Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Do Some People Sin More Than Others? | My Favorite Verses | Luke 7.47

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to Tim Minna Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. My name is Patrick Miller. And I'm Keith Simon. We are currently exploring some of our favorite Bible verses and how they've changed our lives. Also, if you want to connect with us, follow us on Twitter at TMBT podcast. You can also check out our hashtag, hashtag, Ask TMBT, where you can ask us anything, and we'd love to connect with you. So we're in the middle of a series on favorite verses, verses that have impacted us, shaped us, made us the people that we are in the process of becoming. And today I get to share one of the most important verses in my life, a verse that I return to often.

Starting point is 00:00:50 I mean literally daily. If I don't, it probably means it's been a bad day. So let me share the verse with you and then put it in a little context. It's Luke chapter 7 verse 47 and Jesus is speaking. He says, therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little. So let me add to that. Whoever has been forgiven little loves little, let me add. Whoever has been forgiven little has little patience. Whoever has been forgiven little has little forgiveness. But whoever has been forgiven much is patient and kind and forgiving and sacrificial. The issue is how much have we been forgiven? When I remember how much God has forgiven me in Christ that I owed him a humongous debt, a debt that is too big to even describe, that I could never possibly repay, but that he paid

Starting point is 00:01:53 it in his death. When I remember how big that debt is, I become a person who loves Jesus and and loves other people. But when I forget that, well, I become self-righteous and condemning and critical and all the things that I don't want to be and that God doesn't want me to be. So let me put that verse in context. There was a religious leader, a Pharisee named Simon. Now, no relation to me, obviously, right? And he invites Jesus to a dinner party at his house. And based how Simon treats Jesus, we know that he is somewhat antagonistic toward him. The Pharisees were suspicious of Jesus. They were suspicious of the message of God's love and grace for sinners. So they have a dinner

Starting point is 00:02:35 party and they invite Jesus with a goal of checking them out. Who is this guy? How dangerous is he? Now, to banquet like this in the first century, it was a customary for uninvited people to stand around on the outside. So a woman had heard that this party was going to happen and thought that Jesus was going to be there. And so she made special effort to be there early so that she could kind of watch what happened and maybe even had an opportunity to meet Jesus. So when Jesus shows up at the dinner party, that's when things begin to get awkward. They're tense, mainly because of what doesn't happen. When Jesus enters this party that he'd been invited to, he was treated very rudely. If you come to my house or if I go to your house, there are some cultural courtesies we extend to each other.

Starting point is 00:03:22 We say hello, we invite people into our home, we take their coat, have a seat we might say, we offer something to drink. If you came to my house and I didn't do any of those things, you would rightly say that I was rude. When Jesus entered this house at a minimum, he would have expected, as a cultural courtesy, to be greeted with a kiss, some water for his feet and olive oil to wash himself. But nobody offers Jesus any of these things. Now, Jesus doesn't make a big deal out of it. He just sits down, reclines at the table. Now, remember we said that this wasn't a price. private meal. The houses of the door were often kept open and uninvited townspeople were free to stand around and listen into the conversation. So we're told about the actions of a particular

Starting point is 00:04:08 unnamed woman. We don't know much about her except that she had a reputation for living a sinful lifestyle. Some have read into that that she was a prostitute. Maybe, but that's far from certain. All we know is that she had earned a bad reputation. But it seems that somewhere along the way she's heard Jesus teach and been deeply moved by his message. Because she had been there the whole time, this unnamed woman knew how rudely that Jesus had been treated. All the traditional courtesies that the host had refused Jesus this woman provided for except in a more humble way. They refused water for his feet so she washed them with her tears. They didn't offer him a kiss of peace so she kisses his feet. They didn't offer him olive oil to wash with, so she poured out her perfume on his

Starting point is 00:04:58 feet. And all of this is ruining the host's plan. Simon the Pharisee and his friends weren't rude to Jesus by accident. They were rude to him because they wanted to humiliate him. They wanted to put him on the defensive. They wanted to evaluate him. But because of this woman, he is receiving special honor. And it's clear that she's doing all this because she loves him. And so, Simon, Simon, this guy that's invited Jesus to his house, thinks to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him, what kind of woman she is, that she is a sinner. Now, Simon's sin, it's not as visible, but it's every bit as destructive. The easiest thing to say is that he judged her, he condemned her, and self-righteousness,

Starting point is 00:05:40 he looked down on her, he was disgusted by her sin. He and the other Pharisees decide that Jesus can't be a prophet because he accepts this woman's outrageous behavior. So Jesus decides he's going to help Simon by telling him a story. And Jesus tells Simon a story about two people who are in a considerable amount of debt. A denarius was equivalent to a day's wage for the common working man. So one man owed 50 denari. It's plural for denarius, 50 days wages, and the other owed 500 denarii. He asked, if both debts are forgiven, which one will love him more?

Starting point is 00:06:19 So what's Jesus's point? Clearly there is a parallel between monetary debt and spiritual debt. So is Jesus's point that some sinners are greater sinners than others? Is Jesus saying that this woman, she is a 500 denari sinner? And Simon is only a 50 denari sinner. I doubt it. Is Jesus's point that some people sin more and that someone sin more and therefore are forgiven more than others? No. See, both people in Jesus's story are bankrupt. Both are sinners. Both are unable to get right with God. Jesus's point is that some sense, some feel, some know, some are aware of both their sin, the weight of their sin, the burden of their sin, the extent of their sin, and the forgiveness that's offered in God. Some are more aware of that

Starting point is 00:07:19 than others. Some think of themselves as 50 denarii sinners, and some realize that they are 500 denarii sinners. Some think they're pretty good, and some know the depth of their sin. Simon wants to focus on the great sins of this woman. Jesus shifts the focus to the response of the woman who was forgiven. You know, we're back to this key verse in verse 47. Therefore I tell you her many sins have been forgiven as her great love has shown, but whoever has been forgiven little loves little. Jesus did not overlook this woman's sins. He said she has many sins. It's just that her many sins had been forgiven. Her love shows, her love displays, her love makes plain that she had been forgiven. Those who are forgiven much,

Starting point is 00:08:16 love much. If you think you have been forgiven little, then you will love little. This is not saying that some are forgiven much and some are forgiven little. It's saying that some realize how much they have been forgiven in Jesus, and some don't. Those who know how much they have been forgiven, well, they love much. If I paid a debt for you, your reaction would depend on the size of the debt. If I paid off your credit cards, your reaction would depend on the size of your balance. If I paid off your mortgage, your reaction would depend on how much you still owed. So if Jesus comes along and pays for your sin, your reaction will depend on how much sin you believe you have. Right? No.

Starting point is 00:09:00 So if Jesus comes along and pays to your sin, your reaction will depend on how much sin you have. Right? Well, kind of. Your reaction to Jesus's forgiveness depends on how much sin you think you have. Do you get the difference? The issue is not how much of a sinner you are. We are all desperate sinners, desperately in need of forgiveness. The difference is on how much do we realize that, know, that, believe that, feel the weight of our sin.

Starting point is 00:09:34 This story teaches us how important it is to have an action. picture of ourselves and an accurate picture of God. If I understand that God is supremely holy, perfect in every way, if I realize the depth of my sin, then I will consequently realize how big the cross is, what Jesus did for me there, how much he lowered himself, how much of my sin he bore on himself. But if I think that I'm a pretty good person, and if I forget about the greatness and the holiness of God, then I will shrink the size of the cross. And when I shrink the size of the cross, even if I'm a Christian, I'm becoming more like Simon the Pharisee. I'm moving away from grace. So what are some signs that my cross might be shrinking? Well, here's a few. We could talk so much

Starting point is 00:10:34 about each of these, but let me run through a quick list here of signs that your cross is shrinking, signs that you don't get grace, that you're moving away from grace in your life, that you're becoming more like Simon the Pharisee. First, those who don't get grace, they minimize their own sin. They downplay their own sin. They say, well, it's not that bad. Other people are doing worse. It's no big deal. Second, when you're moving away from grace, you see others sin clearly, but you don't see your own. Do you see that play out in the story where Simon the Pharisees saw this woman's sins very, very clearly, but he didn't see his own sins. Third, you are bothered by other people's sins more than your own. This Pharisee was very bothered by the woman's sins, but his sins, well, they didn't bother him much.

Starting point is 00:11:34 Do you ever find that people at work, their sins, or people that live in your family, their sins bother you a lot, but your sins, you know, it's not that big a deal. That's a sign you're moving away from grace. Fourth, you refuse to give to others the same benefit of the doubt that you extend to yourself. When we are caught being angry or overreacting or saying something rude or being impatient, what do we do? Well, we say things like, well, I was tired. It didn't get a good night's sleep. The kids were up last night. Or I'm sick. My allergies are bothering me. Or I'm under a lot of pressure at work if they only knew the day that I had. But when other people offer those same reasons for their sin, we call them excuses. We give ourselves the benefit of the doubt. We extend grace to ourselves, but not to others. Fifth, you know you're moving away from grace when you see defensiveness in your own life. Instead of being willing to admit that you have areas of your life that you need to work on,

Starting point is 00:12:36 sins that you need to repent of, you get defensive and protect and deny. Six, we are moving away from grace. We are becoming more like Simon the Pharisee when we are unwilling to sacrifice. This woman who knew the depth of her sin, she offered this vial of perfume, her most precious asset in the world and laid it at the feet of Jesus. people who are forgiven much, they lead sacrificial lives. Seventh, and lastly, when you're moving away from grace, you don't want to serve. But when you get grace, you do.

Starting point is 00:13:14 You want to serve other people because you don't think so highly of yourself. But people moving away from grace, people with a small cross, people who are shrinking the cross, well, they think very highly of themselves, highly of their time. Some things are just below them. They've got other things to do. They'll leave the serving to others. I'm sure we could go on and on and we could unpack each of these evidences that we are moving toward or away from grace. We are either growing or shrinking our cross. But let me end with this. Luke 747, therefore I tell you her many sins have been forgiven as her great love has shown. but whoever has been forgiven little loves little when i know how much i have been forgiven in christ

Starting point is 00:14:02 when i feel the weight of that i am patient i am kind i am generous i am sacrificial but when i forget that when i shrink the cross i become everything opposite of that i become the opposite of what i want to be in Jesus. Those who are forgiven much love much. Let's realize how much we've been forgiven in Christ and love others with the same love that he showed us. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps others find this podcast more easily. Also ask yourself who you could share this podcast with. Texting an episode to a friend or family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually. If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Do Some People Sin More Than Others? | My Favorite Verses | Luke 7.47

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