A missionary returned to his home city where he announced a
collection for foreign missions. A good friend said to him, “Very well, Andrew,
seeing it’s you, I’ll give $500.” “No”, said the missionary, “I can’t take the
money since you give it, saying it’s because of me.” His friend saw the point
immediately and said, “You’re right, Andrew. Here is $1000, seeing it’s because
of the Lord Jesus.”
It’s axiomatic for any Christian seeking to give. The target
of our gift is not ourselves or others, but the Lord Jesus. If you were here last
week, or listened to the podcast, you know that we were in Luke 8:26-39 where
we examined a perfect portrait of what Jesus calls every disciple to do in
fulfilling His Great Commission. Not only does He take His disciples to a place
that is quite foreign to them, He shows them how to proclaim the Gospel, make
disciples, and instruct others in observing His commands. In short, He shows
them how to make “little Christs”.
The best evidence that this formerly demonized man becomes a
“little Christ” is what Jesus finds when He travels to this area later in
Jesus’ ministry. (See Matthew 15:29-31.) A whole crowd of believers come out to
meet Him and seek His help. How is it that they have come to believe? What
agency has God used? This one man’s obedience to the charge of Jesus. He goes
back home and tells everyone what Jesus has done for him. And in following
Jesus’ charge, rather than following his own desires, he presents Jesus with a
glorious gift of gratitude; the believing hearts of his countrymen.
This week we see the same outcome – a gift of gratitude to
Jesus – in a fundamentally different way. In Luke 7:36-50, we see a
delivered woman coming to Jesus herself to show Him the full extent of her
gratitude. It’s an amazing contrast, and yet, at the core there’s a striking
similarity. The product of Jesus’ grace in a life is always an outpouring of
tangible gratitude.
Here’s a man I seldom quote – Ralph Waldo Emerson. But what
he says in his essay, “Gifts”, is profoundly true and vividly on display in the
life of this former prostitute (or as Luke puts it: “woman of the city, who was
a sinner”). Emerson says:
“But our tokens of
compliment and love are for the most part barbarous. Rings and other jewels are
not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself. Thou
must bleed for me. Therefore, the poet brings his poem; the shepherd his lamb;
the farmer his corn; the miner his gem; the sailor his coral and shells; the
painter his painting; the girl a handkerchief of her own sewing.”
That’s what we see in this woman’s gift to Jesus. As we will
see, it’s not a gift given to gain anything. It’s a gift given to acknowledge a
great gain already received.
The title of this week’s message is, “Guilt’s Only Remedy.”
In all the pages of the New Testament there is no one pictured whose guilt is
more public than this woman. And yet, in the presence of Jesus her guilt has
evaporated into nothing but profound gratitude. Her story is the story of every
self-aware believer. True giving is
never the means of getting, but the product of having already gained more than
you ever thought possible.
In preparation for Sunday’s message you may wish to consider
the following:
- How widespread is guilt in your life?
- How do you deal with it?
- What’s the connection between Luke 7:18-35 and our text?
- Why would a Pharisee invite Jesus to his table?
- Why would this woman venture to come to Jesus’ feet in the home of a Pharisee?
- What five things does she do at Jesus’ feet?
- Where would she have earned enough money to buy such an extravagant gift?
- What’s the problem with Simon’s question in verse 39?
- What irony is expressed in Jesus’ question in verse 44?
- How has her “faith” saved her and enabled her to gain peace rather than guilt?
