ourselves as we really are. Think of Abraham. Abraham, when he began to pray for Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham answered and said, behold, now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes. Whenever you see spiritual pride, it is a clear indication that this person cannot walk with God. When a man walks with God, there's going to be humility in his life. It cannot otherwise be. Here is Job, and he's got this testimony of God himself. He's perfect, he's upright, one that fears God and eschews evil. When you come to the end of the book of Job, behold, I am vile. Here's a man who walked with God. Then there's Ezra. And he didn't only feel crushed because of the sin of himself, but those of the nation in which he lived, oh my God, I am ashamed and blushed to lift up my face to thee, for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass has grown up unto the heavens. And then you've got Peter. When he receives the great multitude, the catch of fish, his response is unique. Simon falls down at the Lord's face, feet, and he says, depart from me, because I am a sinful man. John in the revelation when he sees the Lord he falls at his feet for dead and Paul This is a faithful saying and worthy of acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners Of whom I am chief, you know It's interesting that sin is likened unto leprosy in the Bible and one of the things that leprosy does is attack the nerve endings and so after a while people lose sensitivity and they pick up objects that are hot and and their hands are disfigured because they've lost sensitivity. And that's exactly what sin does. Sin hardens us so that we lose perceptiveness. And one of the things we lose is a sense of our guilt. And so here is a man who is as guilty as this woman, but he doesn't know it. And so we learn then that we all need forgiveness. Why? Because there are sins of the flesh and of the spirit, sins of omission and sins of commission, open sins and hidden sins. We all need forgiveness. The second truth emerging from the parable and the narrative is that forgiveness is the gracious gift of God. Forgiveness is the greatest miracle. Notice what's involved here. First thing we notice is that it is all of grace. Look at verse 42. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Notice the word frankly. That word is translated in Romans 8 and 32 as freely. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? And so the creditor here, he doesn't just forgive, but it says he freely forgives, and it reminds us that forgiveness is not something that we purchase, even as would have been the mindset of this Pharisee, because it cannot be purchased, we're bankrupt. That's what the narrative, that's what the parable is instructing, right? They had nothing to pay. By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. But you know, the concept of grace was almost impossible for the Pharisees to understand. They were so ordered to think along terms, the lines of a religion of merit. When you come to verse, chapter 18, verse 11 and 12, notice he's drawing attention to everything that he has done. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess, and I thank you, Lord, that I'm not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican, so it's what I do and what I don't do. Because everything he thinks is based upon merit. But the concept of grace is not just difficult for Pharisees to understand. It's difficult for us to understand. We tend to revert back. I think merit is the theological position of fallen men. That's how we think. We're going to earn this. Why? Because grace is counterintuitive. Remember what Psalm 103 says. He hath not dealt with us after our sins. And that's unusual because that's the way we think. If a man makes a bet, he lies in that bet. But He didn't deal with us after our sins, nor has He rewarded us according to our iniquity. So if, alas, we find forgiveness, it's because of grace, God's grace alone. And He forgave them freely. Notice that forgiveness is not only by grace, but it is received by faith. The parable, the narrative, gives us a description of a very broken woman. But it wasn't her tears that saved her. It wasn't her remorse that saved her. Sometimes we think, well, if we feel sorry enough or if we are repentant enough, remember Augustus' top lady said, could zeal, no, respite, no. Could my tears forever flow? All for sin could not atone. Thou must save and Thou alone. Repentance cannot save us unless it be joined with faith in Christ. If repentance is not joined with faith in Christ, then it just leads to greater guilt and condemnation. And so we're saved by faith, but it's not faith in faith. Because everybody has faith. Everybody has faith in something or someone. The difference, and what we learn in this narrative, is that her faith was in Jesus Christ. Her faith in Christ was operative, even before she entered this banquet or this dinner. I wanna read again from Herman Henko, because he describes how remarkable her faith was, and that it overcomes so many obstacles. To put yourself in this position of this woman, right? She has to get to Christ, but think of the obstacles. Think of the impression that people have of her. How difficult is it gonna be for her to walk into this place? She had to enter the house of a Pharisee who had not failed to show his contempt for her whenever their paths might have crossed. She had to push her way past the doorman find the banquet hall and brave the astonished stares of the spectators. She had to endure the sneers of disapproval that came from Simon and the guests to make her way to the place where Jesus was reclining. But perhaps the most difficult of all was her own sense of total unworthiness and her serious nagging doubts about the willingness of the Lord to receive her if she would go. What if the Lord would coldly tell her not to bother him? What if He would pull away and disgust at her presence? How could He so holy beyond all sin understand her plight? So it is with every sinner who seeks Christ. Sometimes the sense of sin is so great and the overwhelming unconsciousness of unworthiness is so strong that we genuinely wonder whether the Lord will ever receive us. Are not our sins too great? Have they not been too often committed? Have we not made ourselves vile beyond description? Perhaps we will not be received by him who knows no sin? Faith is finally what overcame all obstacles for this whore. I doubt whether she was conscious of exercising faith at all, but faith is a gift of God. Faith comes through the work of the Spirit who implants faith in the heart of those whom he brings to conversion and repentance. And faith works in mysterious and wonderful ways. Faith, of course, believes something. Faith is not blind. It acts on some knowledge. So it was with this woman. How much of the Lord's ministry she understood, we do not know. But she certainly did know something and acted upon it. If there was to be forgiveness for her and deliverance from her sin, Christ was her only hope. Somehow she saw that if He would not forgive, no forgiveness was possible. But if this man who preached the gospel of the kingdom would forgive, then forgiveness was true. Her sins would be gone. They would never be counted against her. In that knowledge, her faith drove her to Christ. She was impelled from within. She had to go. There was nothing else she could do. Every obstacle had to be pushed aside. She could not live any longer as she had lived. Where else could she go but to Him? Notice how then faith is an incredibly powerful strength as it's given by God. This woman pushed through everything to get to Christ. And then the forgiveness we get comes by God's grace, but it's received by faith. Notice her forgiveness was certain. Notice in verse 47. Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins which are many are forgiven. What an assuring word. What an assuring word to hear from Christ himself, your sins are forgiven. And if you had asked this woman a week later, what would she have said, right? If you had asked her a week later, how do you know you're saved? Because Jesus told me, I heard him say, I actually heard him say, your sins are forgiven. Friend, how do we know today our sins are forgiven? How do we know? The word of God says so. "'These things have I written unto you "'that believe on the name of the Son of God, "'that ye may know that ye have eternal life, "'and that they may believe on the name of the Son of God.'" That's how we know, because he said, and he says it no less to us and no more powerfully, no more certainly, he said it to this woman, your sins are forgiven. And suppose this woman then depended upon her feelings for assurance. Can you imagine a woman as she begins, by the grace of God, to understand what her lifestyle really consisted of? There would have been days where she surely, like every one of us, would have lived with her, but I cannot believe. How could it ever be that I could gain forgiveness? So, does assurance rest upon our feelings? It cannot rest upon feelings, because feelings are like this, right? We ride highs and lows. Can you imagine, furthermore, if she had to look to the people around her, dependent on the feelings of other people for assurance? It would have been very difficult for her because all the way through her life, she would have had this sense that they know what I was. And it may be that some people in the religious community, they never actually forgave her. And it might be as you interact with the world, there's people around you that would doubt your forgiveness, but where does the basis of your forgiveness reside? It's within the word of God himself, right? Her sins are forgiven. It's a certain thing. The assurance of salvation that must come from the word as it's witnessed by the spirit. But notice here, as we think of this forgiveness, how costly it was. Again, when they had nothing to pay, He frankly forgave them both. So the forgiveness came at a cost. This creditor had to absorb the loss, as is in every case. And no one in that banquet then knew the cost of her declaration, your sins are forgiven, a cost. It cost tremendously. Remember, perhaps somebody in that banquet was one day there at the cross when the Lord uttered some of his dying words, Father, forgive them for they don't know what they do. At the cost of forgiveness is incredible. Somebody had to absorb the loss. And of course we know that the Lord absorbed not just the loss but the wrath of God as he died the just for the unjust that we might be reconciled and that we might be forgiven. So we all need forgiveness and forgiveness is the gift of God. The third and final thing we learn from the narrative and parable is that forgiveness results in a changed life. The woman's faith in Christ changed her and we notice first of all that it resulted in new life. Verse 37, and behold a woman in the city which was a sinner. I think the past tense here is important that before she got to that dinner party she'd already left her life of sin behind. Not unlike that woman who was caught in the act of adultery, right? Go and sin no more. Remember how Paul talks to the Corinthians and they were guilty of all kinds of things and he said such were some of you And somewhere later on in that same epistle, he said, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. All things pass away and behold, all things become new. I live, nevertheless not I, but Christ lives in me, indwelt by his spirit, having new desires and new ambitions and new abilities by God's grace. So this woman, it was a new life. And forgiveness always results in a newness of life. But the greater thing here that's emphasized is new love. The woman was not ashamed to show her love for Christ openly, and here is the essence of the narrative. I want you to think of her display of love here, and notice how first of all it was premeditated. Because when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisees' house, she in advance brought an alabaster box of ointment. So this is something she did long before she got there. And she'd obviously heard that Christ was going to be there, and so she comes up with this plan. And let me say, this plan was a very bold plan. It would have been a violent outrage of purity for her to walk into a Pharisee's home, but she's got a bold plan. I'm going to go where the Lord is. And her plan is costly. She brings an alabaster box, a very refined marble quarried and carved in Egypt, and she brings a box of ointment. This woman, she enters with the intent of expressing a very common act of hospitality, anointing his head. And so she's standing there. She wants to confer great honor on the Lord. Well, what was behind her plan? Well, there was something different about Jesus that gave her hope. And she had heard of the Pharisees teach that the only way to get to God was to keep the law. She had consistently heard, no doubt, Watched the Pharisees observe countless Sabbath regulations and their diligence in the ceremonial law. Teaching that they had offered her no hope, right? You must keep the law in order to gain God's salvation, in order to have justification. You have to keep the law. And so what would that have done to that woman? She knew she was a lawbreaker. Like most in her profession, she didn't need anybody to tell her how wrong she was. She was already living under the guilt of her lifestyle. But had she heard Christ say, I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance? Maybe that's what she heard that gave her intrigue. Or had she heard that greedy tax collector who was transformed by coming to the Lord? Maybe she heard of the woman in John 8, neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more. In any case, there was hope in the Lord that she did not see any other place. And see, it's hope that gives people devotion. One of the most dangerous things is for a person to lose hope, because when a person loses hope, they become careless, and when they become careless, they can become reckless, and so Christ gives people hope, and whenever people discern there's hope, it stimulates devotion in them, it stimulates in them a desire to do something pleasing to the Lord, so her act of love here is premeditated, but at the same time, it's totally spontaneous. Look at verse 38, and she stood at his feet behind him. So she's got this all in her mind. The plan's laid out. She knows exactly what she's gonna do. And all of a sudden, her emotions get the better of her, and she starts to weep. And she's flooded. At that moment, with the reality of who she was and the hope that perhaps Christ she detected gave her, Luther said she began to shed heart water. And as she begins to cry her tears land on the Savior's feet. And maybe what really broke her heart is that her tears landed on his dusty feet. This in itself was a social disgrace. Because it was one of the things that the host always did was wash the feet of the guests. And she detects in this instance that Christ hadn't even been the recipient of the most expected social behavior. Maybe that's what broke her heart more. And so her tears are building, and she's got no towel to dry the tears, and so she does something that Jewish women were just not supposed to do. She lets down her hair. Jewish women were required to wear their hair up in public, and not to do so was a sign of shame, and it was a sign of looseness, and some rabbis felt it was grounds for divorce. So at that moment she loses a sense and she acts in a way that one man said be a shameless emotion. And she 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. So here is the glory of a woman, her hair, wiping the feet of the Lord. And Archbishop Trench said this, the service was the outward expression of the inward truth that the chiefest of the woman's glory was lower than the lowest that belonged to the Son of God. So then when his feet are cleaned, then she begins to kiss them, and not just kiss them, but according to the language here, to kiss much, kiss again, and kiss tenderly. Look at verse 45. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. This wasn't just a passing kiss, but she constantly is kissing his feet after she has cleansed his feet. And then comes the final act of generosity. She does not anoint his head, as I think probably was her plan, but she decides she can't wait any longer, she might not get a chance to anoint his head, and so she pours out this incredibly expensive ointment on his feet. And look at verse 46. My head with oil, thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. So this woman, Her act was love expressed devotedly, sacrificially, and repeatedly. And you know it's interesting to point out here or to notice that she gave the Christ everything that previously she had used for sin. When you come to read the description of the harlot in Proverbs chapter 7, you will read that the harlot used kisses, she used her beauty and she also used spices to allure in those who that she would seek to take advantage of and so here is this woman the harlot and now this forgiven woman gives all to her savior And you see what an illustration you have of forgiveness. When a person's forgiven, they desire to give everything to the Lord, right? Things that they previously used for themselves, now it's their desire to give to the Lord. So new life, new love, new freedom. What a burden was lifted off this woman. We sang tonight 351 I lay my sins on Jesus the accursed Lord. What a load of sin this woman had upon her. Can you imagine the stigma attached when she came to realize how she had lived and when the Lord says to her look it's all gone. What freedom. And here is this man who thinks he's got all this freedom and what bondage. What a sad thing it is to see so many people who feel that they need to gain the acceptance and forgiveness of God by just constant doing what? Freedom. If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. New life, new love, new freedom, and then notice finally new peace. Look at verse 15. He said unto the one, thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace. And so off she goes with a new sense of life, a new sense of love, and a new sense of freedom. And what a tremendous peace your sins. It's all gone. So in the narrative and the parable, we learn about the facts of forgiveness. We all need forgiveness. Forgiveness is the gift of God and forgiveness results in a changed life. I want to conclude tonight by drawing attention to a few questions posed by A book by Warren Wears, a bit of a short book on the parables, Meet Yourself in the Parables, and he only covers a few of them, but he happens to cover this parable. And I like the way he ends each of his chapters, because he asks this question, have you met yourself in this parable? So he brings it to application. He's got six questions, and let's end with these. Question number one, how would you respond if a disreputable person came uninvited to a party you were hosting? Okay, so you are now Simon. And into your dinner party, let's not say into your dinner party, let's say into the church. Let's say into this church walks a town whore. Somebody that we know. Somebody that everybody knows. Somebody that's got a reputation a mile long. How would we respond if such a person walked into our home or walked into this place? Question two, how big is your debt? 500 or 50 pence? It's not that the debt was different, remember, but it was the sense of debt. It was the sense of guilt. Let's not lose sight of the fact when we see people who we reckon have got 500. Life of total immorality. Let's remember that sin is sin. Omission, commission, open, closed. Three, do you ever feel as though you have sufficient means to pay your debt? May the Lord impress upon our minds tonight the total bankruptcy we all have. We got nothing to pay. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to your cross I cling. Question four, can others see in your actions your love for Christ? That's a searching one. Is there any kind of shameless devotion where you just really don't care? And quite frankly, you don't care what people think. You know what Christ has done for you. He's given you hope, and nobody else has given it to you, and your life is defined by devotion that is continual, devotion that's consistent. Question five, are you guilty of judging and condemning others whom Christ has forgiven and accepted? It's another very searching question. All right, it's very easy to look on the outward appearance, to make certain judgments, to come to certain conclusions, but I trust tonight we have learned that what God sees and what we see are often very, very different. And the last question, are you enjoying the freedom and peace of his forgiveness? Are you enjoying it? Are you enjoying the freedom? Are you enjoying the assurance that is given to you by God's Word, witnessed by God's Spirit? Your sins are forgiven. Or is every day a day where you try again to merit by maybe reading more? I'm going to read more this week. I'm going to pray more this week. That's all good. But your forgiveness is based upon the grace of God, and your reading and your prayer will be much sweeter when you come to him and say, Lord, for your sake, you've forgiven all my sin. Give me now not a sense of duty to read my Bible or to pray, but a sense of delight. Lord, I want to read. I want to commune with you. I want to be near you. And as we walk near to the Lord, he's gonna show us who we really are, and he's gonna show us how much we've really been forgiven, and that, of course, will provoke the very love that this parable speaks of. So may the Lord write these things upon our heart tonight, help us to rejoice in the forgiveness that we have and respond in a way that brings honor and glory to his name. Let's pray. Father, we thank you tonight for your loving kindness, and we praise you for what we have gleaned in this narrative and from this parable, and we ask that you would lead us on. Thank you, Lord, for the simplicity of these teachings and yet how sweet they are to know again that upon the basis of your word we can lay claim to the forgiveness of all of our sins. And even though the people around us may question, we know, Lord, that if God justifies, who is he that condemns? So I pray that you would enable us to respond the way we ought, having been forgiven so much. Give us an awareness of our guilt. that we may flee to Christ and find cleansing in Him. And Father, help us, we pray, not to judge upon the outward appearance. Help us not to judge according to appearances. Help us to judge righteously. I pray, Lord, that we would realize that we all need forgiveness. Grant us that spirit of mercy and compassion. Deliver us from Simon's um way of looking down his nose at this woman in a self-righteous way thinking he's much better than he really was and she was beyond hope oh god help us to see that without grace we're all beyond hope and with grace there's not one of us that's hopeless give hope we pray to those tonight who are growing hopeless give them a sense again of your grace and of your mercy and lord for those who are lost and who are dying in immorality or dying in self-righteousness, would You in grace call them unto Yourself and save them. Thank You for the time we've had today in the house of God. Encourage us as we leave, as we go our separate ways. Use us in this incoming week. Fill us with Your Spirit. Fill us with devotion and love. And we pray You go with us now, for we ask it in Christ's name. Amen.