“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.”
(Luke 7: 47
NASB)
A sinful woman can teach us a lot about
the Kingdom of God. The recognition of
our need is the first step toward our entrance into Heaven. If we perceive we need to be forgiven little,
we will love little.
A
Pharisee invited Jesus to his house for dinner.
A woman of ill repute started to weep and wipe his feet with her
tears. She anointed him with expensive
perfume. The Pharisee was upset that
Jesus would let such a sinful woman touch him.
In response to this Pharisee, Jesus told him this story.
A man lent money to two men, five
hundred pieces of silver to one and fifty to another. When they both were not able to repay him,
the man kindly forgave them both. Then
Jesus asked the Pharisee, (v.42b) “So which of them will love him more?” The Pharisee answered, (v.43) “I suppose the
one who he forgave more.” Jesus replied,
“You have judged correctly.” The woman
saw her need and was broken by her sin.
The Pharisee only saw the woman’s sin and not his own. If we never grasp the depth of our sinful
nature, we will never understand the enormity of God’s grace in forgiving
us. Whoever sees no need for the cross
of Christ, will never embrace it. Recognition of our need for forgiveness is
the evidence of a repentant heart. By his attitude, it is apparent that the
Pharisee is trying to maintain his right standing with God through his
self-righteousness. Pride blinded him to
his sin. The woman’s actions indicated
she realized that only Jesus could save her.
Her reasonable response to this revelation was to love him. And love him, she did.
The woman in our story was closer to the
Kingdom of Heaven than the Pharisee in all his religious regalia. In this tale, Jesus was homing in on
authentic faith, rather than the external trappings of religion. He paints a word picture of the contrast
between a legalistic religious pursuit and a love relationship with our
Savior. One of the players in this
parable was motivated by love of self and other by the love of God. Fulfilling
the law of love through faith saved the woman.
The Pharisee met the letter of the law but was far from righteousness.
The next time we are tempted to judge someone without first looking at our sin,
we should remember, but for the grace of God there go I. Whoever has been forgiven much, loves much.
Images used with permission by Microsoft.
Ken
Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing
Podcasts: http://kensblogpodcast.blogspot.com
