Loving Her God

 Loving Her God

Women in Covenant Series

June Lee. 13/4/18

Preface

Women struggle to succeed. There are many demands on a woman’s life—juggling the marketplace, the home, and a multitude of relationships. Women receive all sorts of messages that they have to succeed in all their areas of involvement and are often uncertain about how they are to accomplish it. Yet the heart of the matter is that it starts with the heart. Proverbs 4:23 says: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows form it.”. As women disciples we can only “get it right” if we go back to the basics of our heart’s posture and relationship with God. We can learn about what it means to have extravagant worship and devotion to God by studying the example of the sinful woman in Luke 7:36–50.

Truth

Getting into the Word: Luke 7:36–50

Jesus has been performing great miracles before the people, and teaching with great authority. One day, he accepts an invitation to dinner in the home of a Pharisee named Simon.

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. ³⁷ 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, ³⁸ 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. ³⁹ 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.” ⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

⁴¹ “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ⁴⁴ 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. ⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.⁴⁷ Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹ Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”    Luke 7:36–50 (ESV)

Observation

Watch the YouTube video “A woman washes Jesus’ feet with her hair and tears (Luke 7:36–50)”, paying attention to the tension and drama of the story and the perspectives of the woman, Simon the Pharisee, and Jesus. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii5wfxCgeK4)

1.    Look carefully at what the woman does. What different emotions does she express? How do you think she feels about herself? What would motivate this woman to go uninvited to a dinner party, bring an expensive gift, and weep before Jesus?

The woman was determined. She wanted to openly express her love for Jesus, and she was willing to endure public scorn and humiliation to do it.

Luke does not tell us, but the unnamed woman was probably a prostitute. She has most likely heard Jesus’ teaching prior to the dinner gathering—had heard His gracious words of God’s love, forgiveness, healing and restoration. She sees herself as a sinner who is still broken, but now she can see light and hope beyond. For the first time, she now sees herself as a child of God. [“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).]

She recognises Jesus as the Messiah. The act of washing Jesus’ feet was an act of humble worship. By using her hair to wash His feet, the woman was using the one body part that signified her own glory to honour Jesus. This was an unusual act, as much as the use of high grade ointment from an expensive alabaster flask to anoint Jesus’ feet. The fact that she performed such an extravagant and emotional act showed that she gave Jesus the highest honour that was not just accorded to a teacher or leader, but the Messiah. She expressed deep love, reverence, gratitude, and thankfulness for all that Jesus had done for her.

2.    In verse 39, how does Simon, the host, react to this uninvited guest? How does he feel about Jesus? How do you think he feels about himself?

Simon looks down on the woman, a sinner, but he does not turn her away. NB. It was a common custom for uninvited guests to be able to drop in at such a gathering to listen to the dialogue.

Simon is formal, distant and cool toward Jesus. He invited Jesus to his home probably thinking that the theological discussion would be interesting. Simon acknowledges Jesus as a teacher, but he doubts that Jesus is a prophet. He feels both contempt and pleasure as he watches the woman pour fragrant oil on Jesus’ feet because his appraisal of Jesus was being vindicated before his eyes. Jesus could not be a prophet if he lacked discernment regarding this immoral woman. No holy man would allow a sinful woman to “dirty” him with her touch. Simon displays “little” love for Jesus as he disregards the common courtesies normally extended to a guest (e.g. water to wash Jesus’ feet, a welcome kiss, anointing Jesus’ head with oil).

As a Pharisee, Simon enjoyed the reputation as a godly man. He would have significant theological education, have memorised extensive portions of Scripture, exercised rigorous self-discipline, prayed religiously and tithed meticulously. Proudly and self-righteously, Simon believes that he is a good, upright, religious man who is far from being a sinner.

3.    Jesus responds to Simon with a parable in verses 40-43. What is the point of the story? What is the significance of the creditor’s cancelling the debts?

Jesus uses the parable to explain that the sinful woman loves Him more than His host, because she has been forgiven of greater sins.

The symbolism was not lost on Simon:

·         Jesus is the creditor

·         Simon, himself, is the man who owes 50 denarii (about 2 months’ wages)

·         The woman is the man who owes 500 denarii (about 20 months’ wages)

In Aramaic, “debt” and “sin” are the same word (khaw-ba). God was not just cancelling monetary debt; He was also cancelling their sins.

The parable of the two debtors underlines the depth of gratitude that parallels the degree of indebtedness of each individual. In front of Simon’s guests, Jesus declared that the sinful woman actually loved God much, while the ritually clean Pharisee loved God little. Why? Simply because the woman believed that she desperately needed the forgiveness Jesus offered in His gospel, while Simon did not. The woman obviously saw Jesus as holy and gave Him the highest honour. Her tears expressed her deep contrition and conviction.¹

Application / Personal Reflection

1.    How are you like Simon, and why? How are you like the woman, and why?

2.    Loving her God is a calling for every woman to participate in the divine life. What would enable you to love Jesus the way the woman does?

Leader’s Notes:

In order for us to love God, we need both desire as well as discipline. We must have an unadulterated love and desire for God, and an obedient heart to bring our will into harmony with God’s will.

1) We must pray for a desire for God. 

    A lack of desire for God can occur because of a few reasons:

·         A prideful heart that is preoccupied with our pursuits

·         A distracted heart that is preoccupied with our pleasures

·         A disillusioned heart that is preoccupied with our pains

      Ultimately, desire for God can only come about when we embrace the reality of what He has done for each of us. The depth of gratitude towards God is a direct measure of our recognition of the reality of forgiveness and restoration in Him. We need to ask God daily to increase our hunger for Him.

     2)  We must practise the discipline of devotion.

The difference between Simon and the sinful woman is a deep desire for intimacy and relationship with Jesus. We can participate in the divine life by:

·         Developing understanding of God through reading His Word

·         Developing trust in God through prayer

·         Developing intimacy with God retreating into silence and solitude to carefully listen to Him

·         Developing devotion to God through obedience of His commands

·         Developing a humble worship of God with an attitude of gratitude and frequent thanksgiving.

Prayer

Pray for each other to renew our devotion to God and to fall in love with Him again. Pray for each other to have a deep hunger for God and the disciplined devotion to know Him more and to obey Him.

¹  Bloom, Jon. “What Love for God Looks Like.” Desiring God (blog), 25 January 2013. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-love-for-god-looks-like.