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?
Faith Alone Saves
Then he said to the woman, your faith has saved you. Go in peace. Amen. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
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.
Introduction
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
The Three Persons: Overview
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.
The Woman Who Was a Sinner
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.
A Notorious Sinner Described
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
Boldness Born of Saving Faith
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.
Love as the Fruit of Forgiveness
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.
The Pharisee Who Was Judgmental
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.
Self-Righteousness and Contempt
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.
The Savior Who Is Altogether Lovely
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.
The Parable of Two Debtors
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.
Forgiveness as Cause, Love as Effect
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.
Christ's Declaration to the Woman
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.
Application
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.
Closing Prayer
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.