Extravagant Love Flows from Forgiven Sinners

Devotional

Day 1: Tears on Dusty Feet: The Language of Unspoken Repentance

A woman’s tears fall on Jesus’ feet, mingling with dust to become mud. Her hair becomes a towel, her kisses a confession. This raw, unscripted act defies religious decorum but reveals a heart shattered by grace. Her tears are not manipulation but the overflow of a soul that knows the cost of forgiveness. She holds nothing back, trusting Jesus to receive her messy, costly worship. True repentance isn’t polished—it’s the surrender of every hidden shame to the One who already knows. [34:37]

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.
(Luke 7:38, ESV)

Reflection: What unspoken grief or gratitude have you struggled to bring to Jesus’ feet? How might your “tears”—your raw, honest offering—become an act of worship today?

Day 2: The Alabaster Flask: When Love Ignores the Price Tag

The woman carries an alabaster flask—a lifetime’s savings, a symbol of security—and shatters it at Jesus’ feet. Perfume fills the room, a fragrance both wasteful and worshipful. She gives what culture says she should keep, defying logic to honor the One who defied death to honor her. Extravagant love isn’t measured by practicality but by the recklessness of trusting Jesus with your most precious things. [42:19]

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.
(Luke 7:37, ESV)

Reflection: What “alabaster flask”—a possession, a dream, a defense—do you clutch tightly? How might Jesus be inviting you to break it open as an offering?

Day 3: “Do You See This Woman?”: When Blindness Masks as Righteousness

Simon notices the woman’s sin but misses her humanity; Jesus notices her humanity and redeems her sin. The Pharisee’s polished theology cannot comprehend a love that disrupts dinner parties. Religious pride blinds him to his own debt, reducing people to categories. Jesus’ question—“Do you see her?”—challenges us to replace judgment with curiosity, labels with names, and superiority with shared need. [52:29]

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.”
(Luke 7:44, ESV)

Reflection: Who do you struggle to “see” as Jesus sees them? What debt of grace might you share with them if you looked closer?

Day 4: 500 Denarii vs. 50: The Math of Mercy

Two debtors. One owes a year’s wages, the other two months. Both are bankrupt. The moneylanger forgives both, but only the bigger debtor grasps the weight of the gift. Mercy isn’t a competition—it’s the equalizing ground where all kneel. Our love for Jesus grows not by minimizing our sin but by marinating in the scandal of forgiveness that cost Him everything. [36:49]

A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?
(Luke 7:41-42, ESV)

Reflection: Do you relate more to the “50” or “500” denarii debtor? How does your answer shape your capacity to love others?

Day 5: “Your Sins Are Forgiven”: The Sentence That Unshackles a Soul

Jesus doesn’t say, “Try harder” or “Earn it.” He speaks seven words that dismantle shame: “Your sins are forgiven.” The woman leaves with peace, not probation. Forgiveness isn’t a process—it’s a pronouncement. The same voice that calmed storms silences accusations, inviting us to walk free. Our past no longer defines us; His grace does. [55:32]

And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
(Luke 7:48, ESV)

Reflection: What chains of guilt or “proving yourself” do you still carry? How might living as “forgiven” shift your posture toward God and others today?

Sermon Summary

Luke sets this beautiful story in the house of Simon, a Pharisee who has already rejected the purposes of God and still holds Jesus at arm’s length. The woman of the city comes looking for Jesus, prepared with an alabaster flask of ointment, and falls apart at his feet. Her tears wet his feet, her hair wipes them, her kisses express humility, and her perfume anoints the only place she feels worthy to touch.

Simon sees a sinful woman making everyone uncomfortable. Jesus sees a woman who knows exactly who she is and has come to the right place. The woman knows the names people call her, knows her sins are many, and yet comes to Christ unashamed because she knows he is where forgiveness can be found.

Simon represents another kind of sinner. His religion, position, and social respectability hide his own need from his eyes. Simon sees her sin clearly, but misses his own. Simon thinks the fundamental distinction is righteous people versus sinners, but Jesus reframes the whole thing: a debtor and another debtor, someone who needs grace compared to someone who needs grace.

Jesus tells Simon about two men who cannot pay their debts. The moneylender cancels both debts, and the one forgiven more loves more. Jesus turns toward the woman and asks Simon, “Do you see this woman?” Christ exposes Simon’s pitiful hospitality by placing it next to the woman’s extravagant love. Simon gave no water, no kiss, and no oil. The woman gave tears, kisses, and costly perfume.

Jesus does not say the woman earned forgiveness by loving much. Jesus says, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Her love is the response to grace, not the price of grace. Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, gone, erased, removed as far as the east is from the west.

Christ makes clear that the greatest extravagant love in the room is not finally the woman’s love for him. Christ himself is the lender, the forgiver, and the Savior. Jesus lives the life sinners failed to live, bears the righteous wrath of God against sin on the cross, and rises victorious over sin, Satan, death, and the grave. Luke brings the chapter to its great question: “Who is this who even forgives sins?” God alone forgives sins, and God forgives through Jesus Christ.

The Lord’s Supper calls forgiven sinners not to measure how much they love Jesus, but to remember how much Jesus has loved them. Christ’s body was for them. Christ’s blood was for them. His grace is what stirs real love and affection for him.

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Key Takeaways

1. Every sinner stands as a debtor [54:59] Jesus does not divide humanity into respectable people and sinful people. Jesus places Simon and the woman under the same verdict: neither can pay the debt before God. Pride survives by comparing sins, but grace begins when a sinner sees personal bankruptcy before a holy God. [54:59]
2. Jesus sees the woman rightly [52:29] Simon sees a reputation, an interruption, and a problem. Jesus sees a woman whose sins are many and whose faith has brought her to him. Christ’s sight is never shallow, because he sees both the full ugliness of sin and the full reality of forgiveness. [52:29]
3. Forgiven hearts love extravagantly [57:42] The woman’s tears and perfume do not purchase mercy from Jesus. Her love pours out because mercy has already reached her. Love for Christ grows when the heart stops minimizing sin and starts remembering the costly grace that has forgiven it. [57:42]
4. Christ is the great forgiver [01:05:45] The woman’s love is striking, but Christ’s love is greater. Jesus forgives a debt no sinner could repay, and he bears the wrath that debt deserved. The hero is Jesus, the lender, forgiver, and Savior. [65:45]
5. Remember his love at the Table [01:13:58] The Lord’s Supper does not call believers to manufacture stronger emotions. Christ gives bread and cup so forgiven sinners can look again at his body given and his blood shed. His love, remembered clearly, becomes the wellspring of deeper affection and faithful worship.

## [73:58]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[31:01] - Luke’s Story of King Jesus
[32:15] - Simon Invites Jesus to Dinner
[33:07] - The Woman at Jesus’ Feet
[44:19] - A Sinful Woman Comes to Christ
[45:33] - Simon’s Pride and Blindness
[51:06] - The Parable of Two Debtors
[55:32] - Your Sins Are Forgiven
[59:33] - The Debt Christ Paid at the Cross
[63:46] - The Greatest Love in the Room
[67:11] - Who Can Forgive Sins?
[69:38] - Remembering Christ at the Lord’s Table
[73:58] - Remember How Much He Loved You

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Luke 7:36-50
“One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. 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, 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. 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.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 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. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” [32:15]

Psalm 103:12
“as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” [59:34]

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” [01:09:38]

Observation questions

What actions does the woman take at Jesus’ feet, and what do those actions show about her posture toward him? [43:46]
What does Simon think to himself when he sees the woman, and what does Jesus’ response reveal about Simon’s assumptions? [35:33]
In the parable of the two debtors, what do both debtors have in common, and what does the moneylender do for each of them? [54:37]
What specific acts of hospitality did Simon fail to offer Jesus, and how did the woman’s actions stand in contrast to his? [52:48]

Interpretation questions

Why does Jesus describe Simon and the woman as debtors rather than simply dividing them into a righteous person and a sinful person? What does this reveal about the need for grace in every person? [54:59]
Jesus asks Simon, “Do you see this woman?” What does Simon fail to see about the woman, himself, and Jesus?
How does Jesus’ statement that the woman’s faith saved her help clarify that her love did not earn her forgiveness, but flowed from it? [58:13]
The people at the table question Jesus’ authority to forgive sins. Why is this question central to Luke’s account, and what does it show about who Jesus is? [01:06:52]

Application questions

Simon could see the woman’s sins clearly while remaining blind to his own. Where is there a temptation to compare personal sin with someone else’s sin in a way that makes the heart feel more respectable? [46:36]
The woman came to Jesus knowing her sins were many, yet she did not stay away from him. Is there any shame, failure, or ongoing struggle that makes it hard to come honestly to Christ? What would it look like to bring that need to him rather than hiding it? [44:19]
Jesus does not call believers to hold him at arm’s length and evaluate him from a distance. In what areas of life might someone be treating Jesus more like Simon did—welcoming him near, but resisting his authority?
Forgiven hearts grow in love as they remember the depth of their sin and the greatness of Christ’s grace. What practices could help the group remember Christ’s forgiveness more regularly—especially when love for him feels weak or distant? [01:10:14]
The woman’s love was visible, humble, and costly. What are some tangible ways that gratitude to Jesus could shape the way someone serves, gives, speaks, or cares for others this week?
The Lord’s Supper directs believers to remember Christ’s body given and blood shed, not merely to measure the strength of their emotions. How does remembering that Christ gave himself “for me” bring comfort, humility, and renewed love? [01:13:58]

Sermon Clips

37s

#ExtravagantLove

“Jesus is clearly teaching that the right response is radical, extravagant love. Listen, this is not controversial. Jesus wants to be loved. Jesus wants to be loved. Jesus wants to be loved because he knows that that's the best condition that you can possibly be in. The very best condition for you, for your heart, is to extravagantly love Jesus. And we'll only extravagantly love Jesus as we understand how extravagantly he has loved us.”

40s

#GoToJesus

“And then three days later, Jesus rose from the dead proving that he has absolute victory over Satan and sin and death and the grave. And so for those who will like this woman understand they cannot save themselves. They need someone else to do for them what they desperately need and cannot do for themselves. And so to come to Jesus, and some people are super emotional and some people aren't. The point isn't to go and weep a lot of tears and use your hair to dry it up. That that is not the point this morning. The point is this. Go to Jesus.”

33s

#JesusSaves

“He's the only one who can save you. And this woman got it right. She was not holding Jesus at arm's length, observing him and evaluating him. She had come to him and was expressing to him clearly how much love she had for him because of how much love he had for her. Jesus had a word of rebuke for the Pharisee and a word of peace for this woman, but Jesus desired one kind of outcome from both the Pharisee and the sinful woman. He desired their love.”

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Paramount Baptist Church This sermon · AI assistant

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