Marlin,
Nice commentary. Whoever has been forgiven
much, loves much. Izzy
Luke 7:
40 And Jesus
answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he
replied, "Say it, Teacher."
41 "A moneylender had two debtors: one owed
five hundred [2]
(25)
denarii, and the other fifty.
42 "When they (26)
were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will
love him more?"
43 Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one
whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have judged
correctly."
44 Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon,
"Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you (27)
gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped
them with her hair.
45 "You (28)
gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My
feet.
46 "(29)
You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.
47 "For this reason I say to you, her sins,
which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven
little, loves little."
48 Then He said to her, "(30)
Your sins have been forgiven."
49 Those who were reclining at the table with Him
began to say to themselves, "(31)
Who is this man who even forgives sins?"
50 And He said to the woman, "(32)
Your faith has saved you; (33)
go in peace."
-----Original Message-----
From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Marlin Halverson
Sent: Saturday, December 28, 2002
10:41 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [TruthTalk] to call
sinners to repentance
This may be of interest.--Marlin
Matthew's
Call
"I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
(Matt 9:13 NKJV)
Matthew gives us a genealogy of Jesus Christ, and for reasons of his own he
mentions four women who were ancestors of the Messiah. And all four would
have been despised by the religious types of Matthew's day.
There was Tamar, the daughter of Judah who played the harlot and conceived twin
boys out of wedlock.
There was Rahab, the liar and "innkeeper" who harbored the Israelite
spies.
There was Ruth, the Moabite widow who abandoned her own people to live with the
people of God.
And finally there was Bathsheba, the adulterer whose husband David murdered and
who later gave birth to Solomon.
Of Jesus female ancestors, he makes the point of mentioning three Gentiles and
three women of questionable moral backgrounds. No mention of Sarah and none of
Rebekah. Instead he singles out these four women. That's a strange
way to introduce the Messiah! Unless you have a questionable background
yourself.
In the ninth chapter of his gospel, Matthew reveals a bit of his own
history. Matthew was a tax collector, one of the most despised of
professions in first century Israel. The tax collector was an agent of
the hated Roman occupiers. Not only were they hated because they were
traitors, they were hated because they were thieves. Under the rules of
the game, the Romans demanded a fixed levy from their subjects. Anything
collected above that belonged to the tax collector personally. This
privilege was often abused.
So when Jesus called Matthew, and Matthew responded - and not only Matthew but
many other publicans and sinners - these people experienced the grace of
God. Lifted from them were their past indiscretions. Lives were
changed and sinners came to repentance.
But it also caused consternation among the religious types of the day:
"Why does your master eat with publicans and sinners?" Jesus
answer? "They that are whole need not a physician, but those who are
sick."
Matthew understood the grace of God. He had experienced it, as had those
four women. So Matthew wrote about not despising the little ones (18:10),
that the Son of man has come to save that which was lost (18:11) and about the
joy of finding the lost sheep (18:12-13). He wrote of Jesus being a
"friend of publicans and sinners" (11:19). He was the only one
to record Jesus words: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle
and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy
and My burden is light." (Matt 11:28-30 NKJV)
Matthew understood the grace of God, and he wanted us to understand that he
understood.
~ Lenny C.
