Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2007 : June 24, 2007

Theme: The Bigger the Sin, the Bigger the Savior

Church year occasion: Pentecost 4

Abraham Lincoln was arguably the best president we've had in our nation's history. Does anyone know what his profession was before he became president of the United States? He was a lawyer. I recently heard an interesting story about one of his cases. His client wanted to sue another person for the $2.50 debt that he was owed. Lincoln thought it was ridiculous and didn't want to bring it to court, but his client insisted. So Lincoln came up with a brilliant solution. He told his client that he would need to be paid $10 for the case upfront. When his client paid him, Lincoln split the money with the man who owed the $2.50. Can you guess what the man did with his $5? He paid off his debt and still came out $2.50 ahead. The client was paid his $2.50. And Lincoln made $5. Everyone was happy.

A $2.50 debt isn't too much of a problem. But even the worst financial debt pales when we look at the debt of sin we owe because of the debt of love we have failed to pay to God and our neighbor. Jesus talks about the debt we owe this morning to our holy God, and his point is clear: The bigger the debt of sin, the bigger the Savior.

Jesus seldom, if ever, turned down an invitation to a dinner. But this dinner invitation was different. He was invited to the house of Simon the Pharisee. From Simon's thoughts and actions, it is obvious that Simon didn't have a very high opinion of Jesus. Most likely, he was looking to find something against Jesus that the Pharisees could use against him. At a dinner like this, the invited guest was usually a teacher, so he was expected to teach something while they were eating. Jesus didn't have long to wait before he had plenty to teach Simon and us.

A woman entered Simon's house uninvited. That was strange in itself. But it would have been shocking to anyone assembled in the house especially because of who the woman was. She was a prostitute, riff-raff from the streets, the lowest on the social and religious ladder of the day. That would be like a well-known registered sex offender coming in uninvited to one of our congregation's meetings. But it's also what she does that turns heads: "...she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them."

In those days, they didn't sit in chairs (as we do) when they ate. They would usually lean on one elbow with their feet to the side. That allowed the woman to stand behind Jesus and have her tears drop onto his feet. She probably had intended to anoint Jesus' head with the perfume she brought, but after getting his feet wet with her tears, she did the only thing she could in trying to wipe off his feet -- she used her hair, then used that as an opportunity to kiss his feet and pour the perfume on them.

That would have been quite a scene. Simon's reaction tells us much about him and what he saw in Jesus: "When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, '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.' "

So Jesus used this as a teachable moment. He tells Simon a parable about two men who owed a moneylender different amounts: One owed 500 denarii; the other 50. A denarius was an average day's wage. But that didn't matter because neither man could repay the debt. In his kindness, the moneylender cancelled the debt of both. Simon understood that the one who owed more money would love the moneylender more. He would love him more because he owed more.

Whom did each of the ones who owed money represent? The one who owed 50 denarii was the Pharisee. He had lived a morally upright life. He said his prayers; he followed the Sabbath law; in fact, he followed every law to the letter. The one who owed 500 denarii was the prostitute. Not only hadn't she lived according to the Law of Moses or the traditions of the elders, but she had become well-known as a prostitute -- obviously and flagrantly breaking the 6th Commandment regularly. So who owed the more debt, the Pharisee or the woman? (Careful, this is a trick question!) Neither! Or both! Notice that neither of them could pay God for the debt of sin they owed. But God in his grace cancelled the debt of sin they owed when he sent his Son into this world who would die for everyone's sins on the cross.

But the question is: Who will see the big debt they owe?

Did Simon? No. He was a Pharisee. He was better than others morally, and he knew it. He was morally righteous, certainly better than this 'sinner.' Unfortunately, he didn't repent of his more hidden sins of pride and judgment of others, and especially not seeing Jesus as Savior. Did the woman see her big debt? Absolutely! The very reason she came to the Pharisee's house was because Jesus was there. Notice the things she did that showed her faith in Jesus as her Savior, and the depth of love she had for him. Jesus shows Simon the difference in how Simon and woman saw Jesus: "Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven -- for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.' "

I think that the greatest act of love she showed to Jesus was coming to the house of a Pharisee in the first place. Can you imagine the courage it would have taken for her to do what she did as everyone there watched her and was talking about her? It would have been enormous! But she saw how enormous her debt of sin was, so she also saw how important it was for her to go to her Savior with that sin, no matter how difficult it would be. She had to be where her Savior was.

How about you? Do you see your big debt? If you don't, you won't see Jesus for who he is. Which one in the story are you, the Pharisee or the prostitute? (Again, watch out for the trick question!) Actually, we are both, aren't we?

Maybe you have sinned like the prostitute. Maybe you had sex before marriage or committed adultery while married; maybe that resulted in your having to get an abortion or telling your girlfriend to do that to avoid being shamed in public. Maybe you have some dark, secret sins that would bring shame to you and your family if they were brought out into the open.

Are you the Pharisee? "I've never been a drugee, had sex outside marriage, had an abortion, etc." Simon's sins weren't the obvious, outward sins that bring shame; his sins were being judgmental, better-than-thou, proud, self-righteous, failing to show compassion or help to the needy -- maybe that is who we are -- maybe more often than we'd like to admit.

Again, which debt was bigger -- Simon's or the woman's? Both were equally huge and unpayable in God's eyes. Our huge debt is unpayable as well. The only thing we should have coming to us is an eternity of hellfire for our many sins.

Then the next question has to be: Do you see your big debt cancelled? Simon didn't. He called Jesus "this man" and said, "if he were a prophet," so doesn't even see him as coming from God, much less being God himself. Many of the other guests didn't see Jesus as their Savior either. They questioned who Jesus was after he pronounced forgiveness on the woman. But the woman saw clearly who Jesus was -- her Savior from all her sins. She knew her life was in a shambles spiritually. She knew she had no power to do anything about it. So she went to the only one who could -- Jesus. That's why Jesus could say to her: "Your sins are forgiven", and "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Do you know where you can find some of the most spiritually-minded people in the world? In prison. They committed some crime to be there, maybe some horrible crime like murder. I remember visiting a man in a penitentiary for murder, and he knew his Bible backwards and forwards. He knew who his Savior was. He saw how big his Savior was because he saw how big his own sin was. But he saw that debt completely cancelled in Jesus' cross. Who do you and I see Jesus as? That depends on how big of a debt of sin you and I think we have. The bigger the sin, the more we will see Jesus as our Savior. And the results will show in our lives. Whoever is forgiven much will love much.

Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a classic example of someone who was forgiven much so he loved much. As most of you remember, Scrooge was a money-loving business owner who was only concerned about himself. It took the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future to change his selfishness into selflessness. What changed his mind? He had to see how horrible he had been to his employee, Bob Cratchit, and how it affected his entire family, including Tiny Tim, who needed medical attention but wouldn't get it because the Cratchits couldn't afford it due to the small wage Scrooge paid Tiny Tim's father. But it took the final spirit to really change Scrooge's heart. Scrooge saw himself as responsible for Tiny Tim's death and himself punished in hell for his cold heart. Scrooge vowed that he'd change if he were given a second chance. He woke up on Christmas morning and went about fulfilling his vow. He showed his change of heart by the many good things he did for everyone around him.

Notice one last thing -- the way this woman showed love for Jesus was very unusual, even for that time. So when you are thinking of ways in which you can serve your Savior, remember that there are as many ways to serve your Savior as there are believers. Have you ever felt guilty that you haven't knocked on someone's door recently to see if they are unchurched and need to hear about Jesus? Join the club! But you shouldn't feel guilty! There are many ways to preach the Good News to all creation, as Jesus commands us. You can do that just by living a godly, upright life. You can proclaim the good news by being there for someone when they need you, being a good friend, looking for the time that is right to steer your conversation toward spiritual matters. Look at your many sins -- your huge, unpayable debt -- and the hell that should be yours as a result. Then look to your Savior who says also to you today, "Your sins are forgiven." He backed up those amazing words when he died to forgive all of your sins -- every last sin. Now look at your life. You have been forgiven much. Now you can love Jesus and others. The bigger the sin, the bigger the Savior, the bigger the love we have for Jesus. Amen.