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THE CONVERSION OF A SINFUL WOMAN
“A
WOMAN WITH A GREAT DEBT AND NOTHING TO PAY”
BIBLE TEXT – READ (Luke
This scripture portion tells the story of two people, one a religious Pharisee, the other a woman known in the city as a sinner. Both were in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at the same time. There were many differences, many contrasts, between these two people, some of which we will highlight as we go into more detail. The attitude and actions of these two people towards Jesus Christ resulted in two different outcomes. It is the same today. (Matthew 22:42) “What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?” Your attitude, your actions, your answer to this question will determine whether your sins are forgiven or not forgiven. It will determine your eternal destiny, whether it will be heaven or hell.
By way of a simple outline we
want to consider two principle things in this story in (Luke
1.
THE DEEDS AND DESTINY OF THE PHARISEE
2.
THE DEEDS AND DESTINY OF THE WOMAN
1) THE DEEDS AND DESTINY OF THE PHARISEE
There are at least three “WRONG THINGS” that are revealed about the Pharisee:
A) HE HAD THE WRONG MOTIVE
The story begins in verse 36 when he gave the Lord Jesus an invitation to eat in his house. At first glance this appears to be a nice gesture. On closer scrutiny, however, it was hostility that prompted the invitation. Simon, the Pharisee, had the wrong motive for inviting Jesus to his house. This is evident by the fact that he neglected the common courtesies of an Eastern home. Notice the following verses:
· (verse 44) “thou gavest me no water for my feet” – It was customary; upon the arrival of a guest to bring water to wash the feet.
· (verse 45) “Thou gavest me no kiss” – A kiss on the check was a sign of welcome and salutation.
· (verse 46) “My head with oil thou didst not anoint” – Anointing of a guest was an act of showing hospitality and honor.
Simon did none of these things for the Saviour. It was uncouth invitation, lacking all cordiality. His invitation was offered out of curiosity. He wanted to catch the Lord Jesus in His words or ways that would justify his rejection of Him. It was an invitation for investigation.
B) HE CAME TO THE WRONG CONCLUSION
(verse
39) “he spake within himself saying, this man, IF HE WERE A PROPHET”. To Simon, Jesus was less than a
prophet. Friend, let me ask you again “What think ye of
Christ? Whose Son is He”? Your eternal destiny depends on your
opinion. Some of you may think that
Jesus was an imposter or a charlatan or that He did not exist at all. Some of you may think that He was a good man or a martyr.
These are wrong thoughts about Jesus that will result in eternal
consequences. Your eternal salvation
depends on your understanding and acceptance that Jesus Christ is Lord. He alone is the Saviour of sinners. (Acts
C) HE CONTINUED ON THE WRONG COURSE
He thought the actions of the
Lord Jesus Christ validated his low estimation of Him. To Simon, the Pharisee, this man called Jesus
was less than a prophet and he rejected the Lord’s ability to forgive
sins. See (verse 49). Because of the Pharisee’s rejection of the
Lord Jesus Christ and his refusal to believe in Him, he remained in his sins
and unsaved. The Lord never said to him,
as He said to the woman, “Thy sins are forgiven” (verse
48) or “Thy faith hath saved thee” (verse
50). The Pharisee remained
complacent and self satisfied. He
remained satisfied with his religion, with its outward ritualism, creeds and
ceremonies. The Pharisee remained a
“religious” man who was unsaved, who rejected the only Saviour of sinners. Friend, are you saved? Have you been “born again”? (John 3:3,7) “Except a man be born again, he cannot see
the
2) THE DEEDS AND DESTINY OF THE WOMAN
There
are at least three “RIGHT THINGS” that are revealed about the woman;
A) SHE CAME TO THE RIGHT PERSON
Notice
(verse 37) “when she knew that Jesus sat at meat
in the Pharisees’ house, (she) brought an
alabaster box of ointment”. She came because Jesus was there. Friend,
when it comes to the salvation of your soul, there is no other person to whom
you can come. Remember (Acts
It is generally believed by Bible
students that the incident recorded in (Matthew
It is likely that the sinful woman in our story heard the Lords invitation “Come unto me” and she came to Him and received Him as her own personal Saviour.
B) SHE CAME IN THE RIGHT CONDITION
There is no question that the
woman in our story was a sinner. (verse 37) “a woman in the city, which was a sinner’, (verse
39) “she is a sinner”, (verse 47) “Her sins, which are many”. She not only came to Jesus in her
sins, she came with tears. This writer
believes that this woman was previously saved when this incident occurred. Her tears, I believe, were tears from the
woman’s uncontrolled expression of love, devotion and adoration. This is why she brought the alabaster box of
ointment, to anoint the Saviour in an expression of worship. This incident is a reminder, however, of how
a sinner must come to the Saviour. You
must come in your sins “for all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God” (Romans
·
(Isaiah 66:2) “to this
man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and
trembleth at my word”.
·
(Psalm 34:18) “The Lord
is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a
contrite spirit”.
Will you take the sinners place and acknowledge your sinful condition before God and your need of a Saviour?
C) SHE PUT HER FAITH IN THE RIGHT PERSON
What are you depending upon to get you into heaven? Have you put your faith in your church membership, your infant baptism, your confirmation or your clergyman? Do you believe by “doing the best you can”, keeping the “golden rule”, tithing, etc., that these things will get you into heaven? My friend, listen to what the Bible says about your so called good works”;
·
(Titus 3:5) Salvation
is “Not
by works of righteousness which we have done”.
·
(Ephesians 2:9) Salvation
is “Not
of works, lest any man should boast”.
·
(Isaiah 64:6) “We are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousness our as
filthy rags.
How then can a person be
saved? Notice what (Acts
The Lord Jesus Christ told a
little parable to Simon, the Pharisee.
This is found in (verses 40-43).
In summary it is about a creditor that had two debtors. One debtor owed ten times as much as the
other. The creditor is God. We are the debtors. Some are worse sinners than others but all
are sinners and accountable to God.
Notice (verse 42) “When they had nothing to pay,
He frankly forgave them both”.
Sin is a debt that we cannot pay.
Jesus Christ paid the debt when He died on the cross for our sins. He was. “delivered
for our offences and was raised again for our justification” (Romans
The woman in our story was “A WOMAN
WITH A GREAT DEBT AND NOTHING TO PAY”.
So it is for each one of us, sin is a debt that we cannot pay. (Psalm 49:7) “None -
- can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him”. This is why God “spared
not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us
all” (Romans
Please give this matter your most serious attention. Will you be a believer or a non-believer? Your eternal destiny depends on your decision.
Christian Messenger