Your Sins Are Forgiven

Well, we had a wonderful beginning reading God's Word today regarding the Sabbath, so let's continue on that and open our Bibles, if you will. I invite you to open your Bibles once again, or you can listen along. Let's turn to the Gospel of Luke, Luke 7, verses 36 through 50. That'll be our launching off point today. As we continue in our series in Luke, Luke 7, verses 36 through 50, with the title today of our study, Your Sins Are Forgiven.

Your sins are forgiven. That is the pronouncement. Those are the words in which you're going to read in just a moment from Jesus Christ Himself. And we have this recording by Luke of a woman, a woman who came and washed Jesus Christ's feet with her very own tears. Luke's going to record this encounter. And in recording this encounter, this has become one of the most impactful recordings of forgiveness in all the Bible, again culminating with the Son of God Himself declaring, Your sins are forgiven.

So let's read of this incredible moment. Luke 7 beginning in verse 36. Luke records, Then one of the Pharisees asked him, that's Jesus Christ, to eat with him. And he went to the Pharisee's house and sat down. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, that is a side note, that might be a polite way of saying this is someone who had a checkered past and current regarding sexual immorality. Continuing, When she knew that Jesus sat at the table of the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at his feet behind him, weeping.

Then she began to wash his feet with her tears, and wipe them with the hair of her head. And she kissed his feet and anointed them with fragrant oil. Verse 39, Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching him. For she is a sinner. And Jesus answered and said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you, he said. So he said, Teacher, say it.

There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, 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 rightly judged.

Then he turns to the woman and said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet. But she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair on her head. You gave me no kiss. But this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil. But this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven.

For she has loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. Then he said to her, Your sins are forgiven. And those who sat at the table with him began to save themselves. Who is this who even forgives sins? And he said to the woman, Jesus Christ said to the woman, Your faith has saved you. Go in peace. Well, again, we're going to talk about forgiveness today. And when we begin to think about forgiveness, we must acknowledge that forgiveness is really the primary truth for a follower of Jesus Christ to have and to know and to establish in themselves in order to have a relationship with God.

In beginning this discussion, I think it could be fair to say that the most striking thing about biblical Christianity is the fact of forgiveness. I wonder if you ever thought about that. From the very beginning of the Bible all the way to the end of the Bible, we are introduced to a God, the God, the only God who in every place and at every point is ready to forgive. I hope we see this today. It is that the forgiveness of God is the key in helping us understand Him. The forgiveness of God is the key in helping us enter into a deeper relationship with Him.

If you've done any comparative religion at all, you will not find this in any of the other religions of the world. We can think about Buddhism, Hinduism, their law of karma. They know nothing of forgiveness. Hinduism, for example, there is no forgiveness.

Just don't worry about it. Go on with your life because you're on this endless recycling. You're on this endless reincarnation. In the very harsh judgment and justice of the Islamic religion, there's no significant place for forgiveness at all. Only retribution will you find there. Retribution for justice, only the chopping off of hands and such. No notion of forgiveness. And so, again, I think it can be said that the distinguishing feature of true Christianity is centered in the belief statement, I believe in a God who extends forgiveness for sins.

And I believe in a God who extends forgiveness for my sins. This, us sitting here today as God's people, this is our belief. This is what we come together on. And the Bible has so much to say about forgiveness. It's an endless well of this truth of forgiveness. I want to just show you a few places, particularly the Psalms, have so much to say about forgiveness.

So if you'd like to keep your marker here, let's turn over to Psalm 86.5. Keep your marker there in Luke 7. But Psalm 86 verse 5, I just want to turn to a few places in Scripture that show us this incredible truth of forgiveness.

Here in Psalm 86 verse 5 is a, it is just a very direct, clear, concise statement regarding it.

Here it is, Psalm 86.5.

For you, Lord, are good and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you.

That's clear. You know, that's a wonderful word to take with us. As we head out each morning, and we go to work, we go to school, whatever it may be, take this truth of a forgiving God to those who want to know God. What is he like? Because the key is that the forgiveness of God helps us understand him and helps mankind understand God. Forgiveness is the key in how he reveals himself, how he could be known. He's abundant in mercy. Again, he reveals himself in this way. He's a forgiving and good God. He abounds in mercy for all those who call upon him. Psalm after Psalm. One more psalm. Turn over to Psalm 32 verse 1.

We studied this psalm. You may remember when Thanksgiving came around, and we put our focus on confession. Psalm 32 verse 1. Just one more example here of the forgiveness found in the psalms. Again, here's David, the psalmist, expressing the joy of forgiveness and the blessing. Look at this. Psalm 32 verse 1. Blessed, blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity. Let's stop there. He goes on here, but again, blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

So this is David, of course, writing in the psalms, and he's displaying the fact that in many ways, he came to discover God in and through forgiveness. If you want to note David's life, his relationship with God, and it just really became deep and meaningful during this time when he was searching for and discovering the joy of forgiveness from God.

One commentator regarding the psalms says this, quote, quote, One must have a dull ear, not to hear the voice of personal experience in the psalms.

It throbs with emotion. It is a burst from the heart, tasting the sweetness of new joy and forgiveness. Unquote. So that's David expressing himself. He's in the psalms, he's writing, and he's discovering this beautiful taste of the joy of God's forgiveness.

So the truth of God's forgiveness helps us grow deeper in our relationship with him.

And the truth of forgiveness is actually at the very beginning. It's at the very fabric of how we begin our relationship with God. Let me show you this. Just one other place before we get back to Luke. Turn over to Exodus 20 verses 4 through 6. Did you know forgiveness and this truth is in the very commandments of God? In the very relationship guidelines, the commandments? Moses is now going to speak here in Exodus 20 verses 4 through 6 regarding our sin, regarding our iniquity.

And he's going to say that God shows mercy to a thousand generations. This is actually in the second commandment. You may have not known that it was there. Exodus 20 beginning in verse 4.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, this is the second commandment, or anything like it that is in heaven or above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them, for I am the Lord your God, am I jealous God? Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments. Let's stop there. So we notice verse five, of course, where it says, God visits the sins, he visits the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation. And people say, oh well, that's not good. That seems like a long time, third and fourth generation, to visit the iniquity. Well, keep reading because you'll notice Moses follows up and he says, yeah, but he shows mercy to a thousand generations, you see.

So do the math, you know. Again, he visits the sins of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation, but he shows mercy to a thousand generations. So here in the very second commandment, the very fabric of beginning our relationship with God, the law which becomes written on our hearts, here it is, forgiveness. And it's so interesting that it's placed right there at the end of the second commandment. Here is man not honoring God. Instead, we're holding up and honoring idols instead. Anything but God. You know, whatever idol is in our life, putting that idol first. So in the very commandment in which we turn our backs on God, here forgiveness and mercy is displayed here. Why? Well, even in that idol worship, even in turning our back on God, he is ready to forgive and forgive and forgive. He is a forgiving God, a merciful God. The joy of forgiveness found in the Psalms is part of the very fabric of the commandments when we're entering into a relationship with God. And so, in turning back to Luke 7, if you'll turn back there now, Luke 7 and 36, we now find that this same theme continues loud and clear in this story of a woman who washes Jesus Christ's feet with her own tears.

So let's turn back to Luke 7, verse 36, and we're going to enter into this encounter as Luke records here. Let me give you a little backdrop to this. At this moment, and as we've seen in our previous studies, the Word of God is spreading. How is it spreading? Well, it's spreading by Jesus Christ going place to place. And he is having one-on-one encounters. He's having broad encounters. He's coming right down into the individual's lives, right down into their circumstances. He's addressing individuals. He's addressing crowds. He's eating with them, and he's calling them to repentance and faith and educating them on this truth of forgiveness. There would have been those who were eager to listen. There were those who would follow him. And so here at this Pharisee's house, Luke 7, verse 36, as he sat down to eat, a crowd appears. And in this context, the woman appears. This woman, this sinful woman.

I wanted to give a little backdrop there because I wondered where this woman had heard this notion of forgiveness from Jesus Christ. Where was it? When was it? I don't think it was in this encounter. I think this is Jesus Christ as someone that she had been following. And now at this encounter, it's all coming front and center. But I wondered, you know, when did she hear? Did she stay on the outskirts of the crowds for the longest time, following Jesus Christ, wherever he was and wherever he would go, perhaps in the shadows? So as to mask the fact that she was there, this woman would have had some notoriety, some bad notoriety, if you will. Stayed on the outskirts to avoid the judgmental stares, perhaps the verbal comments. What are you doing here? You know, a woman like you, why are you following him? Perhaps they would have asked. The stares.

You know, he has nothing for you, lady. You know, move on. There's no, you know, nothing here for you at all. Somewhere in the midst of one of those encounters, she had begun to listen to his words.

And discover that there was an opportunity here for her for cleansing, for forgiveness.

There's an opportunity here to start over. Was that your experience? I know perhaps we've all had this kind of experience where you just want a fresh start. You know, I don't want to be who I am anymore. You know, and forgiveness, this joy of forgiveness was drawing her here. And it allowed her the courage to face down all of the judgmental stares, murmurings, which would have no doubt accompanied her at this dinner party. Let me try to paint the scene here for a little bit.

We're told in verse 36 that the Pharisee invited Jesus to the dinner. I think in looking at this concept, it was probably outdoors in which they gathered. If you do a little history research, it was custom at this time for any one of affluence. They would build a house and build a, outside the house, they build a courtyard with dining tables. They would have lush gardens in this courtyard. Often they had a fountain, and they would eat in this outdoor courtyard often, particularly if there was someone of significance coming, like Jesus Christ, whom he had invited. You know, you want to see that you want the crowd to see who you're bringing into your household in this way. That was more than likely the environment. There would have been those who were associated with the host, who would have been sitting there as well. There would have been those who would have wandered in and out that just didn't have any association with the host, this Pharisee, who just wanted to see what was happening. This is the scene. People from the community would have come. And in this, with him arriving, with Jesus Christ arriving, in this context like this, it would demand certain common courtesy. At this dinner party, courtesy would have demanded a number of things. First of all, the host would have come and placed his hands on the shoulders of the guest whom he invited. Give him a kiss on each side of the cheek.

It's kind of a symbol of peace. Simon the Pharisee would have arranged for Jesus Christ's feet to be washed. So they had leather shoes loosely strapped so they could be easily removed in a context like this to be washed. In that then barefoot posture, they would have made the accommodations to have that guest anointed in a way. All or incense would have been added to the head of the individual who was the guest in honor. But we see at the end of the story, as it begins there in verse 44, that none of that had taken place. None of the proper social courtesies took place.

Why is it that you think? Do you think it was simply a missed social cue on behalf of Simon? I don't think so. He was very knowledgeable of these things. And if you know anything about the Pharisees of that day, they were always looking to catch Jesus Christ, catch him in a compromising situation, catch him in breaking one of their added-on laws in that way, try to discredit him, try to show that he was a fraud. They did not respect him. They did not honor him. And so perhaps missing these social courtesies, we can get an indication of the heart of Simon. Nevertheless, there they are. They're at the table. The posture would have been such where their feet kind of trailed behind them at this dinner table. If you've seen any picture of this, any painting, their tables were not like ours where they didn't sit like we did. We sit. Our feet are under the table. Our plate is in front of us. Their tables were lower, and they would lean into the table. So if you were right-handed, you would lean with your left hand and allow you to reach over and grab the food in that way. I guess if you're left-handed, it would have been the other way, perhaps. So you kind of leaned into the table. That's what this looked like, again, with your feet kind of trailing outside of the table into the courtyard.

And so here Jesus Christ is. This is his posture, perhaps, here. And into this scene, this woman arrives, a woman with a sinful life here. It wasn't too uncommon for women of this day to wear perfume around her in a necklace. Perhaps a lady of this notoriety, it might have been a little unusual, particularly an alabaster. That held the good stuff. That held the really good stuff, the expensive stuff. We don't know how she came about it, but she had it. Again, determined to face down the stairs of contempt and disdain for her. And she comes, I want you to bring this to your life today, she comes prepared to be despised for the sake of what she has to do.

Prepared to be despised for the sake of what she has to do, what is right. What's an occurrence that you've been prepared to receive glances of contempt, to be despised because you were going to do what was right to do for God?

I've had a just an absolute inspiring opportunity to visit with a young woman who has begun to attend one of our sister congregations. And she's not keeping Christmas for the first time.

And her husband has not been called to this. So it's it's she and she alone. And this is the first Christmas. And the the emails and the phone calls are coming and she's just, I just need to talk to somebody about this. Do you have a moment? Her husband is being very considerate, but it is a big deal. And the in-laws, the mother-in-law, the father-in-law, this is the first Christmas. She's not going to participate in it. And she's willing to put herself in that position to do what she knows she needs to do. So don't think that this is somehow far removed from our experience. None of it is. It's what we go through today. And she is standing strong and she's trying to figure out, I don't feel like I want to be respectful, but I don't feel like I can be there for this or that. So inspiring, so inspiring in this way. And God's blessing her. She's having conversations. She's having to defend her faith fairly new in this journey. Wonderful, wonderful. And God's helping her, no doubt. I can just see that. So she knows in her heart this woman is this is something she has to do. So she stoops, this woman of Luke 7 stoops at the feet of Jesus Christ to do for him what Simon the Pharisee failed to do. In verse 38, as she stood behind him, she begins to weep. This is a scene of just gut-wrenching scene here.

I don't, you know, the tears, no doubt, were not planned. The perfume may have been, she may have been wearing this for just a time as this. She begins to weep, outpouring here. The tears mingle with the dust and dirt. They run down onto the feet of Jesus Christ. Why is she crying in this way? Well, we again, we can assume that she had been following Jesus Christ and along the way and looking for the opportunity to encounter him in this way. And she realizes this is now the moment. It's here. She's about to approach the one who had such an impact on her in this way. And here she is. There he is, reclined at the table. He had offered mercy from his father. He had offered forgiveness, perhaps quivering, trying to get the vial open, you know, in this way to anoint him.

Tears pouring down. This is, she's in quite a moment. I think she's, frankly, a mess at this point. I mention that because if you ever do, if you ever look into the Bible closely, and if you ever resource commentaries, you have to be careful which ones you access.

And you really have to cross-check it with what the Bible actually says. Because, unbelievably, there are some commentaries in which I actually read, if you can imagine, that considering the past of this woman, they try to make this a scene that it's not an erotic scene of some sort.

Just ugly, you know, knowing her background. But, you know, this is just, she is emptying herself here. This is a posture of repentance. Again, a posture of not wanting to be this woman, the woman that she had been for one more second. She wants hope. She wants forgiveness.

This is what we do when we approach God the Father through Jesus Christ. This is what we do in our prayers when we ask just for mercy. Again, this is how we are introduced to our relationship. When we talk about baptism, it starts with forgiveness and it ends with forgiveness. It is the truth. If you're entering into a relationship with God the Father through baptism, you have to know, and I tell our young people this when they're counseling for baptism, you have to get to the point where you need it. You need it. Not that you just want it. It's just the thing to do. It's kind of nice to be in this church. You know, no, you need it. You need this.

That's why it begins in the relationship rules, the commandments.

And then as you enter, and after your baptism, you're entering your relationship with God, your relationship only goes deeper like David when you realize that forgiveness comes again and again to you. Such mercy. So here she is, approaches Jesus Christ in this way, a deep desire for rescue. No one shows up with a towel here. So she does the unthinkable.

She does the absolute unthinkable. She lets down her hair.

In the Talmud, that's recordings of civil law, ceremonial law passed on throughout the years and ages. In the Talmud, it is said that a woman could suffer no greater offense than the offense of letting down her hair. So when she would enter into marriage, she would put up her hair at that time and not let it down. Only let it down for her husband from that. That's how important it was. So you can imagine this scene and the gasps and the silence would have been deafening, you know, as she lets down her hair a picture of a woman's glory and she rubs it into the feet of Jesus Christ with a complete expression of surrender, repentance, devotion. She kisses his feet.

Just such adoration here.

In all this, you'll notice when you read this text, no one's saying a word. There's no recording of any words here. It's all silence and only inner dialogue. You'll notice verse 39.

It says that Simon, the Pharisee, he says to himself, I don't know if it was a thought or he whispers it, you know, Jesus knows the thoughts of men. Verse 39, Simon says to himself, this man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who's touching him for she's a sinner. You know, in other words, if you were who you were, Jesus, then you would not be doing what you're doing here. Perhaps this is he might even be happy at this moment because now he's maybe he's thinking in his mind this is an opportunity to catch him you know, expose him as a fraud, perhaps. So he doesn't understand.

He doesn't understand at all. He would have been gratified if Jesus Christ would have pushed him away. There you go. You did the right thing. Let me get my house managers here to get her out of this courtyard. I don't know how she got in here in the first place, you know. That's not how he responds.

Verse 40, he breaks the silence and he says, hey, Simon, I have something to tell you.

Tell me, teacher, Simon says.

And I'll summarize this parable for us. It begins there in verse 41.

Okay, so here's the parable. You know, all the years would have been perked up for this one. Two men are in debt. One owes to the tune of 500 days' wages. The other owes 50 days' wages.

Neither one of them can pay, you know, the 500 days' wages or the 50 days' wages.

So Jesus Christ says, let me ask you a question. When they are forgiven the debt, when their debt is canceled, who do you think, verse 42, who do you think loves the canceler the most?

Perhaps realizing he was trapped by Jesus at this point. This is a good technique.

Somewhat, perhaps, reluctantly says, verse 43, well, I suppose the one where the bigger debt is canceled. Suppose he would have said, there's no suppose here. Of course that's the answer. You have a $500 debtor and a $50 debtor. Who loves him more? Who loves the canceler more? And you know what we're talking about here, of course.

What Jesus Christ is really saying is, you have a $500 sinner, if you will, and you have a $50 sinner. All right? Both are relieved of their debt.

What debt? The debt of sin. Okay? For your notes, Romans 6, 23, Romans 6, 23, for the wages of sin is death. Okay? The gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ. So this is the debt, if you will, of death, the debt of condemnation. So who do you think is most grateful for the life that's been given back to them? Which sinner is more grateful? The answer, the $500 sinner, is more grateful, you know.

And what he's pointing out is this. She knows herself to be a $500 sinner. Okay?

You, Simon, know yourself to be a $50 sinner. And that's evidenced by the response here.

Look at verse 44 through 47 again. Who knew themselves to be the greater debtor? You know, verse 44. He turns to the woman and said to Simon, do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she washed my feet with the tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil, this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil.

Therefore I say to you, Simon, her sins are forgiven, which are many are forgiven, for she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. But you're thinking about this. You know, this is interesting. This is advanced theology, if you will, here. You see, those who've known themselves to be forgiven the most, love the most. Those who know themselves to be forgiven the little, the same loves little.

Simon, you know yourself to owe just a little, so you love me little.

You didn't cry, you didn't wash, you didn't anoint.

So let's bring it to today. Here's some questions for us. First of all, do you know yourself to be in debt? That is a question we asked right at the beginning of baptism counseling.

Well, we get there sooner or later, but do you know yourself to be in debt? If so, how much do you owe?

That's an important question. So this is all bringing into clarity the fact that the psalmist, David, and if you look at the history of the recorded scripture in the church, some of the greatest centers have been used by God in the greatest way.

You will find that all throughout scripture. Those who are the greatest centers transformed the greatest, turned the greatest, are most significantly used by God. Why is that, you think? You know, why is it that God can do so much with and through those who were great centers? Well, I think it's perhaps because they start with the proper understanding of just how much they've been forgiven. And I'll let you in on a little secret Simon. I don't know if Jesus Christ added this. You may think yourself a $50 center. You're actually a $500 center, you know? And that's the way it is for us.

We're all here, $500 centers, if you had any doubt. And in actual fact, we owe so much more than $500 if you want to get to that, you know, example. We have a debt that could never be repaid. Ever, ever, ever. Unless, unless there would be sent to us a great debt counselor. And unless there would be this forgiving father who would give his son in this way to pay our debt. So if you're going through the ebb and flow of life spiritually, and you find yourselves at certain points, I do too, where you just don't love God as much as you should, come back to the basics. Come back to this. You need to, you need to realize you need God, and he's not just some addition to your life. That will help you get the proper posture here. And it is because if I am loving God just a little at this moment, perhaps I need to remind myself of the fact that I am in great need and I am a great sinner.

That's why God's plan of salvation, the beautiful plan of salvation, showed to us through the festivals, the holy days, it starts with Passover, the great debt counselor comes, and then what immediately follows? The Days of Unleavened Bread, where the sinner starts to take a look at their life and starts to respond to this outpouring of forgiveness that they don't understand and they didn't deserve. That's why the whole plan of salvation starts in that way. It's beautiful. So much more beautiful than any holiday that man can contrive.

We worship God in truth and spirit and spirit and truth, and this is the beauty. And only when we worship Him in spirit and truth will be revealed to us this beautiful plan of salvation.

And let me just say this. You don't have to go to the depths of depravity to be brought to your consciousness of sin. We have had some questions that have been provided at camp, very interesting questions. Where maybe if I leave the church, I'll come back stronger.

They're very thinking young people. You don't have to go to the awareness. God does not want you to go to the depravity of sin to realize what it is. When you come to the place, you want to pray to God that He gives you the desire and the knowledge that you need Him. And what will be revealed to you is who you are today. You don't love God the way you should. And also what will be revealed to you quite drastically is who you are potentially. We all have the potential of great sin. We all have that potential. And so you can see who you are, who you would be without God. And that's a wonderful technique to get to this place of understanding that you do have a debt. And you do need debt forgiveness so that you can get in the space of understanding that you do have the debt that you can get in this posture. The posture of Simon the Pharisee is the posture of contemporary psychology. If you ever wonder why contemporary psychology, what it teaches, what it teaches, this is why. And you'll see it's infiltrated into modern Christianity and the world's pulpits.

Contemporary psychology today tells you that guilt is bad. Just get rid of it. You don't want to feel those guilt feelings. It's okay. Don't change. Be who you are. You know, this notion of turning from any behavior is just not out there. God will accept you the way you are. There's no reason to feel guilt. There's no reason to turn from any behavior. That's just Christian neurosis that they try to put on you, they'll say. So rather than deal with the guilt, they dismiss it and they try to remove guilt. Guilt is healthy because guilt can cause someone to turn to the one who can relieve it. You see. So rather than suppress, manipulate the conscience, they will say silence the conscience and move on with your day. That's the posture of Simon the Pharisee here. The guilty conscience is silence. There is no guilt from sin.

Why does Satan like to put that forward in society? Well, it's because if you don't need saving, then why would you need a Savior?

You know? See, the Bible, from the very beginning of the plan of salvation, it turns our need to a Savior and to our need of needing saving. There's beauty in that.

So rather than silence a guilty conscience, you get in it and you sit in it. We don't want you to stay there long because you have a Savior. You want to feel it. You want to feel regret. You want to stand up and say, God, forgive me. You'll know that He forgives you. And you move on. A new man, a new woman. You're cleansed. Simon, the Pharisee, had no desire for outpouring of tears. Why would he stoop at the feet of Jesus Christ? He had no need for sins forgiven. You see, he was just a $50 debtor.

Again, God the Father and Jesus Christ cannot do much with those who know the Lord. God can do much with those who know themselves as $50 debtors.

But a woman with a checkered past who knows she has a debt that she cannot repay, God can do something with someone like that. Absolutely. Why? Because she is going to love Him, love Him much, not just a little. That's there again in verse 47. Therefore, I say to you, verse 47, her sins, which are many, are forgiven because she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. She needed Christ at this moment, so just everything pours out of her. And so her his pronouncement then is to her. Verse 48, he turns to her and says, your sins are forgiven. Your sins are forgiven. It's a wonderful phrase here.

And he says it publicly. I want everyone to hear this. Your sins are forgiven. He says to her, and they begin to talk amongst themselves. Verse 49, who is it can forgive sins, but God alone, that's right. Here's Jesus Christ, the Son of God, comes down into the midst of them. He's doing all these wonderful things. He's raising people from the dead. He's given sight to the blind. He's causing the lame to walk. And now this lady with such a horrible past, she encounters this and he forgives her sins. Who is this? This is the Son of God. And then this blessing. Here's the blessing. It's the same blessing that you and I receive. It's the same blessing that David received. Here it is, verse 50. He said to the woman, your faith has saved you. Go in peace. Saved by grace through faith.

Go in peace.

Amazing. What is this peace? You know this peace. I know this peace. This isn't the peace of just being absent strife. She would have to still go forward and work out her salvation and put away the scars and put away all that that sin, you know, and she would have to keep going back, seeking forgiveness. The journey was strife was still in her personal experience. But this is the peace, ultimately, of the presence of God. This is the peace. You know God's with you. And what kind of God is with you? It is a forgiving God. And he's ready to forgive, forgive, forgive a thousand times over. So, as we conclude, I want to ask you, do you want this kind of peace? Do you have this kind of peace? She probably was all tangled up inside and nodded each night. You know, do you have that?

Do you want to know the peace of forgiveness? Well, start with the fact that Jesus Christ died for you, for your sins, your sins. This is what we believe. Forgiveness made available through his sacrifice, the Son of God. We believe in a forgiving God. And so tonight, go seek this. Seek this. And may we pray that we'll all hear these beautiful words that Jesus Christ spoke to this woman. Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.