Pastor Cal Lord's Recent Sermons
Seeing Through The Eyes Of Christ
July 27, 2003 Luke 7:36-50
“In loving kindness Jesus came, my soul in mercy to reclaim and from the depths of sin and
shame, thro grace he lifted me.” These words could very well have been written by the woman
in our text this morning. She was a nobody until she met Jesus. She was a tarnished, forgotten,
lost and wayward soul and was considered less than human by most of the world. But Jesus…
he saw her differently.
There is a story told by a man named Alan Calhoun, from Bristol, Connecticut about a tag sale he
and wife had a year. They had decided to put out a mirror they’d received as a wedding gift. The
reason they were selling it was that it had a gaudy aqua-colored metal frame and they just couldn’
t find a room in their house where it looked good.
Shortly after the tag sale began, a young man (who was looking to decorate his own apartment)
bought the mirror for one dollar. He was all excited, and he said as he bought it: “This is a great
deal - it still has the plastic on it.” Then he peeled off the aqua-colored protective covering… to
reveal a beautiful gold finished frame underneath.
Lots of people go to garage sales looking for bargains just like that. Some people have a saying
about garage sales: "One man’s trash is another man’s treasure," but once in a while, someone
stumbles upon a treasure that the owner doesn’t know the value of.
That’s what happened when Jesus accepted the invitation to dinner at Simon the Pharisee’s
house that we have been reading about. You see Jesus had been preaching Galilee for nearly a
year now. Many people had received him gladly. He had changed many lives already with his
compassionate heart. He’d healed a leper, a paralytic and dozens of other people. He has even
cast out demons and raised a widow’s son from the dead. All this had taken place before the
event we see recorded here in Luke 7.
But the Pharisees, the church leadership, the ancient day preachers, teachers and deacons, had
already begun to grow cold to Jesus’ influence. He didn’t seek to impress them and come to
them to show off and perform wonderful deeds. It was almost as if he was ignoring them. As a
matter of fact, when he did engage them, when he found himself in a group of them, he almost
always said something that made them look petty and foolish.
One of the Pharisees, named Simon, decided he would turn the tables on Jesus and try to
provoke him to do something that would end up embarrassing him. He invites Jesus to a meal –
then snubs Him, hoping to get Jesus to make a scene. Now in simply reading our text, you might
not get what was happening here.
You see, good manners in that day required the host to have his servant wash the guest’s feet.
He was expected to greet his visitor with a kiss on the cheek and anoint the guest’s head with oil.
In an act of total disregard for Jesus, Simon did none of these things.
Imagine going to a party and extending your hand to someone, only to have them subtly refuse to
extend their hand in return… They may even smile as they refuse, but you know – and they
know – it’s intended as an insult. It’s meant to offend.
That’s pretty much what Simon intended in his behavior. He wanted to goad Jesus into making a
statement, or behaving in such a way that he could then use to embarrass Him and use against
Jesus.
You know politicians do this kind of thing all the time. I remember when President Clinton came
to town back in the early 1990’s. The President of the City Council at that time was a
Republican, and it just so happened, that he was out of town that day. An intentional snub?
There is a story told about President Clinton and his response to the constant pressure put on him
by the Republican congress, which was then led by Newt Gingrich. To get back at Gingrich, the
President did a strange thing. He invited Newt to ride along with him on Air Force One. It
seemed like a noble gesture at first, but that was until Gingrich found out he had been relegated
to the back of the plane. If insulting Gingrich had been what the President or his aides intended –
it worked beautifully. Gingrich rose to the bait and openly complained to the press about his
supposed mistreatment. The result was that the congressman was publicly viewed as a spoiled
child and the President became portrayed as a misunderstood statesman. It was the beginning of
the end for Gingrich’s career and his threat to President Clinton.
When we read about this dinner invitation in our text, there is no doubt that this was Simon the
Pharisee’s objective with Jesus. But Jesus knew Simon’s behavior was intended as an insult. He
knew Simon’s heart. But Jesus was more gracious than you or I would have been. In this
situation, He simply ignored Simon’s behavior.
But even before we can really get into the what and why of this situation, a woman entered the
room. She’s not the kind of woman you’d ordinarily invite to nice party. She was a prostitute. In
our society she’d be wearing a short skirt, high heels, fishnet hose, and a low cut blouse. But in
that setting, in the day of Jesus, she’d have been dressed just like most others… except she’d be
wearing very expensive perfume. Some have said that prostitutes of that day wore a vial of
perfume by a cord around their neck. You see, since bathing was infrequent, a pleasant fragrance
was their calling card.
And here she is at Simon’s home – unescorted, uninvited, unwanted. Luke only tells us that she
“learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house.” And she comes simply to present a jar
of perfume to Jesus as a gift. We can almost see her slipping in the side door, hoping to be
unnoticed - standing quietly behind Jesus, waiting to catch His attention, present her gift and
leave.
BUT as she looks into his eyes, she begins to weep. I don’t think she intended to. I don’t believe
it was part of her plans. But I think there was something about being this close to Jesus that
simply overwhelmed her.
As Jesus looks at her, something breaks within her and the tears begin to flow. They literally fall
on Jesus’ unwashed feet and leave streaks in the dirt and grime Simon has refused to wash
away. In her embarrassment she falls to her knees and begins to wipe his feet with her hair.
Then she pours perfume from her jar onto his feet. It’s aroma fills the room.
Now just imagine Simon’s delight. Simon, who is so pure, so righteous in every legal sense. This
is Simon who is puffed up with pride and arrogance. This is Simon the good churchman who is
watching this little drama unfold. And we can see him… smile.
“Gotcha… I’ve gotcha Jesus! You claim to be a prophet and you doesn’t even know who this
woman is that’s wiping your feet with her hair. You don’t know that the perfume she’s poured
on you is part of what she uses in her foul occupation… I’ve got you.”
You know, self-righteousness is an ugly thing. It puts a nasty “aqua colored” film over a person’
s eyes and makes it so they can’t see the inner value in other’s souls. Self-righteousness like
Simon’s is the type that scorns tears, laughs at repentance, mocks mercy. His is the attitude of
the school yard bully that just knows he’s better than you are and he has every intention of
reminding you of that. And I’ve no doubt that as he is watching this woman kneel at Jesus’ feet
he’s thinking of some sharp, ugly comment to make that would embarrass this woman, and
Jesus with her.
The truth is that Jesus can handle insults against his own character. But He’s not about to put up
with an arrogant attack on this woman’s sorrow. With the precision of a surgeon Jesus proceeds
to cut Simon to his heart and reveal the hypocrisy that lay within. Jesus sees Simon gloating and
he quickly turns the tables on him, and asks him a question. “Simon, I have something to tell
you.”
Simon responds: “What is it you want to tell me (pause) teacher.”
Jesus then tells his story. “There were once 2 men who owed moneylender a great deal of
money. One owned 5000 denarii (@ $50,000). Another owed 500 denarii (@ $5000). Neither
could repay their debt, and so the money lender –thinking to cut his losses, cancelled the debt of
both. Now, Simon, which would love the moneylender more?"
Simon just couldn’t help himself. He was a good Pharisee and he just couldn’t help showing his
wisdom to this upstart teacher. So responded “I suppose the one who owed most – love most.”
Jesus responded: “Well said Simon, you have judged correctly.” Then Jesus literally turned His
back on Simon and faced the woman.
He turned away from the judgmental, self righteousness of the Pharisee to the simple repentance
of this woman.
In Luke 7:44-50 we’re told the rest of the story: “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. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not
stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-- for she loved much. But he who has
been forgiven little loves little."
Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." The other guests began to say among
themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
He who has been forgiven little, loves little. What a scathing comment. Simon was a man who
never felt the need for much forgiveness and therefore felt little love for those who did. Without
a love and compassion for others, Simon neither understood nor loved the real God of his
people. By contrast, the opposite would be true: He who has been forgiven much, will love
much. If we who are Christians do not sense how much God has forgiven us of, we will not
love Him or others as we should.
You know the problem here was the way a person is seen. When Simon looked at this woman,
all he saw was a prostitute. A gaudy, pitiful excuse for a woman. That’s all she was – all she’d
ever be, and she was never going to change. But Jesus saw her differently.
Tony Campolo once wrote of a college class he once taught where one of his Jewish students
commented that, "Jesus never met a prostitute. He says, “I jumped at the opening; here was my
chance, I thought. I could show this guy a thing or two about Jesus and about the New
Testament. "Yes, He did," I responded. "I’ll show you in my Bible where-"
The young man interrupted me. "You didn’t hear me, Doctor. I said Jesus never met a
prostitute." Once again I protested. Once again I reached for my New Testament. I started to
leaf through the pages of my Bible searching for those passages which showed Jesus forgiving
the "fallen woman." I searched for the place where He gave the woman at the well a chance for
spiritual renewal.
Once again, my Jewish student spoke out, this time with a touch of anger in his raised voice.
"You’re not listening to me, Doctor. You aren’t listening to what I am saying. I am saying that
Jesus never met a prostitute. Do you think that when he looked at Mary Magdalene he saw a
prostitute? Do you think he saw whores when he looked at women like her? Doctor, listen to
me! Jesus never met a prostitute!"
When Jesus looked on such women He didn’t see them as they were. He saw them as they could
be. Remember that mirror that was found at that tag sale? To Jesus, sin has always been an ugly
aqua colored film that hides the true beauty underneath. It’s an aqua colored filth that needs
stripped away to reveal the image of God that it has clouded. When we humble ourselves at the
feet of Jesus – when we acknowledge our sin and emptiness, then take away film of sin and
remake us in way God intended.
This morning, what do you think Jesus sees when He looks at you? Do you really think He sees
only where you’ve been and what you’ve done? No. He see that, but what He really looks at is
the beauty of your soul and potential that lies within. He looks on your heart and He waits for you
to approach Him in humbleness for Him to remove the film of sinfulness and emptiness from
your life.
July 27, 2003 Luke 7:36-50
“In loving kindness Jesus came, my soul in mercy to reclaim and from the depths of sin and
shame, thro grace he lifted me.” These words could very well have been written by the woman
in our text this morning. She was a nobody until she met Jesus. She was a tarnished, forgotten,
lost and wayward soul and was considered less than human by most of the world. But Jesus…
he saw her differently.
There is a story told by a man named Alan Calhoun, from Bristol, Connecticut about a tag sale he
and wife had a year. They had decided to put out a mirror they’d received as a wedding gift. The
reason they were selling it was that it had a gaudy aqua-colored metal frame and they just couldn’
t find a room in their house where it looked good.
Shortly after the tag sale began, a young man (who was looking to decorate his own apartment)
bought the mirror for one dollar. He was all excited, and he said as he bought it: “This is a great
deal - it still has the plastic on it.” Then he peeled off the aqua-colored protective covering… to
reveal a beautiful gold finished frame underneath.
Lots of people go to garage sales looking for bargains just like that. Some people have a saying
about garage sales: "One man’s trash is another man’s treasure," but once in a while, someone
stumbles upon a treasure that the owner doesn’t know the value of.
That’s what happened when Jesus accepted the invitation to dinner at Simon the Pharisee’s
house that we have been reading about. You see Jesus had been preaching Galilee for nearly a
year now. Many people had received him gladly. He had changed many lives already with his
compassionate heart. He’d healed a leper, a paralytic and dozens of other people. He has even
cast out demons and raised a widow’s son from the dead. All this had taken place before the
event we see recorded here in Luke 7.
But the Pharisees, the church leadership, the ancient day preachers, teachers and deacons, had
already begun to grow cold to Jesus’ influence. He didn’t seek to impress them and come to
them to show off and perform wonderful deeds. It was almost as if he was ignoring them. As a
matter of fact, when he did engage them, when he found himself in a group of them, he almost
always said something that made them look petty and foolish.
One of the Pharisees, named Simon, decided he would turn the tables on Jesus and try to
provoke him to do something that would end up embarrassing him. He invites Jesus to a meal –
then snubs Him, hoping to get Jesus to make a scene. Now in simply reading our text, you might
not get what was happening here.
You see, good manners in that day required the host to have his servant wash the guest’s feet.
He was expected to greet his visitor with a kiss on the cheek and anoint the guest’s head with oil.
In an act of total disregard for Jesus, Simon did none of these things.
Imagine going to a party and extending your hand to someone, only to have them subtly refuse to
extend their hand in return… They may even smile as they refuse, but you know – and they
know – it’s intended as an insult. It’s meant to offend.
That’s pretty much what Simon intended in his behavior. He wanted to goad Jesus into making a
statement, or behaving in such a way that he could then use to embarrass Him and use against
Jesus.
You know politicians do this kind of thing all the time. I remember when President Clinton came
to town back in the early 1990’s. The President of the City Council at that time was a
Republican, and it just so happened, that he was out of town that day. An intentional snub?
There is a story told about President Clinton and his response to the constant pressure put on him
by the Republican congress, which was then led by Newt Gingrich. To get back at Gingrich, the
President did a strange thing. He invited Newt to ride along with him on Air Force One. It
seemed like a noble gesture at first, but that was until Gingrich found out he had been relegated
to the back of the plane. If insulting Gingrich had been what the President or his aides intended –
it worked beautifully. Gingrich rose to the bait and openly complained to the press about his
supposed mistreatment. The result was that the congressman was publicly viewed as a spoiled
child and the President became portrayed as a misunderstood statesman. It was the beginning of
the end for Gingrich’s career and his threat to President Clinton.
When we read about this dinner invitation in our text, there is no doubt that this was Simon the
Pharisee’s objective with Jesus. But Jesus knew Simon’s behavior was intended as an insult. He
knew Simon’s heart. But Jesus was more gracious than you or I would have been. In this
situation, He simply ignored Simon’s behavior.
But even before we can really get into the what and why of this situation, a woman entered the
room. She’s not the kind of woman you’d ordinarily invite to nice party. She was a prostitute. In
our society she’d be wearing a short skirt, high heels, fishnet hose, and a low cut blouse. But in
that setting, in the day of Jesus, she’d have been dressed just like most others… except she’d be
wearing very expensive perfume. Some have said that prostitutes of that day wore a vial of
perfume by a cord around their neck. You see, since bathing was infrequent, a pleasant fragrance
was their calling card.
And here she is at Simon’s home – unescorted, uninvited, unwanted. Luke only tells us that she
“learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house.” And she comes simply to present a jar
of perfume to Jesus as a gift. We can almost see her slipping in the side door, hoping to be
unnoticed - standing quietly behind Jesus, waiting to catch His attention, present her gift and
leave.
BUT as she looks into his eyes, she begins to weep. I don’t think she intended to. I don’t believe
it was part of her plans. But I think there was something about being this close to Jesus that
simply overwhelmed her.
As Jesus looks at her, something breaks within her and the tears begin to flow. They literally fall
on Jesus’ unwashed feet and leave streaks in the dirt and grime Simon has refused to wash
away. In her embarrassment she falls to her knees and begins to wipe his feet with her hair.
Then she pours perfume from her jar onto his feet. It’s aroma fills the room.
Now just imagine Simon’s delight. Simon, who is so pure, so righteous in every legal sense. This
is Simon who is puffed up with pride and arrogance. This is Simon the good churchman who is
watching this little drama unfold. And we can see him… smile.
“Gotcha… I’ve gotcha Jesus! You claim to be a prophet and you doesn’t even know who this
woman is that’s wiping your feet with her hair. You don’t know that the perfume she’s poured
on you is part of what she uses in her foul occupation… I’ve got you.”
You know, self-righteousness is an ugly thing. It puts a nasty “aqua colored” film over a person’
s eyes and makes it so they can’t see the inner value in other’s souls. Self-righteousness like
Simon’s is the type that scorns tears, laughs at repentance, mocks mercy. His is the attitude of
the school yard bully that just knows he’s better than you are and he has every intention of
reminding you of that. And I’ve no doubt that as he is watching this woman kneel at Jesus’ feet
he’s thinking of some sharp, ugly comment to make that would embarrass this woman, and
Jesus with her.
The truth is that Jesus can handle insults against his own character. But He’s not about to put up
with an arrogant attack on this woman’s sorrow. With the precision of a surgeon Jesus proceeds
to cut Simon to his heart and reveal the hypocrisy that lay within. Jesus sees Simon gloating and
he quickly turns the tables on him, and asks him a question. “Simon, I have something to tell
you.”
Simon responds: “What is it you want to tell me (pause) teacher.”
Jesus then tells his story. “There were once 2 men who owed moneylender a great deal of
money. One owned 5000 denarii (@ $50,000). Another owed 500 denarii (@ $5000). Neither
could repay their debt, and so the money lender –thinking to cut his losses, cancelled the debt of
both. Now, Simon, which would love the moneylender more?"
Simon just couldn’t help himself. He was a good Pharisee and he just couldn’t help showing his
wisdom to this upstart teacher. So responded “I suppose the one who owed most – love most.”
Jesus responded: “Well said Simon, you have judged correctly.” Then Jesus literally turned His
back on Simon and faced the woman.
He turned away from the judgmental, self righteousness of the Pharisee to the simple repentance
of this woman.
In Luke 7:44-50 we’re told the rest of the story: “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. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not
stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-- for she loved much. But he who has
been forgiven little loves little."
Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." The other guests began to say among
themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
He who has been forgiven little, loves little. What a scathing comment. Simon was a man who
never felt the need for much forgiveness and therefore felt little love for those who did. Without
a love and compassion for others, Simon neither understood nor loved the real God of his
people. By contrast, the opposite would be true: He who has been forgiven much, will love
much. If we who are Christians do not sense how much God has forgiven us of, we will not
love Him or others as we should.
You know the problem here was the way a person is seen. When Simon looked at this woman,
all he saw was a prostitute. A gaudy, pitiful excuse for a woman. That’s all she was – all she’d
ever be, and she was never going to change. But Jesus saw her differently.
Tony Campolo once wrote of a college class he once taught where one of his Jewish students
commented that, "Jesus never met a prostitute. He says, “I jumped at the opening; here was my
chance, I thought. I could show this guy a thing or two about Jesus and about the New
Testament. "Yes, He did," I responded. "I’ll show you in my Bible where-"
The young man interrupted me. "You didn’t hear me, Doctor. I said Jesus never met a
prostitute." Once again I protested. Once again I reached for my New Testament. I started to
leaf through the pages of my Bible searching for those passages which showed Jesus forgiving
the "fallen woman." I searched for the place where He gave the woman at the well a chance for
spiritual renewal.
Once again, my Jewish student spoke out, this time with a touch of anger in his raised voice.
"You’re not listening to me, Doctor. You aren’t listening to what I am saying. I am saying that
Jesus never met a prostitute. Do you think that when he looked at Mary Magdalene he saw a
prostitute? Do you think he saw whores when he looked at women like her? Doctor, listen to
me! Jesus never met a prostitute!"
When Jesus looked on such women He didn’t see them as they were. He saw them as they could
be. Remember that mirror that was found at that tag sale? To Jesus, sin has always been an ugly
aqua colored film that hides the true beauty underneath. It’s an aqua colored filth that needs
stripped away to reveal the image of God that it has clouded. When we humble ourselves at the
feet of Jesus – when we acknowledge our sin and emptiness, then take away film of sin and
remake us in way God intended.
This morning, what do you think Jesus sees when He looks at you? Do you really think He sees
only where you’ve been and what you’ve done? No. He see that, but what He really looks at is
the beauty of your soul and potential that lies within. He looks on your heart and He waits for you
to approach Him in humbleness for Him to remove the film of sinfulness and emptiness from
your life.
| Welcome to the First Baptist Church of Norwich 239 West Main Street Norwich, Connecticut Phone: 860-889-0369 |
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