← Back to sermon library

You can turn with me in your 
Bibles to Luke's gospel, Luke chapter seven, for our meditation 
before we participate in the Lord's Supper. Luke chapter seven, 
specifically verses 36 to 50, the woman who was a sinner. And 
a couple of weeks ago, we looked at Matthew's conversion in Matthew 
chapter nine, and this is somewhat of a similar sort of a passage, 
though I will argue she doesn't come to this house in order to 
be saved, but rather she comes to this house because she had 
been saved. And in the same spirit that Matthew 
then gave a great feast to celebrate the glory of the Lord and to 
communicate truth to his fellows, I think that this woman is expressing 
consequently what had happened in terms of her salvation by 
grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. So we'll look 
at verses 36 to 50, and I'll begin reading there. Then one 
of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him. And he went to 
the Pharisee's house and sat down to eat. 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 and stood at his feet behind him weeping. 
And she began to wash his feet with her tears and wipe them 
with the hair of her head. And she kissed his feet and anointed 
them with the fragrant oil. And 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. And Jesus 
answered and said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. 
So he said, Teacher, say it. There was a certain creditor 
who had two debtors, one owed 500 denarii and the other 50. 
And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave 
them both. Tell me, therefore, 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 
rightly judged. Then he turned to the woman and 
said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I entered your house. 
You gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with 
her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave 
me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since 
the time I came in. You did not anoint my head with 
oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil. Therefore 
I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she 
loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, 
the same loves little. Then he said to her, your sins 
are forgiven. And those who sat at the table 
with him began to say to themselves, who is this who even forgives 
sins? Then he said to the woman, your 
faith has saved you. Go in peace. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father in 
heaven, thank you for your word. Thank you for this response to 
our Lord's grace in the gospel of salvation. We pray that you 
would draw out our love and our worship and our adoration to 
the Lord Jesus Christ. May we see him the way that the 
bride sees the bridegroom in the Song of Solomon, and may 
we confess him to others. May we find joy and delight and 
communion with him, and even now may your Holy Spirit shine 
the spotlight upon our glorious Lord, and may it be for your 
honor and for your praise. And we ask this through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, some see in this 
a direct connection to the situation of the anointing and Bethany. 
I think there are enough differences to highlight there's some similarities, 
but it's not the same instance. When there is that anointing 
and Bethany toward the end of Christ's earthly ministry in 
terms of the passion, we remember that woman comes and and anoints 
him for his burial. I think this is a separate occasion. And I just simply want to look 
at the three persons involved in this account. First, the woman 
who was a sinner in verses 36 to 38. Secondly, the Pharisee 
who was judgmental in verse 39. And then finally, the Savior 
who is altogether lovely in verses 40 to 50. So those three persons 
will occupy our attention. Note first, in terms of the context, 
it's always good as we jump into a passage of Scripture to understand 
what's going on before and after, and oftentimes in its larger 
theological context. Well, here we see, it's very 
simple, verse 36, then one of the Pharisees named Simon asked 
him to eat with him. So Jesus is invited over to the 
house of this Pharisee in order to have lunch. But in terms of 
the broader context, if you look back for just a moment to verse 
33, it's a similar situation, or rather the parallel to Matthew 
chapter 11. It says in verse 33, for John the Baptist came 
neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say he has a demon. The Son of Man has come eating 
and drinking, and you say, look, a glutton and a wine-bibber, 
a friend of tax collectors and sinners. So much like we saw 
when we looked at Matthew's conversion in Matthew chapter 9, the preceding 
passage demonstrated that the Son of Man has power on earth 
to forgive sins. And if we ask the question, well, 
what kind of sins and what kind of sinners? Well, then comes 
Matthew and his conversion, a man who is a tax collector. A man 
who was loathed and despised, a man who was looked down upon, 
a man who most likely was a very dishonest individual, is a recipient 
of God's grace. Well, the same connection here. 
We see that this charge is laid against our Lord, that He is 
a friend of tax collectors and sinners, and when we come to 
this scene of this woman, which was a sinner, it demonstrates 
the validity of their complaint. They're complaining, obviously, 
in a wicked, ungodly sort of a way, but they are essentially 
proclaiming the truth of the gospel of our Lord. He does receive 
sinners, He does receive tax collectors, and He does eat with 
them, and this passage demonstrates that and confirms it. Now, in 
terms of the woman herself, it tells us who was a sinner. Now, 
when the Bible does that, and the New Testament does that, 
it probably is underscoring that she was a notorious sinner. There was something especially 
bad about this particular sinner. And I should tell you that most 
commentators interpret it as if she were indeed a harlot. 
The fact that she uses her hair and the fact that she does what 
she does seem to indicate that that is what's going on. She 
was indeed a sinner. She was a notorious one and likely 
a prostitute. When notorious groups are mentioned, 
such as tax collectors, as we saw in the conversion of Matthew, 
they are linked with sinners, heathen Gentiles, harlots, extortioners, 
unjust and adulterous men. All are sinners to be sure, and 
the Bible knows that, but when it highlights specifically the 
sinfulness of a particular personage, it wants us to see that yes, 
he does. He receives sinners, he eats 
with sinners, and even the really bad ones, even the notorious 
ones, even the horrible ones. And so what Luke is doing is 
confirming that complaint in this particular instance. Now 
notice her boldness. Again, I think she's already 
converted. I don't think she's coming here 
in order to be saved. She probably already had heard 
the gospel and had already believed the gospel. In fact, turn to 
Matthew 11 for just a moment. I just mentioned that that's 
the parallel to what we have in Luke 7. If you look at Matthew 
11, verse 16, but to what shall I liken this generation? It is 
like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their 
companions and saying, we played the flute for you and you did 
not dance. We mourn to you and you did not 
lament. For John came neither eating nor drinking and they 
say he has a demon. The Son of Man came eating and 
drinking, and they say, look, a glutton and a wine-bibber, 
a friend of tax collectors and sinners, but wisdom is justified 
by her children. So it's the same situation, the 
same context historically, but notice in verses 25 to 30. I 
thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden 
these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them 
unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your 
sight. All things have been delivered to me by my Father, and no one 
knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father 
except the Son and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal 
Him. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and 
I will give you rest. I suspect that this woman, which 
was a sinner, had heard this and by God's grace had been saved. So when she goes to Simon the 
Pharisee's house, it's not in order to fetch salvation, but 
to express her love for the one who saved her. If you read it 
the other way, that this is her conversion, you might have to 
conclude she was saved because of the work she did, because 
she kissed His feet, because she cried on His feet, because 
she anointed Him. Therefore, He rewarded her with 
salvation. That's not the emphasis in the 
passage. The emphasis is evidencing that 
the Lord Jesus does save sinners, and when He saves them, they 
express this kind of gratitude and this kind of love. So the 
woman has a boldness based on her saving faith in the Lord 
Jesus to go to Simon the Pharisee's house. That's pretty profound. Do you think prior to her conversion, 
she was ever, ever, ever in the presence of a Pharisee at his 
house or at his table? Her boldness and her desire to 
express her love to the Savior moves her to this kind of an 
act. And so she finds her way there, 
and then she demonstrates all of this love to the Savior. Notice 
in verse 37, And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, 
when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisees' 
house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, stood at his 
feet behind him weeping. I don't think this is the weeping 
of a horrifically under conviction sinner, not that she's not under 
conviction. I think it's tears of joy. I 
think it's the expression of love. This is gratitude for grace 
having been given. She's not getting salvation because 
she first loved much. She is loving because she was 
first saved by the grace of God. That's the emphasis in the passage. Notice, she began to wash his 
feet with her tears and wipe them with the hair of her head 
and kissed his feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. John 
Gill says, that which was her ornament and pride, this hair 
and this oil, and which she took great care of to nourish and 
put in proper form to render her desirable, she uses instead 
of a towel to wipe her Lord's feet and her tears off of them. This is what it looks like when 
somebody is saved by grace through faith. This is what it looks 
like when Jesus conquers a sinner and brings them into salvation. Now notice that brings us to 
the Pharisee who is judgmental. Kind of like those guys, the 
Pharisees, that were upset when Jesus had table fellowship with 
all those tax collectors and sinners that Matthew had invited 
over. You see a recurring theme with 
the Pharisees in the New Testament, don't you? They're miserable 
cusses. They balk at the grace of God. 
They're full of pride. They're full of arrogance. They're 
full of judgmentalism and full of self-righteousness. And Simon 
here doesn't disappoint. He's not as loud. He simply thinks 
it to himself. But of course, the Lord Jesus 
knows what he is thinking to himself. But look at what happens 
here. There's a surface-level courtesy 
in Simon the Pharisee. He invites Jesus over. But a 
surface-level courtesy ought never to be an evidence, ultimately, 
for saving grace in the heart. This guy was judgmental. I'm 
not saying he's necessarily in hell, but it doesn't look good 
for him, at least in this pericope or this narrative. As well, he 
doesn't remove the woman, get this filthy ex-harlot out of 
my house right away. He doesn't do that. So there's 
a surface level courtesy on the part of this particular Pharisee. But he's got a heart level judgmentalism 
and it does pierce to the woman. Notice in verse 39. And when 
the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he spoke to himself 
saying, this man, if he were a prophet, we'll deal with that 
in a moment, would know who and what manner of woman this is 
who is touching him for, for she is a sinner. Again, this 
isn't a general observation about the ethical state of man under 
God. This is contempt. This is disdain. She's a sinner. It's almost like he can't stand 
the taste of it on his mouth. Turn over to Luke 18, where you 
see these things go hand in hand. A self-righteousness produces 
disdain of others, and that's precisely what you see in this 
instance. If he knew what manner of woman 
this was that's touching him, If he were a prophet, he would 
know that, for she is a sinner. Notice in Luke 18 at verse 9. 
See what self-righteousness promotes? A despising of others. Trusting in one's own ability 
or merit does not typically end with you loving mankind with 
equality and joy. No, there's a disdain. That's 
why self-righteousness in the context of the church is so destructive 
and so counterproductive for the pursuit of peace and unity. 
If you think you're better than everybody else, you're gonna 
act like you're better than everybody else. If you think that you are 
based on your status in good with the Lord, then everybody 
else is just a bunch of miserable slobs who don't measure up to 
how good you are. And that's precisely what's going 
on here in Luke 18, but displayed by this Pharisee in chapter 7. This tendency to self-righteousness 
is always mingled with despising others, looking down at others, 
suggesting that she's a sinner. And if he was a prophet, he'd 
know what manner of woman she was and would have nothing to 
do with him or her. Notice as well his attitude toward 
the Lord Jesus. And when the Pharisee who had 
invited him saw this, he spoke to himself saying, this man, 
if he were a prophet, The idea is simple. Prophets can discern 
the hearts of others. Prophets can peer in and see 
what's going on in the hearts of others. So you see that Pharisee 
said, if he knew this man was really a prophet, then he'd know 
what manner of filthy woman this was, and he wouldn't get anywhere 
near her. This is a bad way to be, brethren. Bad, Pharisee. Bad, bad, bad. This is not good. This idea that somehow my sin 
isn't as bad as her sin. My sin doesn't put me under the 
same judgment of God as her sin. Now, she's a notorious sinner, 
this woman which was a sinner, it's underscored for us, but 
perhaps we're supposed to see in a passage like this that the 
Pharisaic mindset, this judgmental mindset, this self-righteous 
mindset, in some ways is far worse. It's kind of like the 
parable of the two sons that Jesus tells in Matthew's gospel. 
The father has two sons. He asks the son to go and do 
his will, and the son says, no, I'm not gonna do it. And then 
he goes, and he does it. Comes the other son, says, do 
my will. Oh, yeah, sure, I'll do it. But 
he doesn't do it. Which son do you think is better 
off? Well, obviously, the son who 
at least initially was against doing the will, but then does 
it. What's the implication there? Jesus says that you resisted 
and rejected the teaching and preaching of John the Baptist, 
but harlots and publicans are entering into the kingdom of 
heaven. In other words, the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees, the religious 
ilk in Israel at first century, they were hell-bound, they were 
excluded from the kingdom, but publicans and harlots were entering 
in. What's the bigger, badder, worse, 
or sin? Self-righteousness, despising others, having a mindset that 
holds people in contempt because you think they're disgusting. 
So this man, if he were really a prophet, he'd know what kind 
of woman this was. He'd know who and what manner 
of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner. The denial that Christ was a 
prophet based on his reception of the woman's devotion indicates 
once again, the man knows nothing of God's grace. That brings us 
then to the Savior is altogether lovely. His response to the Pharisee, 
verses 40 to 47, and then his response to the woman in verses 
48 to 50. In verses 40 to 43, he gives 
an illustration, and then in 44 to 47, he applies that illustration. And again, Jesus is very gracious 
and very kind. He keeps it simple so that morons 
like this can follow along and learn and understand. Just like 
in Matthew chapter nine, does the doctor go to the sick or 
does he go to the healthy? Just like in Matthew chapter 
nine, when he appeals to his role as the physician for souls, 
yeah, even a Pharisee can get that logic. Well, he does the 
same thing here. So notice in verse 40, This confirms 
what Simon is whining about. This man, if he were a prophet, 
would know. Interestingly, Jesus responds 
to that very gripe. Jesus is a prophet. He not only 
knows the woman, which was a sinner, but he also knows what's in the 
heart of this Pharisee, Simon. He invited me over for lunch. 
You gave me no courtesy whatsoever, nothing that is typical in this 
kind of a setting, yet this woman hasn't ceased to express love 
and devotion. So notice, Simon, I have something 
to say to you. So he said, teacher, say it. 
Verse 41, there was a certain creditor who had two debtors, 
one owed 500 denarii and the other 50. And when they had nothing 
with which to repay, he freely forgave. Don't miss that phrase, 
he freely forgave. The woman isn't saved because 
of what she did. The woman was freely forgiven 
by God, a debt of 500 denarii, and she is responding consistent 
with that, with love, devotion, and worship. That's the point. So notice, and when they had 
nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. 
Tell me therefore, which of them will love him more? Again, this 
is just a, you know, Softball right over the plate, even a 
Pharisee can hit it. Simon answered and said, and 
I love this, I suppose, a little bit of hesitation, I'm not sure 
I wanna go down this path, but yeah, I suppose the one whom 
he forgave more, well, of course, it's obvious. If you owed 500 bucks and I owed 
50 bucks, and our creditor forgave us both, 
you'd be more happy having owed the larger debt. This is the 
woman. This is the sinner saved by grace. This is the one who heard, come 
to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and are weary 
and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. So Simon answers and 
says, I suppose the one whom he forgave more. Now note he 
comes to apply this with their specific situation. Do you see, 
then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, do you see this 
woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, 
but she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with 
the hair of her head. You gave me no kiss, but this 
woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came 
in. You did not anoint my head with 
oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil. In 
other words, she's been freely forgiven. She owed 500 denarii, 
but the creditor said, nope, no more. I freely forgive your 
debt. You don't have to pay it back. 
Well, what's her response? Her response is thus. She's going 
to do everything she can to express that gratitude. She's going to 
do everything she can to express and communicate that love. She's 
going to do everything she can to show, not that she's worthy 
of salvation, but the effect of the salvation that God had 
freely given to her. So Jesus continues in verse 47 
to bring us to the point. Therefore I say to you, her sins, 
which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. It could 
be translated perhaps better as therefore she loved much, 
but the for doesn't obscure the sense. The idea is not she is 
forgiven based on what she has done. No, the idea is that she 
is doing what she is doing because she has been forgiven. Because 
her debt, which was great, has been freely forgiven by the creditor 
in the story. As a result of that, this is 
the expectation, that in consequence, with that salvation having been 
wrought, when she knows that the Lord Jesus is at the house 
of Simon the Pharisee, she doesn't care that she's not invited. She doesn't care that she's not 
on the guest list. She doesn't care that Simon's 
a Pharisee that is most likely going to judge her. None of that 
matters to her. What matters is the Savior, who 
is altogether lovely, is in that house. And she wants to come 
and express her love, devotion, and gratitude for Him, or to 
Him rather, for what He has done in freely forgiving her of her 
sins. If it was indeed the act of prostitution, 
we need to appreciate that when Scripture says He receives tax 
collectors and sinners, it is true. And there is hope and encouragement 
there. Not so you go out and do likewise 
in terms of prostitution, but if you've made a mess of your 
life, you come to the Savior, who's a friend for tax collectors 
and sinners. And if you have been saved by 
God's grace, if you have been freely forgiven of a great debt, 
then what's the proper attitude in response? Devotion, worship, 
praise, adoration. So Jesus brings the point to 
bear on Simon, therefore I say to you, her sins which are many 
are forgiven, for she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, 
the same loves little. Ryle says her love was the effect 
of her forgiveness, not the cause, the consequence of her forgiveness, 
not the condition, the result of her forgiveness, not the reason, 
the fruit of her forgiveness, not the root. This is not a scenario 
where the woman comes to the Pharisee's house to get at Jesus 
so that she could be saved. No, it's to get at Jesus because 
she had been saved and wants to express that devotion and 
that love and that gratitude. Now notice what we have in terms 
of his response to the woman in verses 48 to 50. Then he said 
to her, your sins are forgiven. Brethren, I don't think this 
is the initial act of forgiveness. I think it's a declaration for 
her benefit and a declaration for the Pharisee as well. The 
declaration is for the benefit of the Pharisee. Simon says, 
this man, if he were a prophet, he'd know who and what manner 
of woman this is, and he'd want nothing to do with her. So when 
Jesus says, your sins are forgiven you, what do you think that did 
to Simon the Pharisee? I hope it humbled him. I hope 
it convicted him. I hope he said to Jesus, well, 
save me too. But if he didn't, it would have 
cost him probably a great deal of consternation. He probably 
would have been upset. Kind of like those Pharisees, 
when they didn't get the answers or the responses that they wanted 
from Jesus, they'd just double down. They'd get even angrier. 
They'd get even madder. Well, here it's for the benefit 
of this Pharisee. This woman, whom you think is 
beyond the hope of God's grace, he says in the hearing of the 
Pharisee, Woman, your sins are forgiven you. It's for his benefit. But it's also for her benefit. A declaration of the blessedness 
of gospel forgiveness and gospel grace in the presence of Simon 
the Pharisee. They didn't used to mix. They 
didn't used to hang out. They didn't used to have, you 
know, lunch together. That was just not the way it 
was. So for her to have the declaration 
from Jesus in the presence of Simon the Pharisee would have 
been a double boon for her. already having been justified 
freely by His grace, already having received the forgiveness 
of sins, here is this public declaration in the presence of 
an enemy, at least up until this point, that her sins are forgiven. John Gill says that he makes 
this declaration partly on the woman's account. that she might 
have a fresh discovery of the forgiveness of her sins. It's 
a fresh discovery because she'd already known the forgiveness 
of sins. He's already told us that in verse 47. Therefore, 
I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven. Therefore, 
she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. 
So back to Gil, that she might have a fresh discovery of the 
forgiveness of sins for her comfort under the severe censure of the 
Pharisee, and that her faith in it might be strengthened. 
It was for her benefit. It was to silence the opposition 
of Simon the Pharisee. But as well, it would manifest 
the glory of Christ. They're complaining, this man 
receives sinners and eats with that. Yes, he does. This is a wonderful example of 
that. Again, Gil, he says this on his own account, your sins 
are forgiven, to show that he was not only a prophet that had 
extraordinary knowledge of persons and their characters, but that 
he was the most high God to whom belong the prerogative of pardoning 
sin. He makes that declaration, your 
sins are forgiven. Not just declaratively, like 
I might say to a believing sinner, yeah, your sins are forgiven, 
but authoritatively as the one who actually forgives them. Matthew chapter nine, I think 
it's around verse 10, so that you may know that the Son of 
Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. Actually, it's 
verse six. so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority 
or power on earth to forgive sins." So this is not the tale 
of her conversion, but rather it is the expression of what 
a converted sinner does in response to God's grace. And then notice 
verse 49, those who sat at the table with him began to say to 
themselves, who is this who even forgives sins? Could be they're 
curious, It could be, who is this that forgives sins? But 
I doubt it. It's probably that paralytic 
situation. Remember when the paralytic is 
lowered down there in Matthew chapter 9, Jesus says, Son, your 
sins are forgiven you. How did the Pharisees respond 
there? Huh, he's got the power to forgive. No, not at all. They 
get upset. Who does he think he is, pardoning 
sin? Who does he think he is saying 
or suggesting that he has the prerogatives of Yahweh to forgive 
sin? I would imagine it's probably 
like that. You know, I don't think Simon had Jesus, this woman 
who was a sinner, and then a bunch of other rabble. Probably had 
a few other Pharisees in the house, and they're the ones who 
are saying, who is this who even forgives sins? Then he said to 
the woman, your faith has saved you, go in peace. It wasn't her 
expression of her love. It wasn't her acts of devotion. 
It was her faith in Jesus Christ. See, this is the point. The free 
forgiveness of God is received instrumentally through faith. It is then expressed by love, 
but it's not the love of the woman and the devotion of the 
woman that fetched the forgiveness of sins. It was the forgiveness 
of sins that fetched the love and the devotion of the woman. 
It's consistent with what the Apostle Paul says in Galatians 
5, 6. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision 
avails anything but faith working through love. Machen wisely comments 
that love, according to the New Testament, is not the means of 
salvation, but it is the finest fruit of it. A man is saved by 
faith, not by love, but he is saved by faith in order that 
he may love. That's what's happening in Luke's 
gospel here at chapter 7 in verses 36 to 50. So I would suggest 
in conclusion that there's a great lesson here in this woman for 
all of us who have been justified by faith in Jesus. Acts of devotion, 
expressions of love, following the Master, reading His Word, 
coming to His table, coming to His house, celebrating what He's 
given us, and rejoicing in the goodness and in the glory of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been forgiven much, freely 
forgiven much. And as a result, our Christian 
lives should be impacted by that reality. I don't want to moralize 
the woman, and I don't want to make you think that I'm telling 
you to go out and do more, but in light of what we've been saved 
from, Oftentimes, brethren, we don't do what Paul tells us in 
the epistles. Let your conduct be worthy of 
the gospel. Let your conduct be consistent 
with your high calling by God, in His grace, in salvation by 
Jesus Christ. This woman is a great exemplary 
of what a saved sinner looks like. Now, it might not be your 
hair, and it might not be your tears, and it might not be your 
ointments. But there's ways for us to express that love for our 
blessed Savior. True believers are saved by grace 
alone through faith alone in Christ alone. True believers 
are granted the faith, which is the alone instrument of faith, 
but as our confession helpfully reminds us, that that faith is 
accompanied by all other saving graces. And therein we see the 
expressions of love and devotion and worship. The believer, the 
true believer, should manifest love to Jesus Christ for we have 
all been forgiven much. Again, Ryle. He says, there will 
never be more done for Christ till there is more hearty love 
to Christ himself. The fear of punishment, the desire 
of reward, the sense of duty are all useful arguments in their 
way to persuade men to holiness. But they're all weak and powerless 
until a man loves Christ. Once let that mighty principle 
get hold of a man and you will see his whole life change. It's 
not a work principle. I'm not suggesting, you know, 
go out and work yourself up into this frenzied love for Christ. 
No, ponder what you have freely received by God in terms of forgiveness, 
and that ought to animate that love in the heart so that we 
express devotion, so that we express these things to our blessed 
Savior. And I would suggest as well that 
this theology is consistent with what you find all throughout 
Scripture. We're justified freely by God's 
grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. That faith is not 
alone, it's always accompanied by every other saving grace. 
and we respond in sanctification with expressions of love, adoration, 
worship, and devotion. The woman understood, the woman 
heard by the grace of God, and then the woman boldly goes to 
where Jesus is to show that love and appreciation consistent with 
what he teaches in terms of the creditor who had forgiven freely 
the debts of the man who owed 500 and the man who had owed 
50 denarii. And I would say finally, if you're 
not a believer, man, everything in this passage, everything in 
this passage should call upon you to come to the Lord Jesus 
Christ. We ask the question, what kinds 
of sinners? Notorious ones. What kinds of 
sinners? Really bad ones. What kinds of 
sinners? Murderers. If you consider Saul 
of Tarsus, at least conspirators to murder or participants in 
that act, the Lord Jesus Christ saves sinners. It's not the case 
that you have to clean yourself up, polish yourself off a bit, 
and commend yourself to God. No, you look to Him in faith, 
just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the 
Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever looks to Him will have 
everlasting life. May God help us as believers 
to be a bit more like this woman in our expression of devotion 
to the Savior. And if you're not a believer, 
come to this Savior who saved even a woman that was notorious 
for her sin in her community. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word, we thank you for the grace 
that we have in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and may 
we take our cue from a woman like this, and may we respond 
with that devotion and that expression of love. Certainly we have been 
forgiven much, and that should indeed yield in love to you. 
We ask that you would encourage and strengthen us. We pray for 
the blessing of God upon the proclamation of your truth all 
over the world, and may you save from every tribe, tongue, people, 
and nation. And we ask in Jesus' holy name, 
amen.