Luke 7:36-50 “Go in Peace”

How terrible it must be to owe debts that you are unable to pay, that perhaps you have little hope of ever repaying - to be constantly hounded by those to whom you owe money; to be harassed by collection agencies; perhaps to have your belongings repossessed or the bank foreclose on your house; to wonder how you will support yourself or your family. It would be a terrible situation to find yourself in – no matter what the reason for such a situation. Fortunately, for such a person, there are many organizations that exist to help people who find themselves in such dire straits. They might help them to consolidate their debts, counsel them on their spending - hopefully to make it possible for a person to work his way out of debt and into a good financial situation.

 For such a person, wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to have his slate wiped clean, to have all his debts canceled, done away with. What a huge burden would be lifted and gone. That is very much what our Savior has done for us. As sinners, we owed a debt that we could never repay. We owed the holy, almighty God perfection. As a result of our many, many sins, we owed a debt to God that we could never even hope to begin to repay. Everyday the burden only grows as we continue to add sin upon sin. But Jesus says to us, “Go in peace - your sins are forgiven.” Go in Peace. Know that your debt of sin is great. Trust that Christ has forgiven you. And then produce fruits of love and thankfulness.

 Jesus had been invited to at the house of a man named Simon - a Pharisee. The Pharisees were a religious group in Israel that known for their obedience to the law. Not only did they follow the Old Testament law which God had given through Moses, but they had added a number of laws on top of that. And they followed all of them right down to the last letter. Outwardly the Pharisees appeared to be very righteous and moral. The problem with their obedience was its motivation. They didn’t follow the law out of loving thanks toward God, but because they believed that by such obedience they could earn eternal life. They looked to themselves and trusted their good works for salvation. In their minds, they didn’t need a Savior because they weren’t really all that bad. They deserved God’s favor.

 As Jesus was at the table, a woman came up behind him and anointed his feet with her tears and with perfume - wiping his feet with her hair. The custom was to recline on a couch rather than sitting on chairs as we do, so this woman could easily reach Jesus’ feet. She could stand behind him and her tears could fall on his feet while he lay on the couch.

 “What a terrible thing!” – that was the thought which went through Simon’s mind. This woman was a terrible sinner. How could Jesus let her touch him?  Didn’t he know who she was? Her reputation was well known in the community. But Jesus uses this opportunity to teach this self-righteous Pharisee and us, a lesson. Jesus tells a parable about two men who owed money. One owed 50 denarii, the other 500. A denarius was about a day’s wage, so both debts were significant. But obviously the one was much larger. Jesus points out that the person who has the greater debt canceled will naturally be even more thankful. 

 This woman understood her sin. She knew that she had broken God’s law and that she deserved nothing but God’s punishment. She recognized that Jesus was her Savior. But this Pharisee didn’t think that he was that bad. In his mind, his debt wasn’t that great.

 How often aren’t we tempted to think like that Pharisee? The fact is our sins are numerous – too many to count. We have broken God’s commands again and again and again. Daily we add greatly to that debt. The debt of sin that we owe to God is so great that we could never hope to even begin to repay it. But how often aren’t we tempted to think that we are pretty good people – especially when we compare ourselves to others. I am a good Christian. I try to do what God wants. I try to do good. I come to church, I even give some of my income in offerings to the church. I may be a sinner, but not one that deserves to be damned. On the other hand, look at those people out there in the world. Look at the way they live. They cheat in business. They take advantage of others. They’re sexually immoral. How can some people do those terrible things? I would never do something like that. They are the ones that deserve punishment – not us. That is exactly the thinking of Simon. We pat ourselves on the back and think that at least in some small way we are deserving of God’s favor, and at the very least more deserving than the worst around us.

 But the fact is we are rotten sinners who have rightly earned God’s anger and punishment. The Bible tells us, “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” No matter how small we think our debt of sin to be, it is far too great for me to even begin to repay. So left to myself, I would drown in that debt. Left to myself, I am doomed to suffer the eternal punishment that my debt of sin has earned. 

 But thanks be to God - because Jesus came into this world for precisely that reason - to rescue sinners, to pay the debt that we could not. The apostle Paul could write that Jesus come into this world to save even him the worst of sinners. Jesus came to pay for the sins of this woman whose sins were public and well-known. And Jesus came to pay for each one of your sins, no matter what they might be; no matter how great they may be. That debt has been canceled. It was canceled by Jesus death on the cross. Jesus took his perfect life and went to the cross where he made sacrifice for all sins. Because of Jesus perfect life and sacrificial death, he can say to every sinner – “Go in peace.” No longer do our sins stand between us and God. No longer do we have to wonder and worry how we will pay off the debt that we owe. 

 Nothing short of God’s own Son paying the price for our sins could set us free from that burden of the debt of sin. Even if we were allowed to make smaller payments, or work for a longer time - we wouldn’t even come close.

 And what an effect that payment Jesus made by his sacrifice on the cross now has on our lives. Our debt is canceled, how can we not love that Savior who has paid our debt. Our debt is canceled, sin is done away with – now I live to produce fruits of love and thanks in my life. The apostle Paul writes, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

 This woman showed her love in a very remarkable way. What those present no doubt thought was a shameful way. She humbled herself to wash Jesus’ fee with her own tears and dry them with her hair. It was disgraceful for a Jewish woman to let her hair down in public – how much more disgraceful this display. But she risked shame and ridicule to express her love for her Savior. She bought a jar of perfume to anoint Jesus’ feet – no doubt this required sacrifice on her part. Perfume was not something that was readily available to everyone, so no doubt this cost quite an amount. But neither cost nor disgrace could keep her from honoring her Savior whom she loved so much, since he had paid her great debt of sin.

 Jesus gives to us the precious gift, the free gift of forgiveness and salvation. He says to us, “Your sins are forgiven, go in peace.” But then he also calls to us, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” That requires effort and even sacrifice on our part.

 How much is Jesus worth to you? Would we be so bold as to follow this woman’s example? How easy to hide our faith, or at least not confess too loudly that we’re Christians so that we aren’t ridiculed. Would we willingly risk ridicule and shame for our Savior? And to demean and humble ourselves so greatly in service – not something we’re eager to do. Instead, we often complain that others aren’t doing their share; we worry that we’re being taken advantage of – so instead of joyful service out of love and thanks to the Lord, it is service given grudgingly, with complaint, and with an eye to how we might benefit and be the ones served.

 We make the sacrifice and give one hour a week on Sunday mornings to the Lord – but what happens the rest of the week? Do we make faithful use of his word throughout the week on a regular basis? Does the time I spend with the Lord reflect my love for him? If I spent as much time and effort in my relationship with my wife or children as I do in my relationship with the Lord, what would those relationships be like? We want Jesus to be a part of our lives, but there is perhaps the problem – it is just a part of our life, rather than all our life. We hesitate to give ourselves and all we have completely to the Lord and in service to him. But how very precious that relationship with our Savior is – for eternity but also for right now.

 And then what about our offerings of money to the Lord? This woman spared no expense to show her love for her Savior. How hard for us at times to part with a few dollars. To make a sacrifice so that we might give more to the Lord; to bring an extravagant gift to the Lord to show our love and thanks – that is difficult for us to do. 

 How much is Jesus worth to you? Priceless, isn’t he? All the other blessings that we have received from the Lord are nothing in comparison to the gift of his own perfect life sacrificed on the altar of the cross to secure for us forgiveness and eternal salvation. What a difference Jesus has made in your life – now and eternally. He paid your debt of sin. He has given you heaven. We have great reason, like the woman in our text, to love Jesus and to show him our thanks. May we seek every opportunity to show our Savior that love in our lives. 

 By the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, we have been united with Jesus. His death is ours. His death is the full payment for all of our many sins. The debt is gone – completely canceled. Jesus rose from the dead, victorious and one day we too will be raised to eternal life in heaven with him. His victory is ours. The payment he made was on our behalf. And so with our debt forgiven, with sin removed, we have peace with God – peace that comforts and encourages and motivates no matter what the circumstances of our life.  It is a peace that even comforts in the face of death.

 What tremendous love our Savior has shown us. His love moves us to love and to respond in love. The time and effort that we give to the Lord will always be worthwhile. The gifts that we give will not be wasted – they are acts of thanksgiving, acts of love in response to his incredible, amazing act of love on Calvary’s cross. Our Savior is our most precious treasure and we truly do want to show him our love and thanks by our lives and actions.

 Go in peace. All your sins are forgiven in Jesus. Your debt is gone. Your sin is paid for. What a great and motivating comfort that is.