Luke 7:47

Luke 7:47 – “Therefore. I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she Loved much. But he who been forgiven little Loves little.” Jesus says this to a Pharisee after they shared a meal together. In this story Jesus was invited over to the home of the Pharisee for a meal. As He was eating a woman came to Him and began crying at His feet. She didn’t come to eat with them; she just wanted to see Jesus. This woman was known for her sinful life and many did not associate with her because of this. When she came to Him she didn’t say a word, there were no questions, no asking for anything, just tears. As she was crying her tears wet Jesus feet so much that she used her hair to dry them off. After this she kissed them and poured perfume on them. While all this was happening the Pharisee was thinking to himself, “If this man (Jesus) were a prophet, He would know who is touching Him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.” Jesus then proceeded to tell a story of two men who owed someone money. One owed five hundred and the other fifty. Neither one could repay the debt. Because of this the lender decided to cancel both of them. Now neither of the men owed the money any more. They come to the conclusion that the one forgiven more will Love more, because he realizes how far down in the “hole” he was. Jesus relates this to our sins that have been forgiven. Those who have been forgiven more will Love Him more. Now in reality the Pharisee and the “sinful” woman were no different. They both had sin and both needed forgiveness. The woman, however, had come to realize her sin and how detrimental it was. She knew that it separated her from God and knew that it was only through Jesus that she could come back to Him. The Pharisee thought that he was already righteous based on his “good” life. In truth all sin is the same in God’s eyes because it separates us from Him. For us we know that we have been forgiven, but there are different levels of understanding on what that truly means. It’s easy to say it, but do we truly understand that if justice is served we would deserve death and eternal separation from God. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. But through Christ we have been rescued from this fate and brought in to God’s kingdom. We are now told to walk in Love. “Love God; and Love people,” Jesus summed it up in those two commands. In order to do this and walk in Love as Jesus did we must realize how bad our sin truly is and how know that God has forgiven all of it.