Luke 7:36-38, 44, “One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to
come to his home for lunch and Jesus accepted the invitation. As they sat down
to eat, A WOMAN OF THE STREETS—A PROSTITUTE—heard he was there and brought an
exquisite flask filled with expensive perfume. Going in, she knelt
behind him at his feet, weeping, with her tears falling down upon his feet; and
she wiped them off with her hair and kissed them and poured the perfume on
them.”; “Then He turned to the woman and said to
Simon, “LOOK! SEE THIS WOMAN…” (TLB).
Some of us, who have been hurt by
religion, wouldn’t consider eating dinner with a Pharisee. And some of us are
so religious we don’t know how to reach out to a real sinner. But Not Jesus! He
accepted the invitation of the Pharisee, AND extended grace to the sinner at
the same time. And despite what you may have been told, We (CHURCH) Must Also Learn to Do the Same
Thing!
Honestly, I love the way Jesus
handles people no one wants to have any contact with. After all, Pharisee’s were a bunch of
self-righteous hypocrites, who could point the finger at those doing wrong, but
could never quite figure out how to get a handle on what they did wrong
themselves. They spent much time distorting Scripture to justify their wrong,
while at the same time using the same Scripture to judge and condemn the wrong
of others. And still someway, somehow, these are the very same people Jesus
accepted a lunch invitation to dine with!
And then on the flip side of the coin
you have a woman of the streets, a prostitute, a loose woman, a woman of the night, a whoremonger, or
whatever terminology best suits your description of her, her life and
lifestyle. And yet, this same woman who was wrong in touching other men, still
knew how to touch Jesus just right!
Now, if you sit down for a conversation with “Today’s Church” this would be the gossip all around town! You
would be able to find the story with pictures included on TMZ, Google, Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and the like. Everybody would have an opinion about
these 2 individuals that Sinless Jesus thought it was alright to spend time
with! Lord Help Us! Isn’t that just like “Today’s Church” though? We spend hour
on hour in the House of the Lord, in praise, worship, dancing, running,
jumping, leaping, laying hands, speaking in tongues, prophesying and all the
while the sinner goes unreached...untouched! We have so much to say about Unbelievers and
the World, and yet, if asked what have we done day-to-day to reach out to them
in the Ministry of Reconciliation which we have been given, we would be able to
offer nothing more than blank stares, and empty excuses!
These two individuals are indeed some
of the most unlikely folks to find someone Sinless hanging out with, but I must
admit, what really caught my attention most, is the woman!
Jesus said, “I tell you, her sins – and they are
many – have been forgiven, so she has SHOWN ME MUCH LOVE. But a person who is
forgiven little shows only little love.” (Luke 7:47 NLT). Now, before we discuss that verse, let’s
move up a little. “When the Pharisee
who had invited Jesus saw what was happening, he said to himself, If this man
were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. He would know
that she is a sinner.” (Vs
39 CEB). How interesting that many of us with
sins of our own mind you, still manage to focus on the sins of others. And with
Jesus being SIMON’S guest, if he made himself busy with Hospitality as he
should have been, as was the custom of the day, the woman wouldn’t have had any
room to get to Jesus in the first place! But instead of honoring the presence
of the Lord, he instead focused on the woman who had enough sense to keep her
tunnel vision on the guest of honor!
Jesus further makes my heart glad because the
above text says the Pharisee said these words "To Himself", and yet the Bible
goes on to say: “JESUS REPLIED, “Simon, I have
something to say to you.” (Vs. 40). One thing I’ve learned to love about Jesus is that I need no
lawyer with Him as my Advocate! No matter what people say about me, or think
about me, I need not defend myself, for my Savior will speak on my behalf! And
if we could learn the simplicity of that alone, we could lower our blood
pressure from boiling over every time we hear that someone said something about
us! In fact, I’ve learned to enjoy being so important to people “who don’t even like me” and
yet can’t keep my name out of their mouth! Who wouldn’t be happy about that?
Can you imagine people so consumed with you that they can’t even focus when Jesus
Himself is in their presence? That’s a scary thought! You have a sinner and a
Savior in the same room, and yet your focus remains on the sins of the sinner! If you ask me, that's the Epitome of Foolishness!
Well, Jesus doesn’t chide Simon for his
thoughts, speech, behavior or opinions. He simply turns this lunch into a
workshop for teaching. Jesus says to Simon, “A certain
lender had two debtors. One owed enough money to pay five hundred people for a
day’s work. The other owed enough money for fifty. When they couldn’t pay, the
lender forgave the debts of them both. Which of them will love him more?” Simon
replied, “I suppose the one who had the largest debt canceled.” Jesus said,
“You have judged correctly.” (Vss. 41-43)
I find it amazing that Simon could
understand a Parable, but a Person standing in his presence with the very same
scenario he couldn’t grasp. And even though Simon, who is the host, doesn’t address this wayward woman, Jesus does not shun her. In fact, He speaks directly to her
and makes Simon take note of her as well: “Jesus turned to the woman and said
to Simon, “DO YOU SEE THIS WOMAN? When I entered your home, you didn’t give me
water for my feet, but she wet my feet with tears and wiped them with her
hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing my
feet since I came in. You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but she has poured
perfumed oil on my feet. This is why I tell you that her many sins have
been forgiven; so she has shown great love. The one who is forgiven little
loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are
forgiven.” The other table guests began to say among
themselves, “Who is this person that even forgives sins?” Jesus
said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” (Vss.44-50).
Simon couldn’t take his focus off the
sinner, but the sinner couldn’t take her focus off the Savior! And the blessing for her was her
sins, even though they
were many, were pardoned.
Sadly, Simon had the same opportunity as this woman, he had the attendance and
audience of Jesus, and yet He missed out. Think about it: What might he have
been forgiven for? Pardoned for? Delivered from? Had he taken advantage of the
Presence of Jesus?
Simon indeed missed out, but this
woman got it all!
Can you imagine being in her shoes
though? Showing up uninvited to a place where the people don’t even like you?
Even worse, showing up knowing that everyone knows full well who you are, what
you are, and what you did! Showing up and being shunned and ignored by the host
of the house himself! And yet, despite the odds against her, she wet His feet
with her tears and wiped them with her hair; she kissed His dusty, dirty feet
from being on the road; she took priceless oil and anointed those same feet…not
His forehead, nor pouring it on His head, but the lowest position, His feet.
And might I add, this was done, BEFORE, she was forgiven! The Bible says, “This is why I tell you that her many
sins have been forgiven; so she has shown (past tense) great love. The one who is forgiven
little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “YOUR SINS ARE
FORGIVEN.” The other table guests began to say among
themselves, “Who is this person that even forgives sins?” Jesus
said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” (Vss.44-50). It’s so unfortunate
that today we seek God for no other reason than what He can do for us or give
to us. And yet, this woman extended to Him Extravagant Worship, BEFORE the
Words “Your Sins Are Forgiven” were ever spoken to her! Can you imagine Jesus meaning so
much to you that you simply love Him, adore Him, worship Him, with no ulterior
motives, no hidden agenda’s or impure intentions? You know how it goes, I’ll
give You my worship if You give me…but No, she simply knew who He was and gave Him
the just due of Extravagant Worship!
The word “Extravagant” is defined as, “Lacking restraint in spending
money or using resources; costing a great deal; exceeding what is reasonable or
appropriate.” Its Latin Origin “Extravagari” literally means “Greatly”. Jesus was worth
everything she had! He was worthy of Great and Extravagant Worship, with no
restraint! Worship that was exceeding what others may deem appropriate enough.
It cost her a great deal, but the value of what she gained was priceless!
She may have been a prostitute, but
there’s one lesson you need to learn: Others may know what you’ve done, but Jesus
knows what you can become! Simon the Pharisee saw this woman as a weed. Jesus
saw her as a potential rose and watered it. Why should your worship be
Extravagant? Because you serve a Savior who knows what you were, what you are
and yet His tunnel vision is focused solely on what you can become! Neither
your past or your problems can shift His eyes from seeing your potential!
In the end, Jesus says some of the
sweetest words ever spoken to a woman with a checkered past: “Then Jesus said to her, “YOUR SINS
ARE FORGIVEN.” “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” She is forgiven, saved and has peace!
Who wouldn’t love on a Savior who not only forgave your sins, but forgave them
all, even though they were Many?! Her love was Extravagant, Her worship was
Extravagant, and why not when her Forgiveness was so Extravagant?!
I sometimes listen to peoples’
testimonies of what the Lord has done for them, and then I see them sit in
church as though absolutely nothing is going on. They’re in conversations about
what they’re going to eat for lunch or do when they get home from church. And yet their
Sins that were many that were forgiven by a generous Savior seems like
yesterday’s news. Where’s the gratitude, where’s the thanksgiving, where’s the
praise, where’s the worship, where’s the show of affection? And does that mean
running around the church when the organ hits a particular key? Absolutely not!
But how can you sit in the presence of such a Great God who has done Great
things for you and all you can do is update your social media during service?
Today, I challenge you to put yourself
in the shoes of this woman. Remember what it was like to have many sins
forgiven. And then give God your most Extravagant Worship! Why? Because He has
give you Extravagant Forgiveness and Extravagant Love!
“…you’ll be able to take in with all
followers of Jesus the Extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and
experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights!
Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19 MSG).
Thought for the day: If Jesus was Extravagant
on your behalf, shouldn’t you be Extravagant on His behalf?
“The highest
form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service. The greatest
form of praise is the sound of consecrated feet seeking out the lost and
helpless.” (Billy Graham)
“Worship is the
door to entering God’s presence.” (Pinterest)
“Worship stops
the noise of life.” (Darlene Zschech)
“Worship is
where God isn’t moved by the quality of our voice but by the condition of our
hearts.” (Chris Tomlin)
Much Love, Dr.Shermaine #InformativeRead #PleaseShare #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit
"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)
"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)
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