Let’s jump straight into this encounter today shall we?

• Luke 7:36-38
  36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat. 37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
• This Pharisee decides to throw this big party for Jesus. And many people come. And along came a woman as well. This woman here is known to be Mary. How do we know?
• John 12:1-3
  1 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. 2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
• It is Mary, whose sister is Martha and brother is Lazarus. In the previous chapter, John 11, Jesus had just resurrected Lazarus. So Mary had much reason to be thankful. On top of that, Mary is famously known to be the woman that was caught in adultery. Jesus had shown tender mercy to her and pardoned her sin.
• Jesus was very much close to this family. He had taught at their house where Mary sat at His feet to listen to His every word.

How much did Mary love Jesus?

• Well, how much was this perfume? In John it says that it was very costly. But how much?
• John 12:5
  Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
• It was worth at least 300 pence.
• Now 1 penny is worth a days wage at that time. How do we know this?
  • Matthew 20:1-2
    1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
• This is worth 300 days worth of work. That is about 1 year. It’s actually more than 1 year but let’s keep it at 1 year’s salary.
• How much does a person earn in 1 year? Let’s say about RM4,000 per month. That’s about RM50,000 per year.
• This is how much that perfume was worth! That’s a lot! That’s how much Mary loved Jesus!

But how does the host, the Pharisee, react?

• Luke 7:39
  Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
• The Pharisee was disgusted because Jesus allowed this woman to touch Him. And it’s not because she was a woman and He was a man. It was because she was a sinner.
• You see, Mary was famous for being a sinner! Everyone knew her past life. Yet this Pharisee is disgusted that she is allowed to touch Jesus. The Pharisee gets to the point that he even begins to doubt that Jesus is a prophet.
• Notice, this man does not even think that Jesus is the Messiah, only a prophet. Is he throwing this party just for show? We’ll see in a minute. But he’s saying in his heart and to himself all these thoughts about Mary.

Upon reading this man’s thoughts, what does Jesus say to him?

• Luke 7:40
  And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
• So now we know the name of the host, the Pharisee. His name is Simon.
• Jesus is about to teach him a little lesson.
• Luke 7:41-43
  41 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? 43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

A small little parable. What was it about?

• 2 debtors. One owed 500 and the other 50. One owed 10 times more than the other one. Both were forgiven of the debt that they owed.
• Jesus then asks what? Who would love more right? And Simon answers saying that the one that was forgiven the most.

Who do these 2 characters represent in this parable that Jesus shared?

• Luke 7:44-46
  44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
• The 2 debtors represent Mary and Simon. And from the way that Jesus is explaining it, it seems to elude to the fact that Mary owed more than Simon. Mary owed 500. Simon owed 50.

And then Jesus concludes this:

• Luke 7:47
  Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
• As a result of having been forgiven much, Mary loved much. And Jesus pointed out why we know that Mary loved much. She washed Jesus’ feet. She kissed his feet. She showed great devotion and love to Christ. Her love was evident through her works.
• But Simon, he didn’t even wash Jesus’ feet nor give Him a kiss when He came to his house. This really was the work of the host. It was a way of welcoming the guests. Especially Jesus who was so famous at that time and Simon had thrown the party especially for Him.

But now let’s dig a bit deeper into Simon. We already know that he is a Pharisee. Not that bad right? What else do we know about him?

• Mark 14:3
  And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
• He is a leper. Or at least he used to be a leper. He must be an ex-leper now because of the fact that he’s throwing a party for many people and many people have come.
• Lepers were outcasts from society. They were considered unclean. They were not allowed to live with others because it was a contagious disease that had no cure at that time. If he was a leper, no one would come to his place. Not even Mary the ex-prostitute would come!

So I want to come back to this comparison between the 2 people – one owed 50 and other 500.

• Now we know it is Simon vs Mary. It is the ex-leper vs the ex-prostitute.
• Now if you were to choose, if there were only 2 choices in this world of who you wanted to be, what would you choose? Would you choose to be a leper or a prostitute?
• I would choose to be a prostitute. Why? Because I can choose to stop being one. I can still live at home. I’m not an outcast. I don’t have a contagious disease.
• If I am a leper, I don’t have a choice. I am sick until someone heals me. Personally, I think being a leper is worse.
• I know, if you look at it from a moral standpoint one could argue that being a prostitute is worse because they sold their bodies to make a living. Maybe some lepers were really good moral people.
• Remember, Simon is an ex-leper. If he weren’t, no one would come to his house for this feast. Not even the ex-prostitute Mary! And Jesus must have healed him. That’s why he was probably throwing this feast for Him.

I believe that if you took a step back and looked at this situation, you would think that Simon owed 500 and Mary only owed 50! His situation was much worse that Mary’s. Personally I feel that Simon was in a worse condition that Mary.

But what was his problem? He forgot about his past! He forgot what he used to be like but just looked at the past of others. And not only that, when he saw Mary touching Jesus, what did he say to himself?

• Luke 7:39
  Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
• He couldn’t believe that Jesus was allowing Mary to touch Him! As if Jesus would get sick from her touch, or become a sinner from her touch. As if being a prostitute was a contagious disease like what he used to have!
• Simon put his own problem from the past onto Mary! Can you believe that?! And not only that, he condemned her and looked down on her when in fact all that she was doing was from a heart of love.

Now I want to look at it from another angle. When Jesus used this parable of the 2 people who owed 500 and 50, He was speaking in our human terms. To Christ, all sin is at the same level.

• Adam – all he did was eat a fruit!
• Achan – all he did was take some gold and a garment.
• Samson – all he did was have his hair cut!
• And to Christ, the prostitute, the leper, the murderer, the liar – they are all on the same level. It’s all sin.
• But when Jesus talks about the 2 people that owe different amounts, He’s speaking in human understanding for us. We categorize sin and determine what is worse and what isn’t, right?
  • What’s worse – murderer or adulterer. Or course we would all say a murderer.
  • How about adulterer versus a liar? I think we would all answer adulterer.
  • Or how about breaking the Sabbath vs stealing? I think we would all agree that stealing is worse than breaking the Sabbath.
• We determine in our mind what is worse all the time. But to Christ sin is sin and it all demands death when you sin. To God, sin is all the same.
• And even though I think that Simon owed 500 and Mary owed 50, what the reality is is that Jesus said it quite clearly in the parable and His explanation – Mary owed 500 and Simon owed 50.
• But why? Not because I’m disagreeing with myself. I really think that Simon’s past situation in life was worse that Mary’s. But what is happening is really that Simon doesn’t think that he is as bad as Mary. But Mary – all she sees is how Jesus has helped her from her life of sin. And like Paul, she considers herself the chief of sinners. She thinks in her mind that she owes 500. But the problem is that Simon thinks in his mind that he only owed 50 and she 500.
• I THINK she owed on 50 and Simon owed 500. The problem is Simon thought himself better than Mary. He didn’t see himself as bad as her. She needed Jesus more than he did. He had the typical Pharisee mindset.
• What is the Pharisee mindset?
  • Luke 18:10-13
    10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
  • They looked down on everyone else and thought themselves the best of the bunch. They prided themselves on their works!
• Simon was probably sitting there thinking that throwing this feast for Jesus was such a righteous act! He was probably congratulating himself for a job well done!

But Jesus says what?

• Luke 7:47
  Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
• You know why some of us have so little love for Jesus? Because we’re too busy watching other people. We’re too busy priding ourselves in our own achievements and the “righteous” things that we do. We’re too caught up with our own lives looking at our own selves and how good we are.
• Look, if you search hard enough, you will always find someone worse than yourself. It just depends on the purpose as to why you look at other people.
• If you look at Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith, your looking at other people will not be to make yourself feel better, but it will be to seek and save the lost. To help them instead of condemn then and make yourself feel better.

There’s one more twist to this story. There’s one more detail about Simon.

• John 12:1-4
  1 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. 2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. 4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him,
• Who was the son of Simon? It was Judas Iscariot. He was also part of this problem.
• John 12:5-8
  5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 6 — This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. 7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. 8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.
• He was the one that also was speaking badly about Mary. But really he was masking his greed for the money that was spent on Jesus. He didn’t really care about the poor.

Jesus puts him in his place and what happens? He has wounded pride.

• Matthew 26:14-16
  14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.
• This takes place right after this encounter. Judas is upset and instead of reflecting on his own heart and how he was so selfish and wanting to keep the money for himself, his greed and pride causes him to go out and agree to betray Jesus into the hands of the priests and those that hated Him. He wants to teach Christ a lesson when Jesus read the very thoughts of his heart.
• Judas’ focus was self. His own life. He, like Simon, did not care for others. He just cared for that money that he could have used to spend on his own comforts.
• Judas of all people should have been most grateful. He should have loved Christ the most because Jesus had healed his dad from the deadly disease of leprosy. But instead, just like his dad, he was looking on the faults of others. How a good act from Mary even became something that they could find fault with because of their own selfish hearts is simply amazing.

How much do you love Christ? Have you focused your eyes so much on the world that you forgot to look at Jesus and to learn from Him by sitting at His feet? And sometimes it’s not just the pleasures or the riches of the world. But sometimes we focus on the faults and acts of others so much, we talk so much about them that they preoccupy our minds so much – what they do, what they say, how they dress, etc…., that we forget to meditate on God’s word and fix our eyes firmly on Him. We forget Christ in the process because we’re too busy looking at everyone else around us.

This is where I’m glad for the Sabbath. We can re-focus. We can reset and come back to Christ if we have been too busy throughout the week. We can re-prioritize so that the new week we can make sure we focus our hearts and minds back on Christ.

Let’s make sure our focus is correct. Let’s make sure that we keep our eyes on Jesus. For truly the closer we come to Him, the more we will discern our own faults and not the faults of others. May God help each of us to keep proper perspective today. God bless you all!