LOVING
LITTLE, LOVING MUCH
Lk.
7:36-38 (text)
A sinful woman lavishes Jesus with loving attention.
Events
leading up to this scene:
Lk.
6 - Jesus' sermon on the mount
(abbreviated cf.
Mt. 5-7)
The
people's response to Jesus' preaching:
Mt.
7:28-29 "And
so it was, when Jesus had ended
these sayings, that the
people were
astonished at His teaching, (29) for He
taught them as one having authority,
and not as the
scribes."
Consider
these examples:
Mt.
5:20 (Jesus)
"For I say to you, that unless your
righteousness exceeds the
righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will by no
means
enter the kingdom of heaven."
vss.
21-44 "You have heard that it was
said.....but I
say to you...."
Mt.
7:21-23 (Jesus)
"Not everyone who says to Me,
'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the
kingdom of heaven, but he
who
does the will of My
Father in
heaven. (22) Many will say to
Me
in that day, 'Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in Your
name, cast out demons in Your
name, and done many wonders
in Your name?' (23) And then I
will declare to them, 'I
never
knew you; depart from Me,
you
who practice lawlessness!' "
Jesus
gains a following:
Mt.
8:1 "When
He had come down from the
mountain, great multitudes
followed Him."
At
the city of Nain, Jesus raised the dead son of a widow
(Lk.
7:11-17)
Lk.
7:16-17 "Then
fear came upon all, and they
glorified God, saying, 'A great
prophet
has risen up among us'; and 'God has
visited His
people.' (17) And this report
about Him went throughout
all Judea
and all the surrounding region."
In
the mean time, the Pharisees had rejected John's baptism
Lk.
7:29-30 "And
when all the people heard Him,
even the tax collectors justified
God,
having been baptized with the baptism
of John. (30)
But the Pharisees and
lawyers rejected the will of God for
themselves, not having been baptized
by him."
Back
to the text:
Lk.
7:36-38 Custom: Invited guests reclined
around the table,
uninvited guests
sat around the dining room wall
Lk.
7:39 The Pharisee's self-righteousness seen
in his thoughts Jesus
responds to the questioning of His ability to know this woman's
heart,
by revealing His ability to know the Pharisee's thoughts:
Lk.
7:40-43 Jesus' parable of 2 debtors - brings
shame on the Pharisee
Lk.
7:44-47 Jesus makes the application of His
parable
Water
to wash the feet, a greeting kiss & anointing the head with
oil - were customary acts of hospitality
Though
not invited, she supplied these things as an expression
of her love for Jesus.
How
do we demonstrate our love for Him?
Obedience
Jn.
14:15 "If
you love Me, keep My
commandments."
Jn.
14:23-24 "...If
anyone loves Me, he will keep My
word; and My Father will love
him, and
We will come to him and make our
home with him.
(24) He who does not
love Me does not keep My words; and
the word which you hear is not Mine
but the Father's who
sent Me."
Worship
Psm.
122:1-2 "I
was glad when they said to me, 'Let
us go into the house of the
Lord.' (2)
our feet have been standing within
your gates,
' Jerusalem!"
Notice
vs. 2: Speaks of preparedness - waiting inside the gates
of the city for the doors of the temple to be open.
How
much preparation goes into our assembling?
Are
we habitually late? - Is this a sign of "little love?"
Illustration
- Were we prompt when we were dating - in
anticipating of our date?
Keeping
the Lord's Supper:
Notice
Jesus' great desire to share in its initiation:
Lk.
22:14-20 Do this to remember Me.
At
Troas, Paul & the disciples assembled for that purpose:
Acts
20:7 "Now
on the first day of the week, when
the disciples came together
to break
bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day,
spoke
to them and continued his
message until midnight."
Would
we have been there? Or Too long to sit & listen?
INVITATION
Mt.
25:31-ff Serving one another also
demonstrates our love for Christ.
