Summer In The Parables - [Luke 7:36-50]

The Setting, the Sinful Woman, and Simon’s Misreading of the Scene

Perhaps you're in that situation right now, but even if you're not I'm sure you can picture the situation and sympathize with the burden. Now imagine that you're in this situation and your creditor called you personally and without any provocation you didn't ask for this.

But your creditor just announced to you that he just canceled your debt completely free and clear. No more obligation. No more burden freedom. How would you feel? How would you respond to that? In the parable that we're going to consider today Jesus the greatest of all teachers used this particular illustration to flip the world of his heroes right side up.

There was a sinful woman that anointed Jesus feet while Jesus was reclining at table in the home of Simon the Pharisee. The host and probably most of his guests completely misunderstood the situation.

They assumed that they knew what was happening and that Jesus was oblivious. Their assumptions were so ingrained in their thinking that if I were to try and and change their perspective It probably would have taken me hours to to get through the situation.

But Jesus brilliantly changed the whole situation in this this simple parable. It was masterfully crafted brilliant. So turn with me to Luke chapter 7 starting in verse 36. If you don't have your Bible this morning the pew Bibles, I believe it's page 864 so the specific situation in the passage today was quite dramatic.

It was the kind of event that everyone who was there would probably remember for the rest of their lives. Yet the principle that Jesus drove home. So skillfully applies to our hearts and minds just as much as it did to those of Jesus hearers.

So the parable today we're going to talk about is is called the parable of the creditor and the two debtors. It's only two verses long. It's very straightforward very simple. But it's completely intertwined with the story that's around it.

So for that reason today, we're going to talk about the whole the whole story that this parable takes place within which is Luke 7 36 through 50. So this story and this parable both only occur here in Luke.

It's not to be confused with the story when Mary The sister of Lazarus and Martha anointed Jesus feet. That's a totally different story. With different with a different setting different different characters and There's a similar but much more substantial parable given in Matthew 18 where a king forgives his servant and unimaginably large debt and then that Ungrateful servant goes and and requires payment of a much smaller debt.

That's Not to confuse. That's a different parable with a different main point so. Also, many other parables are given in sets of two or three which all have the same basic point but unlike them this parable occurs alone, so this is The only time it's given here.

And before we dive right in I just want to briefly note the poetic nature of this story. Luke crafted the story in a really cool way that I'm not going to go into detail on it. But basically it highlights certain elements of it and also when Jesus gave the parable itself it's crafted in a similar way and it's it's very helpful to see but Hopefully I'll be able to highlight those same parts.

So today we're gonna walk through as you see on your handouts. Does everyone have the handout by now? Yes, okay. So we're gonna the first thing we're gonna walk through the setting before the parable and then we're gonna look at the parable itself.

And then we're gonna look at Jesus application to Simon he applied this the parable himself and then we're gonna look at The application to our lives and we're gonna spend several minutes talking about that.

The Banquet Setting and the Woman’s Tears, Hair, and Ointment

So first I'm gonna going to read the text. It says one of the Pharisees this is starting in verse 36 one of the Pharisees asked him him being Jesus to eat with him and He went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table and Behold a woman of the city Who was a sinner?

When she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house brought an alabaster flask of ointment and Standing behind him at his feet weeping she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and Kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

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. And Jesus answering said to him Simon.

I have something to say to you and he answered say it teacher a Certain money lender had two debtors one owed 500 denarii the other 50. When they could not pay he canceled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?

Simon answered the one I suppose for whom he canceled the larger debt and He said to him you have judged rightly. Then turning towards turning toward the woman he said to Simon. Do you see this woman?

I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss. But from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.

You did not anoint my head with oil. But she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you her sins, which are many are forgiven for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little loves little and he said to her your sins are forgiven.

Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves who is this who even forgives sins and He said to the woman your faith has saved you go in peace. So now we're going to just walk through the setting.

This is verses 36 through 40 then one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him and he went into the Pharisees house and took his place at at the table. So why might the Pharisee ask Jesus to eat with him.

What can we infer about his motives? And I'd like some feedback here. The questions that are written on the handout I give you there in advance. I'd like to to discuss those questions, so. So what can we infer about his motives?

Why might he? Invite people invite Jesus. To test Jesus. Yes, we see later that that He questions whether Jesus was a prophet so that perhaps that was a motive. Yes, perhaps it was it was actually prestigious for.

Well, I guess I'll go into this. We see and most commentators agree that it was probably The case where Jesus spoke at the synagogue before this story, and then it was it was considered prestigious to.

Invite the guest preacher over to to dinner after after the sermon, so that's I would guess that that's probably what happened in this case it seems so and. So he probably invited him over partially for the prestige that comes with it.

Anything else I think that's that's pretty much the two answers. So yeah, we also see later that the Pharisee actually treated Jesus very rudely. So I would say that he clearly doesn't want to sit under Jesus teaching.

It doesn't want to honor Jesus. By inviting him over so it wasn't for that. All Right so moving moving on the next verse begins with and behold I Just wanted to point out that Luke is calling our attention to something very unusual that happened here.

And the situation is very unusual as we'll see. So and behold a woman of the city who was a sinner. Who was the woman? Now before we go on this is a trick question. There are two wrong answers that I want to clear out of the way, so what are the wrong answers to this question?

Mary Magdalene yes, she was it is possible that she was but. But most commentators say that it's it's very unlikely that she was actually Mary Magdalene was not introduced in Luke until Chapter 8 verse 2 so 2 verses after this passage ends, and it would be very strange.

For Luke to to spend a whole passage talking about Mary Magdalene an unnamed woman. And then name her two verses later and also Mary Magdalene was two verses later named as someone who had seven demons cast out of her.

Whereas in this woman in the passage was described as a sinner. Which those two descriptions are probably not about the same person. So what's the other the other wrong answer that some people might confuse?

Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and yes as I pointed out earlier. There's another story where that Mary the sister of Lazarus and Martha Anointed Jesus, and that's just a separate story not to confuse with this one.

So that's who she is not now who is the woman what do we know about her? She's a sinner yes. And that's that's what we know so. Most people we know that her sins are many. The Pharisee says that Jesus says that Luke and his narration describes her as that.

She's not necessarily a prostitute, but well there are many notorious sinners who are not prostitutes. But most commentators do assume that that's what she was. But it it doesn't necessarily matter for understanding the story.

She was this woman was infamous for her for her sinfulness her immorality. So moving on and Behold a woman of the city who was a sinner. When she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisees house.

Now if you were to picture Jesus at your table at home, and perhaps this is a supper for six and Jesus gets invited. And you try to picture the woman coming up and standing behind him with her tears falling on his feet.

That'll it's just a bizarre image. So can anyone describe for me the dinner arrangements that that they use at banquets in those days? What what does it mean for Jesus to be reclining at table? Yeah, that's.

Yeah, that's the basic description. Based on what I was reading I would picture a long low table. That would spread across the room. And on both sides of this table there would be a couch. With a back without a backrest on it, so it's like a flat couch or perhaps pillows if it were if it were lower and Then so Jesus would be lying on his left side on the couch at about a 45 degree angle from the table.

He'd be supported on his left arm and his right arm would be free to handle the food. So his feet would be extended away from the table and Because he's on the couch his feet would be pretty much hanging in the air off the back side of the couch so that his feet would be above the floor and so the woman could could stand behind him and His feet were right there, and she could his feet were above the floor so she could could wash his feet or.

And it wouldn't be appropriate would be. It's just a much easier picture to to imagine there. So any any questions with that that really helped for me to see that to understand this passage, okay? So moving on when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisees house.

She brought an alabaster flask of ointment. Now how did the woman get there aren't they inside of a house? Now based on the culture of the time. For for a dinner banquet which it seems that this was the house would be open.

And it wouldn't be uncommon for random people to come to come into the dinner party. There would be the the invited guests that come but also uninvited guests. Generally on the on the poor side would come and they would often stand or sit against the wall behind the couch so behind the invited guests.

And they could even join in the conversation. It would be fine for them to be there. If I'm not mistaken, I believe this was part of the the culture of being generous to the poor. I believe that they would would eat the scraps from the table when it's over.

So What's unusual about this is that the woman's reputation and the Pharisees status would normally make her avoid the house at all costs. But we see that her desire to show gratitude to Jesus Was was strong enough to overcome any hesitation so That's that's part of the unusual nature of what happened here.

So I'm moving forward verse 38 and standing behind him at his feet. Weeping she began to wet his feet with her tears. So as Jesus was reclining on his side facing the table she came up behind him. She was planning on anointing his feet, but it seems that washing his feet was not premeditated.

She didn't have a towel with her. But as she stood there and beheld Jesus tears burst out. She couldn't help it. So now let me ask you why was the woman crying? What were what was in her her mind and in her heart Brian?

So so a Repentance and and mourning over her sin. Yes I think that was that was part of it, and I think there was there was one more aspects that I'm looking for tears of joy. So joy do you want to elaborate on that a joy at beholding the Savior who would take away our sin and yes I think that was that was part of it specifically I would add That it was tears of gratitude.

It seems based on the story that Jesus Told the based on the parable in his application afterwards. It seems that she Understood that she had been forgiven. Well, let me let me back up. Clearly this woman had stood under Jesus teaching before perhaps even that same day at the synagogue that would certainly explain the urgency of this her motivation and it seems that Jesus had proclaimed to her the good news and She had understood and received the good news and she had been she had repented and converted been regenerated and and she understood that she had been forgiven at least to some extent and based on the The story it seems that yet.

She she knew she was forgiven and she was was Showing her gratitude expressing her love for the Savior that had taken away her sins. So going forward she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.

Here's where we start to see some of the drama unfold from her perspective. She noticed that her tears fell on Jesus feet. She probably didn't plan on washing his feet because she didn't have a towel.

So what else could she do. She untied her hair and and she wiped his feet dry with her hair but from the Pharisees perspective. From according to the traditions of the of that day for a woman to let down her hair in the presence of another man was Enough reason for a husband to divorce his wife that that was a serious offense.

I mean, that's according to their traditions. There's nothing in Scripture that says that. But from his perspective, this was obviously inappropriate and From his perspective. Couldn't Jesus see it was obvious who this woman was and and that she was even in front of them being being inappropriate.

Couldn't Jesus see that and we'll see Jesus perspective on the other side of the story. So moving forward she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and Kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

So this is also something that's uncommon. Although they probably would have understood it in those days better than we would understand it today. It helps to understand that the feet were considered dirty untouchable unclean not not ceremonial unclean, but just muddy perhaps.

So and it also helps to understand that friends and equals would kiss each other on the cheek when they would greet each other a Respectful man might kiss a rabbi's hands to show respect. But this woman didn't dare to kiss Jesus head or even his hands that would elevate herself too high and wouldn't elevate Jesus enough, but she could in all propriety kiss Jesus feet and This would show him great respect and that is what she meant to convey and that's what Jesus understood and received.

The Pharisee however interpreted the situation completely differently. We'll see that in in verse 39. It says now in 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 was touching him for she is a sinner and Now we can see the Pharisee's attitude toward Jesus.

We see that that he questioned whether Jesus was a prophet and this is this is what makes me think so that part of his Purpose in inviting Jesus over was to find some fault in Jesus. And we also see that he scorns this woman and he considers her touch to be inappropriate.

Verse 40 says. And Jesus answering said to him Simon I have something to say to you and he answered say it teacher. Simon doesn't sound very excited to hear Jesus comment. Does he? Apparently it sounds about the same in Greek by the way, just not very excited.

And note that he actually does give Jesus the title of teacher. Even though he didn't greet Jesus as a teacher as as we'll see later. He didn't give him the respect, but he gave him the verbal title. All right, so now we that's the setting and now it let's move forward to the parable itself.

The Parable of the Two Debtors

Starting in verse 41 a certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii and the other 50. When they could not pay he canceled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more? Simon answered the one I suppose for whom he canceled the larger debt.

And he said to him you have judged rightly as parables go. This is about as straightforward as you can get. There aren't very many details that need explanation. Of course one denarii is by definition a day's wage for the common labor.

We don't know why these men were unable to pay their debts or what got them in their debt. That doesn't really matter. The point is that they were unable to pay they were completely unable to pay. They could have legally been in prisons and sent to force label labor until their debt was paid off and Still they weren't able to come up with the cash.

So what does the moneylender do he completely forgives their debt free and clear? It made no difference how much the different debts were there were no special conditions or obligations associated with the higher debt.

Both debtors were unable to pay and both were given the same grace complete. So that's that's all there really is to the story itself. I'd also like to say that Simon judged rightly. The answer was obvious to everyone even to Simon where he he misunderstood the situation in front of him.

But the parable itself there was no getting around the right answer. And I think that's part of the beauty and and the brilliance of Jesus parables. Now, what does this pair of parable mean? Here we get to the multiple-choice question on your handouts.

What the main point of this parable is a? You should make sure to become a really big sinner before you become a Christian because then you will love God more. Or be. Everyone is forgiven, but some people are just more thankful for their forgiveness than others.

Or see Forgiven sinners are thankful to the same degree that they acknowledge their prior sinfulness. So what is the answer? See yes, of course. Forgiven sinners are thankful to the same degree that they acknowledge their prior sinfulness.

Now can anyone tell me what's wrong with a and b so first? What's wrong with a you already are a big sinner. Yes. Any anything else any exactly the. Just to repeat in case people didn't hear that. Some people will go and and try to exaggerate their testimony or try to make sure that they have a big testimony and.

Well, so that sorry well, but the degree of our sin doesn't matter and our standing before God. So is that a fair summary pastor Steve so? Still on part a I would say that To agree with part a would be similar to the question that Paul asked in Romans 6.

What shall we say then are we to continue in sin that grace may abound and Paul's answer is by no means now. This is is slightly different, but For to say part a would be similar to say for as if the small debtor when he saw that his fellow debtor was just forgiven it a debt of 500 denarii if he were to sneakily try and borrow another 450 so that when he was forgiven later on that he would would Benefit more from from the creditors generosity now would he actually be thankful for that if that were the case?

And I I don't think so. Certainly God's unstoppable grace Triumphs gloriously over even the most despicable of sins. But that gives no excuse for mocking that grace by seeking the pleasure of sin under the guise of glorifying God.

Now on to To be pastor Steve answered that does anyone have anything to add? What's wrong with with part B or answer B? Brian so it seems man-centered and and the Emphasis should be on God and on his grace.

It's all about the forgiver not the forgiven. Amen to that and I would say that this is this is where we have to watch our hermeneutics. Of course, we know that not everyone is forgiven. The Bible clearly teaches that The forgiven are only a remnant of the the total population.

But if you try and extract more from this parable than the main point Then you could very easily conclude that Jesus says the Pharisee was forgiven to he just didn't need very much forgiveness. And it doesn't take much to go from there to universalism.

And that's that's not the point of this parable. So now let's look at at Jesus application to Simon. Then turning toward the woman. He said to Simon. Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet.

But she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss. But from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil. But she has anointed my feet with ointment.

Now Simon was focused on what he thought to be an immoral woman acting true to her nature. He was convinced about his own self-righteousness and about this woman's sinfulness. Now Luke didn't point this out earlier, but Simon had actually treated Jesus with incredible rudeness.

The passage gives us every indication to conclude that this was a banquet according to the customs of the time. And in that culture there were some very strongly rooted formalities that had to be followed.

For example a host would greet each and every invited guest on both cheeks when the guest would come into the door. Now for an honored guest, for a teacher or a rabbi, which Simon calls Jesus teacher.

But for a teacher he was supposed to have every male member of his house standing outside the door waiting for this honored guest to come. And as the honored guest comes in, every male member would kiss the rabbi's hands as a sign of respect.

And now this wasn't socially required, but providing olive oil, which was cheap and plentiful. Putting olive oil on the forehead would be a very welcome gesture, like a glass of water or something like that.

And then the first thing when someone would come in is they would recline at table and a servant would wash the guest's feet. Or at least the guest would be given water that they could wash their own feet.

Now to ignore these customs would be like attending a supper for six. And you come up to the door, you knock at the door, there's no answer. You hear people inside so you walk in, you know you're at the right place.

So you go in and as you walk in you're completely ignored. You have to take off your own coat and you have to go and hang it up yourself. You're not given a glass of water or anything. And you're not even engaged in conversation until the food is served.

Now how awkward would that be? That's the situation here, except I would say it would be even more extreme. Because that culture was so formal that to ignore these customs, it would have stood out to everyone.

There's no one who would be oblivious and not notice it. So in Jesus' answer to Simon or his application to Simon He gives in three different ways, Jesus highlights the woman's love as superior to Simon's love.

And each way there's a double contrast. So I made this table here, I hope it helps to point it out. First, Simon didn't even give water for the feet. Jesus didn't expect Simon to clothe himself as a servant and actually wash Jesus' feet.

Even just a bucket of water for Jesus to wash his own feet would have been good enough. But the woman, on the other hand, not only provided the water, but she also washed his feet herself. In fact, she went further and she used her crown and glory, her hair, to dry his muddy feet.

Second, Simon did not even kiss Jesus at all. Jesus didn't even suggest that Simon should have kissed his hands, as the teacher deserved. But even a kiss on the cheek would have been good enough. But the woman not only kissed Jesus many times, but she even kissed his feet.

A rare but well understood sign showing the great honor that she attributed to Jesus. And Simon did not even anoint Jesus, even with cheap olive oil. But he didn't even anoint Jesus' head, which was considered worthy of anointment.

But the woman anointed Jesus with expensive perfume. Even more, she anointed his feet. I just found it interesting to see those contrasts there. And Jesus concludes, Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.

But he who is forgiven little, loves little. And he said to her, your sins are forgiven. Now, according to this passage, why were her sins forgiven? Now, this is a trick question again, so be careful with this one.

Why were her sins forgiven, according to this passage? Does the passage even say that her sins, does it say why her sins were forgiven? It says, for she loved much. Now that would, it's an unclear translation from the Greek, we'll get into that.

So the passage does not actually say why she was forgiven, and nor does the parable. The passage says what happened as a result of her forgiveness. When it says that her sins are forgiven, the Greek uses a perfect passive tense.

Literally, it would be translated, her sins have been forgiven. So Jesus is not forgiving her sins on the spot, he is declaring a fact that has already accomplished. That what was, a fact that already was accomplished.

So the phrase, for she loved much, would probably be better translated, therefore she loved much. Now, we can also logically conclude that we can see that her sins were forgiven. Because we see that she loved much.

That's the obvious sign that we all can see. But remember the point of the parable. Forgiven sinners are thankful to the same degree that they acknowledge their prior sinfulness. So her great love was a response to her forgiveness, to her forgiven state in light of her great sin.

Jesus’ Authority to Forgive Sins and the Meaning of the Woman’s Faith

So verse 49 says. And he said to the woman, your faith has saved you, go in peace. So the guest asked, who is this? What attributes does this passage affirm about the person of Jesus? Now this is a whole passage, not just here.

That's a very good point. Personal forgiveness of sins was unheard of. Once a year the priest would do a sacrifice and everyone's sins would be forgiven. But this was unheard of, it was foreign. Jesus has authority to forgive sins.

Yes, he claims that in this passage. What else? There are several things here. Only God can forgive and Jesus claims that same authority. He is the one who announces forgiveness of sins. On God's behalf, he is God's representative here.

And he has the same authority. Anything else? One that I didn't point out earlier is Jesus is in fact a prophet. Simon was thinking to himself and Jesus answered him. So Jesus knew Simon's thoughts. And also we see that he does know what's in this woman.

He knows Simon's thoughts and he knows the woman's sinfulness. So he is a prophet. And there's one more that I found very interesting. Jesus is the appropriate recipient of gratitude for the forgiveness of sins.

So Jesus is saying that her sins have been forgiven. The implication is that God has forgiven her sins. The way he tenses that. But then he commends her for responding to that forgiveness to him. And so the implication is that he is equal to God.

And he is claiming that here. And the Pharisee would not have missed that. So in context, what was Jesus' purpose for giving this parable? What did Jesus use this parable for? What was he answering? Does anyone want to answer that?

Alright, well I would say that He used this as a crystal clear and incredibly concise illustration. That exposed the fact that Simon's perspective was in every way. Exactly opposite to the truth. Simon could not get past the idea that this woman was a sinner.

And because of this he was looking at the situation upside down And making completely wrong conclusions. Jesus' manner of turning the situation around was I would say brilliant and profound. He just completely redefined the roles.

He acknowledged the facts that were obvious. But he was highlighting the misunderstood facts In a way that even the Pharisee could give the right answer. And I just, I found it brilliant and amazing. So now we get to application to our lives.

Gratitude, Sin, and the Christian Life

So, in real life is there any such thing As someone who has been forgiven a small debt? I think we've already talked about that somewhat. Can a true forgiven sinner honestly see their debt as small? Pam already said no.

It would perhaps only take a few months Or a few years to pay back a debt of 50 denarii. It would be no big deal. So perhaps you'd say that a few years in purgatory Could cleanse me of my sin. And I'll be able to walk into heaven with my head high.

Because I earned my way in, right? And that's not the case. Those who see their debt as small Think that they can pay it off And that they're good enough. Now how ridiculous does that sound When we consider the infinite holiness of God And the insult to his dignity That we are all guilty of.

Before he saved us we all scorned his majesty. And we were more interested in worldly trifles In our own affairs Because of his infinite worth. Our mockery is an infinite insult. So no sin against God is a small sin.

To call an insult small like that Would be to say that he was worthy of only a little better Than we treated him. But he was worthy of infinitely better. Pastor Steve? Yeah, very good. There was no repentance.

There was no change of heart. And God was still long-suffering. And we are so prone to being the same. So if we know in our minds and our hearts If we understand this truth We ought to continually and sincerely express Great gratitude and love to our Lord.

So now let's talk about our response. In what ways are we prone to acting more like Simon Than like the woman? Very good. Showing gratitude to Christ in our culture Is sometimes costly and embarrassing.

As it was in this case. And we are cheap in what we're willing to do. Very good. I'm not as bad as the guy down the street. Yes, free evangelicalism broadly. It's not amazing grace, it's pretty cool grace.

And we need to remind ourselves of that. Andrew? It's easy to be lazy. Very true. Pastor Dave, did you want to say something? This woman was uninhibited. And we should follow that example. Yes, and how prone are we to being superficial.

And just doing what's easy. And doing our old habits of being religious And expressing our love to Jesus. But it should be a costly love and gratitude. And that's the other aspect of that Simon was judging on the surface.

And he saw this woman based on what he knew about her And how she looked. And Jesus saw deeper, he saw her heart. Now the last question is There's a lot of overlap. And I think we've pretty much talked about it.

The one thing I'd like to add is that I think that really this is the Christian faith in summary. We have been forgiven an enormously large debt. Much larger than 500 denarii. And we could have never paid it off.

And the Christian life is responding in gratitude to the Lord Who has forgiven us. That's all of our sanctification. Our studying the Word. Everything that we do in the Christian life Falls within this.

It's all gratitude to the Lord. Our actions do nothing to add to our salvation itself. And so I would challenge you today To take the time to think of one way That you could express greater love for the Lord And to commit to practicing that.

So let's pray Heavenly Father I thank you so much today For giving us your Word. I thank you for the challenge and the conviction that comes from it. And I pray that you would make our hearts tender. And that you would help us to follow the example of this woman And not the example of Simon that we are so prone to following.

I pray that you will open our eyes and open our hearts. And may we show great love for you In our words and our deeds and our actions. And from the depths of our heart. May you be glorified in all that we do In Jesus name, Amen.