Welcome to Day 4 of my series, blogging through "Storyteller", the newest free, online Bible study from Sarah Koontz at livingbydesign.org.
Today's passage of Scripture is Luke 7: 36 - 50 ...
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."
Ouch!! Jesus starts this parable off on in such a mild way - "Simon, listen to this story ..." - that I bet Simon never saw the punchline coming, or the fact that the "story" was a direct analogy for what was happening in his own heart!
To me, this parable speaks about gratitude, and our response to grace.
It's so easy to see other people's faults, isn't it? And so easy to downplay our own. You know, that sneaky thought that says: "I know I'm not perfect, but I'm nowhere near as much of a sinner as Susie."
In this parable, Jesus makes the point that gratitude depends not on ignoring what’s going on in our lives, but in choosing to see and accept the deepest reality about our selves. His encounter with the "sinful" woman demonstrates this powerfully.
You see, the Pharisee had hidden all of his sins under the facade of self-righteousness and self-sufficiency. He chose to simply ignore the truth of his brokenness and his deep need for forgiveness. His ingratitude produced a toxic bitterness that caused him to completely miss the fact that the Savior of the world and of his own soul was standing right in front of him!
The woman didn’t miss it, though. There was no chance of her sweeping her sins under the rug - everyone in town knew exactly who she was and what she'd done. But, unlike the Pharisee, she acknowledged brokenness and chose to receive the forgiveness Jesus offers, and then in response her heart and her hands poured out her gratitude.
'This sorrowful, repentant, faith-filled woman is living proof of the reality of Galatians 5:6: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love.” Because of Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross, your debt has been canceled (Heb 8:12), and your forgiveness has been assured (Eph 4:32).' Sarah Koontz
Lord, may we overflow with gratitude for your forgiveness of all our sins. In your name, Amen If you're also participating in this Bible study of the parables of Jesus, please share your thoughts on today’s devotional in the comments - I'd love to hear where this journey is taking you.