May I please Almighty God this
morning to bless us together as we meditate in his holy word. Let us turn to the Gospel of
Luke chapter seven and we'll read verse 42. The Gospel of
Luke chapter seven and reading verse 42. And when they had nothing to
pay, He frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which
of them will love him most? We should be very thankful that
we have in the Word of God so many wonderful examples of the
Lord's goodness and mercy towards his people. and the wonderful
blessings that were brought about and the scenes which are so clearly
recorded in the Word of God for our encouragement and for our
direction and for our guidance. We read together in this seventh
chapter of the Gospel of Luke the account of the Pharisee and
this woman who is described as a sinner. We see how the Lord
uses such an account as this to instruct us and to direct
us in a right way. And of course, it's a blessing
to realise that the Lord comes down and gives this very simple
statement in speaking to the Pharisee and to this woman, when
he said there was a certain creditor, which had two debtors, the one
owed 500 pence and the other 50. And then he says, and when
they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore,
which of them will love him most? And Simon, it's not of course
Simon Peter, it's a Pharisee whose name was Simon. He answered
and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he
said unto him, thou hast rightly judged. Well, it's clear then
from this account that the woman that we read about, which we'll
comment on in a moment, was a woman who had been forgiven much, whereas
on the other side, the Pharisee, it would seem, did not appreciate,
did not understand. what really had occurred. The Lord therefore uses such
illustrations for our blessing and for our instruction. And
of course, one of the greatest, perhaps the greatest favour that
you and I can receive is to know that the Lord has graciously
forgiven our sins. The Lord has taken away all our
sins. What a wonderful mercy it is. Perhaps we can remember the words
in Isaiah. Isaiah is a blessed gospel prophecy. And in the first chapter, those
beautiful words, which expressed like this, when the prophet tells
us in the 18th verse, he says, come now, come now often think
how relevant that is. Sometimes we put off praying,
Perhaps we put off repentance. Perhaps we put off coming to
our God. We find excuses. And yet you see, on this occasion,
the prophet says, come now. And let us reason together, saith
the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool. The clear picture we have of
the sins, which were so bad and so terrible, were indeed taken
away. And it's a great blessing for
all of us. It's a blessing which the whole
Church of God understand, and that is to have come to a position
which before a holy God, they stand as a condemned sinner. When I say they are a condemned
sinner, that means that their sins have been brought to their
attention and they realise that because of their sins, unless
they are forgiven, they will have no hope of spending eternity
in glory with a saviour. Therefore it is a very relevant
and a very important consideration. What a blessing, therefore, if
we perhaps feel, and it's a blessing if we have felt or do feel the
burden of our sins to come unto the Lord and confess our sins
and to pray that the Lord will graciously forgive us. because
we can come exactly as we are. And as we read in this 42nd verse,
and when they had nothing to pay, that means nothing to present
to God, nothing to give, to merit forgiveness, nothing that has
any value, any currency with Almighty God. When we have nothing,
when we come to the Lord exactly as we are, When they had nothing
to pay, we read these wonderful words, he frankly forgave them
both. There was the example here of
what appeared to be a great debtor, owing 500 pence and another 50. It didn't matter. They both needed
forgiveness. And that is so true in the life
of the whole Church of God. Every single member of the Church
of God needs the great blessing of forgiveness, because no unforgiving
sinner enters into glory. What a mercy, therefore, if we
have been brought to realize the need that we have and the
great blessing that is to be found in Christ. The Lord tells
us through the Apostle Paul when he wrote to the Ephesians, He
says this, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of his grace. This is the way
that we receive the forgiveness of our sins. It's through his
grace. It's through his unmerited favour. We can't put our hand up and
say, well, Lord, I am worthy. I've done this and I've done
that, and I'm worthy of being forgiven. None of us are worthy. We are all unworthy. And therefore,
we would understand what John Newton said in that well-known
hymn, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound to save a wretch. like me. I once was lost, but
now I'm found. His grace has made me free. You see, this is when God's free
unmerited favour, his grace stands out. And it becomes a reality
and a great blessing to the Church of God. Well, it would seem clear
that this woman had received the grace of God, whereas this
Pharisee apparently had not. We might just compare the two
characters then, the Pharisee, a religious person, a person
who no doubt knew in his head the law of God. No doubt he could
recite much of it. And he was very, no doubt, proud
of his knowledge and everything that he knew. And we see that he was willing and
wanted to invite Jesus to come and to dine with him. And it's
noteworthy that Jesus didn't decline. He didn't say, no, you're
just a hypocrite. I'm not coming to you. or graciously
condescended to come and to be with that Pharisee. We have another example, of course,
when it came to the case of Zacchaeus, who was a publican. Both characters
really were despised people, but nonetheless, the Lord was
very gracious and came and agreed to dine with this Pharisee, whose
name, of course, was Simon. He came and he obviously sat
down to eat. And in those days, of course,
when they went to eat, they didn't sit down on chairs like we do.
They tended to lie down on their side or at least sit down, as
it were, on their haunches. The result was that their feet
were therefore protruding behind their back. And that's why we
have in this account a picture of this woman. And we're told,
and behold, a certain woman, which was a sinner, when she
knew that Jesus sat at meeting Pharaoh in the Pharisees' house,
brought an alabaster box of ointment and stood at his feet behind
him. He wasn't before him, she was
behind him. No doubt that suited her to be
there and not perhaps to be observed as she would have been far more
if she'd been in front of him. And we see that she then went
through this position of washing the Saviour's feet in a very
beautiful way, really, in a very wonderful way. We're told her,
She began to wash his feet with tears, and then wiped them with
the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with
ointment." Well, that was a very wonderful example of really her
love for the Savior. And then we see the Pharisee,
Simon, and we're told that he didn't say anything. But Jesus knew what he was thinking. And it's very important to realise
that God knows what you and I are thinking. We may not say, but
the Lord knows what we're thinking. And he was able to describe really
what this Pharisee was thinking, because we're told And the Pharisee,
which had bidden him, saw it. He spake within himself, saying,
This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who, what man
or woman this is that touched him, for she is a sinner. And
the clear inference is that he wouldn't have anything to do
with such a person. Well, we should be very thankful
that Jesus did have something to do with Pharisees and also
with publicans, and he was very gracious. He came to the very
lowest of the low. What a blessing it was. And we
can go on and think, of course, of that man in the Old Testament,
who the Lord graciously favoured, Manasseh. He was a king. And
he was a very wicked king, a very evil king. The Lord came. and touched his heart. See, that's
the great thing, isn't it? It doesn't matter how we may
appear. This Pharisee, no doubt, thought
he was a great fellow. And obviously, he wanted to impress
people, probably by inviting Jesus to come and to dine with
him. It wasn't because he loved Jesus.
He wanted people to think well of him. Therefore, he wanted
to be amongst those who perhaps knew a bit about Jesus and therefore
he invited him to come and you can think of this in the current
day when there are those people who just turn up at chapel just
because they want to be thought well of. Not because they haven't
enough of a saviour, not because they really realise they have
a need of a saviour, not because they realise they are a sinner,
but because they want to be thought well of by their fellow countrymen. Well that was really the position
of this Pharisee Simon. And therefore he invited Jesus
to come into his house. Well, don't forget the Lord looks
at the heart. The Lord looks at the heart.
Well, he looked at the heart of Manasseh. And as you read through the Kings
and as you read through the Chronicles, you will find that if you leave
the account in the Kings you will come to the conclusion that
Manasseh was just a terrible king who died in his sins, no
hope for him at all. But as you read the Chronicles,
which recalls the same account really, what we read is this. We come down to the end of the
33rd chapter in the Chronicles, verses 12 and 13. We read And when he was in affliction,
he besought the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before
the God of his fathers. What a wonderful indication there
is, again, of the grace of God that this woman had received,
the grace of God which all of God's people receive. No one
is exempt, blessed be God, of receiving the grace of God. And so then we're told Manasseh
besought the Lord, humbled himself before the God of his fathers
and prayed unto him. And he was entreated of him and
heard his supplications and brought him again to Jerusalem into his
kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord
He was God. What a wonderful account, what
wonderful evidence of God's mercy, no less than we have in this
account here, this woman, no less in the lives of all his
people who are brought to that position to come and to confess
their sins. They come to the Lord, they beseech
the Lord, They humble themselves before God. They don't think
they're any great person who deserves any attention. No, but
they plead that the Lord might look upon them. The Lord might
have mercy upon them. The Lord would hear and answer
their prayer. Well, it was so in the case of
Manasseh and Allah, of course. We don't read the precise details
with regard to this woman. It is very evident that it was
so. We're told how Jesus answered
Simon, that having thought in his mind these wrong things,
having thought, how can Jesus ever let such a terrible woman
touch him? Jesus says, Simon, I have somewhat
to say unto thee. He says, Master, say on. Let
me read this very short account. Jesus said, there was a certain
creditor which had two debtors, the one owed 500 pence and the
other 50. And when they had nothing to
pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which
of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose
that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto them, thou hast
rightly judged. What a wonderful evidence there
is of God's forgiveness when he comes and touches our heart
to show to us his love for such utterly unworthy sinners. What a mercy if you and I have
had a touch of God's love, realising how unworthy we are And yet to
realise the Lord has not passed us by as we deserve, but he's
come to us where we were. The Lord knows where you and
I live. He knows where you and I work. He knows the journeys
we take. He knows every detail. And he
knows when the appointed time comes, not to propose, but to
call by grace. And you know the reaction will
be from us, because of his love toward us, in calling us, that
love is then returned in measure to our Saviour. And we probably
think, my love is so weak, my love is so faint, my love is
so small. But as a blessing, if we know
something, of the great and glorious love of the Saviour, because
it was love, without any doubt, that influenced this woman to
come. And the Saviour tells us then,
he tells us the difference between Simon the Pharisee and this woman. And he turns to the woman and
said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I enter into thine house. that gavest me no water for my
feet. And what we're reading here is
really a difference between a Pharisee and a believer. The Pharisee
came, you see, and he wanted Jesus to come into his house
to prove how wonderful it was that Jesus should come to him.
But he didn't want to go very far. He didn't want to do very
much. He didn't want really to acknowledge
that here was his savior. Here was the one who he loved.
He did very little. All he did was to let him come
in and to offer him some food. But this woman, because of her
love, we see the reaction and the real difference. And that's
the same today between Pharisees and between true believers. What
a mercy, therefore, if you and I can weigh up our religion,
test our religion, to see whether we are just a Pharisee, satisfied,
we might say, with just an outward religion, just going through
a creed, as it were, going through a form, and this woman who loved
with her heart. And what was the difference?
The Lord said, 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. Surely it is a good testimony,
because what it shows is the woman's heart was touched, touched
because of the love of the Lord Jesus to her. It brought forth tears. They
weren't what you might say crocodile tears, just tears of pretending. It came from her heart. And it
wasn't just the odd tear. You know, she must have wept
considerably to produce enough water to be able to wash at the
feet of the Saviour. But it was a great evidence that
her heart have been moved because of the love of God to her, because
of the grace of God to her, and also because of the faith God
had given to her. We're all joined together. What
a mercy today, if you and I can examine ourselves before
a righteous God and observe the effect of his love toward us. And she goes on to say, El gave
his meat no kiss. For this woman, since the time
I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. You may perhaps
remember the wonderful example and the wonderful testament that
we have that is recorded in the Song of Solomon. right at the
very beginning, the very early verses, the first two verses,
the Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. And this is what the bride, the
heavenly bride says, heavenly bride says, let him kiss me with
the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. She wanted to receive that love,
the evidence of that love from her saviour. And so here we have
this statement, which says, They wiped me with the hairs of the
head, and gave me no kiss. But this woman, since the time
I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet, my head with oil. Now it is not annoyed, no oil
at all given, nothing at all, no water at all, nothing, nothing
to signify. there was any true love with
this Pharisee. He just wanted to impress people. What a sad example. Whereas this
woman, despised as she was, my head with oil, that is not
anoint. But this woman has anointed my
feet with ointment. And of course we have the physician
that this woman had brought this alabaster box of ointment. It
would appear to be a precious and valuable ointment. She valued
the grace of God. She valued the love of the Saviour. And therefore nothing was of
too much value to give to the Saviour. And so we're told this
great and wonderful statement 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. Well, she loved
much the things of the world. She was clearly taken up with
the things of the world, but what a difference. the grace
of God made in her life. And what a difference, indeed,
the grace of God makes in our lives. What a mercy, therefore,
if we understand, therefore, what it is to receive this wonderful
truth of free forgiveness. It's quite amazing, isn't it?
There's no charge. There's no charge. We might think,
well, we need to do this and we need to do that. It'll be
the effect of forgiveness, which will make us willing to endow
His power to do the will of Almighty God. And the gracious effect
is because of His amazing love granted to unworthy sinners. You know, when the Apostle Paul
was preaching the gospel, was recording the Acts of the Apostles.
And we can read in the 13th chapter, in the verse 38 and 39, he says,
be it known unto you, brethren, who wanted the people to know
what a good thing it is. Be it known unto you, therefore,
men and brethren, that through this man, no other person, this
man is preached unto you, the forgiveness of sins. And by him,
all that believe are justified from all things from which he
could not be justified by the law of Moses. Pharisees were
dependent upon keeping the law of Moses. Many people today are weighing up their own ability
to keep, you might say the law of Moses, by that is to keep
the outward performance of the things of God. I remember years
ago, being in a household, a so-called professedly godly household,
and every morning after breakfast, they used to, or the head of
the house used to read the Bible and pray, but it was clearly
just a formality. There was no reality in it. And
every morning the Bible was quickly grabbed and quickly opened, and
a few verses were quickly read, and then a prayer was quickly
gathered off, and then off they went with their normal day's
situation. No comments made on the reading,
Nothing at all. And it was just a mere formality. And it's a fearful thing, isn't
it? To live in a time of religious formality. It goes further, doesn't
it? It goes further because people
like to be thought well of. And I've seen people turn up
to chapel all their life and yet never possess the grace of
God, never possess the love of God to their souls. Never had any real effect upon
them. They've never really rejoiced
in what the Lord Jesus Christ has done. No, but to the true
believer, the true believer, they rejoice in what the Saviour
did and did for them. And their whole spiritual life
depends upon what Christ did on that great occasion at Calvary
when he died to take away their sins. And therefore, the life,
the death, the glorious death and resurrection of the Saviour
will be music to their ears. It won't be something that just
pass over. I'd love to hear about it. I'd
love to hear it spoken about. Well, you know, we can weigh
up our religion, can't we? We can weigh up the reality of
our religion. Whether we stand like this Pharisee
Simon, just doing the mere minimal, that may be thought good and
worthy of notice and worthy of acceptation, or as this woman
who had been forgiven much, who demonstrated her real love to
the Saviour. Well, may our love indeed be
towards the Saviour so that we're able to understand the words
of God toward us, just as Isaiah spoke in his prophecy, we've
already spoken of that in the first chapter, but also in the
44th chapter, in verse 22, we read, I have blotted out as a
thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins return
unto me, for I have redeemed thee. My friends, a great blessing
for us today. If we know the wonderful favour,
the wonderful favour of being redeemed, because if we have
been, then it means our death. It means our sin has been taken
away. It's been rescinded. It means
the saviour has taken all our sins and paid the price. It was
needful to be paid. So it was indeed a ransom price
to free us. And the price was the price of
his blood. Never, never tired of hearing
about the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know,
the disciples, they came and the people came once when the
apostle Paul was preaching He concluded, and they said, come
and tell us the same things next Doorsday. They didn't say, well,
give us something new. Give us something different.
They wanted to hear about the cleansing power of the blood
of Christ, because we don't stop sinning. We continue to sin,
sadly, because of that original sin in our nature. what a blessing
it is. And the Lord looks upon us and
remembers us and blesses us. This woman was drawn to the Saviour. She was happy and content just
to stand behind Him. But she demonstrated her great
love for the Saviour. And what a truth that will be.
Because our love, if it's true, will be demonstrated. It won't
be something which is just hidden away. You know, there's a great
danger people say, well, of course, I'm a very timid person and I
don't say very much. Well, I don't really speak about
these things. Well, that's not God honouring. And that's not
the pattern of the Word of God. Those that honour me, I will
honour. And those that despise me will
be lightly esteemed. Let us not forget that great
truth. And this woman, you see, she
did, we might say, all that she could. Washed his feet, wiped
them, anointed them, anointed his head with valuable ointment. She wanted to acknowledge a debt
that she owed, which she would never be able to repay. Same
as us. We'll never be able to repay
the debt that we owe, that the Saviour has paid on our behalf.
That ransom for our souls. How valuable was the price? How
freely it was given. That's why we have this statement.
When they had nothing to pay, That's how we stand, helpless,
helpless, nothing to pay, like that dying thief upon that cross,
nothing to pay. He couldn't, but yet he was able
to acknowledge and desire. This man has done nothing amiss. We're indeed justly, We deserve
the due deserts of our sin, but this man hath done nothing amiss. Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom." Well, now the Lord is in his kingdom. Until
we come and say, Lord, remember me. This woman had been remembered. This woman had been blessed. Therefore, what does the Lord
say? Having described what had happened, He says, wherefore I say unto
thee, her sins, which are many, and all our sins are many. I'll
tell you this, if you and I, the Holy Spirit's worked in our
hearts, you won't think yourself as a small sinner. You might
say, well, I'm not a very big sinner. You can understand what
the Apostle Paul said, the greatest sinner, the less than the least. And so the Lord says, Wherefore
I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much, but to little
is forgiven. The same loveth little. And said
unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. Well, the people were surprised,
weren't they? They that sat at meat with him began to say within
themselves. Again, you see, just within their
heart, the Lord knew. And he said to the woman, thy
faith hath saved thee, go in peace. It's a blessing therefore
for us if God has given us faith to believe that the Lord Jesus
Christ is able and the Lord Jesus Christ is willing to redeem us
from all our sins and to one day receive us unto himself. into the glorious paradise of
heaven. Well, ponder these words, thank
God for them, and realize the relevance of them. And when they
had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore,
which of them would love him most? Well, may we today be able
to trace out in our lives the wonderful evidence of God's love,
the wonderful evidence of God's grace, the wonderful evidence
of God's faith, the wonderful evidence of God's forgiveness,
and go therefore on our way rejoicing. Amen.