Forgiveness and Adoration

From a longer message I just added here, on Luke 7:36-50

Those who say that the good news of Jesus can’t be true because it offends against their comfort have deified their culture and will never be contradicted by the pet god they have made. But their pet God can’t deal with our sin and guilt and rebellion. There is no forgiveness, no hope and no grace in pet gods.

Luke 7:36-50 hits those cultural assumptions head-on. Because of the two main people that Jesus met at the dinner party one went home forgiven for their evil and wicked way of life and accepted by God and the other one didn’t get forgiven and accepted. And it wasn't the way around that everone expected.

Jesus went to dinner at the house of one of the religious leaders. The dinner would have been a fairly public gathering and hearing that Jesus was in town a local prostitute gathered her most precious perfume, burst in and threw herself at Jesus’ feet. She sobs uncontrollably, she kisses him and she pours perfume on his feet to the shock of the other guests.

When the Pharisee saw it his judgement on Jesus is “this isn’t a holy or wise man. If he were a prophet he would know that she is a sinner and that by touching him she is making him ritually unclean under Old Testament Jewish law.” That is the scene as it is set in v36-39. Two people from very different sides of the tracks, two lifestyles, two responses to Jesus.

One is recklessly abandoned in worship and repentance and homage, completely oblivious to what anyone else thinks. And one makes his negative assessment of Jesus according to his response to the woman.