Monday, July 7, 2014
Luke 7:36-38 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.
BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE FORGIVENESS!
Have you ever been in a place where you just didn't belong? You were underdressed, or you didn't bring a gift, or maybe you weren't even invited? The entire time you're there you feel like everyone there is looking at you. You probably said to yourself or your companions, "Let's get out of here." You probably tried not to do anything that would attract attention to yourself.
The woman in our text didn't belong in Simon's house. She was an acknowledged sinner, a known adulteress. In the Pharisees' eyes she was, no doubt, hell-bound because of her lifestyle. And yet, to the amazement of all at the table, she knelt down at Jesus' feet and began to wash them with her tears and to kiss them. Then, to their greater amazement, Jesus forgave her sins.
What these people at the table, who had rejected Christ as the Messiah, failed to realize was that Jesus won forgiveness for all people. He was and still is, as the Pharisees mockingly called Him, the Friend of sinners. Everyone is a sinner. But many, like the Pharisees, reject Christ's friendship.
What does it mean to the believer to have the friendship of Christ? It means that we can confidently believe that we have the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness, which is there for all sinners, belongs to us through faith in Christ Jesus as our Savior.
As we'll see this week, the woman in our text did not produce this faith or accept Jesus' friendship herself, and likewise neither do we do this ourselves.
