Join us for an enlightening study from the International Gospel Hour as we explore how an encounter with Jesus brought redemption to a sinful woman and posed a challenge to a Pharisee named Simon. Learn about the contrast in their reactions and what it truly means to serve and embrace the teachings of Christ wholeheartedly.
Let us consider a beautiful account in the life of Christ that made a difference in a poor, sinful woman, and even a difference in the life of a Pharisee. Got you interested? We’ll study Luke 7 in a moment from the International Gospel Hour. Stay with us.
SPEAKER 02 :
It’s time for our broadcast from the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jay Webb, and welcome to our study today as we embrace God’s Word to help us meet the challenges of today. Let’s open our Bibles and open our heart for this time of Bible study with our speaker Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour, a broadcast of the Churches of Christ. Here’s Jeff.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, thank you to our J-Web and greetings to all of you. It is good to have you with us today for our broadcast from the International Gospel Hour, where we spend time studying the Word of God. In 2 Timothy 3 and verse 16, the Bible says that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly furnished unto all good works, 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17. You know, friends, the Holy Bible is still the bestseller of all time. And we are blessed in this day and age to have access to the Word of God, probably not only in written form, but through our iPads, on our phones. We have such great access to His wonderful Word that will guide us and lead us, and how blessed we are to have the Word of God. Today we want to spend time in study of the Word of God. I’m going to go right into our lesson text that we mentioned last time. Then after the lesson text, we’ll take just a brief break with our J-Web, and we’ll come back with our study today, Faithful Love from Above, Part 2. Once again, our reading of Luke 7, verses 36 through 50. Then one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him. And he, that is Jesus, went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flax of fragrant oil and stood at his feet behind him weeping, And she began to wash his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and she kissed his feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner. And Jesus answered and said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. So he said, Teacher, say it. There was a certain creditor who had two debtors, one owed five hundred to Dari and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him more? Simon answered and said, I suppose the one whom he forgave more. And he said to him, You have rightly judged. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. Then he said to her, Your sins are forgiven. And those who sat at the table with him began to say to themselves, Who is this who even forgives sins? Then he said to the woman, Your faith has saved you. Go in peace. Faithful love from above sitting at the table. And friends, we’re going to look closer at this in just a moment, especially at the rejection by Simon. But first, a few words from our J-Web.
SPEAKER 02 :
The best way to reach us is our toll-free number at 855-444-6988. Would you take a moment and give us a call and tell us where you are listening to our broadcast? Our number is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Just call 855-444-6988. That’s 855-444-6988. Thank you so much and keep listening.
SPEAKER 01 :
In an earlier broadcast, friends, we looked at this faithful love from above. We noted how Christ was revealed or manifested in the flesh, and here He is among men. And Christ was manifested, or Christ was God’s love manifested to man. And that was received by this woman. But I want you to notice the response to the Pharisee, Simon. You know, it’s interesting. When Simon saw what the woman was doing, and he said, this man, and notice verse 39 said, he spoke to himself. Hmm, you have to wonder about that, don’t you? If he were a prophet. He had his doubts about Jesus. Let’s look a little closer. You know, I see a couple of positives here with Simon inviting Jesus to his house, verse 36, and calling him master or teacher in verse 40. But I want you to think about his rejection of such divine love. You know, back to verse 39, he doubted who Jesus was. Notice, if he were a prophet, he would have known. He doubted who Jesus was because Jesus did know. Because Christ actually answered his thoughts in verse 40. Notice, he spoke to himself. This man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner. I want you to notice that he looked upon the woman as nothing but a sinner. And, you know, here is a Pharisee, Simon, who would be knowledgeable of the law, yet his attitude hindered him. Much like the parable of the Pharisee and the publican in Luke 18, verses 9 through 14, we see him trusting in his righteousness and despising others. He invited the Christ, but he did not serve the Christ. It’s kind of like Simon had just enough Jesus to make a difference in his mind, but not enough Jesus to make a difference in his heart. Friends, think about that with me for a moment. Do you suppose there are individuals that… come across they want just enough Jesus to make a difference in their mind to be satisfied, but not enough to make a difference in their hearts? May I ask you a kind question, dear listener? Are you walking along with just enough Jesus, or are you truly serving Him as did that woman? You know, when we look at Simon, we see an attitude that needs to be addressed. He needed the divine love of the Christ. But, friends, we can be like Simon and pretty much have the thoughts of just enough Jesus to satisfy us. He invited Jesus and then Jesus even told him. And we don’t know how the account continues, what happens after he tells the woman, your faith has saved you, go in peace. Did Simon seem to change? Well, the scripture doesn’t tell us. But Jesus teaches a valuable lesson that to whom much is given, and when we are forgiven, we in turn want to give more unto God. And that doesn’t mean that we pay off the debt of sin. It doesn’t mean we work ourselves to make up for things. No, friends, not at all. But this woman, through her faith, did something good for Jesus. And through our faith, we must begin with our faith and do something good for Jesus. I mean, when you look at all Simon did inviting Jesus and called him master or teacher, but I’ve often wondered, this woman came into Simon’s house. I wonder how she got in. I wonder why he allowed her to come in. I wonder if maybe he was looking at her that she would be like working for him or doing something. You think about it. Circumstance would be rather unique to do. Well, those are questions we can wonder about. But what we do know is this. We need to make certain that when we invite Jesus to our table, that we are serving Him, we receive Him, and we do what He would have us to do. I’ve got a very special Bible study for you, friends. It’s called God and Man, How to Be Saved from Sin. You can get it online or we can mail it to you. And I’m going to pause and defer to our J-Web. We offered this the last broadcast, but I thought with this being part two of Faithful Love from Above, we would offer it one more time. Here is our J-Web with a Bible study by mail that’s absolutely free.
SPEAKER 02 :
An additional Bible study by mail is now available from International Gospel Hour. It’s titled, God and Man, How to be Saved from Sin. This study booklet addresses a number of questions about the salvation from God to man. And friends, like all materials, it’s free. Call us toll-free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, address, and just say, God and Man. Or you can go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the Contact tab, and leave us the same information, name, address, and type God and man in the message box. Another Bible study that is free from IGH and our friends at godandman.com. That’s god-and-man.com. And, you know, since you can’t see it, let me just spell that out for you. We’d love to hear from you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Friends, we truly want to send you that study. We hope it will help you. And we don’t want to have just enough Jesus in our lives. We want to be able to embrace Him in our lives. And to grasp knowing that He will grant unto us exceeding abundantly above all that which we ask or think. Ephesians 3.20 You see, in this study of Luke 7, Jesus saw the woman’s faith. And he also saw Simon’s mind. And the woman’s faith moved her to be obedient. Simon’s faith, very little, about 50 denarii worth, really didn’t move him. Let’s learn from this valuable lesson. And thank you for joining me in this study today here on the International Gospel Hour. I’m grateful you’ve joined me. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, as always, keep listening.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for listening today. To God be the glory. And we hope that our study today will draw you closer to His Word to walk in His way. Feel free to listen to our other programs at our website at internationalgospelhour.com and join us next time.
