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Saints and Sinners
John the
Immerser, the Messiah’s forerunner, had a profound
impact on the nation of Israel. Many people came
out to him in the wilderness, listened to his
messages, and were immersed by him. Messiah Yeshua
was having an even greater impact on the nation
than John. He was extremely popular with many
of the Jewish people. Large crowds followed Him,
listening to His profound teaching, and witnessing
His great miracles. He was healing people from
all kinds of physical illnesses; He was removing
evil, unclean, fallen angelic, demonic spirits
from many of the Chosen People.
In contrast
to many of the common people, most of Israel’s
leaders had rejected Yeshua’s great prophetic
forerunner, John. They thought he was too austere
and too different. And, many of those same leaders
rejected the Messiah because they thought He wasn’t
different enough! He was friendly with many of
the detested tax-collectors, and friendly with
sinners. He was enjoying life, and eating and
drinking wine with people.
Many of
the ordinary people and most of the spiritual
leaders had contrasting understanding of these
two great men. Who were right? In this next section
of Luke’s book, we will have a contrast between
two very different people: one of the common people
- a Jewish woman who was living a sinful life;
and a Jewish man who was a Pharisee who was trying
to live a holy life.
The word
Pharisee means “separated one”. The Pharisees
wanted to be separate from sin and lead holy,
pure lives. The Pharisees were the spiritual forefathers
of Rabbinic Judaism. Let’s see which of the two
came closer to God and salvation, and what lessons
we can learn from them.
Many of
the Pharisees had already rejected Yeshua. They
were angry with Him. He had been correcting some
of their theological errors and they resented
Him for that. Many had rejected His claims to
be the Messiah and the Son of God.
Many of
the Pharisees had already rejected Him - but not
all. Some were still considering this unusual
young Rabbi and His obviously profound Torah-teachings
and His claims to be the Messiah. Some wanted
to get closer to Yeshua and gain a better understanding.
Simon was one of them. Yeshua was in his city
and he extended an invitation to the Rabbi from
Nazareth to come to his home and eat with him.
Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him
to dine with him. And Yeshua accepted the
invitation. And He entered the Pharisee's house
and reclined at the table.
Now we
are introduced to someone from this same city
who is very different from Simon the Pharisee.
And there was a woman in the city who was a
sinner. She had not been living according
to God’s ways. She had been engaging in wrong,
God-dishonoring behaviors. But, she had some good
things going for her. She had some humility and
some faith. She believed in the God of Israel.
And, she knew things about the young Rabbi from
Nazareth.
She probably
knew that many thought the young Rabbi was the
Messiah, and the rightful King of Israel.
She probably
knew that He, unlike most of Israel’s spiritual
leaders, was willing to relate to ordinary people
like her. In fact, He did not shun sinners, but
was friendly toward sinners. He was friendly with
women. Women were part of the Rabbi’s entourage.
She probably
knew Yeshua was bringing a message of very welcome
and Good News - Good News about the reality of
God, the nearness of God, the love of God for
ordinary people, the mercy of God, the forgiveness
of God for sinners like her, the salvation of
God - that there was hope to gain these things,
even for a sinner like her; and something in her
responded to that Good News. She probably wanted
that Good News that Yeshua brought.
She probably
knew that God was using Yeshua to heal many Israelis
of physical diseases and remove evil spirits from
them. She may have understood this foreshadows
how God will use Yeshua to bring about the complete
healing of mankind and the destruction of demonic
dominion over mankind and the elimination of the
evil god of this world.
She probably
knew that God was using Yeshua to raise the dead,
and she may have understood this foreshadows how
God will use Yeshua to bring new life to humanity.
She may have desperately needed and wanted this
new life that Yeshua was bringing.
She knew
things about Yeshua, and had some faith, some
confidence, some trust in Him. She had some love
and appreciation for this unique Rabbi, who was
bringing Good News to people like her, and welcoming
people like her to get closer to God, and giving
people like her hope that they were not beyond
redemption.
Rabbi
Yeshua was very popular. He was a star, and word
got around the city that He was in town, and that
He was having dinner at the home of Simon the
Pharisee. But that presented a problem for this
woman who wanted to get closer to Yeshua, and
express her love and appreciation for Him.
Almost
certainly she had not been invited to this exclusive
dinner party at the home of one of the separate
ones. Almost certainly she would not be welcomed
by the host into his home and almost certainly
to the dinner table. For her to crash this dinner
party to get closer to Yeshua would result in
an awkward and uncomfortable situation. Yet, her
desire to get closer to Yeshua, and express her
love for this unique man of God, overcame the
disapproval and the rejection she had to know
she would experience.
And
when she learned that He was reclining at the
table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an
alabaster vial of perfume (a beautiful container
with a beautiful smell, a gift worthy of this
beautiful man of God), and standing behind
Him at His feet, weeping - weeping because
of her knowledge about Yeshua, that He was good.
He was kind. He was holy yet willing to befriend
sinners like her, bringing hope to people like
her; knowing that the young Rabbi was courageous,
was willing to go against the majority of the
leaders; was Himself experiencing rejection.
Out of
her knowledge, love, appreciation for Yeshua,
and having courage mixed with humility, 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.
These were extravagant acts of love and appreciation,
and humility - not caring what others thought.
Note:
Don’t confuse this with a similar incident which
later occurred in the house of Mary and Martha
and Lazarus shortly before Yeshua died.
Yeshua,
the guest of honor, received these gestures of
love and appreciation from this woman who had
crashed this party. He did nothing to reject her
or correct her. He did nothing to make her feel
awkward, out of place or uncomfortable. He didn’t
say: Woman, what are you doing here? You weren’t
invited to this dinner in the home of this man!
Woman, how dare you touch Me! How dare you kiss
my feet! How dare you waste money on this perfume!
Perhaps we can talk later, at a more appropriate
time and in a more appropriate setting. I think
it best that you leave immediately! Yeshua said
nothing like that.
But not
everyone at that dinner reacted the same way -
particularly the host. Simon disapproved of what
was going on, and he was disappointed by Yeshua’s
response to this woman. 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."
Simon
believed that what the woman was doing was inappropriate.
It was wrong for a sinful woman to touch and kiss
a Rabbi. Maybe this confirms that the other Pharisees
are right. Yeshua is not holy. He can’t be a prophet.
God gave
Yeshua the ability to understand what Simon was
thinking. He knew that Simon’s assessment of this
situation was wrong, and that the theology of
this Pharisee needed some correction. And Yeshua,
who is friendly with sinners, and also friendly
with confused theologians (who are also sinners,
but sinners of another kind), wanted to help Simon
have a better theology, a better understanding,
a better perspective.
And
Yeshua answered him, "Simon, I have something
to say to you." And he replied, "Say
it, Rabbi." And the Rabbi responded to
Simon’s need for correction with a story about
two debtors. “A moneylender had two debtors:
one owed five hundred denarii (that’s 500
days wages for an average worker, about a year
and a half’s worth of work. In 2006, the median
annual household income was $48,201.00 according
to the US Census Bureau, so roughly, this would
be about $70,000 dollars for us today, which is
a lot of money for the average family). And
the other owed fifty (one tenth as much, about
$7,000. Still a lot of money). 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 Yeshua said to him,
"You have judged correctly." The
one who is forgiven more is more appreciative
of the one who was owed such a large debt. It
would have been much harder to pay all that money
back. The one who realizes he has been forgiven
much loves much.
What is
Yeshua trying to teach Simon, and us? The debt
that is owed is the wages, penalties and punishments
that result from our sins. Sin creates a spiritual
debt of penalties that must be paid - even the
ultimate punishment of death.
Who are
the debtors? Simon and the woman. But its more
than just Simon and the woman. Simon represents
people who are religious, who are trying to lead
good, moral, pure lives. The woman with the greater
debt represents human beings who don’t care much
about religion, morality, holiness.
Who is
the moneylender to whom the debt is owed? God.
God the Father and also Messiah Yeshua His Son.
Our sins, the bad things we do, the good things
we don’t do, places us under a great spiritual
debt which needs to be repaid if we are going
to get right with God, be in a equitable and right
relationship with God, and live forever with God.
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.
This woman
loved Yeshua much because she sensed her very
great need for atonement. She loved Yeshua much
because she knew about Yeshua, and believed Him
and the Good News that He offered someone like
her.
Simon,
on the other hand, loved Yeshua only a little,
because he thought that he was basically a good
person, and doing a pretty good job keeping Torah.
He probably thought he wasn’t a great sinner,
and didn’t need much atonement. He didn’t have
much faith in Yeshua and His Good News.
Here is
the reality of the situation: Yeshua is who He
claimed to be. He is the Messiah sent by God.
The ultimate prophet, priest and king. He is the
divine and unique Son of God! He is he Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the world! He is
the Yom Kippur Azazel Scapegoat. He is the Savior
of the world! He is the Redeemer of the world.
He is the great Sin-Bearer! And, there are profound,
eternal and life-giving or life-withholding consequences
for knowing who He is, and having faith in who
He is and what He teachers, or not having faith
in Him. It is knowledge about Yeshua, and faith
in Yeshua, along with some humility, that makes
the difference between genuine atonement or being
destroyed by pride and false religion; a real
relationship with the living and infinitely holy
God, or a delusional relationship with Him; a
genuinely meaningful and successful and lasting
life, or a ultimately meaningless and unsuccessful
life; between eternal life and eternal death,
between eternity in Heaven or being sent to Hell.
The Son
of God knew this. And He knew who He was, and
how important it is for us to know Him and believe
in Him; and He knew His essential part in gaining
atonement, and He knew His authority to erase
the spiritual debt of human beings.
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.”
Those who sin much, but come to know God and Yeshua,
are forgiven much. And, they love God much, and
serve God much, and are willing to experience
much humiliation and rejection.
The reality
is that we all have sinned much - those like the
sinful woman and those on the opposite end of
the spectrum of human holiness - Simon the Pharisee.
We are all great sinners. We are all much in need
of much forgiveness. O, some human beings are
better, are more righteous, are holier than others.
But, when we compare ourselves to God, we should
realize that none of us are very holy, and that
all of us are very great sinners.
I’d like
to tell a parable: Let’s call it the Long Jump
of Salvation. Salvation is like men and women
who are competing in the long-jump. Some may be
weak or out of shape and can only jump a few feet.
Some may be in better shape, and can jump 15 feet.
A few may be Olympic-caliber long-jumpers, and
can jump 30 or more feet.
But, what
if to succeed in the long jump the way God wants
them to succeed, they need to be able to jump
across the Grand Canyon? If that is the case,
are any of them great jumpers? Or, are or of them
inadequate in the extreme, even the ones who can
jump much farther than the rest?
We should
all adopt the attitude that we are sinners - great
sinners. We should feel the way about ourselves
that great Rabbi Paul felt about Himself - that
he was the chief of sinners. We all sin against
the infinitely holy and pure God in thought, word
and deed. We often do the things that should not
do. We often fail to do the things we should do.
We should
all have this kind of understanding that results
in genuine humility. We don’t want to come to
the point where we think that we don’t need much
in the way of atonement, that the Lord must be
pretty pleased with us, that He is fortunate to
have someone as good as we are.
Those
who know the Lord, and know the atonement and
salvation provided by God the Father and Messiah
the Son, and the Holy Spirit who lives in the
believers; who are trying to live better, and
be holy - need to know that we fall short in many
ways. And, that should cause us to be humble,
and appreciative of God, and willing to serve
Him and endure humiliation.
Think
about what this woman did. It was not easy. She
did humiliating things in a house she was not
invited to enter, in front of a party she was
not invited to, in front of some people who rejected
her. She did these things, and overcame embarrassment
and humiliation because she hoped that she could
be forgiven much and because she loved Yeshua
much.
What about
you? Do you love much or little? Do you know that
you have been forgiven much? Are you willing to
experience embarrassment and humiliation to show
your appreciation to God, or little? Are you serving
God much or little?
Are you
using your gifts and time and energy and resources
for God much, or little? Do you witness to others
much, or little? Are you serving much or little,
by doing practical things like helping set up
and clean up after an Oneg? Do you feel that any
of these things are too embarrassing or too humiliating?
Yeshua
was sent by God to make full atonement possible.
And, He has the authority to forgive the sins
of human beings who know Him and believe in Him,
which is what He did for this woman. Then He
said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven".
Do you
know that your sins have been forgiven? You can.
You should. You make an appointment to meet with
me if you are not sure that Yeshua is saying to
you: "Your sins have been forgiven".
That is
perhaps the most important thing for you to ever
hear - Your sins have been forgiven".
Coming from the young Rabbi, it was a powerful,
bold and audacious statement. And, the men around
the table knew it.
Those
who were reclining at the table with Him began
to say to themselves, "Who is this man who
even forgives sins?"
According
to the Torah and the provisions of the Sinai Covenant,
when a Jewish person sinned, it wasn't enough
to say, "Lord, I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
Atonement involved much more than mere words.
The person seeking forgiveness from his sins had
to find a clean, fit animal, make a pilgrimage
up to Jerusalem, which could be several days journey,
go to the Temple, find a priest, confess his sins
and lay his hands on the head of the animal. Then,
the bull, goat, lamb, ram, or pigeon was killed.
Then the priest took the blood and poured it on
the base of the altar, cut up the animal, and
burnt some of it on the altar. Then if the man's
heart was right, and he had faith in God and His
Word, and didn't do this as an empty religious
ceremony, then and only then were his sins forgiven.
But, Rabbi
Yeshua bypassed all this, and with His authority,
granted this woman atonement because of the faith
that she had in God and in Yeshua Himself! Wow!
That is powerful! That is so important for each
one of us to know, and so important for those
of us who do know this atonement to communicate
to a lost and dying world!
Faith
in Messiah results in salvation, which results
in peace. And He said to the woman, "Your
faith has saved you; go in peace."
Who wound
up closer to God? Who wound up with genuine atonement?
Who ended up genuine peace and well-being with
God? This respectable Pharisee, or this once-sinful
woman? Who turned out to the real saint, and who
turned out to be the real sinner?
What made
the difference? Focusing on keeping individual
mitzvot? Or understanding the larger picture about
God’s love and mercy and Messianic salvation through
Yeshua?
It is
faith in God the Father and Yeshua the Messiah
and the Holy Spirit that saves us, and enables
us to go in peace - going now and forever with
genuine peace with God. It is not the theological
system invented by the Pharisees and carried on
by the rabbinic Jews of today.
Do you
have that peace? Are you bringing the good news
about this peace to a chaotic and confused and
a disturbed world?
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