The Sinful Woman’s Example, Christmas Eve

I know what it says in your bulletin. Pay no attention to that. If you have a Bible or you can find a Bible, they’re here somewhere, or you can pull it up on your phone. I want to take us to Luke chapter seven. Luke chapter seven for a very special Christmas Eve message.

And I can already see looks of bewilderment because you didn’t know that the Christmas story extends all the way to chapter seven of Luke. Bear with me, it does. And it even extends a lot further than that.

I had a brief but pleasant interaction with one brother on Sunday, and he wryly noted that he had heard me preach Isaiah 42 before. And I proceeded to explain to him that Christmas is the most difficult season to preach. There are a relatively limited number of so-called Christmas passages, at least a limited number of passages that people consider to be Christmas passages. Most people practically expect you to preach from those texts year in and year out. But it’s hard to mine out something fresh every year. And so taking a message from Luke 7 ought to fix that.

In Luke 7, we are well past the birth accounts. We are well past the early recorded years of Jesus. We are well past even the ministry of John the Baptist and his introduction of Jesus. And we are well past even the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The Lord himself is now well into his ministry. And in this particular chapter, Jesus is immersed in ministry in Galilee.

To further establish the precise context here, Jesus has already begun to teach and preach and perform many miracles. He has already stirred his opponent’s opposition regarding the Sabbath. He has already chosen his 12 apostles. And in chapter 7, verse 36, we find Jesus suddenly invited to a dinner party.

If you would glance down or at least listen carefully to this passage. Christmas passage. Luke chapter 7 verses 36 through 50.

Now one of the Pharisees was requesting him to dine with him and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table and there was a woman in the city who was a sinner And when she learned that he was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume. And standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing his feet, and anointing them with perfume.

Now, when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching him, that she is a sinner. And Jesus answered him, Simon, I have something to say to you. And he replied, say it, teacher.

A moneylender had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii, the other 50. When they were unable to pay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more? Simon answered and said, I suppose the one whom he forgave more. And he said to him, you have judged correctly.

Turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss. But she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with perfume. 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.

Then he said to her, your sins have been forgiven. Those who were reclining at the table with him began to say to themselves, who is this man who even forgives sins? And he said to the woman, your faith has saved you, go in peace.

I know, I know what you’re thinking. You may be thinking that I’ve lost my mind. You may be thinking and wondering how this passage could possibly be construed as a Christmas story. Please allow me to explain.

Last Saturday, in one of my news feeds, I came across a shocking headline. It said that progressive churches in Colorado were going to be hosting a particular kind of nativity show. I’m going to intentionally omit the particular kind of show. Suffice it to say that those putting it on took a break from their normal routine of doing children’s readings in the library.

I was curious to find out exactly in Colorado where this was happening. Unfortunately, I had to read the article to do so. It spoke of the most vile, blasphemous, hedonistic things. And I was just as aghast to learn that the church in Colorado was right here in Fort Collins, just over a mile from us.

I really wanted to caution our church about this last Sunday, but because of the wickedness of the content, I put it under Paul’s admonition of Ephesians 5, 12, that it is disgraceful to even speak of such things which are done by them in secret. Because of that, I’m gonna hold back the most offensive portions of the article, But I will tell you that it is perfectly in line with the spirit of our day.

The article opens with a description of the event. A joyful, irreverent reimagining of the nativity story that celebrates, among other unmentionable things, celebrates the power of love and acceptance. The so-called minister of this so-called church says that he identifies with a particular movement, and he was one of the ones who reimagined the Bible stories.

The article goes on to say that he considers the magi outside figures in the biblical story. And so, he uses that as a starting point to write a different kind of nativity story. They build this event as the ultimate festive extravaganza. The subtitle of the event should tell you all that you need to know about it. Kings, queens, and magical things slaying their way to Bethlehem.

And so I wondered, how could the message of Christmas become so obscured, so muddied over with filth? And that’s when I thought of the woman of Luke 7. I believe that she truly knew and understood the story of Christmas. And from her, we are reminded of four marvelous lessons.

First of all, this woman had an appropriately high view of the Lord Jesus Christ. Her demeanor says it all, that like Moses and Isaiah, like the Magi and so many others before her, she fell on knees of worship at Jesus’ feet. But her worship went well beyond just kneeling. And she wasn’t the first one to exhibit such a high esteem of Jesus.

The angel first proclaimed this truth to Mary when he came to announce God’s choice of her to bear the Christ child. Listen to this. Luke chapter one, verse 32, two verses. He will be great. He will be called son of the most high. And the Lord will give him the throne of his father, David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will have no end.

Mary immediately knew that this was no ordinary baby. This was the Messiah about whom the angel was speaking. This sinful woman now knows this as well. And so an irreverent response? It’s unthinkable. Hers was the reverent response of a true believer because she knew that Jesus was almighty God in human flesh. And she fell down before him in humble worship and washed his feet with the tears of grateful repentance.

There’s a second thing that we can learn from this unnamed woman. Not only did she have a high view of the Lord Jesus Christ, she had an appropriately low view of her own sin. Luke initially identifies this woman only as a sinner, but she was obviously a notorious sinner. a well-known sinner. And the host of the dinner, a Pharisee, was aghast that Jesus would even allow her to touch him. Luke proceeds to describe in much detail that admittedly uncomfortable scene at the table, where she so demonstrated her worship and affection for Jesus She began to wet his feet with her tears and kept wiping them with the hair of her head and kissing his feet, anointing them with perfume.

The Bible clearly tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Your sin will disappoint you. Your sin will dishonor you. Your sin will degrade you and possibly even disfigure you. Ultimately, it will destroy you. How could anyone celebrate that? This woman didn’t flaunt her sin. She certainly didn’t celebrate it. She fell down not only on knees of worship, but on knees of repentance for her sin. She knew the depth of her depravity, her sinfulness, and shame for her sin was dramatically on display. She knew that she desperately needed what was first declared to those shepherds in the field. Good news of great joy. A Savior who is Christ the Lord.

There’s a third thing that we can recognize in this sinful woman’s response to Christ. Not only did she have a high view of the Lord Jesus Christ and an appropriately low view of her own sin, she had an appropriately enthusiastic welcome of salvation. Whether or not she had previously repented of her sin or whether Jesus was dealing with her now in real time, she knows that she’s a sinner in need of forgiveness. Jesus first declares to his host that her sins, which are many, have been forgiven. But then Jesus reiterates this joyous news to her personally. Your sins have been forgiven. She didn’t need to reimagine the plan of redemption. Jesus was standing before her, preparing to go and to die in atonement for her sins.

We don’t know what Simon the Pharisee’s motives were by inviting Jesus to his home, but now he’s exposed. for who he is. He didn’t see his need for salvation. He didn’t see himself as a sinner. And as a result, he had no affection, no real love for the Savior, and he didn’t receive forgiveness because of it. The woman now personally knew what at this point had only been a hopeful promise As the angel spoke and declared to Joseph that Mary, his wife, would bear a son, he should call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. The extent of her worship matched the extent of her forgiveness.

There’s a fourth thing that we can observe from this unnamed, formerly sinful woman We can take this final lesson, not only that she have a high view of the Lord Jesus Christ, a low view of her own sin, and an enthusiastic welcome of salvation, but fourthly, she appropriately embraced a life of sanctification. And we find this one in Zacharias’ praise. Zacharias was John the Baptist’s father, rebuked for doubting the angel he’s been mute for nine months and at the instant where he declares that john the baptist would be named he’s able to speak this is what he says

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited us and accomplished redemption for his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David. his servant as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us to show mercy toward our fathers and to remember his holy covenant the truth which he swore to abraham our father listen to this to grant that we being rescued from the hands of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

When Jesus recognized her repentance and forgave her sin by implication, she was turning away, turning her back on that sin to walk in newness of life. That woman certainly learned what every forgiven sinner soon learns, that the same God who saves us begins a work of sanctification in us, making us little by little, more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist’s father, Zacharias, He belted out this great praise at the news of the Messiah and his own son’s role. He knew that those who believe in Jesus were called to holiness and righteousness. We don’t dismiss our sinful practices. We don’t reimagine them. We repent of them. We turn from them. We confess them to the Lord and we turn from them by God’s purifying grace.

And we don’t mean to set up this woman, this unnamed woman as exemplary in and of her own merits, but by the work of God’s grace in her heart. The life that she exemplified in the conversion of a sinner and the salvation that she enjoyed stands forever as an example to us of what God can do.

And so we learn much from this unknown, formerly sinful, repentant, and forgiven woman. Hers is the essence of the Christmas story. Would you humble yourself before your Lord? Our gracious God, we do humble ourselves. And Lord, we regret that we get so locked in and in some cases confused of what the gospel even is. What is the Christmas story? Lord, we thank you for this reminder that while others are assaulting.