My Praise Says It All

Relationships are not always what they seem.  Sadly, some people stick close to you in an effort to see you fall.  Jesus accepted an invitation to dinner at Simon’s house in Luke 7:36-50.  Simon was a Pharisee.  He knew the rules and customs.  He knew the etiquette and traditions.  But he did not anticipate the way that Jesus would interact with a woman that Simon considered to be beneath him.  Today’s sermon recap recounts the events at that dinner and challenges us to dig deeper.

As Jesus is reclined at the table, a woman of the night enters the home with an alabaster flask of fragrant oil.  She does not say a word.  While standing at the feet of Jesus, she weeps, washes His feet with her tears, wipes His feet with the hairs of her head, kisses His feet and anoints His feet with the oil that she has brought with her.  She worships the Lord of hosts and is not deterred by the others in the room.

Simon witnesses this scene.  Although he has opened his home to Jesus, his motives were not entirely on the up and up.  He, like the fellow Pharisees, does not buy into the claim that Jesus is the Savior of the world.  When Jesus does not immediately reject the woman, who is a known sinner, Simon feels justified in his thinking.  He thinks to himself that if Jesus was a prophet then he would know who the woman is.  He thinks that Jesus would be aware of her sins.  Simon does not say his thoughts aloud.  He does not mumble a single word, but Jesus knows what Simon is thinking and decides to flip the script on Simon.

Jesus tells a parable of two debtors that owe debts.  One owes five hundred and the other owes fifty.  Neither man has money to pay what they owe.  The creditor forgives both debts.  Both men walk away freely.  Jesus asks Simon which man would love the creditor more.  Simon responds that it is probably the man that owed the most.  Jesus assures Simon that his answer is correct.  And then Jesus does what Jesus does best.  He puts Simon in his place.

Remember I told you that Simon was a Pharisee and was well aware of the rules, customs, and traditions of their culture?  Well, old Simon neglected the basic care of Jesus when he invited Jesus to his home.  Simon had not given Jesus water for His feet when He entered Simon’s home.  He did not greet Jesus with the standard kiss.  Simon did not anoint Jesus’s head with oil.  The woman, the sinner that Simon despised, did all three.  She demonstrated her love for Jesus with all that she had.  Her praise said it all.

She let her hair, her glory, fall freely at the feet of Jesus.  Her glory was submitted to the ultimate glory.  She worshipped at the feet of Jesus because she had a debt that she was unable to pay.  And Jesus, the Savior of the world, had taken on flesh so that He could pay it all for her.  While she was praising, Jesus told her that her sin was forgiven and that her faith had saved her.  He commanded her to go in peace.

Life gets heavy.  Sometimes it is easier to judge others and the way that they are handling their life.  It can be simple to point fingers and neglect to see the condition that we are in.  Instead of judging others’ praise, we need to take our personal time at the feet of Jesus seriously.  Our praise and worship are intimate.  It is a time to love on Him with all that we have because He has paid it all for us.  And our praise should say it all.  #wepreach

Think On It:

• What does your praise and worship look like?
• Do you praise in private?
• Name three things that God has freed from.