Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Luke 7:40

Luke 7:40 says, Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.  While the woman was washing Jesus's feet and the host, whose name was Simon, was thinking He wasn't much of a prophet, Jesus said He had something to ask him.  If we are truly a follower of Christ, then we will never question Who He is.  Verse forty-one adds, There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.  Jesus started by saying that a creditor had two people who owed Him money.  One owed the man ten times as much as the other.  When we come to Christ, we do not all have the same amount of sin in our lives.  Verse forty-two continues, And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?  When the men had nothing to repay the creditor with, He forgave them both.  Jesus asked the Pharisee Simon which of the men would love the creditor the most.  Now, from a spiritual point of view concerning the forgiveness of our sins, we should all love Jesus the same, whether our sins were great or small.   Still, we can sometimes look at our fellow Christians, especially those who we feel were guilty of much sin, and question how Jesus could forgive them.  Verse forty-three states, Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.  Simon did not really give a definitive answer, but said he supposed the one that had been forgiven the most.  Jesus told Simon that he had answered correctly.  We may know the correct answer to spiritual questions and even answer them correctly, but until we believe, and don't just suppose, what the answer is, we cannot really apply it to our life.  Verse forty-four adds, And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.  Jesus told Simon to look at the woman and what she was doing, while at the same time pointing out what Simon had not done.  The woman had washed Jesus's feet with her tears and had dried them with her hair, while Simon had not even met what should have been his responsibility and provided Jesus with water to wash His feet.  We should never judge others as they serve Jesus, especially if we have neglected to serve Him ourselves as faithfully as we should.  Verse forty-five continues, Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.  Jesus said that Simon had not even offered Him the courtesy of greeting Him with a kiss, but the woman had not ceased kissing His feet.  Sometimes, people profess to be followers of Christ, but their actions do not show it.  Simon really did not invite Jesus to his house because he believed in Jesus, but simply to entertain himself at Jesus's expense.  Verse forty-six concludes, My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.  Jesus continued to point out how Simon had failed as a host by not anointing His head with oil while the woman had anointed His feet with oil.  She was doing many of the things that Simon should have done, and when we become Christians, we need to do what God expects us to do and not leave what we should be doing for someone else to do.  Verse forty-seven declares, Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.  Jesus said the woman who had many sins had them all forgiven, and no matter how many or few sins we have in our life, when we come to Jesus, they are all forgiven.  Simon felt superior to both Jesus and the woman, but he himself was simply a sinner in need of forgiveness.  We should never consider ourself to be morally superior to others because we believe our sins to be fewer than someone else's sins.  Jesus said that those who have much forgiven love much, and those who have little forgiven love little.  I don't believe that this means that those who have had few sins forgiven always love Jesus less, because He removed the penalty of death from all who put their faith in Him, but it may affect how we see others if we are not careful.  Verse forty-eight adds, And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.  Jesus told the woman her sins were forgiven, and that meant all of them and not just some.  Jesus did not forgive the woman's sins because she had done something for Him, but because of the faith she had in Him.  We cannot work our way to salvation, but can only receive it by coming to Jesus Christ by faith in Him as our Savior and Lord.  Verse forty-nine says, And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?  Those who were eating with Jesus asked Who He was that He could forgive sins.  They were physically so close to Jesus, but spiritually so far away.  We may know a lot of facts about Jesus, but until we accept Him for Who He really is, it doesn't matter.   Verse fifty adds, And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.  Like the woman, when we come to Jesus by faith, our sins are forgiven and we should go in peace.

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