Examined by Christ

Devotional

Day 1: Unexpected Grace in Exhaustion

A weary woman’s confession of fatigue became the doorway to divine surprise. Sometimes God’s greatest gifts emerge not in our strength but in our raw, honest moments of depletion. When life feels like a relentless cycle of effort, Jesus meets us in the mundane and the messy, rewriting our stories with grace. What seems like a red flag of weakness can become the very place where hope is verified. The God who formed life in a tired womb still works miracles in our weariness. [00:39]

“And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:36–37, ESV)

Reflection: Where has exhaustion clouded your ability to see God’s unexpected work? How might He be inviting you to rest in His surprise rather than your striving?

Day 2: Broken Alabaster, Unbroken Hope

The crack of the flask echoed the shattering of shame. A woman deemed “sinner” poured out her most costly possession—not to earn favor, but because she knew forgiveness was her only lifeline. Her tears baptized Jesus’ feet, her hair a towel of surrender. True worship isn’t polished performance; it’s the raw offering of a heart that has stopped pretending. What are you clinging to that Jesus asks you to break open? [10:03]

“Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” (John 12:3, ESV)

Reflection: What “alabaster jar” of pride, self-sufficiency, or hidden sin have you refused to break? How might its fragrance bless others if surrendered?

Day 3: When Knowledge Puffs Up, Love Builds Up

Simon’s theological resume meant nothing beside the woman’s tear-stained devotion. He critiqued; she loved. He withheld basic hospitality; she gave extravagantly. Right doctrine without radical love is just religious noise. Jesus still asks Pharisees, “Do you see this woman?”—not as a project, but as a person. Who have you reduced to a label instead of loving as Christ does? [05:59]

“If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2, ESV)

Reflection: Where has your knowledge of Scripture or church tradition become a barrier to compassion? Who needs your tears more than your theology today?

Day 4: Desperation’s Doorway to Peace

The woman didn’t tidy her life before crashing the Pharisee’s party. She came as she was—desperate, messy, all-in. Peace isn’t found in having it together but in admitting we don’t. Jesus didn’t calm her storm; He became her calm. What chaos are you trying to manage that God wants to meet in your reckless surrender? [30:13]

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28–29, ESV)

Reflection: What false peace (control, distraction, busyness) have you settled for instead of Christ’s deep rest? What would it look like to “weep at His feet” with your burdens today?

Day 5: From Judgment to Embrace: Loving the Difficult

A young pastor’s prayer to remove “problem people” became God’s lesson in loving like Jesus. Behind every critical spirit or resistance to change lies a story of pain only grace can heal. The church isn’t a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners—including ourselves. Who have you judged instead of journeying with? [34:15]

“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:7, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life feels as unlovable as the Pharisee or the pastor’s critics? How might Jesus be asking you to see their hidden wounds—and your own need for grace?

Sermon Summary

Luke sets the scene in a Pharisee’s dining room so Christ can examine hearts. The woman enters as “a sinner,” likely desperate, carrying the only costly thing she has, and putting her life on the line to get to Jesus. Her tears baptize his feet, her hair serves as a towel, and her alabaster breaks as her hope breaks open. The room goes silent. All the conversation stops. The woman knows Jesus is her only hope, so she takes the lowest place and loves much.

Simon, the Pharisee, sits close, cool, and unimpressed. His knowledge is stacked high, but his hospitality is empty. No water. No kiss. No oil. His lips stay clean while his heart whispers judgment. Service, in his mind, is for himself, not for God. Jesus answers his muttering with a story about two debtors. One owes much, one owes less, neither can pay, and the lender cancels both. “Which of them will love him more?” Simon answers correctly, but the room reveals he has not understood. The text makes the contrast sharp: “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little loves little.”

Four truths rise from the table. First, understanding the depth of sin determines the response to Jesus. A small sense of sin breeds small love; a true sense of guilt births tears, gratitude, and bold repentance. Second, understanding God’s forgiveness produces love for others. 1 John says love does not start in the believer’s heart but in God’s, so forgiven people see others as God saw them when Christ came for them. Sin separates, but Jesus connects. Third, understanding forgiveness produces submission to his power. The woman surrenders in a hostile room because Christ is Lord; Simon forfeits grace because pride will not bow. Colossians crowns Jesus as head, so the church yields even when God’s next step stretches comfort and tradition. Finally, receiving forgiveness results in salvation and peace. “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” The gospel does not just clear a record; it steadies a life with a calm assurance.

Success can make a church cocky. Jesus’ examination room exposes that. The Spirit presses a holy, active desperation that says, “He is the boss.” A divided heart, a divided church, and a divided community need the same thing the woman found at Jesus’ feet. The question lands plain: who is in the chair today, Simon or the sinner? The call is simple. Repent of pride and idolatry. Reembrace Christ. Love much.

Key Takeaways

1. Success can become a snare Success creates the illusion of safety and feeds pride. Momentum starts to feel like maturity, and numbers start to feel like nearness to God. When success is hugged too tightly, examination gets dodged and drift sets in. The church that keeps growing is the church that keeps repenting. [01:49]
2. A deep view of sin fuels love A light view of sin keeps love small and cautious; a truthful view breaks the bottle and the heart. Those who know they could not pay are quick to adore the One who canceled the debt. Tears are not theatrics but theology sung through the eyes. Gratitude becomes courage in the presence of scorn. [20:31]
3. Forgiveness births love, not contempt Forgiven people stop keeping scores and start keeping company with the broken. Love begins in God, not in human niceness, so a disciple mirrors the mercy received. The world reads the gospel in how a church treats its hardest neighbors. Family resemblance to the Father looks like cross-shaped love. [22:53]
4. Submission replaces pride with obedience Christ’s forgiveness does not produce spectators but servants. When Jesus is head, tradition yields to his voice and comfort bows to his call. Pride argues; faith obeys, even when the next step is unfamiliar. Spiritual maturity is not having answers but living in dependence. [25:29]
5. Holy desperation opens the door to peace Desperation that runs to Jesus finds pardon, purpose, and a settled heart. Peace is not the absence of trouble but the presence of Christ’s word: “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Churches change when idols are named and surrendered. That altar is where division dies and mission lives. [30:13]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:39] - Surprise pregnancy and the call to examination
[01:49] - When success becomes the greatest obstacle
[02:07] - Stagnant churches and the need for renewal
[03:45] - Entering Jesus’ examination room in Luke 7
[05:29] - The sinful woman’s costly approach to Jesus
[08:47] - Tears, alabaster, and servant-hearted worship
[12:18] - Simon the Pharisee unmasked
[16:31] - The two debtors and love’s measure
[17:28] - Withheld hospitality and overflowing devotion
[20:31] - Truth 1: Knowing the depth of sin
[22:53] - Truth 2: Forgiveness that births love
[25:29] - Truth 3: Forgiveness that yields submission
[28:59] - Truth 4: Saved by faith, sent in peace
[33:46] - Learning to love opponents in conflict
[37:59] - Who is at Jesus’ feet today
[40:03] - Prayer and invitation

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Luke 7:36-50 (ESV)
36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then 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. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Observation Questions

What specific actions did the woman perform for Jesus, and how did they contrast with Simon’s lack of hospitality?
How did Jesus use the parable of the two debtors to address Simon’s judgmental attitude?
What does Jesus’ final statement to the woman (“Your faith has saved you; go in peace”) reveal about the connection between faith, forgiveness, and peace?

Interpretation Questions

Why might the woman’s tears, hair, and perfume symbolize more than just physical acts of service? What deeper spiritual posture do they represent?
Simon’s knowledge of Scripture didn’t lead him to love Jesus or others. How can religious knowledge sometimes become a barrier to true humility and dependence on God?
Jesus says, “He who is forgiven little, loves little.” How does the awareness of our sin’s depth shape our capacity to love God and others?

Application Questions

In what areas of your life might pride or self-sufficiency (like Simon’s) keep you from fully depending on Jesus? What practical step could you take to “break your alabaster jar” of pride this week?
The woman saw others as Jesus saw her—broken and in need of grace. Who in your life is hardest to love, and how could you intentionally show them mercy this week?
The sermon mentioned that “success can become a snare” when it fuels complacency. Where have you seen success (in work, relationships, or ministry) dull your sense of desperation for God? How might repentance reorient your heart?
Jesus told the woman, “Go in peace.” What anxieties or divisions in your life need His peace today? How could you actively surrender them to Him?
The Pharisee withheld basic hospitality (water, a kiss, oil) because he felt no need for forgiveness. What “small acts” of love (kindness, listening, serving) have you neglected, and what might that reveal about your heart?

Sermon Clips

52s

#SubmitToGodsPower

“So here's the deal. We cannot let our pride interrupt our submission to god's power. We come to the place where we have to submit to what god wants to do regardless how he wants to do it whether we understand it fully or not. I can promise you that god's next step for your church will cause some of you to go, I don't know about that. God's step next step for you as a church will cause some of you to go, I think the father got the wrong number there. For some of you, it's gonna be tempting to say, oh, but we've never done that way before. I wanna tell you that god positions us in a place because maturity is not revealed in knowing all the answers. Maturity is revealed in dependence. Dependence.”

68s

#HeartOverReligion

“Now ladies and gentlemen, as you have come into Jesus' examination room, which one are you? you the woman kneeling at Jesus' feet because he's your only hope? And maybe today is your day that you need to be saved. But, yeah, you're religious. You're you're baptized believer or supposedly believer in this church, but you know in your heart there's a there's an emptiness, there's a lack of peace. There's something wrong. There's something missing. Today is the day that you need to receive Jesus and be saved. Some of you are like the Pharisee. You celebrate what you know, how long you've been apart, what you've done, how long you served, and you elevate yourself above others who haven't served in as long and as well as you have. And God's word to you is repent of your arrogance and repent of your pride because who you are is all what Jesus has done in your life. It's all about Jesus. It ain't about you.”

69s

#ActiveDesperation

“That forgiveness and that peace was the result of an active desperation. An active desperation. Church, understand this. is bringing you to an active desperation. Because until a church becomes desperate, nothing changes. And some of you are going, oh, amen. We need change. And what that means is I'm open to whatever change happens as long as it doesn't mess with my ministry. You hear me? If Jesus is really the head of the church, he's the boss. And if Jesus is really ahead of the church, we do what the boss tells us to do whether we like it or not, especially even if it makes us uncomfortable.”

54s

#HearAndObey

“Today, you may need to be saved. Today, you may need to come and ask God to forgive you of your attitude. Today, you need maybe to reconcile with fellow believers because you've been divided over silly things. Maybe you need to ask God to forgive you for coming in here for all the wrong reasons, not to worship God in spirit and in truth, but just to get your religious time card punch so he'll leave you alone for the week. Maybe you need to reengage your bible study and your prayer time. Maybe you need to begin to pray for your neighbor instead of talking about them. Who has God put on your heart to share Jesus with? When was the last time you shared Jesus with someone? Whatever the spirit of God has put in your heart to do, challenge to you is to hear God and obey him.”

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Examined by Christ

Devotional

Day 1: Unexpected Grace in Exhaustion

Day 2: Broken Alabaster, Unbroken Hope

Day 3: When Knowledge Puffs Up, Love Builds Up

Day 4: Desperation’s Doorway to Peace

Day 5: From Judgment to Embrace: Loving the Difficult

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Examined by Christ

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