WEBVTT 00:00:02.399 --> 00:00:04.480 Welcome to the MetaCurch podcast. 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:05.440 My name is Clayton. 00:00:05.519 --> 00:00:14.240 I'm the pastor at MetaCurch, and I hope that today's message is inspiring and enlightening and really builds you up wherever you're at in life. 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:18.960 I want to welcome you in wherever you're joining us from. 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:24.160 If you're here at our Holotus location, uh man, I am so proud of the work happening in Helotus. 00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:29.039 If you're with us online, I'm grateful for this ministry so that you could join us today as well. 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:30.879 If you're new with us, my name is Clayton. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:33.119 I'm the lead pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:37.359 I want to let you know about a few things that we have coming up at all of our venues. 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:41.280 First, on October 25th, uh we'll be celebrating baptism. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:45.200 It is the best thing that we do here at MetaCurch, our baptism service. 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:55.840 And so if at any point in your life you've made the decision to put your faith in Jesus and you haven't been baptized, that's your next best step. 00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:01.759 Not because I say, not because MetaCurch says, uh Jesus says this is your next best step. 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:05.840 Uh so sign up, uh, get baptized at your venue, right? 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:08.560 We are uh expanding, we're taking ground for the kingdom. 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:13.439 We want to put the enemies of God on notice, and uh man, we can't wait to celebrate on October 25th. 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:19.200 Now, typically, the weekend of baptism, we also do a worship and prayer night. 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:20.719 We're gonna do something a little bit different. 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:22.400 I need you to mark your calendars. 00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:25.840 The team's not even ready for me to make this announcement, but I'm so excited. 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:34.000 There's no graphics, there's no, but on October 14th, that night will be our next prayer and worship night, and I just said it out loud, so now, team, it has to happen. 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:35.920 So it's gonna be October 14th. 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:37.599 Let me tell you what October 14th is. 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:38.640 Mark your calendars. 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:40.159 It's a Wednesday. 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:42.239 Let me tell you what a Wednesday means. 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:49.680 It means there's no Monday night football, there's no Thursday night football, there's no Friday night lights, there's no Saturday night football, there's no Sunday football. 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:50.719 It's Wednesday night. 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:52.319 We hope everyone can come out. 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:57.120 We fast, we pray, we worship, we prepare our hearts for baptism. 00:01:57.200 --> 00:01:58.799 So I hope you guys can make it out to that. 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:03.439 Now, if you're new with us today, we have been walking through the gospel of Luke. 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:09.120 We've been going very intentionally and just trying to figure out who the real Jesus is. 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:12.719 We learned in the first section that Jesus came to be a lot of things. 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:17.919 The one we overlook in our culture is that Jesus came to be king. 00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:18.719 Amen? 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:23.280 Jesus is not a king among other kings, he is the king of all kings. 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:30.240 We saw in the second section that there is a way that this kingdom operates, and we are invited into it right here, right now. 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:33.599 The section we're in currently, we've called the king's people. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:42.319 And we called it this because if Jesus is king and if he is starting a kingdom, the natural question is who's invited? 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:44.879 Who are the king's kind of people? 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:54.560 Now, all of our sermons are on YouTube, you can get caught up, but today I think it's to the heart of really who Jesus is inviting in and calling in. 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:58.080 Now, uh last week, Luke is always building. 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:07.439 Last week, we had kind of the core of our passage, which introduced us to these two different groups, and these two groups had opposite reactions to Jesus. 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:08.800 Let me remind you about that. 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:10.319 We're in Luke chapter 7. 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:12.800 This was last week in verse 29 and 30. 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:21.360 And when all the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they acknowledged God's way of righteousness because they'd been baptized with John's baptism. 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:28.879 But since the Pharisees and the experts in the law had not been baptized by him, they rejected the plan of God for themselves. 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:29.680 Two groups. 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:36.879 The first group is just ordinary people like me and you, just normal folks that are often associated as sinners. 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:39.919 These are the people uh who are not the religious elite. 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:43.919 The second group, these are the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes. 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:46.000 These are the religious leaders. 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:51.199 The normal, everyday people heard the message of Jesus and many of them accepted it. 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:55.199 The religious leaders heard the message of Jesus and they rejected it. 00:03:55.439 --> 00:04:01.439 What Luke does next is he tells us a narrative that puts that concept on display. 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:08.960 The first thing I'm gonna do today is read our entire passage, and it's one of the longest passages that I have preached in Luke so far. 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:12.159 I'm about to go through a lot of verses all in a row. 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:20.399 So I need you to lean into this because if you don't understand the scene of this story, you'll have a very hard time seeing how it applies to your life. 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:21.920 So we're in Luke chapter 7. 00:04:22.079 --> 00:04:23.759 I'm gonna start in verse 36. 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:28.240 It says, Then one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him. 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:31.120 He entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:48.800 And a woman in the town who was a sinner found out that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, and she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to wash his feet with her tears, and she wiped his feet with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with the perfume. 00:04:48.959 --> 00:05:00.319 And when the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, This man, if he were really a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman this is who's touching him. 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:01.759 She's a sinner. 00:05:01.920 --> 00:05:05.279 And Jesus replied to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:07.199 And he said, Say it, teacher. 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:08.959 So Jesus tells a parable. 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:13.839 A creditor had two debtors, one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:17.279 And since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both. 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:19.040 So which of them will love him more? 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:22.959 And Simon answered, I suppose the one he forgave more. 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:25.759 You have judged correctly, Jesus told him. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:29.279 Turning to the woman, he said to Simon, Do you see this woman? 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:36.720 I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she with her tears has washed my feet and wiped them with her hair. 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:41.120 You gave me no kiss, but she hasn't stopped kissing my feet since I came in. 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:45.920 You did not anoint my head with olive oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume. 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:49.279 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven. 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:50.959 That's why she loved much. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:54.079 But the one who is forgiven little loves little. 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:57.439 And then Jesus said to her, Your sins are forgiven. 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:02.959 And those who are at the table with him began to say among themselves, Who is this man who even forgives sins? 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:06.000 And Jesus said to the woman, Your faith has saved you. 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:07.920 Go in peace. 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:18.399 I need you to see the scene so you can understand the tension, so you can begin to understand Jesus, and frankly, so you can understand yourself. 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:26.959 Last week in the passage, we have two groups, the religious leaders who reject Jesus, and the sinners who accept Jesus. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:30.800 And all of a sudden we dive into this and we see both groups represented. 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:32.160 Let's look again at 36. 00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:38.639 Says, then one of the Pharisees, these are the religious leaders, a guy named Simon invited Jesus to eat with him. 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:41.040 He entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:48.399 And a woman in the town who was a sinner found out that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house. 00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:52.879 The setting of our story is in the home of a Pharisee named Simon. 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:56.000 He is throwing a banquet and he invites Jesus in. 00:06:56.240 --> 00:06:58.160 He is representing the religious leaders. 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:00.560 The banquet is interrupted by a woman. 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:04.639 All we know about her is she is notorious for her sin. 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:09.759 Now you may have heard this story before, and you may have it in your mind that she is a prostitute. 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:11.680 The text does not tell us that. 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:14.240 Luke does not tell us her sin. 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:18.160 It was notorious, everyone knew this is how she's labeled. 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:25.920 She is not the woman who cooks, she is not the woman who sols, she is not an entrepreneur, she does not have a booth in the marketplace, she is known by her sin. 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:26.959 What is her sin? 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:28.879 The text doesn't tell us. 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:31.439 What her sin is does not matter. 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:36.399 The fact that everyone is aware of her sin is what matters. 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:38.000 These are our two groups. 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:44.879 Now, immediately this almost feels like it is backtracking on last week. 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:53.839 Because Luke said the religious leaders don't accept Jesus, but here we have a Pharisee named Simon inviting Jesus to be the guest of honor at his banquet. 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:57.040 So what exactly is going on here? 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:02.240 What's going on is something that you'll recognize from many movies. 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:05.680 This happens all the time in movies, this happens all the time in novels. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:09.680 In movies, they call this false hospitality. 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:12.160 And here's the scene. 00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:18.800 The scene is the protagonist, the main character, gets invited in by people who are over-the-top friendly. 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:22.879 They bring them into their circle, and here's what happens with false hospitality. 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:30.079 In the movie, the character usually doesn't know they're being trapped, but the audience watching the movie does know. 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:33.360 And so this happens in Goodfellows, this happens in The Godfather. 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:38.480 This happens in all the cinematic masterpieces, like mean girls. 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:43.679 Not that I've seen this movie a lot. 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:50.240 But Katie Harrington, who's a mean character, she's invited to sit at the table of the plastics. 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:52.480 Those are the popular girls, also the mean girls. 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:58.320 Regina George, the head mean girl, goes, Oh my gosh, you look so pretty today. 00:08:58.559 --> 00:08:59.759 Over the top, nice. 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:02.960 She gives her the social layout of the school so she can navigate. 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:05.440 Katie Harrington thinks she's made friends. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:08.399 You're watching the movie going, it's a trap. 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:13.759 They're not there to serve you, they're there to size you up. 00:09:14.559 --> 00:09:16.080 This is what's happening. 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:21.519 The only difference is while the characters in the movie aren't aware it's happening, Jesus is. 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:25.840 And so look what we already learned by reading the passage. 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:30.559 Jesus shows up to the house and his feet are not washed. 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:33.440 This is 2,000 years ago in the ancient Near East. 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:34.720 This is a very different world. 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:40.080 Washing the feet of your guests is baseline hospitality. 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:42.080 Baseline hospitality. 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:49.360 It is likely that the other guests to the party got their feet washed, not Jesus. 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:55.919 When someone comes in and you want to show relationship, friendship, you greet them with a kiss on the cheek. 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:57.120 We don't do that today. 00:09:57.279 --> 00:09:58.159 They did back then. 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:00.240 This is baseline relationship. 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:03.519 This doesn't mean we're in love, we're best friends, BFF forever. 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:05.759 This means like I know you and you know me. 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:06.720 Welcome to my house. 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:08.559 Jesus doesn't get a kiss. 00:10:08.799 --> 00:10:21.360 If you are a guest of honor, like I don't know, the most famous Jewish rabbi of your time, then they would anoint your head with a bit of olive oil as a sign of honor and respect. 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:23.279 Nobody anoints Jesus' head. 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:25.440 And so here's the actual scene. 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:28.080 Simon is not there to get to know Jesus. 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:30.159 Simon is not there to start a relationship. 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:32.720 Simon is not there to learn from Jesus. 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:35.919 Simon is a mean girl. 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:44.879 And he has invited Jesus in to try and trap him, expose him, and diminish him in the eyes of the community. 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:46.320 He's like, guys, I'm gonna do it. 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:46.879 It's crazy. 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:47.600 I'm gonna do it. 00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:49.120 I'm gonna invite Jesus over. 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:49.840 Check this out. 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:51.759 Right before he gets there, we'll move the water. 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:52.960 We won't even wash his feet. 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:54.799 When he comes in, I'm just gonna give him one of these. 00:10:54.879 --> 00:10:55.840 I'm not even gonna get close. 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:56.879 No anointing is said. 00:10:57.039 --> 00:10:58.639 We're gonna make them really uncomfortable. 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:01.279 And then watch, watch me work, watch me work. 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:02.879 I'm gonna trap him. 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:07.679 They're just there to size Jesus up and break Jesus down. 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:10.799 It's just false hospitality. 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:13.519 That's one side of the story. 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:16.720 And then there is the sinful woman. 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:26.960 Now there is a lot I want to take note of with this woman who has lived for who knows how long, wearing the proverbial scarlet letter. 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:31.279 Everyone in the town knowing her shame, everyone knowing her secrets. 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:33.200 Let's read about her in verse 37. 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:48.799 It says, A woman in the town who was a sinner found out that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, and she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and she stood behind him at his feet, and she was weeping, and she began to wash his feet with her tears. 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:54.320 She wiped his feet with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with the perfume. 00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:57.519 I just I I want you to look at the initiative. 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:01.519 All of the action is on her. 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:10.799 She found out, she came to the banquet, she stood, she wept, she washed, she wiped with her hair, no less, she kissed, she anointed. 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:16.639 Now, the first thing about this whole scene, and I need you to do your best to enter into the scene with me. 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:24.080 The first thing that really catches our attention is that she interrupts a banquet full of invited guests. 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:25.679 We don't play that game. 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:29.120 We are Westerners, we have private property. 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:35.039 If I have people over for dinner, you cannot just open the door and walk into my house. 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:38.480 I am a pastor, but I'm armed, okay? 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:41.120 You can't just come in. 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:50.879 To understand the scene, a banquet likely would have been outdoors in an atrium in Simon's house. 00:12:51.200 --> 00:13:09.840 There would have been a table, and only people invited get to the table, but it is expected that when influential members of society have a banquet, other people will show up and they will stand in a crowd around the edges to observe, to hear, and to learn. 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:18.879 And so a crowd of people would be around the table leaning in to listen, but only the invited guests get to come to the table. 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:24.720 Now, one of the things, if you're newer to Metachurch, we are just committed to transparency. 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:33.440 We're not playing the game where we're like all proud of ourselves because we checked a box and we came to a service on a Sunday. 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:40.000 We are here to allow the God of the universe to transform our lives. 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:47.759 And if we are not being real and taking off all the little masks and being very honest, then God can't transform something that's not real. 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:51.840 And so I'm committed to transparency from this stage, and so I'm gonna let you know. 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:59.679 I've known this story virtually my whole life, and this story has always made me uncomfortable. 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:05.279 You know, I do a lot of research, I work on these sermons for weeks, sometimes for months. 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:10.639 And I found out, it actually comforted me a little bit, that I'm not the only one. 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:38.080 Scholars and theologians and preachers and pastors all throughout history have just been made uncomfortable by the scene, the gender dynamics, how we picture this in our minds, the interruption, the lack of dignity, the just awkwardness that would permeate the room in that moment, trying to put yourself in the scene of someone interrupting and coming up and washing your feet and kissing your feet and drying it with their hair. 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:40.480 I mean, it just has always made me uncomfortable. 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:53.600 And I'm so grateful for the opportunity to dive into this text at such a deep level because my biggest issue was I was not going slow enough to see the scene properly. 00:14:54.240 --> 00:15:05.279 One of the things it's very hard not to do is to read the scripture through the filters of our own lived experience and our culture 2,000 years later. 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:12.559 But to really understand, we have to do our due diligence and understand what's actually happening here and what's going on with the text. 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:14.399 We modernize many of these stories. 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:30.559 And even in art, as people began to depict this, it didn't take long, only a few centuries as the world began to modernize for the paintings themselves to start putting Jesus in like a Western chair, just like you're sitting in at one of our venues right now. 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:33.039 And so I I have a picture from the medieval period. 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:38.320 This is during the Baroque period of art, and I sound really smart saying that because that's what Google told me this was. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:40.080 I know nothing about art, just so you're aware. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:42.159 This is during the Baroque period. 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:47.279 And what you see is he's in a Western chair with her kneeling down in front of him. 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:51.600 And so there's a dynamic there that forever has made people uncomfortable. 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:54.480 And here's the problem that's not what happened. 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:59.600 So I don't know if anyone's ever told you this, but you should slow down when you're reading scripture. 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:07.039 And if we slow down, we will notice what it actually says is she brought an alabaster jar of perfume and stood where? 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:10.799 Behind him at his feet. 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:13.919 I have uh another painting. 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:17.200 This one is from somewhere around 70 or 80 AD. 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:19.519 This is a very, very, very old painting. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:22.480 And it shows what it would actually look like to recline. 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:26.799 It says, notice in the text, reclining at a banquet. 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:31.600 People did not sit in chairs and scoot up to a table like we do today. 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:36.960 Uh the thing they would sit on, we would probably call a chase lounge, if you're familiar. 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:46.639 And what would happen is you would face the table, and it was custom to prop yourself up on your left elbow and your feet would be back behind you. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:49.200 And so here's the actual scene. 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:52.799 It's weird to us that anyone's at the dinner, but that's not weird back then. 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:56.799 It's not weird for people to show up and crowd around the table and lean in and listen. 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:01.120 It's not that there were people there, it's that this specific person was there. 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:09.200 The one person who no one would expect to come into the home of a Pharisee, the woman who is notorious for her sin. 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:15.599 And she does not just stand at the back of the crowd, she begins to make her way through. 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:29.119 And as she gets through to the front of the crowd, in this very large, very loud banquet where people are talking and debating and conversating, all of a sudden, people start noticing who's here. 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:37.200 Have you ever been talking about someone, like really talking about someone, and then they walk in the room? 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:42.000 Have you ever walked in a room and everyone stopped talking? 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:47.440 Slowly people start noticing her, and the room gets a little bit quieter. 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:51.200 And she's not content to be at the front of the crowd. 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:56.240 All of a sudden she starts walking towards the guest of honor, and it gets quieter. 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:08.160 She approaches from behind Jesus, only having access to his feet, and she stops and she leans over or possibly kneels by his feet. 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:10.160 And here's what I guess. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:14.160 My guess is the room goes dead silent. 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:22.319 Now, next week, interestingly, we're gonna talk about sex and gender in the ancient world. 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:24.480 It's just where Luke is taking us. 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:33.599 One thing that might be worth knowing is at this point in human history, a man would not hesitate to harshly correct a woman. 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:36.160 Culturally, that was normal. 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:39.680 Now, this is Jesus's problem to deal with. 00:18:39.839 --> 00:18:45.119 And so the room goes silent, no one says anything, because it's Jesus' time to correct. 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:49.039 Simon could not have drawn this up better. 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:52.480 Now Jesus is in this incredibly awkward moment. 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:55.359 Everyone in the room would have expected the same thing. 00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:58.640 They would have expected Jesus to go, can I help you? 00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:00.480 You need to back up. 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:02.240 I am busy. 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:04.240 I'm the guest of honor. 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:06.000 You need to wait. 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:09.119 Instead, there is silence. 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:13.680 And the silence is not broken by a harsh critique from Jesus. 00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:18.240 The silence is broken by the woman weeping. 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:34.400 A lifetime of shame and regret, a lived experience of her sins becoming front page news, and the stigma carrying her for the rest of her life. 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:42.559 Years of guilt and self-hate, all of it comes pouring out of her. 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:53.519 And when you dig into the Greek that Luke originally wrote this in, this was not a soft, cute Hollywood cry with a couple of ceremonial tears. 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:59.119 It says that her tears washed Jesus' feet. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:04.960 That word in the Greek for washed is the word for a downpour of rain. 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:19.759 This is loud, ugly, wailing and weeping as the woman who everyone sees as a sinner comes into contact with the only one who can offer her grace and forgiveness. 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:24.720 This moment stuns the room. 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:28.160 And she is crying so profusely. 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:32.480 Let me remind you: when Jesus gets to the party, no one washes his feet. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:42.319 His feet are caked with the dust of dirty ancient roads, and her tears mix with the dirt and create a muddy mess. 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:43.680 She doesn't hesitate. 00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:46.559 She reaches back and she lets down her hair. 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:57.839 We're in a very different culture, but 2,000 years ago in the ancient Near East, as a woman, your hair was your crown, and you never, never, never left your house without your hair up. 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:06.400 As a matter of fact, letting your hair down in public was seen as so undignified, there were many who believed it was worthy of divorce. 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:09.440 She does not hesitate. 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:15.759 And the muddy mess that is Jesus' feet gets wrapped up in her hair. 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:19.839 And as his feet become clean, she begins to kiss them. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:21.920 There is nothing sexual about this. 00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:26.640 In the ancient world, this is the ultimate sign of humility and respect. 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:32.720 And finally, she brings out a gift that she brought at great expense to herself. 00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:37.119 And she anoints his feet with perfume. 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:42.960 And the room has no idea what to do with this. 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:46.720 Has no idea how to respond. 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:50.160 And you wouldn't either. 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:52.400 And neither would I. 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:54.880 This reminds me of a moment in the Old Testament. 00:21:55.039 --> 00:22:01.039 Most people are familiar, at least with the name King David, when he was a young man, he killed the Giant named Goliath. 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:02.160 He grows up to be the king. 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:03.599 He's a man after God's own heart. 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:10.640 And part of the story is that the ark of the covenant they made with God had been captured by enemies and it was out of Israel for a very long time. 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:13.359 And the ark represented the presence of God. 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:15.440 And finally, the ark was coming back. 00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:23.519 And as it entered Israel, the Spirit of God took over David and he begins to dance like no one's watching. 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:27.920 And his wife sees him from a distance and she's furious. 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:32.640 And when he finally makes his way to his wife, she gives it to him. 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:34.559 How will anyone ever respect you again? 00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:36.079 How will I respect you again? 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:38.799 Seeing you out there, making a fool of yourself. 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:46.400 And here's how David responds He says, I will become even more undignified than this. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:57.119 When I recognize who I am, and when my eyes are open to who my God is, I will respond. 00:22:58.400 --> 00:23:01.440 This woman, bro, she doesn't want to be there. 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:04.960 She doesn't want to be in a Pharisee's house. 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:09.920 The very people who have judged her and condemned her and made her life hell. 00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:13.599 If she's anything like me, she does not want to be weeping in public. 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:17.759 How uncomfortable is it to cry in front of people. 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:20.400 But she doesn't care. 00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:25.519 Because she knows who she is, and she knows who Jesus is. 00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:29.920 And this is the only response that makes sense. 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:34.880 We don't know how long this took. 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:44.960 But nothing has broken the silence of her weeping and washing and cleaning, kissing and anointing. 00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:51.920 Finally, something is thought, not said, thought, by Simon the Pharisee. 00:23:52.160 --> 00:24:07.200 Verse 39 When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, This man, if he were a prophet, would know who this woman is, what kind of woman this is, that she is a sinner, and now she's touching him. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:09.599 These are his thoughts. 00:24:10.240 --> 00:24:12.720 Let me translate into 2026. 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:19.599 Simon invited Jesus to his banquet on false pretense, false humility. 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:23.440 He's trying to trap him, and he didn't even have to set this up. 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:25.119 It just happened for him. 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:29.519 Simon is thinking, I'm a freaking genius. 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:31.039 I did it. 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:34.000 No one will ever respect Jesus after this moment. 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:35.680 He is out of luck. 00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:37.599 Here's his airtight argument. 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:38.799 Airtight. 00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:43.279 He goes, either Jesus doesn't know who this is. 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:47.119 And if he doesn't know who this is, he's not a prophet. 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:49.839 He has no spiritual intuition. 00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:54.559 Or even worse, he does know who this is. 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:58.960 That she is the town's notorious sinner. 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:03.680 And he's letting her wash his feet with her hair. 00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:06.880 No prophet would do that. 00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:11.119 Either he doesn't know, so he's not a prophet, or he knows, so he's not a prophet. 00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:12.960 Simon wins either way. 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:14.559 Success. 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:16.799 Step into the scene with me. 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:18.240 The room is silent. 00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:19.759 The woman is weeping. 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:26.240 Simon is celebrating, and all of a sudden, finally, the silence is broken by Jesus. 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:32.480 Jesus looking down into Simon's eyes replies to him in verse 40. 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:38.240 And Jesus says, Simon, I have something to say to you. 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:45.200 Imagine sitting in a room, and someone in the room, you were just tearing them to pieces in your head. 00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:53.920 You are talking so much trash in your mind, and all of a sudden you are interrupted by that person going, Clayton, do you have something you'd like to say? 00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:56.319 You would just die, you know. 00:25:56.480 --> 00:25:58.559 I think Simon died in this moment. 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:01.759 Simon, I have something I'd like to say to you. 00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:08.240 You want to know what kind of prophet Jesus is, the kind that's reading your mind right now. 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:11.839 And Simon says, Say it, teacher. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:14.240 And so Jesus shares a parable. 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:15.440 Here's the parable. 00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:19.680 A creditor had two debtors, two people in debt to him. 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:23.440 One owed 500 denarii, and the other owed 50. 00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:27.119 Since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both. 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:32.000 So Jesus asks Simon, which of them will love him more? 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:39.039 Now, debt is a common metaphor for sin, and Simon is a smart guy. 00:26:39.359 --> 00:26:42.240 He probably already realizes he's trapped. 00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:46.400 He's in a large room with people leaning in and listening. 00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:48.799 He has other invited guests at the table. 00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:51.599 He could say, I don't know. 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:52.799 It's an obvious question. 00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:55.200 If he says, I don't know, he looks like an idiot. 00:26:55.440 --> 00:26:58.079 He could give the wrong answer, he looks like an idiot. 00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:05.519 Or he could give the right answer, which he knows plays right into what Jesus is trying to say. 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:11.279 And so he answers how your kids answer when you catch them red-handed. 00:27:13.359 --> 00:27:24.960 When you're like, hey, so I guess you didn't make curfew, and they're like, well, I mean, technically, I didn't know if you were on central time or eastern, and so time's a weird thing, you know. 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:26.960 If you're on a mountain, it goes slower, actually. 00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:27.599 I learned that. 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:28.240 And if you're. 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:32.319 Look at Simon Hedges bet. 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:35.279 Simon answered, I mean, I guess. 00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:40.319 Like the easiest question ever, I suppose, it'd be the one he forgave more. 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:44.319 And Jesus told him, You have judged correctly. 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:49.119 Now I have spent way too much time setting the scene, and it's all for this moment. 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:50.720 It's all for right now. 00:27:50.960 --> 00:27:52.400 This moment, right now. 00:27:53.839 --> 00:27:55.359 Jesus is at the table. 00:27:55.519 --> 00:28:04.880 He's lounged, he's leaned up on his left elbow, his feet are behind him, but the woman is behind him at his feet, weeping and washing and drying, kissing and anointing. 00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:06.960 He is still focused in on the room. 00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:08.400 He is at the seat of honor. 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:10.160 Simon is at the head of the table. 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:15.599 He's looking at Simon and he's talking to Simon, but not for long. 00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:24.319 In verse 44, turning to the woman, Jesus said to Simon. 00:28:27.920 --> 00:28:30.000 We have to go slower. 00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:35.839 Jesus turns his back on Simon. 00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:42.799 He looks at the woman, but he's still talking to Simon. 00:28:44.880 --> 00:28:50.240 This is one part of the story that has carried across to our culture. 00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:56.720 It is disrespectful to turn your back while you are talking to someone. 00:28:57.039 --> 00:29:06.160 For everyone who just wants Jesus to be skipping around, petting lambs, holding babies, Jesus is a savage. 00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:14.319 Jesus turns his back on the owner of the house, the head of the table. 00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:24.319 He looks at the woman, but he's still speaking to Simon and he asks, Simon, do you see this woman? 00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:37.599 I have to pause here because as many people are as gathered across our venues and the hundreds of people who join us online, I can just say for a fact, there are many of us. 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:44.559 And part of our story is we have been hurt by spiritual leaders. 00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:47.440 We have been hurt by the church. 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:55.119 We have given up on God, not really because God did anything to us, but because of the hurtful words or actions. 00:29:55.279 --> 00:30:00.559 Some of you had people in spiritual authority over your life who should have protected you, but they abused you. 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:08.960 And although it may not be fair, it's an easy jump to project that on to God. 00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:21.920 Some of you have not considered, and maybe even you're like this woman where your whole life you have felt like you're disqualified from a relationship with God. 00:30:24.160 --> 00:30:37.839 And I need you to see what Jesus is doing in this moment because he turns his back on power and influence and status to look at the sinner. 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:52.079 And this is a foreshadowing because Jesus came and he came to be king, and you better believe with all the power of heaven in his being that Jesus could have had the throne and he could have had the crown and he could have had the palace and he could have had the power and he could have had the influence. 00:30:52.240 --> 00:31:02.079 And Jesus turned his back on all of it to go to a cross so he could look at a sinner like me and look at a sinner like you. 00:31:13.279 --> 00:31:14.559 Watch what Jesus is doing. 00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:16.960 What was Simon thinking in his mind? 00:31:17.119 --> 00:31:20.240 Simon was thinking, Jesus, do you even see who this woman is? 00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:21.680 Jesus turns it around. 00:31:21.920 --> 00:31:24.480 Simon, do you see this woman? 00:31:25.599 --> 00:31:27.519 Simon sees her failure. 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:29.599 Simon sees her sin. 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:32.480 As a Pharisee, he sees condemnation. 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:42.880