Christians, we aren’t going to hell.

Our eternity is not in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.

Instead, our eternity is in the glory of heaven, in the presence of God…and we owe it all to the agony of the Son of God on the cross.

Christians, do we appreciate what Jesus has done for us?

Take a moment to think about how you serve your Savior.  Consider how much you personally are truly devoted to Him.

I ask that you do this because the extent of your service to Jesus and His church…the extent of your devotion to Him as opposed to your devotion to the things of the world…all of this demonstrates how much you truly appreciate His sacrifice.

If we are not as involved in the work of His kingdom as we should be, what does that indicate?

If we need to be more diligent in our service and devotion to Him, what would motivate us to do so?

Let’s examine the parable of canceled debts to find the answers to these questions…

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Luke 7:36-50

Jesus is eating dinner at Simon’s house.  Simon is a Pharisee.  An anonymous woman described as a sinner (likely a prostitute) somehow finds her way into the house, bringing with her an alabaster flask of fragrant oil.  She first stands behind Jesus as He is at the table.  She is crying.  She then moves to where His feet are, and apparently is crying so hard that she produces enough tears to be able to wash His feet.  She then dries His feet with her hair and anoints them with the oil, which was likely a very expensive perfumed ointment.

She’s doing what a servant was supposed to do.  Most people wore sandals as they walked over these very hot, dusty roads; by the end of the day, their feet would have been very dirty, sweaty, and smelly.  Simon the Pharisee did not offer Jesus the common courtesy of a servant to wash His feet before the meal.  Instead, this woman — a stranger, a sinner — took it upon herself to do it.  Clearly she had sought out Jesus because she had heard He was a prophet.  Perhaps she had already heard Him teach or had seen a miracle, and thus knew He was the Son of God.  She wanted Him to forgive her of her sins, possibly because she had heard He had forgiven others.

Simon doubted that Christ was truly a prophet because He allowed this sinful woman to touch Him.  Of course, Jesus knew who this woman was and what kind of person she was.  He also knew what Simon was thinking at that very moment!  (John 2:24-25; Matt. 9:3-4)

So He told him and the other guests a parable about a moneylender who had two people who owed him money.  One of them owed 500 denarii (500 days worth of wages, almost two whole year’s worth of salary), and the other owed 50 denarii (50 days worth of wages, almost two whole month’s worth of salary).  Both of these sums would be difficult for any average working man to pay back.  Neither of them had the ability to pay back the lender, but the creditor forgave them both of their debts.

Jesus then asked, “Now which of them will love him more?”  Which will be the more grateful to the man for canceling their debt so that they would not have to worry about pinching literally every penny?

Simon responded with an “I suppose…”  Did he think this whole conversation was beneath him?  Was he reluctant to answer the question because he was figuring out that Jesus was equating him with this sinful woman?  Was he figuring out that as far as God was concerned, both of them were sinners who owed debts they could not pay?  Regardless, he gave the right answer:  “The one for whom he cancelled the larger debt.”  Jesus tells him he answered correctly.

He then turned Simon’s attention to the woman who had crashed his supper and pointed out that she gave to Christ all of the customary signs of hospitality that Simon as host should have given to his guest but did not.  She knew Jesus was her Lord and Savior, and was seeking redemption.

She was about to receive what she longed for.  Still speaking to Simon, Jesus now addresses the woman, acknowledging that she had committed many sins but still forgiving all of them.

The Greek phrasing of this is interesting because it differs from the common English translation.  In the Greek, instead of listing “for she loved much” as the reason for her forgiveness, “for she loved much” is the proof or result of her being forgiven.  In other words, her forgiveness produced much love.

And then Simon hears, “But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”  All he saw when he looked at her was sin.  He didn’t notice her humble penitence, choosing to see instead someone who had committed so many terrible sins that he himself had not committed…which obviously meant that he was better than her and would always be better than her.  He had no mercy, love, or forgiveness for her.  As far as he was concerned, she deserved none of that.

Which is why the point Christ was making to him was this.  Simon, you do not show that much love toward your fellow man who sins…just as you also sin.  The reason is because God has not forgiven you very much.  The reason for that is because you have so little humility in your heart.  You focus on her sins, but you don’t acknowledge your own.  You have no repentance for your own considerable shortcomings of pride, selfishness, self-righteousness, prejudice, spiritual blindness, and hypocrisy.  You look in the mirror and see righteousness.  God sees something else.  People who think they are better than others cannot have the self-sacrificial love for others which God requires.  You don’t realize that you and this woman are more alike than you think.  You both owe a debt you cannot pay, but she’s the only one who realizes this.  She looks in the mirror and sees only her own sin, and she so desperately doesn’t want to see that sin anymore.  She wants to be clean so much, and so I will make her clean.”

And then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”  I can only imagine her joy upon hearing that.

The other guests are scandalized.  Who does this Nazarene think He is, God Himself??  Jesus ignores them and tells the woman that her faith has saved her before telling her to go in peace (literally in the Greek, “go INTO peace.”)

She believed.  She believed that she had sinned.  She believed the truth about her sin and the spiritual predicament she was now in because of her sin.  She believed Jesus was the answer, that Jesus could save her.  She believed repentance would lead to forgiveness, and so she repented (cf. 2 Cor. 7:10).

Thus, Christ forgave her and gave her peace.  That’s how it is with us whenever we believe and our faith motivates repentance (2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 5:1).

Christians, are we aware of the enormity of our sins?  Simon was a religious guy…but he wasn’t aware of this.  Are we?

Are we aware of how wonderful a thing forgiveness of sins truly is?  The most wondrous thing Christ ever did had nothing to do with making the blind see or walking on water.  It is helping you and me find the peace of forgiveness.  He paid the debt we could not pay.

How much have you been forgiven?  A lot?  If so, do you love a lot?  If Christ has forgiven you much, do you love Him much…enough so that He and He alone is the center of your life in every way?