Your faith has saved you

Luke 7:36-50

Key Verse 7:50

Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

In this passage Jesus explained to one of the Pharisees the way of salvation, that is, through faith in the Lord's sin-forgiving love. May the Lord bless us to open our eyes to see and deeply accept this way of salvation through the passage for today. 

First, Jesus went to the Pharisee's house

Look at verse 36a. "Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him..." This passage starts with a surprising event: that is one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to a dinner fellowship. In those days the Pharisees were opposed to Jesus and his ministry. John the Baptist rebuked the Pharisees saying, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" John the Baptist then said that they should repent and believe in Jesus for Jesus is the Messiah. But the Pharisees rejected God's way of salvation; they neither repented nor believed Jesus as the Messiah. Most likely the Pharisee named Simon did not receive baptism by John. It does not seem that he believed that Jesus was the Messiah. Yet, he invited Jesus to his house. Perhaps he invited Jesus out of curiosity. Or he might have invited Jesus to examine Jesus' doctrine closely, and give him corrections if necessary. 

How did Jesus respond to his invitation? Look at verse 36b. "...so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table." This is another surprising event. Most certainly Jesus was aware that the Pharisees (Simon included) rejected God's purpose (of salvation) for them. If you know that someone who does not like you invites you to an eating fellowship at his house, you might be tempted to make some nice excuses such as saying, "Oh, my schedule is kind of hectic these days. Let me check my schedule, and I will come back to you." Then, after a while you call him back saying, "Sorry, I cannot make it. Thank you for your invitation." But, Jesus did not do that. Rather, in my opinion, Jesus accepted the invitation with the hope that Jesus would teach him the way of salvation that the Pharisee would also believe in Jesus and be saved. 

So Jesus went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. In those days, the Pharisees belonged to the social upper class. Most likely this man lived in a house which was quite decent. Typical layouts of the upper-middle class houses of Jesus' day came with an open courtyard, then the veranda step, then a hallway which is normally 15 feet high, long, and wide. The hallway leads to an open door through which you get into a reception room and then a dining hall with a kitchen to the side. In the dining hall, there is a table in the center. Normally around the table they put couches where guests are seated with their feet stretched away from the table in the direction of the wall with one’s left hand resting on the dining table. So Jesus went into the house and reclined at the tale. The dinner fellowship was ready to go. 

Second, she wet his feet with tears

As Jesus might have already prayed, the opportunity to teach the poor Simon the gospel of salvation presented itself. Look at verses 37-38. "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, 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." Unbeknownst to her and to Simon and his guests, according to divine appointment, the lady made a visit to the Pharisee's house, only to assist Jesus to teach Simon and his guests what the gospel of salvation is all about.  She didn’t even say a word, but her emotions poured out like a flood. We don't know how long she expressed herself this way; maybe for a few minutes, ten minutes, or half an hour. But it did not matter. To her, it was like eternity. And Jesus allowed her to express herself to her heart's content. 

Salvation requires two persons: God and yourself. In the passage God did what he could do: that is, he sent John the Baptist as the forerunner of Jesus. In the spirit of Elijah, John preached the message of repentance. He directed people's attention to Jesus saying, "Look! The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." Then, Jesus came and preached the good news of the kingdom of God. This was what God did so far. 

How did the woman respond to the good news? Verses 37-38 show us that she responded to the good news in two ways: repentance and faith in the Lord. 

(1) Repentance

What is repentance? It has been said that repentance is like a man making a complete U-turn. Say you’re on the I-5 south, heading for San Diego, thinking that Sacramento is in that direction. But upon learning that you are going the wrong direction, what you do is, get off the freeway, and then get back on.  But instead of taking the I-5 South, you take the I-5 North. In this way, you make a complete U-turn. 

In the past this woman lived a sinful life in town. We don't know what she did. Most likely she lived as a town prostitute. But upon hearing the message of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, she realized that she used to live a sinful life. She then deeply repented of her sinful way of life and decided to live for God's kingdom purpose. It is interesting to note that all of her devotion was focused on Jesus' feet. She washed Jesus' feet with her tears. She wiped Jesus' feet with her hair. She then kissed Jesus' feet and poured perfume on them. Why did she do this? Why did she focus on Jesus' feet so much? We find an answer to this question from what the Prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 52:7, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"" According to Isaiah, Jesus' feet are the most beautiful because Jesus himself is the source of the good tidings. He then used his feet to preach the good news of the kingdom in every town and village of Israel. 

Shedding her many tears indicates that she felt deeply sorry for her past sinful life. It shows that she admitted that she lived a life which is ugly. But the gospel of Jesus made her inner person beautiful. So in deep appreciation of the beautiful work of God in her through Jesus, she washed Jesus' feet with her many tears. A woman's hair is a symbol of glory. Wiping Jesus' feet with her hair is a sign of a change of direction - changing from the life that lives for her own self-glory to the life that lives for the glory of God. Think about the fact that she kissed Jesus' feet. A kiss is an expression of love to someone special. She found Jesus as her true spiritual husband. Then in deep respect and love, she poured her love on Jesus. Consider also that she poured the jar of perfume on Jesus' feet. In Israel, women used perfume to beautify themselves, but this time she used it to beautify Jesus. In this way, by pouring the jar of perfume on Jesus, she chose to live not for her sinful self, but Jesus Christ, worshiping Him and serving Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior. 

(2) Faith in the Lord

Also, the demonstration of her faith in the Lord is remarkable. In many ways, her visit was surprising. In those days, the Pharisees did not get along with tax collectors and "sinners" like the woman. She knew that she would be a persona-non-grata if she invited herself to the house of the Pharisee. But she did not come to see the Pharisee. Rather, she came to see Jesus. She knew that although the Pharisee would reject her, Jesus would not. So, by faith, she invited herself to the Lord. Of course, among all peoples on earth, she herself knew better than all others that she was one of the worst kinds of sinners. Yet, she knew that Jesus would forgive her of her sins. She believed that Jesus would welcome her and give her opportunity to make a new beginning in the Lord. In this way, by faith in the Lord, she overcame the barriers inside and barriers outside. In bold faith, she broke into the house of the Pharisee. She then fell at the feet of Jesus, just as the prodigal son fell in front of his father on his coming back home. 

Third, Simon I have something to tell you…

While the woman was pouring her love out to the Lord, what was the Pharisee thinking about her? Look at verse 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."" 

This passage shows us that this man did not know Jesus well. Obviously, he did not know that Jesus is the Savior. Knowing Jesus as the Lord and Savior is the key to salvation. He had in front of him the Savior of the world, and yet he did not know the truth. He even invited the Savior to his house, but he did not know whom he had invited. In a way, he was similar to the Samaritan woman in John 4:9. There, while Jesus was standing in front of her, asking for a drink, not knowing that she had in front of her the Savior of the world, the Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" 

The self-dialogue also shows us that the Pharisee did not know himself either, for his self-talk suggests that he thought that he was a better person than the woman. In his opinion, he was a righteous man, whereas the woman was unrighteous. He was a clean guy, but the woman was a sinner. Is this a correct self-assessment? According to John the Baptist, the answer is no, for John rebuked people like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law as, "a brood of vipers." Romans 3:10 says that there is no one righteous, not even one." Yet, he thought that he was an okay kind of guy. Not knowing oneself as a sinner makes the work of salvation doubly difficult, for quite logically no one is more helpless than the one who does not know that he is helpless. In a sense he is like a cancer patient who does not know that he has cancer. Had he known that he had cancer in advance he could have done something to get rid of it. But if you do not know or if you refuse to admit that you have it, how can you avoid the consequences? 

Finally he did not understand the relationship between Jesus the good shepherd and the woman who was Jesus' sheep. Supposedly, he was a spiritual leader of the Jewish society. Yet, he did not understand how sheep behave before their shepherd. Sheep belong to their shepherd. So, the key to their relationship is closeness. The love relationship between a shepherd and his sheep is like that of close friends. Because they love each other, both of them want to be with one another. Sheep want to spend time with their shepherd and their shepherd with his sheep. And the two are happy spending time together. On many occasions, sheep are talkative to their shepherd. But on some occasions the two do not talk. Yet, even by laying eyes on each other, they send messages to one another and they perfectly understand each other. Such is the nature of the loving relationship between sheep and shepherd. But, the Pharisee did not understand it. Why? Because he did not love his sheep. To him, the woman was just another source of burden. But to Jesus, this woman was his dearest sheep. As her shepherd, Jesus even chose to die on the cross for her sins. 

We know that Jesus has many different kinds of sheep. In fact, to him, all people on earth are his sheep. As a shepherd, we would only like to feed sheep that are good. But Jesus is different.  Jesus serves all kinds of sheep - good, bad, and terrible. To Jesus, John the Baptist was his sheep. So, when John brought a question, Jesus answered him just as a shepherd helping a sheep. Tax collectors and sinners like the sinful woman in the passage were also Jesus' sheep. But the Pharisees and teachers of the law were kind of difficult sheep.  But still, in love. Jesus served them as his own sheep. In love, each time this legalistic bunch of Pharisees and teachers of the law criticized Jesus, still, as their shepherd, Jesus found a way to teach them the way of salvation.  With Jesus’ love as a shepherd for Simon, let us read verses 40-47 responsively. 

"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."

It is interesting to note that in giving a one to one bible study to his sheep, the first word that came out of the mouth of Jesus was the name of his sheep, "Simon." To Jesus, he was not just another Pharisee. To Jesus, he was his beloved sheep. And Jesus knew his sheep by name. "Simon, I have something to tell you." Then he came up with the story of a certain moneylender. In this story, the moneylender refers to God the Father. Two men owing money to the moneylender represent all who believe in Jesus. The debts or simply the “money owed” refer to the sins people commit against God. The word "cancel" implies "God’s act of forgiveness." In this story, Jesus gave a distinction between the two - the one who owes the moneylender a little more, the other a little less. But the two are basically the same in that they are "debtors" and both are unable to pay back what they owed. Sin is like spilling water to the ground. Once water is spilt on the ground, one cannot put the water back into a container. Likewise once sin is committed, it is impossible for us to undo the consequences. If you steal someone’s bicycle, of course you can always return it back to him, but still the fact that you stole his bicycle is there, and you cannot alter it. And each time we sin, we sin not to a man alone but to God. The only way to undo the result of sin is forgiveness. 

Let us take note then that in this story, Jesus did not pinpoint that Simon is exactly the one who owes less than the other. Yet there is an indication that Simon might be the one who loves so little. The word "little" is as good as nothing. So it is very likely that Simon's many sins remain unforgiven. Thus, it is possible that Simon is yet to be saved. 

But Jesus did not say this to point out his unsaved condition. The key point of Jesus' story is the "lack" of love for Jesus in the heart of Simon. He had little or no love for Jesus Christ. Simon could have said, "Yes. I do love you. Look! At least I invited you to a dinner fellowship." But is this all there is to love? First of all, remember how Jesus felt, for he said to Simon, "You did not give me any water...", "You did not give me a kiss..." and "You did not put oil on my head..." There are three did not's. Three is a complete number. But look at what the woman did to Jesus. She gave all she had. She dedicated her best to Jesus Christ all in honor of Jesus. This is love, as Jesus understands it. And Simon failed the test. 

Notice the expression "her many sins have been forgiven, for she loved much." Of particular importance are the four words, "for she loved much." Consider the order: she loved much, and then Jesus says her many sins have been forgiven. After this Jesus said, “he who has been forgiven little loves little.”  This order shows that you start out loving the Lord, and then you have your sins forgiven.  Then you love him all the more.  So, you begin with love, and end with love.  This is exactly what the Lord does for us.  The Bible says that God is love (1Jn.4:16).  1 John 4:19 then says, "We love because he first loved us." The woman in the passage saw God's love working in Jesus. Deeply touched by the love God has for her, she came to love Jesus back which in turn resulted in having all of her sins forgiven. Later, The Apostle Peter understood this truth, so he said in 1 Peter 4:8, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 

Fourth, who is this who even forgives sins?

While teaching Simon the way of salvation, Jesus must have had in mind the other guests as well. So in the hearing of all, Jesus turned his attention to the woman and said, "Your sins are forgiven."

Suddenly there was a little commotion in the room. Look at verse 49. "The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"" If you thought about it, the answer is obvious: Jesus is God Incarnate, for it is only God who can forgive men of their sins! Mark 2:7 

As the commotion died down, there was a moment of quietness. Then, to make people more surprised, Jesus turned to the woman and said something which is more surprising. Look at verse 50. Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." Jesus declared that she was saved. Jesus could have said, “You are hereby saved.” But Jesus said, “Your faith has saved you.” Why? The answer is obvious. The question is not whether or not God can save us from our sins. Yes He can. But the problem is with our faith. Do I truly believe it? Do you believe it for sure? The woman believed in God’s love that forgives her of all her sins. She demonstrated this faith by what she did to Jesus. 

Then Jesus said, “Go in peace.” Peace is one of the first gifts that are given to a saved soul. This peace is the foundation of man’s well-being both physically and spiritually. We can easily understand this when we think about the fact that in a town where there are gun battles going on, it is impossible for anyone to conduct a meaningful life. Only after securing a peaceful environment, one can think about life in a meaningful way. 

In conclusion, let us read verse 50 again. “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Jesus came as a peacemaker, making peace between God and men, and among men. Sin breaks peace. Through the example of the woman, the passage demonstrates the way of salvation which results in peace with God and peace among men. 

One word: your faith has saved you