The Fruit of Forgiveness

February 14, 2023

There is a beautiful story told in Luke chapter 7 of a woman whose life was deeply touched by Jesus.  She was a sinner.  Everyone knew it.  When this woman heard that Jesus was visiting the home of Simon the Pharisee, she came to meet him there.  She brought with her a jar of expensive perfume, so expensive in fact, that it probably cost an entire year’s wages.  She came into the house, kneeled down at Jesus’ feet, and began to weep.  She wept so profusely that Jesus’ feet became wet with her tears, which she dried with her hair as she anointed his feet with the perfume.  What an outpouring of love and adoration!  What a sight this must have been to those reclining at the table!  Simon was disgusted with this whole scene and said to himself, “Doesn’t Jesus know what a sinner this woman is?”

Jesus used this moment to teach Simon a powerful lesson about forgiveness and love.  Jesus said to him, “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7:47 NAS95) This is a lesson that we need to take to heart.  Love is the fruit of forgiveness.  This woman’s outpouring of love for Jesus was a direct result of the forgiveness she had received.  She knew what a sinner she was.  She knew her great need for forgiveness, and she knew what a tremendous debt had been canceled.  This deeply touched her heart.  Her lavish acts of adoration and service for Jesus—the One who brought her such grace and forgiveness—flowed freely from her innermost being.

On the other hand, the one who is forgiven little loves little.  We see this truth played out in Simon’s heart, and it can play out in our hearts, too.  When we don’t realize our great need for forgiveness, or haven’t received it, or haven’t come to realize or appreciate the forgiveness we have, there will be little love for God or for others.

What about you and me?  When is the last time you fell down at Jesus’ feet and wept with joy?  When is the last time your heart has been touched by His forgiveness?  Shouldn’t His grace cause us to worship, adore, and serve Him?  But when there is little desire to worship Him or serve Him, what has gone wrong?  Perhaps we, like Simon, haven’t realized our great need for forgiveness.  Perhaps we have forgotten the great debt that God has canceled forever through the cross of Christ.

Love is the fruit of forgiveness.  Let us express the depth of our love to God and Christ Jesus on this Lord’s Day. 

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

How Much Do I Love?

April 28, 2017

The setting was well-to-do. Simon, the Pharisee, had invited Jesus to dine with him (Luke 7:36-50). This is a banquet setting with the meal served on a low table with mats or couches surrounding it. The guests reclined at table with their legs extended behind them.

Into such a formal occasion comes a woman who cries at the end of Jesus’ couch. Would you notice a woman crying in a banquet hall? Surely all eyes were upon her. This is no silent weeping. As Frederick Danker notes about the word used, “‘express grief or sorrow aloud’ (not a silent dropping of tears or weeping…).* She “rains down” tears upon Jesus’ feet. Not just moist eyes, but the kind of crying we usually describe as uncontrolled. And she dries Jesus’ feet with her hair, and she anoints Jesus’ feet with a fragrant ointment. Not only can you not notice the crying, but the aroma of ointment sweeps through the room.

Simon thinks to himself, “If he really were a prophet, he would know what sort of woman is touching him.” With condescension Simon manages to hit two people with one mental stone.

Jesus tells Simon a story that lays bare Simon’s own heart. A money lender has two debtors. One owes 500 day’s wages and another 50, but the money lender forgives both debts because neither had the ability to repay what was owed. So Jesus has a question for Simon, “Which of them will love him more.” We can hear the reluctance in Simon’s “I suppose,” but his answer was correct: “the one for whom he cancelled the larger debt.”

If people felt uncomfortable by such unusual proceedings, the discomfort level is raised by Jesus’ pointed comparison. Simon didn’t give Jesus water with which to wash his feet, a customary kiss of greeting, or oil for his head. This would have been typical hospitality in the ancient world. The woman had washed Jesus’ feet with tears, kissed them, and anointed them with fragrant oil.

As I mentally enter this scene, two thoughts strike me. First, Jesus came to save sinners not just the Simon type of sinners, people who have it together morally and have a good reputation. But he came to save those like the sinful woman whose reputation for being quite undone preceded her. I need to remember that encountering Jesus can transform lives.

Second, Simon doesn’t understand the depth of his own need for grace. How can any of us love little when we grasp the ugliness of sin. All sins, even the ones done by “respectable people,” nailed Jesus to the cross! If I begin to grasp the depth of God’s love, my response in return should be gratitude and love, and that love should motivate me to follow Jesus wherever he leads me. The challenge of the story is: how much do I love?

*S.v. κλαίω, The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testatment, p. 201.

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Posted by Russell Holden