Your Sins Are Forgiven

2nd Sunday after Pentecost, 6/6/10
Luke 7:36-50


Your Sins Are Forgiven!
I. The sweetest news any sinner can hear.
II. The amazing power in a believer’s life.


The doctor tells the hopeful husband and wife, “You’re pregnant. Congratulations!” It’s just the good news they had been waiting to hear for months. And since they’ve been hoping and praying all that while to become new parents, they’ve also had the time to ponder how this baby will change their lives. Their focus will no longer be on each other. It will be on this precious gift the Lord has placed into their hands. For the next couple decades at least, this child will be part of all their daily plans.

Here’s another life-changing piece of good news, “You’ve just won $10 million!” I’m pretty sure none of us here has ever heard that news. But if you did, just imagine how that would change your life. Would you pay off all your debts, take a vacation, give some of it away, quit your job? It’s hard for us to imagine now how we’d respond, but we know it would drastically change our lives.

A few minutes ago you heard some good news that was far more amazing than the announcement of a pregnancy or a large sum of money. Do you even recall the amazing good news that you heard? Let me refresh your memory. “God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your sins.” Oh yeah. Now we remember. But we may not have considered those words so amazing. In fact, we hear those words or some almost exactly like it every Sunday morning and twice on Sundays when we receive the Lord’s Supper. We’ve heard them so often we may have lost sight of how precious those words are and the tremendous impact those words have on our lives.

If that’s true for you, then pause with me today to ponder and appreciate this good news: Your sins are forgiven! Let’s see what makes those words so blessed, so special, as we focus on this story in which Jesus deals with a Pharisee and a sinful woman.

Part I.

We hear and read news every day that doesn’t impact us in the least. I don’t know out you, but if I never hear another word about the life of the actress Lindsay Lohan, I’ll be just fine, thank you. And it’s only the beginning of June, so I don’t really care which Major League Baseball team is the hottest or coldest. I might care come September. I’m sure you could add all sorts of non-news headlines to that list. We just don’t care.

Again, I want to remind you that a few minutes ago you heard the most amazing news any sinner could ever hear. You heard the words, “Our heavenly Father has forgiven all your sins.” Maybe those words amazed you. But I’m going to bet that your reaction to those words was more like the Pharisee named Simon in this morning’s text than the unnamed sinful woman. Am I right? I thought so. So let’s talk about it.

Jesus could have told Simon the Pharisee that he had come to die for Simon’s sins. But as far as we know, Jesus didn’t tell him that. Why not? Because Simon was a Pharisee. As such, Simon had no use for the news of the forgiveness of sins. Simon felt that other people, like this woman, needed forgiveness but he didn’t. As a Pharisee Simon believed he kept all of God’s laws and even went beyond the demands of the law. He was convinced that God accepted him because of his own goodness. So, his response to the news of forgiveness was, “No thanks. I don’t need any today.” Unfortunately, he couldn’t have been more wrong.

But this sinful woman was overwhelmed by the news of forgiveness. Before we talk about that further, you probably have some questions about her. First, why was she allowed simply to walk into Simon’s house uninvited? Well, it seems that was customary. Strangers were allowed to come into the home and sit against the wall and listen to the conversation. Second, if Simon knew who she was, why did he permit her to stay? Because he wanted to see what Jesus would do. Jesus’ reaction to her would help him form his opinion about Jesus—whether he really was a prophet or not.

Our text says that she was a woman “who had lived a sinful life in that town.” Don’t assume that she was openly sexually immoral. Perhaps it was embezzlement or some other type of fraud. Whatever it was, her fellow citizens knew her and knew about it. And they labeled her for it.

But it appears that somehow this woman had either heard Jesus preach about himself as the promised Savior or had heard from others about Jesus. The Holy Spirit used those words to work faith in her heart. No doubt she had felt terrible about the public sins she had committed. Her secret sins oppressed her as well. She had no inner peace because she was convinced that God condemned her. But the good news of her forgiveness through Jesus changed all that. By God’s grace she now was convinced of her forgiveness and her peace with the holy God. When Jesus told her, “Your sins are forgiven,” it was the sweetest news she had ever heard.

And the same goes for you and me. Your sins are forgiven. That’s the sweetest news any sinner can hear.

St. Luke spends time telling us this sinful woman’s story. We heard about David’s confession of adultery and murder earlier. St. Paul persecuted and arrested Christians prior to coming to faith in Jesus. Jesus once stopped some people from stoning a woman caught in adultery. Why did the Holy Spirit cause these events to be recorded for us? After all, we often have a hard time identifying with them. But then there are times when we’ve really made a mess of things. Maybe we didn’t murder someone, but we “killed” them with our words. It might not have been prostitution, but it was sexual sin and it caused all sorts of heartaches. There are times in our lives that we can’t stand being in our own skin because we feel so bad about ourselves. That’s why the Holy Spirit caused this story to be recorded for us. Forgiveness isn’t just for the little sinner; it’s for the big sinner, too. Jesus died for all sins. He forgives all sins. He forgives all your sins. That’s what his holy life and his death on the cross were all about. His resurrection from the dead assures you of your forgiveness. Your sins are forgiven. Jesus says so. That’s the sweetest news any sinner can hear.

Part II.

And oh, the impact that news has on your life!

We don’t give it much thought every day, but occasionally do you ever ponder why you do what you do? In a parody of the Disney dwarfs, the bumper sticker proclaims about the driver of the vehicle, “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.” Others would say that they do what they do to keep a roof over their head and food on their table. Still others do what they do because that’s their role in life at this point as spouse or parent. We do what we do because that’s what other expect or that’s what we want to do.

As you ponder the Pharisee named Simon in our text, ask yourself why he did what he did. Why did he invite Jesus to his house for dinner? The best hint we have is found in the unspoken words that went through Simon’s mind. “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” He invited Jesus in order to check him out. He refers to Jesus as “teacher.” He wanted to see what kind of teacher Jesus was. His dinner invitation was an opportunity for inspection.

So why didn’t he do what the social customs of the day required? Jesus even called it to his attention. He didn’t provide any water for Jesus to wash his feet or have a servant do that for him. There was no friendly oriental kiss as the common greeting. No sprits of something to freshen Jesus up after his dusty journey to Simon’s house on foot. Why didn’t Simon do any of these things? Because he had no love for Jesus. Jesus was all about forgiveness and Simon felt no need for it.

But look at the reaction of this woman. As Jesus reclined on a low, backless couch with his head at the table and his feet out behind him, this woman approached him and wet his feet with her tears—tears of joy and appreciation over her forgiveness. She undid her hair, let it down and dried his feet with it. Then she broke the neck of a bottle of perfume and poured it on his feet. And then she kissed his feet. This is far more than what was expected of a household servant to do for a guest.

What would move her to do such a thing? Jesus tells us. “She loved much.” The news of her forgiveness was the sweetest news she had ever heard. She knew that her sins were forgiven and that heaven was hers. And it was all because of Jesus. For that, she loved Jesus dearly and her love for Jesus moved her to offer Jesus this tremendous display of her gratitude. Jesus closed this event by telling her, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” This woman did what she did because she loved Jesus for the forgiveness and salvation he won for her. She did some amazing things. But that’s what happens in the lives of those who believe these words of Jesus, “Your sins are forgiven.” Those words are the amazing power in a believer’s life.

This event is no big deal if your name is Simon. In fact, Simon likely detested the whole thing. But your name isn’t Simon. You aren’t like this Simon. Thank God you aren’t! Instead, by God’s grace, you know your sins and the punishment in hell they deserve. In that regard, you’re just like this unnamed woman. And like her, you also know and believe in Jesus for your forgiveness. In many ways, we’re just like her. But if only our love for Jesus was more like hers! Forgive us, Lord, for our shallow expressions of love and thanks to you. And he does! He announces to us, “Your sins are forgiven.” And that forgiveness renews our love for our Lord and produces in us the responses Jesus is looking for. Lord, fill us with love for you and empower us for works of love for you! Amen.