Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to have dinner with him. He was disgusted by a woman whose sins were great who washed the feet of Jesus with her ters and her hair. Brcause she was a sinner who had no place with such great men as Simon and his guest. But she felt hopelessly lost in sin but hopeful that Jesus was the only chance she had at redemption.
Here is the story straight from scripture:
36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
44 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.
45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
47 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.
48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. Luke 7:36-50
Simon considered himself a righteous man because he had checked off every box on his to do list of religious obligations. He fasted, he prayed, he paid his tithing and he went to the synagougue. And yet he lacked much.
When Jesus said to him, a creditor had to debtors; one who owed 50 pence and one who owed 500 pence. The creditor forgave them both, who had the most gratitude? Simon said the one who had been forgiven most.
Jesus said "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."
How much we are willing to forgive is indicative of how much we love.
Jesus tells another parable. This time about a sinner and a pharisee.
10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke 18:10-14
This Pharisee also thought he was saved because he checked off all the boxes on his religious obligation list. But it is by our fruits that we shall be known and it is by our love that we will be saved in this life and the next. With God's grace as well.
But he was not saved because he thought he was better than others but compared to Jesus there was but one difference; the sinner repented of his sins and knew how far he had fallen from the glory of God. He could not bear to face God or even lift his head. But he was justified before God in the end.
We are not so different from one another so there is a need to remain humble. We must not replay our greatest hits of righteousness and talk about how righteous we are when we pray as this Pharisee did. We must not be comfortable in our good works. We must repent of our daily sins.
We must approach The Lord with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. We must be sincere. Otherwise we waste our time and God's.
If we love much we forgive much. We will be merciful and obtain mercy. We will judge not and therefore not be judged.
Our mercy, our forgiveness, our lack of judgmental attitudes and most notably our love are what help us live the kingdom of God and share it with others.
We are not so different from one another. We should be more patient with others who are not checking off their boxes of religious obligations as much as we may be. Because God remains patient with us as we faulted and sin and fall short of the glory of God as Paul says.
God doesn't just love you, He loves those who hate you just as much. This is why Hesus taught us to love our enemies. They are children of God and we cannot say we love God and hate those whom He loves.
We are all in this together. So be excellent to each other!
