Her sins, which are many, are forgiven,
for she loved much:
Your sins are forgiven.
Your faith has saved you, go in peace.
Luke 7:47, 48, 50
The story of this unnamed women is one of the most tender and hopeful
among the gospels. It shows our Lord and Savior bestowing forgiveness
on one of us. The joy that swelled in her heart, nearly lifts off the page.
Our flesh always tries to lift ourselves above others. This story,
read honestly, shows we all need to hear Jesus' words of forgiveness.
A crucial point we are apt to overlook is her brokenness .
The great joy she received that day from Jesus overshadows
the shadows in the hearts of Simon and his guests. This dark side of the
story needs to be seen so that we do not follow Simon into the darkness.
Verse 39 states that Simon reasoned within himself that if Jesus were a prophet, he would not have allowed an openly sinful woman to touch him. We may see the part that human reason plays in identifying Jesus.
There is a warning here for all who assemble in Jesus' presence.
Between our reasoning and our flesh there is jeopardy in missing
the joy of his forgiveness and the peace of his salvation.
It is tragic for the Spirit of Jesus to join us, and yet we leave without forgiveness . How often has this occurred? Simon hosted this
special dinner, but when the guests left, he was alone, unforgiven.
Our assemblies may be similar to that dinner party.
We come together for a far more precious meal.
The same bread and wine are served to all, but not all live. Why?
Only those who see their sin, may taste their Savior.
Only thru repeated brokenness are we reshaped into his likeness.
Life is not received from learning more and more.
Our hearts must be re-humbled and re-opened for his Spirit to flow thru.
From her broken heart came the tears, the kisses, and the broken jar.
Jesus surrendered his life in shame, for us to share its peace in ours.
We must surrender our will repeatedly to receive his life from the Spirit.
We find the words of the old song are still true for us,
"I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord"
When we read this story carefully we see that those with much to be
forgiven will love Jesus the most. The problem for many of us is,
we fail to see how much we really have to be forgiven.
To be frank, those who were openly sinful are likely to love Jesus more.
It is loving him that leads us home. Jesus invites all the heavy laden .
When Jesus said, "your sins are forgiven." He was looking into her eyes,
and she saw in his face, the love of God, Alone.
Try to imagine what her eyes beheld: inexpressible love -- for her.
It was the exquisite moment in her life, and its image was fixed in her heart for the rest of her days.
Was it for her alone? Is the certainty of his love only for those long ago?
Is it beyond our tears? The gospels tell us of a Man who transcends time, with the power of his endless life.
For all of our sophistication and objectivity, we need the certainty of heart that she received that day . The experience of forgiveness, is indeed, better felt than told. It leaves us new.
Jesus has returned to the glory he had before the world was, to send
his Spirit into every heart that sees its sin, and sees him as our Savior.
It is numbing to gather in his name, then leave with our pride and sin.
He patiently calls us, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock:.."
"Your faith has saved you, go in peace."
These words sealed the peace into her heart.
Before her faith, came her sorrow for sin , the surrender of her will .
If we try to avoid this, we will only wander further into the darkness.
It must be established in our heart also: Jesus is Lord.
When all left, Simon was without the joy that the woman took home.
After eating dinner, he was more empty than he had ever been.
The prophecy of Mary saw a fulfillment in Simon's house that day :
" The hungry he has filled with good things;
and the rich he has sent away empty." Luke 1:53
Each time we gather in his name,
we may receive his forgiveness once again.
Each time we leave,
we have opened to him, or remained alone.
A thousand years before this sinful woman came to Jesus,
a man, heavy laden, finally saw the way of peace :
"A broken and contrite heart O God, Thou will not despise."
Psalm 51:17
Thru all the years it is the same.
Each Sunday morning it is the same.
Each Wednesday night it is the same.
We come feeling our need for his life,
or feeling satisfied with ours.
"Who at the door is standing, whose is the voice I hear,
entrance within demanding? whose is the voice I hear?."