Encounters with Jesus: Two sinners

Luke 7:36-50

What did people do for entertainment in the days before radio and television, movies and the internet? You can see it here in the streets of Morocco. When there is an accident or two people get upset and fight, a crowd gathers around to watch. One day when I was buying chickens in the market place in Takkadoum, a woman was upset and yelling at a man. She was very aggressive and although I have no idea what she was saying, I know she was shaming him. The arguing went on and on. She kept being the aggressor against him. He walked away and she would run at him, scream and hit him, and then finally he hit her and everything escalated. The crowd kept growing as people came to see what was happening. The police arrived. This is big city entertainment.

In a small town everyone knows everyone else and such moments of entertainment are rare. But when someone comes to town to visit, then there is excitement. There is someone new to watch and talk about.

When Jesus and his disciples came into a small town in Palestine, it was a big deal. This was a new show come to town. And what made the visit of Jesus even better was that people had heard stories about him. He was a visiting celebrity. So when Jesus came into a town, the local leaders had the privilege to invite him and his disciples to a meal. Remember also, that like Morocco, Palestine was a culture that highly valued hospitality. To not invite the teacher and his disciples in for a meal was to shame the visitor, the town and the town leaders. So out of a desire for entertainment and a cultural obligation, Jesus and his disciples were often invited into a home for a meal.

In today’s text Jesus is at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. They probably ate at a table with three couches around it, leaving the end open for food to be brought. The couches would be covered by a cushion or a cushion would be provided for the guest to lean on. The guests approached the table from behind the couches, then reclined on their left side, supporting their head on their left elbow, leaving their right hand free to take the food. Their feet would stretch out behind them, away from the table.

As I mentioned, the visit of a teacher was big news in a small town and an unnamed woman heard the news.
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

Who was this woman? She is identified only as a sinner. The reaction of Simon seems to indicate she was an adulteress or a prostitute. She was certainly not a respectable woman and respectable men in town kept their distance from her.

When she heard Jesus was in town, she picked up the alabaster jar of ointment and headed to Simon’s house. She did not have days or weeks to think about it, her reaction to the news of Jesus coming was immediate. Taking the ointment indicates she had a plan, she knew what she was going to do.

She certainly didn’t do this for every visitor to her town. What was her experience of Jesus that set her on this quickly conceived course of action? What made her react so quickly and so decisively?

Had she met him before and because of what he had done for her she was grateful? As the story goes on it is clear Jesus did not recognize her. It does not seem likely they had met before. Did she know someone who had met Jesus? Maybe someone who had been a social outcast, a leper, a woman who was unclean because of her bleeding, another prostitute, maybe one of these were known to her and she had heard how Jesus had treated her friend. I think this must have been it.

Somehow, through a friend, someone she trusted, she knew about Jesus, that he respected the unrespectable, that he extended grace to the social outcasts, that he loved sinners.

And it seems clear that she was not happy with her life. She was tired of being a sinful woman. She was tired of all the rejection. If she was a prostitute, she probably was tired of being mistreated and abused. She wanted a change. She wanted a new life and from what she had heard, Jesus could give her this new life. He could help her start over. She was desperate for a change.

She came to Simon the Pharisee’s house. It took courage for a woman with her reputation to come into Simon’s house. He was a Pharisee who did not associate with sinners. She was unclean and unwelcome and she knew it. But in the same way that the blind men kept calling out to Jesus, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” despite the crowd telling them to be quiet, this woman was desperate. Shame would not stop her. She was familiar with shame. What was a bit more? She was determined that she would come to Jesus.

She came in and saw the men reclining at the table. I think we need to picture this scene as a crowded one with lots of people. This was not a home with a dining room and everyone sitting at the table except the people bringing in the food and drink. People were talking, coming and going. There was a lot of action on the sidelines and so it was not instantly noticeable when one person came in.
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, 38 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.

She slipped into the room. She stood at the edge until she figured out which one was Jesus. Perhaps she asked someone which one was Jesus. She stepped forward to the table.

What was she expecting would happen? Would Jesus turn to her and talk with her? Would Simon have his servants kick her out? Whatever she was expecting, when she came to where Jesus was reclining she was overcome with emotion. She began to weep.

The word used for weeping is also used to describe rain showers. She wept convulsively and her tears fell on the feet of Jesus. Maybe she sobbed for remorse at the pain of her life or maybe for the joy of meeting someone who loved her or probably both, but she sobbed. She shed enough tears to wet the feet of Jesus. And then she let down her hair to wipe his feet clean.

I would imagine the table turned to look at this woman who was making so much noise. The eyes of the table turned toward her and as they watched, she let down her hair.

We live in a culture where many women keep their hair covered. To uncover your hair and especially to let it down in public is not respectable. There is something sexual about a woman having her hair up and then taking out the pins and letting it fall down. Even in Western movies, this is viewed as a sexual act. Every eye watching her was aware of this aspect of her behavior. There was an erotic nature to her wiping the feet of Jesus with her hair. She was doing in public what should only be done in private.

But the woman was not playing to the crowd. She tuned out the crowd and focused only on honoring Jesus. When King David came into Jerusalem with the ark of the covenant, he danced wildly in front of the procession wearing only his undergarments, like a slave. His wife, Michal, watched from the palace and was disgusted with him. But David was caught up in honoring God and was not thinking about how others viewed him. I think this was a similar situation. The woman ignored the others in the room. She had eyes only for Jesus and honored him by wiping his feet with her hair and then she began to kiss his feet and anoint them with ointment.

This was not an erotic or sexual act on the part of the woman. She was overcome with emotion at the way Jesus treated people, especially women like her, and she wanted only to honor him. She did not slip into the room, dab some ointment on the feet of Jesus and leave, this was a long, protracted honoring of Jesus: weeping, wiping, kissing, anointing.

But it is no wonder Simon reacted as he did.
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.”

It becomes clear that when Simon invited Jesus to dine with him, he did not do this because he admired Jesus, he did it because he was curious to know about Jesus. He had heard many stories and opinions and now he had the chance to see for himself. He saw the woman, he probably knew her, knew about her. He saw her anoint the feet of Jesus. He saw Jesus not resisting and he concluded that Jesus obviously did not know that she was a sinner, someone unacceptable. A Jewish teacher would not violate the Law of Moses by allowing someone unclean as she was to touch him and treat him like this. A prophet would know who she was.

Simon judged Jesus and concluded Jesus was not what he claimed to be.

And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

It is interesting that Simon spoke to himself and yet Luke says Jesus answered him. How can someone answer a question that has only been asked silently to oneself?

In answering Simon’s unspoken question, Jesus challenged the conclusion of Simon. He was indeed a prophet (and more than a prophet) and would reveal this with his answer. Jesus told a small parable.
“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

Jesus laid the trap and Simon stepped neatly into it.

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. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

When Jesus entered into Simon’s house he did not give water for Jesus to clean his feet. He did not greet him with a kiss on the cheek. He did not anoint his head with oil. These are all indications that Simon was treating Jesus as a curiosity, not as an honored guest.

The woman, on the other hand, honored Jesus by cleaning his feet, humbled herself by kissing his feet, gave him an expensive gift by anointing his feet with ointment, made herself vulnerable by showing her emotion in public.

Why did Simon and the woman treat Jesus so differently?

Simon was a respectable man, curious about Jesus but not in great need of him. The woman, in the words of a song by Paul Simon, “was a high school beauty queen with nothing left to lose”.  She had no respectability. She had nothing except for her shame and she was desperate to come to Jesus to find forgiveness.

Simon thought he was a saint. The woman knew she was a sinner.

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

What the woman had heard from others she now experienced for herself.

Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

Notice now that the attention is off the woman and her situation is becoming a theological debate. She is now being discussed but not noticed.

This is like the disciples of Jesus who saw a man born blind and asked Jesus, (John 9:2)
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

The disciples did not see the man, they saw only the theological question. But Jesus saw the man and gave him sight. And as the others at the table began to ask who Jesus was that he could forgive sins, Jesus saw the woman. He wanted to spare her this, to be the object of a discussion in which she was not viewed as a person but as a case study. I see in his next statement to her his love and compassion for her.

And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Go in peace. You are a person, not a case study. Go in peace, a forgiven woman who can begin a new life.

Did she follow Jesus? I would expect so. What did she have in this town to keep her? But her story is one we will one day hear in full detail when we meet her in heaven.

How did Simon leave that encounter with Jesus? Jesus had demonstrated that he was at least a prophet by knowing the question Simon was asking himself and by showing he did know the woman’s situation. Jesus had demonstrated that he was at least a prophet and maybe more. What prophet ever had the authority to forgive sin?

I hope Simon thought about this night. I hope Simon opened his mind and heart and that before he died he realized he had invited the Son of God to a meal. I hope so. I would love to hear that story someday.

So, how do you view yourself, saint or sinner? How desperate are you for Jesus? How far will you go to honor Jesus with your life? Would you share your faith story in church? In a discussion at the university or at your work or at your book club or at a party, would you stand up for Jesus, sharing your Christian perspective about what is being discussed?

The extent to which you will stand up for Jesus and honor him depends on how desperate you are for him. How do you view yourself? Are you a respectable saint or a desperate sinner? There is far less difference between the two than you might think.

Oscar Wilde was a 19th century Irish poet and playwright, a man who knew both saints and sinners, and wrote this line:
The only difference between a saint and a sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.

What makes this quote resonate in our minds is that saints often think they have no past and sinners often think they have no future. Saints forget their past and get caught up in their respectability. Saints forget that they are saved by grace and become overwhelmed by their own goodness. They dress properly, have good moral values, make good choices, resist temptation and they begin to think it is because they are so good that they are saints. They look down on people in society who are homeless, alcoholics, drug users, prostitutes. Saints need to remember their past and envision a life lived apart from God so they can escape the sin of pride and capture the virtue of humility.

Sinners are blinded by their circumstances and are caught up in despair and hopelessness. They are consumed by the choices they have made and carry no illusion that they can escape the life in which they find themselves. Sinners feel trapped with no way out. But they need to be reminded of what God has done for others, sinners just like them. Sinners need to grab hold of hope and let that pull them out of their circumstances. Sinners need to be reminded that this is something God has done over and over and over again in the history of his interactions with men and women on this planet.

I have good news to share. Good news for saints and good news for sinners. If you, like me, have given your life to Jesus, then you are both saint and sinner and will receive two pieces of good news.

In I Corinthians 1, Paul wrote to a church made up of saints and sinners.
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.

Brothers and sisters, saints. Paul is addressing here the believers in the church at Corinth. He is addressing saints and he reminded them to think back, to remember their past.

Why is it important to remember the past? It is important because it is in our human nature to drift from a profound awareness of gratitude for the grace of Jesus that has saved us to a false pretense that we are responsible for who we are. Jesus picks us up and guides us and helps us and we begin to think it is we who are responsible for our good, moral, respectable life. It is important to remember the past because in remembering, we are reminded once again of our dependence on Jesus.

I Corinthians 1:30
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

It is important for saints to remember they have a past so that when we boast, it is in the Lord that we boast. It is God who has made us what we are and who is continuing to work in us to transform us.

Good news for saints is that you have a past and because you have a past you are blessed to know that you must trust in God, depend on him, have faith in him.

But there is good news for sinners as well.

I Corinthians 6
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders  10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Who are these sinners that Paul speaks of? Let me add some meaning to this list.

Sexually immoral. These are those who have sex outside of the marriage relationship which weakens the church, the family and the culture.

Idolaters. These are those who replaced the worship of God with the worship of a pagan idol.

Adulterers. Adultery means the destruction of a marital relationship. It means hearts are broken. Families are destroyed.

Male prostitutes. These were young men who took the subservient, female side of a homosexual relationship, often in the course of pagan worship and did this as a means of earning a living. Prostitution is an ugly business full of misery and suffering.

Homosexual offenders. These were those who indulged in homosexual relationships. Homosexuality is a denial of family. It is a denial of God’s design for creating men and women. It is a denial of the blessings God intends for those who follow his plan.

Thieves. Those who broke into homes and stole the possessions of others. Those who picked the pockets of unwary travelers or shoppers in the market. How many hearts were broken because of what was taken?

Greedy. Those whose God was wealth and were never content with what they had. These were people who cheated and defrauded others to get what they wanted. They stole the inheritance of others, perhaps through legal means, taking advantage of innocents. As a consequence of their actions, families were reduced to begging, thrown out on the streets.

Drunkards. These were those who brought ruin to their families as money for the family was spent on alcohol. Wives and children suffered because of physical abuse of the father when he was drunk.

Slanderers. These were those who ridiculed and mocked those who were followers of Christ. They insulted and spread false rumors about those who were in the church. These people destroyed the reputations of innocent people.

Swindlers. These were those who cheated others out of what was theirs. They devised schemes to cheat honest people. They brought ruin to those who fell victim to their schemes.

Do you see how hurtful this list is? Do you see the suffering that results from these actions? This is a list of people who behaved in a way that brought ruin and destruction to others. .

But then comes this most amazing verse.

11 And that is what some of you were.

Paul is addressing the saints of the church in Corinth and he reminds them that this list of despicable behavior is the behavior that was the life of some in the church. The saints in the church included the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexual offenders, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, slanderers and swindlers. If you visited the church in Corinth to worship God, to hear the word of God read and preached, you sat next to these people. When you went forward for communion, you received communion from people like this. When an offering was taken, the treasurer was a former thief and the counting of the money was supervised by a swindler and a person who had been greedy.

Do you hear the good news? That is what some of you were. Not “are” but “were”. Each of these sinners were forbidden to enter the kingdom of God. But the good news is that something happened that changed their status from being those forbidden to enter the kingdom of God to those who are welcomed into the kingdom of God. And what changed  is this.

But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

No matter how badly you feel about yourself, you have a future. You have hope.

Sinners need to know that their circumstance is not unique. They need to know that they have not done anything God has not seen before. They need to know they can trust God because he has rescued not just hundreds, not just thousands but millions and millions of sinners in the past and he is ready to do it once again.

If you are trapped in the circumstances of your sin and you are filled not with hope but with despair, then take heart this morning. You have the opportunity to surrender your life to an expert healer, an expert restorer of human life. God will take your life and redeem it. He will bring change in your life and do what you think is impossible.

If you know of someone who is full of despair because of their sin, bring them some good news this week. Let them know of Jesus, the expert restorer of human life. There is no one whose life cannot be redeemed. There is no one who can not have hope.

Every saint has a past and every sinner a future and for those of us in the church, we have double good news because we are both saint and sinner. We are blessed because our past reminds us of our dependence on God  and we are blessed because we are given assurance that no matter how bad our present condition, we have a future. We have hope.