What does it mean to be a christian? What if I were to tell you it means imprisonment, death, false accusations, and ridicule? Sound appealing? In the last two stories of Luke chapter seven we learn that a discouraged and misunderstood John the Baptist is languishing in prison wondering if Jesus really was who he was waiting for. He would never get out of prison but would be beheaded for doing what was right. Then Christ Himself would be accused of being a glutton and a drunkard and also be rebuked for tolerating the worship of a sinful woman.

Verses 18-35.

John the Baptist was the one who was prophesied in the Old Testament, whose father had an angelic visitation concerning his unlikely birth in chapter one, who being filled with the Holy Spirit leaped in his mother’s womb in chapter two while in the presence of an unborn Jesus, and who boldly prepared the way for King Jesus in chapter three. Yet in chapter seven he seems to be doubting his entire purpose in life, “saying, ‘are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?’” (19)

Other passages in the gospels reveal that John asked this while languishing in prison, awaiting to be beheaded for the crime of rebuking a man for committing adultery. He was obviously questioning his whole purpose in life. He was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth, took the vow of the Nazarite by practicing abstinence, and spent his younger years in the desert awaiting his divine calling to usher in the promised Messiah. Then when he was finally released for ministry, he was bold and effective in his baptism and preaching, and even baptized Jesus in His preparation for ministry. But now, he was about to experience a life cut short for the sadistic appetite of an adulteress woman.

When John’s father Zacharias doubted the angel regarding John’s birth he was stricken with muteness until the baby was born. Yet when John dared to ask if Jesus was the “Coming One,” Jesus did not rebuke John for asking such a question. Instead, He told John’s disciples to simply report the facts of His ministry: “that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them” (22).

Jesus then turned to the multitude and began His defense of John the Baptist. The messenger who prepared the way for the King of kings was not dressed in royal attire and living in luxury. On the contrary, he was sitting in a king’s dungeon awaiting execution. But this man prophesied in Malachi was not just a prophet but was in fact the greatest prophet ever born. He was greater than Moses who delivered the law, greater than Elijah who ascended into heaven in a chariot of fire, greater than Isaiah who wrote in detail of the Messiah, and greater than Daniel who could interpret the mysteries of God. What made John so great was that he was the last of the old order of prophets who ushered in the King of kings.

Then Jesus says something astonishing: “but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (28). How could someone who barely escapes the fires of hell smelling of smoke be greater than the greatest of all the prophets? Put simply, the new order of the Spirit trumps the old order of law, as Paul states in 2 Corinthians 3:6, “for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

The vile tax collectors knew their need for repentance and received the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God and did not get baptized. Jesus then speaks out against “the men of this generation” (11). He gives an illustration of a game that children play in the street where the children are not playing together well. It seems that one group of children are participating by playing the flute and mourning, yet the other group does not do the expected response of dancing and weeping.

The men of this generation were not participating well with the arrival of John and Jesus. In fact, their response was to accuse John of being demon possessed because he came neither eating nor drinking. They also accused Jesus of being a drunkard and a glutton because He did come eating and drinking. When hardened hearts are confronted with a need to repent, they will get even harder hearts and justify their behavior by pointing the blame to those who are confronting them. It’s been said that hard hearts are like clay. When the sun shines on clay it gets even harder and this was the condition of men in this generation.

Jesus ends this section saying “wisdom is justified by her children” (35). This is probably a Hebraism for the fruit of wisdom. In Jesus’s generation men rejected the message of John and Jesus but the evidence of their ministry will be shown by its fruit. The true children of Abraham are those who receive the message of Jesus.

Verses 36-50.

The Pharisees constituted the majority of the religious ruling class in Israel during the time of Christ. They also had the most powerful presence because of sheer numbers, which was about 20,000. Jesus was considered an established rabbi yet belonged to no religious class. Nevertheless, He was invited by a Pharisee named Simon to come to his house and eat.

In this culture, the invited religious guest would eat at the main table while others would be situated around the outside of the room listening in. The table was low and guests would sit in a reclining position on low couches, leaning on their left side to eat while their legs were stretched away from the table. The sandals were removed before reclining.

Word about this meal Jesus was having at Simon’s house reached the ears of a woman described as “a woman in the city who was a sinner” (37). Being described in this manner meant that she worked as a prostitute. Prostitution was a common practice in ancient Rome, often tied to pagan idolatry.

The woman “stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil” (38). The expensive perfume was worn around a woman’s neck and was used regularly, even on the Sabbath. Typically, the head was anointed with oil but this woman anointed the feet of Jesus, either because she did not have access to His head or because she considered herself unworthy to anoint His head.

When the Pharisee who invited Jesus saw this he said to himself, “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” (39).  Simon invited Jesus into his home, not because he viewed Him as the Lord Jesus but instead to scrutinize Him. Like Satan, he used the “if” clause regarding the office of Jesus. Satan said, “if You are the Son of God” and Simon said “if He were a prophet.”

Immediately, Jesus exposed the callousness of Simon’s heart and debunked his skepticism. This He did using a simple math equation. A denarii was equivalent to a day’s wage. One man owed his creditor 500 denarii and another 50. Both were unable to repay and the man forgave both debts.

Jesus didn’t ask which man was more relieved for having his debt forgiven, but surely they both would be relieved. Instead, He asked which one will love the creditor more. True repentance is not rooted in a desire to be free from debt. It is rooted in love for the One who forgives sins. In Jesus’ teachings there is a motif of two types of people – the hard hearted self righteous and the broken hearted sinner – and Jesus always favors the sinner.

In a culture where women were demoted and especially prostitutes, Jesus not only allows this woman to touch Him but He sees it as an act of worship. If this woman was simply asking for a clear record of sins she would not have been prostrated at His feet. Simon didn’t think he needed forgiveness from sins and would by no means humble himself before this so-called prophet, especially in his own house. But this woman was willing to humble herself in a house she probably wasn’t even welcomed into and Jesus forgave her but humbled the Pharisee.

We must always examine the posture of our own hearts. If we think we are doing well and are proud of our status as a sin-free saint, then we have little love in our hearts. But if we realize that our own sins are a grievous offense to God and cost Jesus His own life to forgive us, then may we join this sinful woman in prostrating ourselves at His feet and receive forgiveness of sins.

It’s been said that christians ought to have thick skins and thin hearts. We will be mistreated in this life as John and Jesus were. They were both martyred. But even to the end they proved themselves faithful and so can we. Let us not let the attacks of the world throw us offcourse but let the world know we are christians by our love.

Questions:

1. Do you think John the Baptist wavered in his faith when he was in prison? How did Jesus respond to His question? (verses 18-23).
2. Why is the least in the kingdom of heaven greater than the greatest person? (28)
3. Jesus says that one who is forgiven much loves much, but the one who is forgiven little loves little (47). What does that mean?