DEVOTIONAL SERIES ON LOVE (part-06)

Showing Love

NOTE:
    This Bible Passage is longer than the ones in most of the
    devotionals the Lord provides, but He has impressed on
    me the importance of having all of it available for us to
    reference as we read His message to us. The devotional
    is a good example of the magnitude of the grace of God
    and His forgiveness, regardless of the type of sinful life
    we may have lived. Satan wants us to “wallow” in the guilt
    of our past, but God wants us to enjoy the benefits of living
    a new and different life, which is pleasing to Him.

BIBLE PASSAGE:
When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him,
He went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman
in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the
Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.
As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet
with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and
poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself,
“If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and
what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.“Two people owed money to a certain
moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other
fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave
the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see
this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water
for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with
her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time
I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my
head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you,
her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But
whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The other guests began to say among themselves,
“Who is this who even forgives sins?”

Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
(Luke 7:36-50)

MEDITATION:
VERSES 36-38:
A Pharisee invited Jesus to eat with him.
Question:
Why?
    – The scriptures don’t give us a reason for his invitation to Jesus.
    – He may have been interested in learning more
      about Jesus (like Nicodemus did).
    – He may have been curious about Jesus
      (what is this person that I’ve heard about, really like?).
    – He could have had some evil motives
      (to get some information on Jesus to use against Him).
Note:
    At this stage in His ministry, the Pharisees had accused Jesus of:
        – Blasphemy (Luke 5:21).
        – Being a friend of sinners (Luke 5:30).
        – Breaking the Sabbath law (Luke 6:7).

Note:
    The Pharisee did not perform the common courtesies,
    which were expected from a host by his honored guests.
    Note:
        This implies his motives were less than cordial.

In spite of His strained relations with the Pharisees,
Jesus accepted the invitation.
Question:
Why would He do that? Was it an opportunity to teach
the Pharisees something important about forgiveness?
Question:
What would you have done?

“reclined”
    – In those days, they reclined on their sides
      with their feet stretched out behind them.

Customs observed:
    – Sandals were removed when entering the house (exposing their feet).
    – Uninvited guests were allowed to stand around and observe the
       interaction of the host and his dinner guests.
       Note:
           This explains how the sinful woman was able to enter the room.

“woman in that town who lived a sinful life”
    – The Pharisees felt that nearly everyone
      who was not a Pharisee, was a sinner.

    – The description of this woman implies she was a notorious sinner
      (she may have been a prostitute who was well known in the town).

    – Before the Pharisee could have her removed,
       she did what she came to do.

    – She heard that Jesus was going to be there, so she took an alabaster
       jar of perfume with her and went to the house of the Pharisee.

    – More than likely she had met Jesus
      previously and was going there to either,
           (1) be forgiven,
       or
           (2) show her love and gratitude for being already forgiven.

    – As He was reclining, she made her way to where His feet were resting.

    – Her plan was to anoint His feet with the perfume,
       but she ended up doing a lot more.

    – Her love and gratitude caused her emotions to overflow.
      Note:
          It was considered shameful for a woman to let her hair down
          in public, but her emotions caused her to disregard how others
          would perceive her.
          Also, with her reputation, she may have thought this type of
          shame would be minor in comparison to what they already
          thought about her.

    – To kiss a rabbi’s feet was a sign of deep reverence and love.

Note:
Jesus did not rebuke her for her actions;
He accepted them as her expression of love for Him.

Summary:
    – Jesus came for all kinds of people.
    – Some people have mixed motives when showing an interest in Jesus.
      Examples?
    – Some politicians will do it to get more votes.
    – Some TV evangelists who are not called by God,
      preach in order to make money and feed their selfish appetites.
    – Those who love Jesus will find ways to express their love.

VERSE 39:
The host Pharisee (Simon) was not pleased
with the interaction between Jesus and the sinful woman.

“this man”
    – He didn’t use the name of Jesus; he simply referred
       to Him as ‘this man’ (which shows a lack of respect).
    – He believed that a true prophet would:
    – Recognize the woman as a sinner.
    – Never let a woman of her reputation talk to, or touch him.
    Note:
        Simon would have never let her touch him
        (in his mind that would make him ceremonially unclean).

We can learn 2 things from this part of the visit by Jesus:
    1. No matter what we have done, or what others think of us,
        Jesus still accepts us. Our sins can be forgiven by our
        gracious Father and the God of the universe.

    2. Saved people should not allow their past lives to haunt them.
        They should not be discouraged by others who reject them
        because of who they were before they received salvation from
        the Lord. We need to see ourselves as Jesus sees us, not as others
        see us.

Question:
What are the drawbacks of being influenced by how others see us?

Question:
What are the advantages of being influenced by how Jesus sees us?

(Verses 40-46)

VERSE 40:
Although Simon didn’t speak his thoughts,
Jesus responded to him, and called him by name.
Question:
Why would He call him by name?
    – Addressing the host would get the attention of all in the room?

In essence, Jesus was asking permission to speak to Simon.
Since he was the host, and with many observing, how could
Simon refuse to give Jesus his attention?

VERSES 41-42:
Jesus told a parable about two debtors who owed money to the same person.

“denarius”
    – The amount paid to a worker for one day’s work.
    – One in the parable owed about 7 weeks of salary.
    – The other owed more than a worker could earn in 1 year.

Canceling their debts was an act of grace.
    – He could have confiscated all they owned.
    – He could have sold them as slaves to get his money back.
    – Instead, he “forgave” their debts (an act of grace, not the law).
Note:
    This is a great example of how God forgives and cancels
    our debts (we are debtors to God because of our sins).

In the parable:
    – The greater amount represents the sins of the woman.
    – The lesser amount represented the sins of the Pharisee
      (those sins which could be seen by others;
       however they may have had many more).

Note:
Many people count their sins by comparing themselves
with others, but God says we are all sinners. We cannot
compare our sins to the sins of others because we do not
have knowledge of all their sins. Our sins are ‘counted’
by God, because they are sins against Him, and He is the
one who will ultimately pass judgment on us.

Simon was guilty of self-righteousness, a judgmental spirit, and hypocrisy.
    – These were serious sins, but by most people’s standards,
       they are lesser than the sins of sexual immorality.
       Question:
       Are they?

In front of all the people present, Jesus
asked Simon a question with an obvious answer.

VERSE 43:
From Simon’s response (“I suppose”), it seems
he knew where Jesus was headed with the parable and question.
Note:
    Simon could have also been assuming it was a trick question
    (since the answer was obvious), so he answered cautiously.

Jesus immediately confirmed that his answer was correct.
Note:
    Almost the same as saying,
    “Good, we are both on the same page”.

VERSES 44-46:
Still speaking to Simon, Jesus turned His eyes toward
the woman and asked, “Do you see this woman?”
Question:
Why would He ask the obvious?
    – He may have wanted Simon to see the woman through
       the eyes of Jesus, and not as he had seen her up to this
       point (through his own eyes).

Jesus contrasts the shortcomings of the host,
with the love shown by the woman.
    1. Washing feet.
             – Washing the feet of his guests was a courtesy of the host.
                Note:
                    Either the host, or someone else in the house
                    was expected to wash the feet of the guests
                    (they wore sandals and the roads were dusty).

             – Simon not only didn’t wash His feet, but he didn’t even
                have any water available for Jesus to wash His own feet.

             – The woman used whatever was available (her tears and hair).
                Note:
                     Her tears were probably a result of her overwhelming love
                     for Jesus…or…she could have been brokenhearted that no
                     one had already washed His feet (if anyone deserved this
                     courtesy, it was Jesus).

    2. Kiss.
             – People greeted their guests with a kiss (probably a glancing
                kiss on one or both cheeks…still practiced today in some areas).

             – Simon again failed as a good host (he may have been
                pre-occupied with his less than honorable motives).

             – As a result of her love for Jesus, she expressed it
                much more than just a courtesy kiss, on the cheek.

     3. Anointing.
              – A host would anoint the head of his quests with olive oil.

               – The woman not only anointed His feet (which showed
                  even greater love and respect), but she used expensive
                  perfume (instead of olive oil).

Question:
Was Jesus teaching that we must be great
sinners to show great love and devotion?
    No, His point was:
        – We are all sinners in need of forgiveness.
        – Sin separates us from God, and it has
          deadly consequences unless we are forgiven.
        – We should all be grateful for God’s forgiveness.
        – Differences in the amount of sin is not the issue;
           our need for forgiveness is the point.

Question:
Since we can’t show our love like the woman did,
how can we show our gratitude and devotion?
    – By worship and prayer.
    – By being faithful stewards of His blessings.
    – By helping the needy.
    – By loving each other.
      Note:
          The world will not love those who believe in, and follow
          Jesus. In fact, we will be hated by some, so if we expect
          to receive love, we should look for it from other believers.
          And, if other believers expect to receive love, it needs to
          come from us.
    – By witnessing to a lost world.
    – By using the spiritual gift God has given us to serve Him.

Question:
Can we point to any efforts we are making in all these areas?

Summary:
– Self-righteous people overlook their own
  sins, but condemn others for their sins
  (which may actually be the same sins).

– When God forgives sin, He removes the guilt of sin.
   Question:
   Why would He do that?
       – So we can effectively worship and serve Him?

– Lack of love sees the faults in others;
   love looks for the good in people.

– Lack of love emphasizes the faults in others;
   love embraces their good qualities.

(Verses 47-50)

VERSE 47:
This woman knew she was a sinner, and she knew Jesus was the
One who could forgive her (which is why she came to Simon’s
house, showed her love, and was overwhelmed with emotions).
Note:
    She may have had an earlier encounter with Jesus where He
    forgave her sins. If this was the case, she came to express her
    love and appreciation for what He had already done.
    Note:
        If that was the case, when Jesus said,
            “Your sins are forgiven”
        He was confirming what had previously happened.

At any rate, she was honest with herself about her sins,
and how they had affected her (as a result, she had a
great appreciation for His forgiveness).

Others who are not as honest about their sins (and may even
justify or rationalize some of them), do not have the same sense
of the need for forgiveness (even though they should). They don’t
appreciate His forgiveness as much, and consequently, they don’t
express their love and devotion as they should.

Question:
Do you think the other guests understood the points Jesus was making?

The guests:
    – Could have been thinking,
           “We’ve heard of His healing people, but He
             can also forgive sins”…”Who is this man?”

    – Could have been thinking,
           “Who does He think He is? Only God can forgive sins?”
      Note:
          If this was the case,
          they were probably Pharisees (Luke 5:17-21).

Jesus didn’t respond to the guests; instead He was focused on the woman.

Question:
What was the key factor to her forgiveness?
    – Her faith.
       Note:
           She was not saved by her expressions of love;
           she showed love out of gratitude for her forgiven sins.
       Note:
           Simon (and probably the other guests) seemed to think they
           could make themselves acceptable to God by simply obeying
           His laws.
           Question:
           What is the fallacy with this approach?
                – They can’t keep ALL the laws;
                   if one is broken, they are all broken.

“go in peace”
    – This was more than a dismissal
       …it was an invitation to a new way of living.

Question:
Should believers expect to live a more peaceful life
after they have been forgiven? How/why, or why not?

Summary:
– We are forgiven in response to our faith;
   and our faith is our response to being forgiven.
– When we are forgiven, we should have a
   natural desire to show our love to the Lord.
– Forgiveness means a new life and a new way of living.
   We begin to live a life with a different focus that is
   exciting and rewarding. No longer are we prisoners
   of the doldrums of life. We start enjoying our new
   connection with the Lord in ways we could never
   have imagined.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your awesome gift
of forgiveness for my sins. Your salvation is from Your
unmitigated grace, which means I have done nothing
to earn, or deserve it. My responsibility is to receive
Your gift and to do that, I need to express my total
belief in Jesus and how He went to the cross to give
Himself as a sacrifice for my sins. Even though it may
be difficult for me to understand Your plan of salvation,
remind me of the magnitude of what Jesus did, and help
me to show the depth and sincerity of my thankfulness by
obeying Your commands, and by allowing the Holy Spirit
to control my thoughts, words, actions, and attitudes. Help
me to live the kind of life now that I envision I will live in
Heaven.”

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