Saint Luke Evangelical Lutheran Church of Watertown-WELS

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

Pentecost 4 June 24 + 27, 2004 Luke 7:36-50

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him…When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “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”… Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

There was a South Korean worker named Kim—kidnapped by terrorists. It is impossible to imagine how terrible that must be—to be threatened by people capable of unspeakable evil and violence. It was painful to watch on the news day after day—a videotape of Kim—speaking in English—begging for his life. Again and again he would say, “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!” Even after he was murdered—and his body was discovered—they would play the tape of Kim—begging for his life. If we were held by terrorists and our life was threatened—what would we say? Would we beg for our physical life? Would we tell the terrorists—I have a wife and children—grandchildren! Have pity on me! Have mercy on me! It would only be by the grace of God that we could say, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain!…I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far!” Philippians 1:21f It would only be by the grace of God that we could remember the example of those who suffered for their Savior in the letter to the Hebrews. Those who “were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.” Hebrews 11:35b and following. It would only be by the grace of God that could boldly confess Jesus as our only Savior from sin—no matter what wicked people might do to us. Only Jesus can make us brave. Only Jesus can make us strong through the power of the Gospel. Today God’s Word encourages us:

Live In Peace

1. Our debt of sin is canceled

2. Our love for Jesus grows

For several Sundays after Pentecost we have been reading from the Gospel of the Physician Luke. We heard about the Roman Centurion from Capernaum—whose servant was sick and about to die. Remember the faith of that Centurion? “Say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” Here was child like trust and powerful confidence that Jesus had both the forgiving love and unlimited power to say the word—to will his servant completely well! Jesus made the Centurion’s servant completely well! Then comes the account of the collision of two parades. The parade of death—the funeral procession coming out of Nain—colliding with the parade—the large crowd led by the Lord Jesus—the Lord of Life! When Jesus saw the widow on the way to bury her only son—God’s Word says his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then Jesus said to the dead man, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” Immediately he got up! He wasn’t groggy or wobbly—coughing or choking or gasping or collapsing. He sat up and began to talk! He was alive again—because the Lord of Life made him alive. And this miracle—as wondrous as it was—pales to insignificance—compared to the gift of saving faith. Once dead in trespasses and sin—we are alive in Christ—alive forever!

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. Pharisees were a very exclusive group. They were very concerned about the law—rules and regulations—do’s and don’ts! They were very concerned about the traditions of the elders—the “we always did it that way” thinking. They spent forever and a day debating the law of Moses—arguing minutia—splitting hairs and picking nits. They would argue whether it was lawful or not to eat an egg that a hen did the work of laying on a Sabbath. Did it make a difference if that hen had wandered by the synagogue that day—and overheard the reading of the law with her little chicken ears? Only Jesus—only Jesus can see into people’s hearts. And that is where the real problem always is. Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for men to see…they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues…the greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to! Matthew 23:1-14 Is there a little bit of the yeast of the Pharisees in my heart and yours? If we say—I thank you Lord that I am not like those Pharisees—there is! If we have ever looked at the lives of our neighbors—our brother in law—our brother or sister or co-worker—and thought to our self—I’m not perfect—but at least I’m better than that person. If we have ever driven to Church—and saw people walking into bars at 7 a.m. or washing their car or cutting their grass—or driving out of town with their fishing boat—and thought—God is really blessed to have me as a believer—the pride of the Pharisee is in my heart! A Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner. Jesus could have said—I’m sorry—I don’t eat with arrogant self-righteous proud puffed up Pharisees. No. Jesus accepted this invitation. Jesus saw in this invitation an opportunity to share law and Gospel!

When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. A woman who had lived a sinful life in that town… Who was this woman? Some people like to think—I bet this is Mary Magdalene! She was a nasty lady—possessed with seven demons. Just think of the gross evil she would have been capable of! Except it doesn’t say anywhere that this woman was named Mary of Magdala! Some people like to think this lady was a prostitute—selling “hugs and kisses” on the corner—wearing her hair long and braided and perfumed for everyone to see. A cheap and easy woman who wore expensive jewelry on her wrists and ankles—so that whenever she moved—there would be the sound of tiny bells ringing—drawing attention to her perfume—her eye makeup. I’ll bet she was someone who drank too much—who had honey on her lips and poison in her heart! You think? How quick and easily we paint pictures of the sins of other people. God’s Word simply says—she had lived a sinful life in that town. The Greek word for sin here is hamartolos’—pre-eminently sinful, especially wicked—evil! Worse than we are? Did she do things we would never do? God grant us a heart like that of the Apostle Paul who could sincerely say—Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst! 1 Timothy 1:15b The woman at Jesus’ feet was nasty! So am I! I have lived a nasty life in LaCrosse and Onalaska, in Roanoke and West Chicago and Loves Park Illinois—in Watertown and Mequon and Waukesha and Browndeer and Dundee and Watertown again. Some people’s sins are in the newspapers and on TV. Most of our sins are sneaky. We work very hard to hide them and cover them up and deny them. But they are there. We too have lived a sinful life in this town!

This sinful woman brought an alabaster jar of perfume—stood behind Jesus who was reclining at the table—Jesus’ head by the table—his feet away from the table. This sinful woman wet Jesus’ feet with her tears—streaming down her cheeks that must have been red with the painful blush of shame. Her tears fell on Jesus’ feet—and she wiped them with her hair—something exceedingly personal and exceedingly humble—to take her hair—her beautiful hair—to wash Jesus’ dusty feet. She kissed Jesus’ feet and poured perfume on them. Again an act of humility and love! This woman was painfully aware of her sinfulness. Her repentance moved her to literal tears. In her eyes there was no one in that room except her and Jesus. She was sorry—truly sorry for all her sins. She loved Jesus so much that she had to show that love by washing his feet and pouring expensive perfume on them. Do we think of sin but lightly—nor suppose the evil great? Stand at the foot of Jesus’ cross. Think about The Passion of the Christ—Jesus nailed to the cross. Think about the heartache that Jesus endured—the blistering anger of his Father because of my failures—my shortcomings—my pride and my self-righteous attitude! Think about the ugliness of our own sins. Not insignificant flaws and weaknesses—but horrible hurtful painful evil. We are without excuse! We are forgiven—by grace alone!

Jesus told Simon—Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more? Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” Fearing some sort of trap—Simon hesitates. Yet the answer is inescapable. The greater the debt—the greater the gratitude! Do we appreciate how great a debt of sin Jesus has forgiven us? If we don’t—then grace is cheap and our faith unimportant. When we appreciate how tremendous Jesus’ forgiveness is—then we will work hard to live the Gospel and share the Gospel. We will want to study God’s Word—to understand more and more God’s plan to save us. We will study God’s plan for our marriages and our families. We will not just wait for opportunities—we will make opportunities to share our faith. We will be passionate about living our faith and sharing our faith. We will not be discouraged! We will love one another and forgive one another—even as Jesus has forgiven us!

Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven…your faith has saved you; go in peace.” There was a young man from South Korea in Iraq the other day. He was a translator—helping with business—when he was kidnapped and then murdered. How horrible is that! Though he pleaded with his captors—they took his life! What was perhaps even more painful to watch was the reaction of his family—his relatives. They screamed and cried. They pulled at their hair and scratched their faces—they literally rolled on the ground. Their grief was inconsolable! The apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 1 Thessalonians 4:13,14 There is a precious peace that comes from sins forgiven. There is precious peace from a good conscience. Precious peace that whenever we die—we will come home to Heaven by grace through faith.

To God alone all glory!