Jesus and the Hooker
Luke 7:36-50
36 Now one of the Pharisees was requesting
Him to dine with him. And He entered the Pharisee's house, and reclined {at the
table.}
37 And behold, there was a woman in the
city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining {at the
table} in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume,
38 and standing behind {Him} at His feet,
weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with
the hair of her head, and kissing His feet, and anointing them with the
perfume.
Just a little historical
information, but when you had a guest in your house, there were some things you
would customarily do:
1.
You would put your
hands on their shoulders, and give them the kiss of peace.
2.
There was no
asphalt; therefore the roads were dusty, so you would pour cool water on their feet.
3.
If you respected
the guest, you would anoint their head with perfume or oil.
Notice, Simon did NONE of
these things!
Also, if you had an important
guest to your house, you would leave your door open, and people could come in
and listen to the conversation. That’s
how this woman got in.
39
Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he
said to himself, "If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort
of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she
is a sinner."
The word for sinner in this
passage is HAMARTOLOS, and it means more than just a sinner, but one who leads
a flagrantly immoral life. The word was
used of prostitutes. It’s like us saying
someone is a streetwalker; it doesn’t just mean she walks on the street! She
was a woman OF the city, not a woman IN the city (Verse 37)! Also notice that she had her hair down, only
prostitutes did that.
She
is weeping in appreciation, and wanted to give something back to Jesus for what
He had given her – FORGIVENESS!
Notice also in verse 39, Simon said to himself, not out loud! If you think about it, this point is a little bit scary! Remember, be careful what you say, or even think!
Luke 12:3
3 "Accordingly, whatever you have said in the
dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner
rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
Yikes!
Anyway, Simon made two wrong assumptions. He thought that Jesus would condemn the woman for her sins, like he was. He also misjudged the motives of the woman.
Now here goes Jesus answering
Simon’s thought:
40
And Jesus answered and said to him,
"Simon, I have something to say to you." And he replied, "Say
it, Teacher."
41
"A certain moneylender had two debtors: one owed
five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. (A denarius was about equal to one day’s wage)
42
"When they were unable to repay, he graciously
forgave them both. (the moneylender didn’t have to forgive them)
Which of them therefore will love him
more?"
43
Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom
he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have judged
correctly."
Simon
isn’t stupid, he knows what the answer is. But look how smartelecky
he is!
“Well, I suppose…”
Jesus
answers with the customs, and turns his back to Simon!
44 And
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 she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet.
46 "You
did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My
feet with perfume.
47
"For this reason I say to you, her sins, which
are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven
little, loves little."
Our love for God increases
with our gratitude for what He has forgiven.
When we realize the patience, grace, and forgiveness of God, we
appreciate Him more and more.
Ps 18:35
35 Thou hast also given me
the shield of Thy salvation, and Thy right hand upholds me; and Thy gentleness
makes me great.
Rom 2:4
4 Or do you think lightly of
the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the
kindness of God leads you to repentance?
In verse 47, the key is that
the prostitute realized that she had been forgiven much, and therefore
appreciated Jesus more!
48 And He
said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven."
49 And those who were reclining {at the
table} with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this {man} who even
forgives sins?"
50 And He
said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
This
grace really upset the Pharisees – they always saw people based on their sins.
Matt 9:10-13
10 And it happened that as He
was reclining at the table in the house, behold many tax-gatherers and sinners (there’s our word HAMARTOLOS again!) came
and were dining with Jesus and His disciples.
11 And when the Pharisees saw
this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the
tax-gatherers and sinners?"
12 But when He heard this, He
said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who
are sick.
13 "But go and learn
what this means, `I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not
come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Jesus wants us to recognize
our need for salvation, not to think that we have earned it!
Recognizing
our sin, and the grace of God in forgiving our sins, will lead us to a much
greater appreciation of God.
Psalms 103:12
12 As far as the east is from
the west,
So far has He removed our
transgressions from us.
Thank God!