CHRIST THE KING/STEWARDSHIP
November 21/22, 2010
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Luke 7:36-50

“LOVE TAKES TIME…”
1. To give forgiveness.
2. To show thanks for forgiveness.

Luke 7:36-50 (NIV) “Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” 40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. 41 “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Some wise pastor once told me “When you have a parable in your text, look for the person who is most out of character, who does not act like you would expect and there you will find a picture of your God.” Let’s do that with the parable in our text. Two men owed money to a money lender. One about $50,000, the other about $5,000. Nothing unusual there. Lots of people get into debt. Neither man could pay their debt. Well that’s not all that unusual either. So the moneylender on his own, freely canceled their debt. Ah, now that’s unusual. No letters in the mail. No bill collectors set loose to recover what they can. No garnishing of wages. Freely canceled debt. There’s our God! There’s a picture of Jesus. And yet the parable was told to make a point. The greater the debt forgiven, the greater the appreciation for that forgiveness.
This parable was also told within a context. Let’s go there and see what our Lord wants us to learn. Jesus was invited to have dinner with a Pharisee named Simon. We’re not told why. Simon’s reaction makes us think that he was curious about this man named Jesus. Maybe he had heard some things and wanted to check him out. All of the sudden, uninvited and unexpected, in walks “the sinful woman!” How would you like to be known as “the sinful woman?” I wonder if in heaven when we see her, will we say, “Hey, you’re the sinful woman! Just what did you do anyway?” That’s not important. What is important is what she did with Jesus. She had obviously taken the time to plan this. She had taken the time to buy some perfume. She had gotten up the courage and she took the time to go into a hostile environment and she in her own way showed love, gratitude, appreciation to Jesus.
Why? Forgiveness. When a sinner is painfully aware of their sinfulness, when they need no further proof that they deserve punishment from the Lord, when guilt and shame are constant companions, nothing else is more important than to be forgiven. Jesus did that. That was His mission. To forgive sins. In His love for all people, for Simon the Pharisee, for the sinful woman, for you and me, Jesus took the time to come and be our Savior, to live for us. To die for us. To live again and put into motion His Church and the ministry of the Gospel so that He could forgive sins. There we see it again. Love takes time. Jesus took the time to win forgiveness and the time to announce forgiveness. “Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
But let’s go back to the context of the parable. In addition to Jesus the two major players are the sinful woman and Simon the Pharisee. Let’s start with Simon. He was a Pharisee. That means he was very eager to see that people kept God’s laws and the extra laws the Pharisees came up with. It means he worked very hard to do what was outwardly right. It also meant that he was better at seeing other people’s sins than his own. It showed. “When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” It showed in his attitude toward his fellow Israelite. It showed in his actions, or lack thereof, toward Jesus. “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.” There’s Simon.
Then there is the sinful woman. Doesn’t sound like she had any trouble being aware of her sins. Sounds like everyone else helped her remember. But look at what she does. “When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.” Why does she do that? Jesus tells us. “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” The greater the debt forgiven, the greater the appreciation for that forgiveness. She was thankful for her forgiveness. She loved Jesus. And love takes time. It takes time to show thankfulness for forgiveness.
Am I taking time to show thankfulness for forgiveness? You can’t escape that question as you meditate on this word of God. Am I more Simonish or more sinful womanish? You can’t dodge those questions either if you want to apply this Word of God to yourself. Let’s see. There’s an easy way to tell. Are you more bothered by the sins others commit or you think they commit or are you more bothered by your own? Do you see yourself as the chief of sinners or someone else? When the Lord Jesus looks at you, and He does, does He conclude that you love Him a little or love Him a lot? Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” I know who I want to be!
This week we conclude our series on Stewardship of time with its theme love takes time. Throughout our Synod brothers and sisters have taken the time to look at their use of time. Have you? I suggest you look at your weekly and monthly calendar and highlight those areas where you deliberately made time to show love for Jesus, to show love for your fellow church members, to show love for other people. See if you like what you see. If not, ask God’s help to make changes. And then get God’s help. Immerse yourself in His Word. Prioritize that time. Treat Jesus’ invitation with high priority as well.
Simon invited Jesus to a dinner, a regular average dinner. Jesus invites you to a special dinner. His dinner. The Lord’s Supper. There He has forgiveness for our lovelessness and our self centered use of time on things that really don’t matter. There He gives strength to live a life of repentance that takes time to show thanks for forgiveness. And some day maybe people will talk about you or me as that sinful man or sinful woman whose many sins have been forgiven and whose loving actions showed it. Amen.