November 24 – Faith or Forgiveness – Luke 7
There several teachings and miracles in this chapter, but let’s take a closer look at verses 36-50. As Jesus was in Simon’s home, a woman came and anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive ointment. She wiped the feet dry with her hair, wept, and kissed his feet. Simon assumed that Jesus did not know this woman was a great sinner. It is here that Jesus teaches Simon an important lesson on forgiveness explained in verse 47. Since she had many sins, she needed much forgiveness, which when forgiven produced much love for Jesus. There were some Pharisees that posed the question amongst themselves in verse 49; “Who is this that forgiveth sins also?” Jesus replies to the woman, “thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” One must ask himself, “Why do some Christians seem to love Jesus more than other Christians?” If we are going to understand this story, we must understand that love for Jesus is directly affected by the forgiveness of sins we experience. For someone with little love for Jesus, he either has just a little amount of sins, or his great amount of sins have gone unconfessed and unforgiven. The more we understand the amount of sins for which we need forgiveness; the more love for Jesus we have. The more love for Jesus we have; the more our emotions, passion, and affections are toward Jesus. The more passionate we are about Jesus; the more we are willing to humble ourselves and sacrificial we become. How much do you love Jesus?
