Author: Bill Hall

Luke 7:43 “Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.”

   Again we must be careful to understand what Jesus is saying, and what He isn’t. Jesus isn’t teaching that it is alright to love Him less on the basis of our perception of our own sinfulness. He is helping this Pharisee to understand the natural tendency folks have in connection with forgiveness. We tend to love most those who we see as having forgiven us for a lot. These persons know us and our faults and stay with us anyway. Thus we will love them the more.
   What Jesus is teaching here is that love for the Lord is the right response. But, that love must be based on the greatness of His forgiveness, not our perception of the depth of our sin. We need to realize that we are entirely lost and without hope if we have not the forgiveness found in Christ.

   Heavenly Father, though my perception of my sinfulness is imperfect, I do understand Your forgiveness is my only hope. Thank You for Your salvation! Without it my life would be so different, and I would be lost and aimlessly wandering. I find in You not just a Savior. You are my Master, You are my God. You are the One to Whom I pray. You are my song. I will praise You forever! I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:42 “And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”

   To be sure the creditor could have had legal proceedings against either or both of his debtors. The sums they owed were not so small. The point here is forgiveness. This creditor actually chose to forgive the debts at cost to himself. And, as we are told, this was a great thing for the debtors because neither of them were able to pay their dues.
   Looking at this story from Christ we might initially argue with it. It makes it sound as if the Pharisee is not much of a sinner, and the woman is so much more awfully terrible. Many would take offense, thinking the Pharisee is the more evil of the two. Here we need to remember two very important things.
   First, the amounts make no difference from the standpoint of the debtor’s ability to repay. In other words, because there is nothing a person may do to ‘work off’ the debt of sin, it does not matter ‘how much’ sin debt has accrued. The creditor genuinely forgave both.
   Second, our perception of the result of sin is quite mistaken most of the time. Remember, we do not know everything like God does. I do not think the idea Jesus was communicating was that the Pharisee was not a really bad sinner. Instead, Jesus was making it clear that regardless of the amount owed, forgiveness was needed. The amount only changed how persons responded in love. So, only God knows how ‘bad’ of a sinner you truly are. If the Pharisee comforted himself thinking he was the less sinful, then he missed the point completely. Our perception of the depth of our sin does not matter because in any case we are, like the debtors, totally unable to pay our debt.

   Heavenly Father, our perception of You is so far off from reality. I long to know You as You would have me to. You alone have the answers I seek. You alone can pay for the life I want to live. Without You, life is a jumble of relative evils. With You there is a pathway to something better. I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.”

   Ancient monetary values can never be calculated with complete exactness. But, a close approximation is surely possible. The Roman denarius was worth about a day’s wages in that time. So for our purpose here that helps us to see the difference between the two sums. The one debtor owed what would be the equivalent of several hundred dollars, up to maybe a thousand. The other owed more on the order of tens of thousands, up to one hundred thousand.
   These amounts give us a good understanding of the comparison made. Both of these debtors owed enough to be consequential. But, the one owed such a sum that, depending on his circumstances, he might never hope to repay. The one who was forgiven less would surely be grateful, but the one forgiven more would feel indebted for his very life to the creditor.
   Imagine if a person gave you a brand new riding lawn mower. You would be that person’s friend for a long time. But, if that same person gave you a house, well that would make them very special to you. You might even feel unworthy of the present.

   Heavenly Father, I can be so skewed in my understanding of You. When I begin to glimpse the depth of my sin and the greatness of Your mercy and grace, it is overwhelming. I cannot help but wonder if my response is anything like what it should be. I don’t know what to say. In the face of Your amazing love and perfect justice I can only prostrate myself in wonderful awe. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:40 ” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.”

   Notice that Luke says Jesus answered and said. This was in direct response to Simon’s thoughts. The fact is that though Simon might have wanted Jesus to think something different about him, it is not altogether impossible that Simon would have at some point made his thoughts known to those present, possibly even Jesus. Jesus preempted this and let Simon know He had a comment on the subject.
   Simon likely had that ‘take your best shot’ attitude that Pharisaical persons usually display. Rather than expecting the Lord to have some rebuke in store, Simon expected to find either praise, or an argument that Simon could rebut. This attitude is not uncommon among the self-righteous.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love for us! Your mercy in spite of our evil is amazing. It is only due to Who You are, and has nothing to do with us to be sure. I can only approach You in the grace that we have in Christ. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:39 “Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

   It is interesting here that the Pharisee believes that Jesus should know so much about this lady ‘if he were a prophet’. A good reading of the Old Testament will show that prophets were not always given perfect knowledge of everything and everyone. The fact that the Pharisee sticks upon the identity of the woman suggests he had not invited her, and verse 37 seems to confirm this since the woman herself came because she heard Jesus was present.
   Of course, we are here hearing the thoughts of the Pharisee. Though many reading the gospels miss it completely, one of the wonders that Christ performed on several occasions was the reading of people’s minds. Indeed, based on what we have recorded of Christ’s abilities on this point it is doubtless that He not only knew the thoughts of Simon the Pharisee, but of the woman and every other person present. This is significant as His abilities in this area are unparalleled. Just as many other things He did or said, it is only possible because of His Divinity.
   As a Pharisee, Simon was used to finding reasons to distrust, judge, belittle and disbelieve. However, it must be kept in mind that there is often a fine line between hypocrisy and understanding. When persons become very familiar with God’s Word, the enemy will very commonly use hypocrisy as a chief temptation. As a result, the Pharisee may be at once the most loathsome to us, and yet the person who, if converted, will be a shinning light for the Savior. Take Paul for an example.
 
   Heavenly Father, You only are worthy of all glory and honor and power! You know everything about us. Every thought is already known to You before we will think it. Only You understand absolutely everything. You are so wise and good! May we live to serve you always. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:38 “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.”

   Of course to us today the washing of feet is an activity that we don’t give a second though. But in that time it was an important part of regular life. The road conditions were not good and people did not always wear closed shoes. However, the washing of a person’s feet was a demeaning activity. It was something you would relegate to the lowest servants, or allow for persons to wash their own feet. For the head of the house to serve by washing a guests feet would signify that the guest was highly honored.
   This lady stood behind Jesus, but Jesus was reclining at table. Unlike our tables were you sit and face the table, this table was much closer to the ground and you laid alongside it. This helps explain how the woman could stand ‘behind’ the Lord and yet wash His feet.
   The woman’s tears are likely here mentioned only because Jesus mentions them a bit later. That it was her plan all along to wash His feet by way of tears is uncertain, but seems unlikely. Of course this may have been a case where Jesus’ feet were not really super dirty. Sometimes water would be offered to wash feet as a courtesy, rather than a necessity. In any case, this activity shows the woman’s desire to honor the Lord as a very significant person.

   Heavenly Father, humility before You is what we so often lack. I do not humble myself as I should. Oh forgive me! How can we ever honor You enough? Jesus is the King of all kings. He is worthy of any and all honors and services that I can possibly render. I will praise Him for all time! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:37 “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,”

   Several things are not clear here. In Matthew and Mark the Pharisee is referred to as Simon the leper. However, it is also possible that this is a different Simon. Also, the woman here is identified as a sinner, and elsewhere she is not directly called that but it is implied by the Lord. And, what is meant by her being a ‘sinner’ is not expressly stated, though it is implied that she was a harlot. It is also unclear as to if this woman was invited. Likely she was not invited, but she was also not turned away, so Simon may have been glad to have her to see what Jesus might say or do with her present.
   We must keep in mind that even in Luke, who is a stickler for details, the gospels are historical narratives. They are almost novels. The authors write for a point and drive their narratives to it. So, being able always to correlate everyone and everything with what we find in the other gospels is not extremely vital. The fact is that we know little enough about some events that they could either all be the same event, or separate events entirely.

   Heavenly Father, may I always come to You. That is the hallmark of a life that is lived for You. To come to You because You are present. As Your child through Christ You may be approached by me. Ever shall I come! You alone have all that I need. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:36 ” Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat.”

   This is just a great irony. Evidently either this Pharisee had not heard the forgoing discourse of Christ, or he thought himself different from the rest. In any case, though he obviously didn’t have a problem with Jesus eating and drinking, the following verses will show he was no less mistaken about the Lord than many of his fellows.

   Heavenly Father, You are amazing! Your creation is so vast and complex and yet You know about every little thing. You have it all recorded, You know about each and every thing. You are so powerful, and yet so very, very good. There is nothing to compare to You, and that is Your uniqueness. All else might find a comparison in other things or persons, but You are in a class all Your own. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:35 “But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

    It’s a lot of fun sometimes to take sayings in the Bible and other older literature and put a newer spin on them. Jesus was here likely using a ‘figure of speech’, though not a really crazy one as it is fairly direct. The meaning is readily apparent, and I would maybe say ‘the proof is in the pudding’ as a good substitute. No matter how you choose to say it, Jesus is really being pretty loud with the Jewish leaders here. They couldn’t help but get the force of His words. They were not children of wisdom, and Jesus and John were.
   Jesus loved to say things in a slightly indirect way and make His hearers think about what He actually meant. But, this doesn’t mean Jesus wasn’t bold. He didn’t hide behind the way He said things. This passage about John and Himself is a perfect example of that. If He needed to, He could excoriate, upbraid, and instruct in a very direct manner. And the leadership of the Jews was often the brunt of that.
   Why though? Doesn’t it seem that the Lord in His earthly ministry was harder on the religious elite than on the ‘sinners’ that He ministered to? Well, don’t we find that case throughout Scripture? Those who have the truth and disobey anyway are always by the Lord judged by a higher standard. And this is so because the Lord holds His ministers accountable. The message of the gospel is a precious thing, and the ministry is holy. The Lord will not allow His people to fall into disrepair, but will keep them in good shape.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for reaching out to humanity. If You had chosen to shun us, what hope could we have? If You had decided not to save us, we would be no more. Without You we are nothing. Quite literally our very existence is dependent upon You, as are all things. Many dislike the idea of You being the Master and us being Your slaves, but really that is just imagery in and of itself. The reality goes much farther. We are beings completely at Your pleasure. You not only own us, but it is by Your power that we live, move, and have our being. We cannot be apart from You allowing us to be. We are no more than expressions of Your delight and activity, for You are All in All. Only You may say when asked Your identity, “I AM” – the rest of us are just ‘I am at His pleasure’ in that we cannot be of ourselves. I love You dear Father, may I live this life to help humanity understand You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 7:34 “”The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say,`Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!”

   Jesus was not like John in that He did not approach from the wilderness with a strange look and unique habits. He was instead much like most people. That he ate and drank does not mean that these activities were done to excess as the Jewish leaders reported. It simply means Jesus would go if invited to a meal. And, He would go if invited even if it meant some who were ‘sinners’ would be present. So, John tended to call the sinners out to him, and Jesus tended to seek after and go to where they were. Both are acceptable means and have the same goal in mind.
   But, seeing Jesus’ method the religious elite thought Him an awful example. How dare He be friendly to sinners! How many sinners have rejoiced over the course of history that Jesus indeed is the friend of sinners? Would the mass of humanity have responded to the message if the Spirit of God was not altogether for the idea of ‘seeking to save’ the lost, as Jesus put it? No. Indeed, the reason even John’s method worked so well was due to his audience. He was calling to those who already knew the truth, and knew that a prophet such as himself must surely come. When speaking to a nation or people that are saturated with the truth, calling out from the wilderness is a good method. But Jesus knew He would be rejected by the nation and thus came with a different approach. This is one of the reasons why He waited to start His ministry, John was making the call clear. Once that was done, Jesus came to seek out and find those needing the Physician.

   Heavenly Father, I will praise You for Your great love! In Your Son You have given us the very expression of what love is. We know and understand it only by Him. Without Him we would live thinking we love, but knowing not that we know not love. How can we live without Him? He is to my heart more needful that daily bread or air, and He alone can answer for the existence of my soul. Jesus is the only One that can make life worth living. Father, I hope to ever live for Him Who died for me! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.