How Much Do You Love The Lord

Luke puts two reactions to Jesus right next to each other. Simon invites Jesus into his house after his group has already questioned and criticized him, and Jesus goes anyway. Jesus does not snub the Pharisee, because even a cold, status-minded invitation becomes an opportunity for grace to confront the heart.

The woman comes in carrying her best and her most, an alabaster vial worth many days' wages. Her tears, her loosened hair, her kisses, and her perfume are not an attempt to buy Jesus off. Her worship spills out because holiness has let her stay in the room. Jesus has every right to cast her out, everybody knows who she is, and yet he has not rejected her.

Simon sees a sinner touching Jesus and decides that Jesus must not really be a prophet. Simon knows the Law, knows the rules, and knows the reputation of the woman, but Simon does not know his own debt. His house offers Jesus no water, no kiss, no oil, and not even the basic honor given to a guest. His invitation is about what Jesus can do for his status, not about who Jesus is.

Jesus tells of two debtors with different amounts but the same inability to repay. The moneylender graciously forgives them both, because neither one can fix the debt. Grace does not measure sin according to the labels people put on one another. Grace meets the church kid, the criminal, the outwardly respectable, and the publicly broken at the same place: unable to repay.

Jesus shows that understanding forgiveness leads to love. The woman loves much because she knows she has been forgiven much, while Simon loves little because he imagines that he needs little. Jesus does not say her tears saved her, her perfume saved her, or her public embarrassment saved her. Jesus says, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Jesus also presses the question beneath every religious habit: Who is this man? Christ cannot merely be Savior later and Lord only when convenient. If Jesus is who he says he is, then faith gives him the best time, the best attention, the best treasure, and a love that does not remain private. Peace means more than feeling calm. Peace means being made complete in him.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Forgiveness produces real love [27:57] Jesus connects love to a clear-eyed understanding of forgiveness. The woman does not worship because she thinks she is impressive, but because she knows she does not deserve to stand near him. A heart that sees grace clearly stops treating devotion as a religious chore. Love becomes the honest response to mercy. [27:57]
• 2. Different debts, same inability [25:12] Jesus gives Simon two debtors with different totals, but neither debtor can repay. Respectable sin and scandalous sin may look different to people, but both leave a person unable to stand before a holy God on personal merit. Grace does not congratulate one debtor for needing less help. Grace forgives what nobody can fix. [25:12]
• 3. Faith gives Jesus the best [10:40] The woman brings what is valuable because Jesus is valuable to her. Her gift does not purchase forgiveness, but it reveals the love born from forgiveness. The question is not whether God needs leftovers from time, money, energy, or attention. The question is whether Christ receives what is best because he is worthy of it all. [10:40]
• 4. Religion can miss Jesus entirely [30:55] Simon invites Jesus into his home while withholding even basic hospitality. His posture reveals a desire to benefit from Jesus without bowing before Jesus. Religious knowledge can keep a person near the table while leaving the heart far from the Savior. Jesus still asks, “Do you see this woman?” [30:55]
• 5. Salvation brings completing peace [41:42] Jesus says that faith saves the woman and sends her away in peace. That peace is not merely a calmer mood after a hard day. That peace is completion, the mending of the broken places through belonging to Christ. Faith rests in what Jesus has done and then answers his mercy with a life of love.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:49] - Luke 7 and the Enemy’s Lies
• [03:58] - Context Is Key
• [04:55] - Simon Invites Jesus to Dinner
• [08:05] - A Woman Known as a Sinner
• [10:16] - She Brings Her Best
• [12:28] - Worship at Jesus’ Feet
• [15:39] - Simon’s Cold Reaction
• [20:32] - Who Is Jesus?
• [24:23] - Two Debtors and One Grace
• [27:57] - Forgiveness Leads to Love
• [30:55] - Simon’s Empty Hospitality
• [33:53] - Your Sins Are Forgiven
• [37:09] - Loving God and Loving Others
• [41:42] - Faith Saves and Peace Completes
• [43:40] - Giving Jesus the Best

Bible Reading

Luke 7:36-50
“Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.' And Jesus answered him, 'Simon, I have something to say to you.' And he replied, 'Say it, Teacher.' 'A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So 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 judged correctly.' 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 she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.' Then He said to her, 'Your sins have been forgiven.' Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, 'Who is this man who even forgives sins?' And He said to the woman, 'Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” [00:49]

Ephesians 2:8-9
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” [33:27]

Matthew 22:37-40
“And He said to him, '‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” [37:09]

Observation questions

1. What differences do you notice between the woman’s response to Jesus and Simon’s response to Jesus in Luke 7:36–50? [17:21]
2. What acts of hospitality did Simon fail to offer Jesus, and how did the woman’s actions contrast with them? [30:45]
3. In the story of the two debtors, what did both people have in common even though their debts were different? [25:12]
4. What does Jesus say saved the woman, and what does he tell her to do afterward? [41:50]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does Jesus use the two-debtor story to help Simon understand what is happening in his own home? What does Simon appear unable to see about himself? [29:57]
2. The woman’s actions are not presented as a way to earn forgiveness. How do Luke 7:36–50 and Ephesians 2:8–9 show the difference between trying to earn salvation and responding to grace with love? [33:27]
3. Why is it dangerous for a person to rank sins as “respectable” or “serious” when both debtors were unable to repay? How can that kind of comparison shape the way a person sees others? [27:01]
4. Jesus’ question, “Who is this man?” remains central in the passage. What does Jesus’ authority to forgive sins reveal about who he is, and why does that call for more than merely admiring him as a teacher? [35:09]

Application questions

1. Is there a way of thinking about another person’s sin that makes it easier to overlook personal need for grace? What would it look like to replace judgment with humility and mercy this week? [43:40]
2. The woman brought Jesus her best rather than her leftovers. What part of life—time, attention, money, energy, abilities, or something else—most often receives leftover effort? What could giving Jesus the best in that area look like in a realistic way? [43:53]
3. When prayer happens, is the focus usually on bringing needs to God, or on simply being with him in gratitude and worship? What small change could create space this week to enjoy God’s presence without rushing through a list? [40:28]
4. Forgiveness produces love for God and love for others. Is there a difficult person, opponent, or person who has caused harm toward whom forgiveness has been hard to reflect? What would a gracious next step look like while still maintaining wise boundaries? [39:30]
5. Faith in Jesus is personal, but it is not meant to remain private. Where might love for Jesus be shown more openly through words, generosity, service, or kindness without becoming a performance for others? [45:26]
6. Jesus sends the woman away in peace—a peace that means being made whole in him. Where does life currently feel broken, restless, or incomplete, and how can faith in Christ be brought into that place this week? [42:19]