Broken and Forgiven - The Gospels

Published Sep 15, 2024, 9:30 AM

In this Bible Story, Jesus accepts a sinful and broken woman who has been scorned by the world, and He rebukes the pharisees for their judgement. This story is inspired by Luke 7:36-50. Go to BibleinaYear.com  and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Luke 7:43 from the King James Version.

Episode 186: Jesus was sitting among the Pharisees at a feast when a woman of questionable repute came in. She wept at His feet and anointed Him with precious perfume. She knew she needed the healing and wholeness that He could bring. When one of the Pharisees, Simon, began to question Jesus for allowing this, Jesus called him out and revealed the condition of their hearts.

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Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard

Producer: Ben Gammon

Hosted by: Pastor Jack Graham

Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith

Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn

Let us pray. Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said, unto them, thou hast rightly judged Luke seven forty three. When I feel the weight and burden of my past, when I begin to feel the shame and guilt from the abuse of my past, I will come before you Jesus, then bring to you whatever strength and worship I have left. I will pour out my praise and worship to you like the woman with the alabaster box of oil, because I know that in your presence is love, acceptance, and forgiveness. As I bow before you in prayer, I thank you for forgiving me and redeeming me from any past afflictions. Even in the midst of scoffers and haters, I know that you are pleased and touched by my active surrender. Lord, Use me to help redeem others who may be in a similar position. Use me to take those who feel unworthy and to reconnect them to their value and true worth. In Jesus' name, Amen, Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year brought to you by Bible in a Year dot com.

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Slash prey, broken and forgiven.

In our last story, Jesus healed the centurion servant. He was restored because the centurion believed and clung to the authority of Jesus. He recognized that Jesus held authority over death and sickness. Now we are introduced to a woman who had been completely broken by her past. She approaches Jesus in the den of the religious leaders and worships him unlike any one had before, as inspired by the Gospels.

Hello, this is Jack Graham with today's episode of The Bible in a Year. In our last episode, we heard how Jesus healed in ways that left people speechless and astounded at this man who was among them. His power to heal with just a word, even to bring the dead back to life, brought many followers. Still, they did not truly understand his purpose or power. Even as they had heard him speak and watched him heal, they did not know this was the long awaited Messiah who brought the ultimate and complete healing that they really needed. Today, we'll meet a woman who approached Jesus boldly in her brokenness to worship at his feet. Her presence would disturb the legalistic establishment, but Jesus would recognize her sacrifice and her deep need of him, and honor her for her actions. Let's listen now to the reading of God's word.

Jesus sat among the Pharisees at a great feast. He watched as they mingled among themselves. There were laughs and deep discussions and the things of God. However, there was something beneath the surface of their smiles Jesus could see beyond the polished exterior of the religious leaders. They wore their outward righteousness as a mask to hide their broken and selfish hearts. Jesus declined at the table, making small talk with the men to his right, and left. He knew they hated him. He knew he was only invited because they wanted him comfortable. It broke Jesus's heart to see such deception underneath kind gestures. As the men spoke, Jesus saw a woman come in through the back door. She wore the face of someone who had been abused her entire life. Judging by the looks of the men gave her, she was a notorious sinner in the city. She was equally enticing and revolting to the religious elite. She was not supposed to be there, but she had come to see Jesus. Jesus watched as the woman approached him, weeping. Around her neck was a small alabaster flask filled with precious ointment. Each woman in the city had one. It was the most valuable possession and meant to sell in hard times or give to one's husband. Tears streamed down the woman's cheeks as she fell before Jesus. She bore the tears of a broken heart. The tears fell on the Lord's feet, and the woman began to wash him with her tears and hair. Then she broke the flask around her neck and anointed Jesus's hands, head, and feet with the fragrance. The smell filled the air as the pharisees watched in uncomfortable silence. Jesus's heart broke for the woman. She fell at his feet, worshiping him the only way she knew how she had been used and abused her whole life. She believed that her identity and love came from the men she shared her body with. Yet Jesus offered her something else. He offered purpose, He offered unconditional life of he offered a healed and clean heart. As the woman was still kneeling on the floor, one of the pharisees, Simon, spoke up. If Jesus was truly a prophet, he would not let this woman anywhere near him.

He scoffed.

Everyone knows she is one of those women. Be careful, Jesus, or she might tempt you, Simon. Jesus said sternly as he stood to his feet. His eyes darted in the pharisees direction. I have something to say directly to you. Simon stepped back for a moment. He looked around the room. Everyone was incredibly tense. They knew that Jesus was a gentleman, but they had also heard how he single handedly cleared the temple with a whip. Simon did his best to feign confidence. He did a poor job. He nodded towards Jesus and said, yes, of course, say a teacher. Jesus approached Simon. With each step Jesus took forward, Simon took a step back. There was a money lender who had two two debaters. One of them owe five hundred and the other ode fifty. Neither of them could pay, so the money lender forgave them both and canceled their debt. Jesus got closer to Simon, there was an intense silence. Tell me which one of those debuters will love the money lender more? Simon shrugged, still doing his best to seem confident. The one who was forgiven more money? I suppose, he answered, correct, Jesus said. Then he went back to the woman and helped her to her feet. Do you see this woman, Simon, I entered your house. You gave me no water to wash my feet, which is custom for any guest. Yet this woman washed my feet with her own tears. You did not welcome me into this home. But this woman has anointed my head with her finest oil. I tell you this before all your guests. Her sins will be forgiven because she loved much and listened.

To me closely.

He who forgives little, we'll love little. Then Jesus sent the woman on her way, and the whole house grumbled at their own inadequacy.

We begin today's scripture at a great banquet, where Jesus is the guest at the home of a pharisee. It may seem unusual that those who seem to despise Jesus so much would invite him to a feast, but their motives were not pure. They intended to challenge him on matters of the law. They wanted to gain the upper hand and expose Jesus in order to restore their own power among the people. It is a reminder that showiness and extravagant displays are not always a good indicator of a person's heart intentions. But as we've heard from Jesus on teaching, God sees through our outward appearance and perceives our true motives. So as he reclined at the table, Jesus would have been well aware of the purpose of these men. But we should also remember that Jesus heart was not too shame or defeat them, but rather to bring them to repentance and fellowship with God. God's desire is that all would come to repentance, and that everyone would turn to him and see Jesus not as a rival, but as the savior of all sins, including the sins of self righteousness. As we discovered, there was one person who came into the feast who knew her need for Jesus, a woman whose reputation preceded her, and that's not in a good way. She came to the house to see Jesus. She wasn't a guest. She was a party crasher. She wasn't welcomed. Her appearance would have angered the righteous leaders. How dare she think she could be in their presence? But this woman wasn't afraid, and she wasn't seeking the approval of the religious crowd. She went straight to Jesus and fell at his feet in tears. She wept until her tears moistened the feet of Jesus. His feet would have been dusty and dirty from walking along the road that day in his sandals. Having no towel, she used what she had her hair to wipe his feet dry before she kissed them and poured perfume all over his feet. It was such a lavish display of devotion. The perfume was no cheap fragrance from a roadside stand. It was an expensive perfume, a true sacrifice for this woman, who surely was not wealthy. Seeing what was going on the host, a pharisee named Simon began to murmur that Jesus couldn't be a prophet, otherwise he would have known what kind of woman this was. She was a sinner, unfit for their company, and certainly unworthy of touching him. Jesus turned to Simon imposed a question. Supposing two men owe to lender money, and that neither could repay their debt. The lender forgave both debts, so they both were off the hook. But one owed a very large sum, while the other a smaller sum. In this story, Jesus asked which man would love the lender more. Simon correctly judged that it was the man who owed more. Jesus then turned back to the woman and compared her to the man who owed a great deal. Yes, she was a sinner, but her lavish display demonstrated a depth of love and honor that Simon the Pharisee had failed to show Jesus his invited guests. Then Jesus brought it all home for Simon and for us with these words found in Luke seven forty seven. Therefore I tell you her many sins have been forgiven, as her great love has been shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little. He then turned to the woman and forgave her sins, saying that her faith had saved her. Here's the great irony in his story. Neither of the debt ors could repay the debt in the same way Simon and the other religious leaders could not repay the debt for their sins. And yet, because they saw themselves as righteous, not owing much, they felt entitled for forgiveness. They did not demonstrate true love for God as this woman did. She was a hopeless sinner in desperate need of forgiveness. The reality is that everyone in that room, everyone who has ever walked on this earth, apart from Jesus himself, is a sinner in need of salvation. We owe a debt we could not pay, but Jesus paid the debt on the cross so that we could be forgiven. It is only those who recognize their deep need for Jesus who will experience forgiveness and respond with great love towards the one who has forgiven them. Dear God, we thank you and praise you for your grace, for the gift of eternal life and the forgiveness of our sins that we have in Jesus Christ. Thank you for today's scripture that reminds us that we owe so much. May we also lavish our love in devotion and commitment to you, that you may know of our worship and our reverence for you in Jesus's name. Amen, thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download the Prey dot com app and make prayer and Bible study the priority of your life, and I would encourage you to do it. If you have enjoyed this podcast, let others know. We're grateful that over twenty million people have downloaded the Bible in a year. We're thankful that we can get the word of God out to so many people. I want to encourage you to check out Jack Graham dot org. That's Jack Graham dot org, where you will find resources for Christian living and faith. God bless you and have a great day.

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