A picture of true repentance; Luke 7:36-50

It’s helpful to understand when going through the four gospels that each gospel writer is, in effect, painting a portrait of Christ.  They are not necessarily writing a biography of the life of Christ.  Not every event is recorded by each writer.  Some include some incidents that others do not.  And that is because each writer is presenting a portrait of Christ that is unique from the other gospels.

Luke now inserts an incident which may or may not be chronologically the next event in Christ’s life, but from a theological point of view it illustrates what he is trying to convey.  And what Luke is trying to portray here is nothing less than the heart of the gospel, salvation.  What it means to be saved.

Some of you are not used to hearing that word saved.  Perhaps it’s not something that you either understand, or you are not a fan of it’s implications.  But notice that Jesus himself introduces this word saved in vs. 50; “Your faith has saved you.”  The Greek word sōzō is used in the NT 123 times in 101 verses.  And it is important that we know what it means.  The definition of sōzō is to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction, and particularly in a Biblical context, to save from the judgment to come.

Now just a few passages earlier in the story of the centurion, Luke introduced faith as a necessary ingredient for  salvation.  And then we looked at John the Baptist, a great man of faith, even though he had some doubts when he was in prison.  We learned that the great thing about John was when he was confused, he came to the source of our faith, which is Jesus Christ.

But directly afterwards Jesus presents a rebuke to the crowds that were following him, particularly to the Pharisees and lawyers,  the religious people in the crowd because they had failed to respond to either John’s message or His message.  And Jesus propounds a riddle or a parable, where He said, ““They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

What that meant was that John the Baptist had come preaching the need for repentance in preparation for the kingdom, and they had not responded to that message by mourning over their sin.  And Jesus had come preaching a message of forgiveness and they had not responded to that message either.  So He was condemning them through this parable because they had not responded to the gospel.

Now as I said, Luke inserts this next incident because he is going to draw an even clearer contrast between the proper response to the gospel of salvation, and an indifferent response.  He is going to show that the way to salvation, the way to forgiveness, is by repentance, a mourning over your sinful condition.

The incident begins with a prominent Pharisee inviting Jesus to come to his house for dinner.  Now initially, this sounds like a step in the right direction for the Pharisee.  But as we will see, his interest in Jesus did not come to the right conclusion.  So Jesus reclines at the table with the dinner guests in the home of the Pharisee.  And it may be helpful to realize that they did not sit at a dinner table like we do today.  They laid cushions or low couches around a long, low table that the food was served on.  And the dinner guests would lie half reclining at the table, with their legs folded back behind them somewhat.

And we might also surmise from the way most larger houses were constructed then, that there was a walled compound around the house, and the houses generally were  opened up to the courtyard, and this would have been where the meal would have been served.  So if the gate is open, then it would be possible to walk in and observe or even join in the dinner group.

Vs. 37 then tells us that  “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, 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.”

The phrase, who was a sinner carries a lot of implications.  Obviously, it did not mean this woman was the only person in the city who was a sinner. The Bible teaches us that all have sinned and  fallen short of the glory of God.  But the phrase indicated that this woman was most likely a known prostitute.  It was a small town, and we know how small towns are.  She was a woman of ill repute.  Everyone knew it, and she had probably stopped trying  to hide it.  After all, it is pretty hard to hide something like that even today, and much less in those days when social decorum demanded that a woman dress and behave in very prescribed ways.

This woman came to see Jesus because she had undoubtedly heard Jesus speak of repentance and the need for  forgiveness, two of the main themes of His messages. She had obviously heard the message that Jesus was preaching which is found in chapter 4: “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”  And conviction had been working on her heart. So when she heard that Jesus was having dinner at this house, she wanted to see Him.  I’m sure her heart was breaking because of her sin.  She knew what she did was wrong.  She felt an immense sense of shame.  She was convicted of her sin and wanted to see Jesus to make it right.  And somehow she knew that He was the source of righteousness.  She may not have understood every tenet of theology, but she knew she was a sinner, she was ashamed of her sin, and she knew that Jesus could help her.  She understood that she was poor, that she was a captive of her sin, that she was oppressed, and that Christ was offering forgiveness in the favorable year of the Lord. That’s what the favorable year of the Lord meant, it meant a time when all debt would be forgiven.

But as she comes to Jesus, perhaps walking up quietly from a darkened corner of the portico, her grief over her sin overwhelms her.  She kneels down at His feet, actually bowing down at His feet, which would have positioned her somewhat behind Him, and she begins to weep.  And the word used in the text to describe her weeping doesn’t indicate shedding a few tears, but a torrent of weeping, she is literally drenching his feet with her tears.

Listen, please understand that this is not teaching that an emotional experience is a means of salvation.  Just having some emotional experience in and of itself is not salvation.  But her emotion is tied directly to conviction over her sin and her perceived need for forgiveness.  It was tied directly to repentance.   And in that case, then an emotional outburst is entirely in keeping with a mourning over one’s sin. Weeping is a natural part of mourning.  A feeling of being ashamed is actually essential to the matter of repentance.  A feeling of remorse, of grief, of shame.  And a heartfelt desire to find forgiveness.

That is what Jesus was talking about in the Sermon on the Mount in Matt. 5 when Jesus said, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.”  He was talking about sinfulness and that those who mourn over their sin, will be comforted.  They will be forgiven.  That is why this woman comes to Jesus.

And as she weeps at His feet, she sees does what the lowest slave would customarily do when the dinner guests arrived.  She washed his feet.  In that day it was customary when guests arrived at your house to have a slave take off your sandals, and wash the dust and grime from your feet, and anoint them with a scented oil.  And though the Pharisee had asked Jesus to come dine with him, he had not provided the common courtesy that would have been expected.  But this woman saw an opportunity in this omission on the part of the Pharisee to show her contrition.  She had no water, but her tears.  She had no towel, so she used her hair.  She had no oil, so she used her perfume.

Luke has presented this broken woman as a beautiful picture of repentance.  She has humbled herself by kneeling at the feet of Christ and serving Him as a slave would have done.  Her profuse tears are indicative of her heart breaking over her sin and shame.  Her hair, which was called in scripture a woman’s glory, she used to wipe his feet.  Having her hair down, by the way, in that culture was a symbol that she was a prostitute.  Married women wore their hair up, and generally covered by a headscarf.  It meant that they were under the authority of their husband.  They were taken, so to speak.  But her hair is down because it was a symbol of a woman of ill repute.  But now she is using her hair, not to attract men, but to serve Jesus.

Solomon in Proverbs 7 speaks of a harlot, who brazenly kisses the stranger in order to seduce them.  No doubt this woman had used her kisses to the same effect many times.  And yet this night as she weeps over her sin, washes Christ’s feet with her hair, she kisses his feet over and over again.  There was nothing erotic in this act, but this was an act of submission, an act of servitude that for centuries in ancient times has been used to convey servitude to a king or royal officer or religious official.  It conveys the same idea as kissing the ring of a monarch.  But in this case, she isn’t considering herself worthy of even kissing His fingers, but bows to kiss His feet.

And there was one other element to her repentance.  Women in that day customarily wore a glass vial around their neck which might have been tucked in their clothing.  It contained a costly perfume.  In most cases, it was very valuable.  Depending on the wealth of the person, it’s value could be equivalent to a year’s wages. Remember another woman of Bethany, who anointed Jesus prior to His crucifixion with a similar alabaster vial of perfume, and when she broke it and poured it on Jesus it filled the house with it’s odor.  And Judas complained that this was a colossal waste of money since it was worth a great deal of money and could have been used to help the poor.  But of course, he had no real interest in the poor, only in the money.

What that vial of perfume represented very often was a woman’s dowry.  It was something of great value that was kept for her marriage.  In this case, maybe almost all hope of marriage was gone due to her reputation.  But in her repentance, she is willing to forgo all her hopes for saving her reputation by finding a husband, in exchange for saving her soul through Jesus Christ.  She takes the most valuable thing she has, this alabaster vial of perfume, and breaks it, pouring out it’s contents upon the feet of Jesus.

Folks, that is a picture of repentance.  That is what is necessary for forgiveness. It’s not a flippant attitude about your sin, and presuming upon the grace of God to forget about it and act as if you have done nothing wrong and have nothing to repent of.  It’s coming to grips with the horror of your sin to a Holy God and being completely  ashamed of it.  Reaching a point where you want nothing else to do with it.  You want to be delivered from it.  You crave forgiveness.  You are literally sick of your sin.  Mourning over your wretched condition before a Holy God.  And being willing to turn from it.  Bowing in submission to another calling, another Master, another Lord and giving everything you have to use for Him. Giving all that you hold dear over to the Lord. That kind of repentant attitude is a sweet perfume in the nostrils of God. That kind of repentance requires being willing to humble yourself, to bow at the feet of Jesus, to recognize that He is worthy of our adoration and service.  That all we have is worth nothing in comparison to being made right in His sight.

Now let’s see the contrast here in the attitude of the Pharisee.  Vs. 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 attitude of the Pharisee is obviously self righteous.  He considers himself better than others by virtue of his religion and his good deeds.  He thinks that he keeps the law.  He thinks he is justified before God because of his works.  He has an interest in religion, and even an intellectual interest in Jesus.  He has invited Jesus into his home to have dinner.  But he gives away his heart by his  condescension towards Jesus by saying, “IF this man were a prophet…”  He doesn’t even believe that Jesus is a prophet, much less accept Him as the Messiah.  He doesn’t desire forgiveness, but only to validate his own self righteousness by thinking he is better than others, and even better than Jesus Himself.

Jesus knows his heart, and so He uses a parable to explain a principle regarding forgiveness.  Look at vs. 40; “And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?”  Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”

You can almost read into this account a certain arrogance on the part of the Pharisee.  His response to Jesus, “Say it, Teacher”, seems more than a little belligerent. And then when he answers Jesus question by saying, “I suppose” to what should have been an obvious conclusion, it indicates again an attitude in need of correction.  And so Jesus gives it to him in vs. 44; “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.  You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.  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.”

Not only is Simon’s attitude belligerent, but his hospitality reflects his attitude towards Christ.  He has withheld the basic tenets of hospitality.  He neglected to have the feet of Jesus washed.  He might have been interested in seeing Jesus, but not because he believed Him to be the Son of God, but because he somehow thought he could justify himself.  He neglected to give the customary kiss of greeting which was common in that region at that time, a respectful kiss on each cheek.  He did not provide any perfume because that might have cost him more than he was willing to give.

Simon is a classic illustration of a self righteous person, who looks down on others, thinks they are not as sinful as other people are, and yet by their attitude you can tell that they are completely self absorbed.  They are self centered.  Assured of their intelligence.  Assured of their religious stature.  Assured that God must be pleased with them, because they are so pleased with themselves.  But their actions show that while they may appear to be receptive towards the gospel, in actuality there is none of the humility and attitude of service and submission that should accompany salvation.  God exists to serve them, and they really have no interest in serving God or His people.

Now consider the outcome of these two attitudes.  Jesus says her sins, which are many have been forgiven.  And by implication, the Pharisee’s sins are not forgiven.  And look at how love is related to forgiveness.  Love comes after forgiveness.  1 John 4:19 says, “We love, because He first loved us.”  See, love is produced by forgiveness.  Because she had been forgiven much, she loved much.  We can’t really love God until we have known forgiveness.  God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should be saved.  First we know the love of God that loved us even when we were the worst of sinners.  Even when we were enemies of God, He loved us. Romans 5:8 says that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Thank God we’re not required in our sinful condition to love God and then if we manage to do that somehow to His satisfaction He will forgive us for our sins.  Because that would mean that no one could be saved.  But we are required to mourn over our sinful condition, to be ashamed of our sins, to repent of our sins, and then God forgives us.  God’s love produces forgiveness which produces our response, and our response is we love God.  Loving God means we submit to God’s authority over our lives. We bow our knees to His will.  Loving God means we use our resources, no matter how small or common, for His glory.  Because of love we are willing to serve Him rather than serve sin or serve our fleshly passions.  Love for God becomes the motivation of our life.  And so love becomes the proof of true repentance.  True repentance produces a desire to serve God, to humble myself before Him, to become His servant, to bow my will to Him as my Master.  That is true love for God.

After basically rebuking the Pharisee for his self absorption and self righteousness, Jesus turns back to the woman and says, “Your sins have been forgiven.”  What a magnificent statement that should give every person here hope.  No matter how grievous your sins, no matter how ashamed you may be of your past, Christ has declared that this is the favorable year of the Lord, it is the season of forgiveness for those that come to Him in repentance, seeking forgiveness of their sins.

Isaiah 55:7, “Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”

One of the most grievous sins in the Bible belonged to King David, who committed adultery and then had the husband of the woman killed.  He was an accomplice to murder.  And yet God forgave Him and called him a man after His own heart because David repented of his sin.  There is no sin that God can’t forgive, except one.  And that is the sin of self righteousness.  The sin that says my sin isn’t so bad.  I don’t really need to repent. I’m not such a bad person.  That person will not receive forgiveness.  Because they aren’t willing to repent.  This woman was obviously willing to repent of her sin.  And her sins were forgiven.

And then notice that the Pharisees ask the question, “who is this man who even forgives sins?”  I think it could be paraphrased to say, “who does this man think He is, to even forgive sins?  Who does He think He is, God?”

And Jesus answers that question with another statement to this woman: ““Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”  As if to confirm, yes, I am God.  Yes, only God can forgive sins, and I am the Savior of the world that was promised in Isaiah.  Your faith in Me has saved you.  Go in peace.  In other words, you can go now, because you have peace with God.  Salvation is nothing less than peace with God because we are made righteous by Christ. Romans 5:1“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Listen, salvation is not a matter of being a big sinner or a little sinner.  It’s a matter of being acutely aware of your sin and how we all have fallen short of the glory of God.  God offers forgiveness today to those who would repent of their sins.  And by repentance and faith in the power of Christ you can be saved and have peace with God.  The whole world can be divided into two groups of people symbolized either by the woman or the Pharisee.  You are either in one group or the other.  You are either a sinner saved by grace, or you are unmoved, content in your own self righteousness, unmoved in your own preoccupation with what you think is important and worthwhile.  I pray that if you are here today and God has convicted you of your sinfulness, you will call upon Him in repentance and ask for mercy and I can assure you that He will abundantly pardon.  You can be saved from the judgment to come by faith in Jesus Christ.