The gospel of Luke gives one of the most beautiful stories recorded in Scripture of a sinner praising their Savior.
In the seventh chapter of Luke, there is an account of a Pharisee who invited Jesus into his home for dinner. Keep in mind, Jesus had spent a lot of time up to this point in his ministry calling out Pharisees for their self-righteousness, legalism, etc. so we can be pretty sure the Pharisee didn’t invite Jesus over for dinner simply out of friendly affection. As a matter of fact, it’s more likely he invited Jesus over to pay closer attention to him and try to catch Jesus doing something that would ultimately indicate that he was a sinner and thus prove him to ultimately not be the Son of God, just another “sinner” like everyone else. Back in Jesus’ day and age, when you invited a guest over for a meal, other people close by could come and sit inside the walls of your house and listen.
On this specific occasion, one of the people who entered the house was a woman that Scripture describes as “a woman of the city, who was a sinner”. We can be fairly certain that this woman was involved in some sort of prostitution, and was looked upon as ‘scum of the earth’ by her Jewish community. In her culture, she was seen as someone who had broken the moral law so many times, her fate was irreversible, and she was definitely destined for hell. She was disconnected from her community. She was judged, condescended, looked down upon. She was reminded daily that she had failed to meet a standard, and she had lost all hope.
But when she encountered Jesus, everything changed.
This woman had heard Jesus’ message and believed. She realized what most had not- the Son of God had come to love and forgive, to offer hope, restoration and a new life.
Crying, she entered the room where they were dining. She made her way to Jesus and knelt down at his feet. The Pharisee, seeing what was happening thought to himself, “If Jesus were really a prophet, he would know this woman’s reputation. He would do what I would do; ignore this woman! He would refuse to associate with someone so unclean.” Suddenly, the woman, having finally found the hope she had hungered for so long, expressed her love and gratitude for Jesus the only way she could. Wishing to wash His feet but having no water or towel, she wiped Jesus’s feet with her tears, and dried them with her hair. She kissed them, and anointed them with ointment. She had found her greatest treasure.
During that moment, Jesus knew what was going on in the Pharisee’s mind and asked him a question: “If a creditor forgave the debt two people; one of whom owed a lot of money, and the other of whom only owed a little, which one would love that creditor more?” The Pharisee answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled a larger debt.”
Jesus replied, “You have judged rightly.”
The Pharisee, prostitute, you and I – we all have the same condition; we’re irreversibly broken. We can try our best to be righteous enough, but at the end of the day, we are in desperate need of someone to be righteous for us; someone perfect. We are in dire need of a Savior. The key in this story is that the Pharisee thought he was righteous because of his good works, but was oblivious to his depravity, full of arrogance and self-righteousness, whereas the prostitute recognized how much she needed a Savior. She had no good works to her name and felt damaged beyond repair. Yet she realized that, in Christ, all of her offenses to God were forgiven, and that she now had a new life, fully confident she was accepted by God- an acceptance she thought no longer possible.
Having put all her trust in Christ, and having asked Him for forgiveness, Jesus told this woman words that changed her life eternally: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Friends, do you ever feel like you’re destined for hell?
There is a Savior who’s shed his blood for your sin, and offers you perfect righteousness.
Do you feel like a failure?
Christ does not look upon your failure, but offers hope and love.
Our loving God offers forgiveness only through His most precious gift – our greatest necessity – Jesus Christ. Accept Him as your Savior, place Him above all as your Lord, and make Him the supreme treasure of your heart.
All in all, you will find He is infinitely worthy, greater than you could have ever dreamed.
GREATER DEPTHS 