Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Broken and Forgiven
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom
- 0:05Speaker 1: he forgave most. And he said unto them, Thou hast
- 0:09Speaker 1: rightly judged. Luke 7.43 When I feel the weight and
- 0:17Speaker 1: burden of my past, when I begin to feel the
- 0:20Speaker 1: shame and guilt from the abuse of my past, I
- 0:24Speaker 1: will come before you, Jesus, and bring to you whatever
- 0:28Speaker 1: strength and worship I have left. I will pour out
- 0:33Speaker 1: my praise and worship to you like the woman with
- 0:37Speaker 1: the alabaster box of oil because I know that in
- 0:42Speaker 1: your presence is love, acceptance, and forgiveness. As I bow
- 0:50Speaker 1: before you in prayer, I thank you for forgiving me
- 0:55Speaker 1: and redeeming me from any past afflictions. even in the
- 1:01Speaker 1: midst of scoffers and haters, I know that you are
- 1:05Speaker 1: pleased and touched by my act of surrender. Lord, use
- 1:11Speaker 1: me to help redeem others who may be in a
- 1:15Speaker 1: similar position. Use me to take those who feel unworthy
- 1:21Speaker 1: and to reconnect them to their value and true worth.
- 1:27Speaker 1: In Jesus' name.
- 1:30Speaker 2: Amen.
- 1:32Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.
- 1:36Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible
- 1:40Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
- 1:53Speaker 2: Broken and Forgiven In our last story, Jesus healed the
- 1:59Speaker 2: centurion's servant, He was restored because the centurion believed and
- 2:03Speaker 2: clung to the authority of Jesus. He recognized that Jesus
- 2:08Speaker 2: held authority over death and sickness. Now we are introduced
- 2:12Speaker 2: to a woman who had been completely broken by her past.
- 2:16Speaker 2: She approaches Jesus in the den of the religious leaders
- 2:19Speaker 2: and worships him unlike anyone had before, as inspired by
- 2:23Speaker 2: the Gospels.
- 2:28Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
- 2:30Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
- 2:33Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
- 2:36Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just
- 2:39Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important that we
- 2:43Speaker 3: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
- 2:44Speaker 3: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
- 2:48Speaker 3: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
- 2:50Speaker 3: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
- 2:54Speaker 3: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
- 2:58Speaker 3: to get a copy of the Jesus book, simply go
- 3:01Speaker 3: to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank
- 3:08Speaker 3: you for your support. In our last episode, we heard
- 3:12Speaker 3: how Jesus healed in ways that left people speechless and
- 3:15Speaker 3: astounded at this man who was among them. His power
- 3:18Speaker 3: to heal with just a word, even to bring the
- 3:21Speaker 3: dead back to life, brought many followers. Still, they did
- 3:25Speaker 3: not truly understand his purpose or power even as they
- 3:28Speaker 3: had heard him speak and watched him heal. They did
- 3:31Speaker 3: not know this was the long-awaited Messiah who brought the
- 3:35Speaker 3: ultimate and complete healing that they really needed. Today, we'll
- 3:39Speaker 3: meet a woman who approached Jesus boldly in her brokenness
- 3:42Speaker 3: to worship at his feet. Her presence would disturb the
- 3:45Speaker 3: legalistic establishment, but Jesus would recognize her sacrifice and her
- 3:50Speaker 3: deep need of him and honor her for her actions.
- 3:54Speaker 3: Let's listen now to the reading of God's word.
- 3:58Speaker 2: Jesus sat among the Pharisees at a great feast. He
- 4:01Speaker 2: watched as they mingled among themselves. There were laughs and
- 4:05Speaker 2: deep discussions on the things of God. However, there was
- 4:09Speaker 2: something beneath the surface of their smiles. Jesus could see
- 4:13Speaker 2: beyond the polished exterior of the religious leaders. They wore
- 4:17Speaker 2: their outward righteousness as a mask to hide their broken
- 4:20Speaker 2: and selfish hearts. Jesus declined at the table, making small
- 4:24Speaker 2: talk with the men to his right and left. He
- 4:27Speaker 2: knew they hated him. He knew he was only invited
- 4:30Speaker 2: because they wanted him comfortable. It broke Jesus' heart to
- 4:34Speaker 2: see such deception underneath kind gestures. As the men spoke,
- 4:38Speaker 2: Jesus saw a woman come in through the back door.
- 4:41Speaker 2: She wore the face of someone who had been abused
- 4:44Speaker 2: her entire life. Judging by the looks other men gave her,
- 4:48Speaker 2: she was a notorious sinner in the city. She was
- 4:51Speaker 2: equally enticing and revolting to the religious elite. She was
- 4:55Speaker 2: not supposed to be there, but she had come to
- 4:57Speaker 2: see Jesus. Jesus watched as the woman approached him, weeping.
- 5:02Speaker 2: Around her neck was a small alabaster flask filled with
- 5:05Speaker 2: precious ointment. Each woman in the city had one. It
- 5:10Speaker 2: was their most valuable possession and meant to sell in
- 5:12Speaker 2: hard times or give to one's husband. Tears streamed down
- 5:16Speaker 2: the woman's cheeks as she fell before Jesus. She bore
- 5:20Speaker 2: the tears of a broken heart. The tears fell on
- 5:23Speaker 2: the Lord's feet and the woman began to wash him
- 5:25Speaker 2: with her tears and hair. Then she broke the flask
- 5:29Speaker 2: around her neck and anointed Jesus' hands, head, and feet
- 5:33Speaker 2: with the fragrance. The smell filled the air as the
- 5:36Speaker 2: Pharisees watched in uncomfortable silence. Jesus' heart broke for the woman.
- 5:41Speaker 2: She fell at his feet, worshipping him the only way
- 5:44Speaker 2: she knew how. She had been used and abused her
- 5:47Speaker 2: whole life. She believed that her identity and love came
- 5:51Speaker 2: from the men she shared her body with. Yet Jesus
- 5:54Speaker 2: offered her something else. He offered purpose. He offered unconditional love.
- 6:00Speaker 2: He offered a healed and clean heart. As the woman
- 6:03Speaker 2: was still kneeling on the floor, one of the Pharisees, Simon,
- 6:07Speaker 2: spoke up. If Jesus was truly a prophet, he would
- 6:10Speaker 2: not let this woman anywhere near him, he scoffed. Everyone
- 6:14Speaker 2: knows she is one of those women. Be careful, Jesus,
- 6:17Speaker 2: or she might tempt you. Simon, Jesus said sternly as
- 6:22Speaker 2: he stood to his feet. His eyes darted in the
- 6:24Speaker 2: Pharisee's direction. I have something to say directly to you.
- 6:29Speaker 2: Simon stepped back for a moment. He looked around the room.
- 6:32Speaker 2: Everyone was incredibly tense. They knew that Jesus was a
- 6:36Speaker 2: gentle man, but they had also heard how he single-handedly
- 6:39Speaker 2: cleared the temple with a whip. Simon did his best
- 6:43Speaker 2: to feign confidence. He did a poor job. He nodded
- 6:46Speaker 2: towards Jesus and said, Yes, of course. Say it, teacher.
- 6:51Speaker 2: Jesus approached Simon. With each step Jesus took forward, Simon
- 6:56Speaker 2: took a step back. There was a moneylender who had
- 6:59Speaker 2: two debitors. One of them owed 500 and the other
- 7:02Speaker 2: owed 50. Neither of them could pay, so the moneylender
- 7:06Speaker 2: forgave them both and canceled their debt. Jesus got closer
- 7:10Speaker 2: to Simon. There was an intense silence. Tell me, which
- 7:15Speaker 2: one of those debitors will love the moneylender more? Simon shrugged,
- 7:20Speaker 2: still doing his best to seem confident. The one who
- 7:23Speaker 2: was forgiven more money, I suppose, he answered. Correct, Jesus said.
- 7:30Speaker 2: Then he went back to the woman and helped her
- 7:31Speaker 2: to her feet. Do you see this woman, Simon? I
- 7:35Speaker 2: entered your house. You gave me no water to wash
- 7:38Speaker 2: my feet, which is custom for any guest. Yet this
- 7:41Speaker 2: woman washed my feet with her own tears. You did
- 7:44Speaker 2: not welcome me into this home, but this woman has
- 7:47Speaker 2: anointed my head with her finest oils. I tell you
- 7:50Speaker 2: this before all your guests. Her sins will be forgiven
- 7:54Speaker 2: because she loved much. And listen to me closely. He
- 7:58Speaker 2: who forgives little will love little. Then Jesus sent the
- 8:02Speaker 2: woman on her way, and the whole house grumbled at
- 8:05Speaker 2: their own inadequacy.
- 8:12Speaker 3: We begin today's scripture at a great banquet where Jesus
- 8:16Speaker 3: is the guest at the home of a Pharisee. It
- 8:18Speaker 3: may seem unusual that those who seemed to despise Jesus
- 8:22Speaker 3: so much would invite him to a feast, but their
- 8:25Speaker 3: motives were not pure. They intended to challenge him on
- 8:28Speaker 3: matters of the law. They wanted to gain the upper
- 8:31Speaker 3: hand and expose Jesus in order to restore their own
- 8:34Speaker 3: power among the people. It is a reminder that showiness
- 8:39Speaker 3: and extravagant displays are not always a good indicator of
- 8:42Speaker 3: a person's heart intentions. But as we've heard from Jesus
- 8:46Speaker 3: on teachings, God sees through our outward appearance and perceives
- 8:50Speaker 3: our true motives. So as he reclined at the table,
- 8:54Speaker 3: Jesus would have been well aware of the purpose of
- 8:56Speaker 3: these men. But we should also remember that Jesus' heart
- 9:00Speaker 3: was not to shame or defeat them, but rather to
- 9:02Speaker 3: bring them to repentance and fellowship with God. God's desire
- 9:07Speaker 3: is that all would come to repentance and that everyone
- 9:10Speaker 3: would turn to him and see Jesus not as a rival,
- 9:15Speaker 3: but as the Savior of all sins. including the sin
- 9:19Speaker 3: of self-righteousness. As we discover, there was one person who
- 9:23Speaker 3: came into the feast who knew her need for Jesus,
- 9:26Speaker 3: a woman whose reputation preceded her, and that's not in
- 9:29Speaker 3: a good way. She came to the house to see Jesus.
- 9:32Speaker 3: She wasn't a guest. She was a party crasher. She
- 9:36Speaker 3: wasn't welcomed. Her appearance would have angered the righteous leaders.
- 9:39Speaker 3: How dare she think she could be in their presence?
- 9:42Speaker 3: But this woman wasn't afraid, and she wasn't seeking the
- 9:45Speaker 3: approval of the religious crowds. She went straight to Jesus
- 9:49Speaker 3: and fell at his feet in tears. She wept until
- 9:52Speaker 3: her tears moistened the feet of Jesus. His feet would
- 9:55Speaker 3: have been dusty and dirty from walking along the road
- 9:58Speaker 3: that day in his sandals. Having no towel, she used
- 10:01Speaker 3: what she had, her hair, to wipe his feet dry,
- 10:05Speaker 3: before she kissed them and poured perfume all over his feet.
- 10:09Speaker 3: It was such a lavish display of devotion. The perfume
- 10:12Speaker 3: was no cheap fragrance from a roadside stand. It was
- 10:15Speaker 3: an expensive perfume, a true sacrifice for this woman, who
- 10:19Speaker 3: surely was not wealthy. Seeing what was going on, the host,
- 10:23Speaker 3: a Pharisee named Simon, began to murmur that Jesus couldn't
- 10:26Speaker 3: be a prophet, otherwise he would have known what kind
- 10:29Speaker 3: of woman this was. She was a sinner, unfit for
- 10:34Speaker 3: their company and certainly unworthy of touching him. Jesus turned
- 10:38Speaker 3: to Simon and posed a question. Supposing two men owed
- 10:42Speaker 3: a lender money and that neither could repay their debt.
- 10:46Speaker 3: The lender forgave both debts, so they both were off
- 10:49Speaker 3: the hook. But one owed a very large sum, while
- 10:52Speaker 3: the other a smaller sum. In this story, Jesus asked
- 10:56Speaker 3: which man would love the lender more. Simon correctly judged
- 11:01Speaker 3: that it was the man who owed more. Jesus then
- 11:04Speaker 3: turned back to the woman and compared her to the
- 11:07Speaker 3: man who owed a great deal. Yes, she was a sinner.
- 11:11Speaker 3: But her lavish display demonstrated a depth of love and
- 11:14Speaker 3: honor that Simon, the Pharisee, had failed to show Jesus,
- 11:17Speaker 3: his invited guest. Then Jesus brought it all home for
- 11:21Speaker 3: Simon and for us with these words found in Luke 7, 47.
- 11:26Speaker 3: Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven,
- 11:29Speaker 3: as her great love has been shown. But whoever has
- 11:32Speaker 3: been forgiven little loves little. He then turned to the
- 11:37Speaker 3: woman and forgave her sins, saying that her faith had
- 11:40Speaker 3: saved her. Here's the great irony. In his story, neither
- 11:44Speaker 3: of the debtors could repay the debt. In the same way,
- 11:47Speaker 3: Simon and the other religious leaders could not repay the
- 11:50Speaker 3: debt for their sins, and yet, because they saw themselves
- 11:53Speaker 3: as righteous, not owing much, they felt entitled for forgiveness.
- 11:59Speaker 3: They did not demonstrate true love for God as this
- 12:02Speaker 3: woman did. She was a hopeless sinner in desperate need
- 12:06Speaker 3: of forgiveness. The reality is that everyone in that room,
- 12:10Speaker 3: everyone who has ever walked on this earth, apart from
- 12:13Speaker 3: Jesus himself, is a sinner in need of salvation. We
- 12:17Speaker 3: owed a debt we could not pay, but Jesus paid
- 12:20Speaker 3: the debt on the cross so that we could be forgiven.
- 12:23Speaker 3: It is only those who recognize their deep need for
- 12:25Speaker 3: Jesus who will experience forgiveness and respond with great love
- 12:29Speaker 3: toward the one who has forgiven them. Dear God, we
- 12:33Speaker 3: thank you and praise you for your grace. for the
- 12:36Speaker 3: gift of eternal life and the forgiveness of our sins
- 12:39Speaker 3: that we have in Jesus Christ. Thank you for today's
- 12:42Speaker 3: scripture that reminds us that we owe so much. May
- 12:46Speaker 3: we also lavish our love in devotion and commitment to you,
- 12:50Speaker 3: that you may know of our worship and our reverence
- 12:53Speaker 3: for you. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening
- 12:58Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. And before we go,
- 13:02Speaker 3: I wanted to let you know that the Bible in
- 13:04Speaker 3: a Year podcast is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and
- 13:08Speaker 3: can only come to you each week through the support
- 13:10Speaker 3: of listeners like you. Your support today is so important
- 13:15Speaker 3: that we want to thank you for your gift by
- 13:17Speaker 3: giving you a copy of my book called The Jesus Book.
- 13:21Speaker 3: This book is a powerful guide that shows how every
- 13:24Speaker 3: book in the Bible points to Christ and how you
- 13:26Speaker 3: can better read and understand the Bible. And How God's
- 13:30Speaker 3: Word Transforms Our Lives. So to get your copy of
- 13:34Speaker 3: the Jesus book, simply go to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's
- 13:39Speaker 3: jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank you for your support.