Forgiveness

There is a story that Jesus told in the Gospels about forgiveness. It is recounted in Luke chapter seven in these words:

And Jesus responded and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A moneylender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred denarii, and the other, fifty. When they were unable to repay, he canceled the debts of both. So, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss; but she has not stopped kissing My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason, I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” - Luke 7:40-47

A DINNER PARTY

The context of this story is Jesus was attending a dinner party at the Pharisee’s house. During the dinner, an immoral woman entered and shown great love and kindness towards Jesus. The Pharisee who owned the house thought to himself that Jesus must not know the character of the woman or He would not allow this to happen. Jesus told the story to teach some important truths about forgiveness.

This is a story known by many, and the main point made by Jesus is that the woman had been forgiven of her many sins, and therefore was extravagant in her love. He makes the interesting comment that those who are forgiven much love much, and those who are forgiven little, love little. The implication is that some people are sinners, but other people are REALLY sinners. In other words, everyone needs to be forgiven, but some need it much more than others.

We All Need Forgiveness

This, of course, is not true. It is true only in the perception that we have in our need for forgiveness. Jesus is speaking from the perspective of what the Pharisee and the woman perceived to be true about themselves to explain how they responded so differently to Jesus. The equality of our sinfulness is made abundantly clear in the words Paul quoted from the Old Testament in Romans 3:

There is no righteous person, not even one; There is no one who understands, There is no one who seeks out God; They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, There is not even one. Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving, The venom of asps is under their lips; Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And they have not known the way of peace. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Be Forgiven

It is clear, that we have a need for forgiveness. We are prone to think of others as sinning, while we make occasional “mistakes.” We may acknowledge our own sin but may think we are not as bad as other people. We do not “own” the fact that our heart is “deceitful and desperately wicked.”

Though we may not all commit the same sins, our hearts are equally stained before our Holy God. All people are included in the Words of God given to the prophet Isaiah when He said that our “sins are as scarlet.” The glorious news is that though this is true, we can all also be so thoroughly forgiven that we become “white as snow.”

The Pharisee in the Gospel story is equally guilty and equally in need of forgiveness even though he does not realize this is his reality. Let’s make sure we accurately perceive the truth that we are completely guilty before God and desperately dependent on His forgiveness and His grace. Pray that we realize how much we have been forgiven and that we love God and others because He first loved us.