Creational Texts in the Context of Ancient Near Eastern Culture| Dr. Robert Gagnon lecture

One other story about Jesus I wanna mention because it came up in a question somebody asked me, uh, during the interim, and I want you to think about the story of the sinful woman in Luke 7.

You remember what she did, how she came and prostrated herself before Jesus and washed his feet with her tears and wiped his feet with her hair? That's a quintessential image of discipleship and of repentance.

And when she did that, Jesus' Pharisaic host was upset.

"You know this woman.

She's a sinful woman." It's probably referring, uh, she didn't collect taxes.

She must have ...

It probably have to do with sexual sin.

Might have been prostitution.

Might have been adultery.

Might have been fornication.

Who knows? But she immediately adopts this intimate posture with Jesus.

Why does she do this? Jesus explains why she does this to the Pharisaic host.

He tells the Pharisaic host a brief parable.

"There are two debtors owing money to the same creditor.

One debtor owed a lot.

The other debtor owed a little.

The creditor forgave the debts of both.

Which one will love the creditor more?" The one who was forgiven much.

Oftentimes we think in order to reach out in love to somebody, we have to reduce the severity of the offense which offends us.

You don't have to do that.

Jesus didn't communicate to the Pharisaic host that this woman didn't have a greater debt.

She did.

But you see the result of the forgiveness that she received from her repentance has made her love Jesus more.

When Paul talks about his own coming to Christ after pursuing persecution of the church as a zealous Pharisee, he doesn't sugarcoat any of that.

He says in 1 Corinthians 15, "I was the least of the apostles because I persecuted the church.