LESSON XVI.—SABBATH, APRIL 21, 1894
36. AND one of the Pharisees desired Him that He would eat with him. And He entered into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. 37. And behold, a woman which was in the city, a sinner; and when she knew that He was sitting at meat in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster cruse of ointment, 38. And standing behind 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 which had bidden Him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if He were a prophet, would have perceived who and what manner of woman this is which toucheth Him, that she is a sinner. 40. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 41. A certain lender had two debtors; the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42. When they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most? 43. Simon answered and said, He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. 44. And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she hath wetted my feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. 45. Thou gavest me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46. My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but she hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that even forgiveth sins? 50. And he said unto the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. This lesson contains only one subject,—the anointing of Jesus by the sinful woman, in the house of Simon the Pharisee, and her forgiveness. Study the story well, until you are familiar with every detail. Then you can feed upon the comfort that there is in it. An analysis of this entire chapter may very readily be made, sufficient to bring it before the mind. Thus: Healing of the centurion's servant; raising the son of the widow of Nain; inquiries of John the Baptist; extolling him and upbraiding the Pharisees; forgiving the repentant woman in the house of Simon. - With whom did Jesus one day go to eat?
- While he was there, who came?
- What was her character?
- What did she bring with her?
- What did she do?
- When the Pharisee saw this, what did he say to himself?
- What did Jesus, knowing his thoughts, say to him?
- What illustration did he use to give Simon a lesson?
- What was the Pharisee's decision in the case?
- How did Jesus then apply the lesson?
- How much love had the Pharisee shown to Jesus?
- Show the contrast between him and the woman.
- What did Jesus say of her sins?
- In what condition did Simon's lack of love show him to be?
- What did Jesus say directly to the woman?
- When he said this, what did those at the table begin to say?
- How did Jesus then address the woman?
- How was she saved?
1. "This man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him; for she is a sinner." So spake the Pharisee within himself. He didn't know the Lord, and there are many to-day who are just as little acquainted with him. Christ came to save sinners. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." 1 Tim. 1:15. That which the Pharisee thought would be the reason why Jesus would not receive the woman, was the very reason why he did. 2. THE woman knew the Lord better than the Pharisee did. His frowns could not deter her from coming to Jesus. Whenever a sinner seeks to come to Jesus, the devil undertakes to keep him away. He says to the sinner, "You are too vile to approach so pure a being; you are not fit to associate with him." And then he quotes Scripture to the sinner. He says that the Lord is "of purer eyes than to behold evil" (Hab. 1:13), and evil shall not dwell with him (Ps. 5:4, 5). Too often the sinner is frightened away, but if he is as wise as the poor, sinful woman in this lesson, he will only press the closer, saying, "Since evil cannot dwell with the Lord, I will abide with him, and thus my sin will be driven away." 3. "To whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." The Pharisee had not shown common courtesy, much less love, to Jesus. His heart had not been touched by the love of God, and he had not received forgiveness. This was not because of God's unwillingness to forgive, but because of his self-righteousness. A man will love in proportion to what he has been forgiven; but if he is so self-righteous that he feels little need of forgiveness, of course he will not be moved to love. Therefore the ones who love the Lord the most are the ones who have the greatest sense of their own sinfulness. 4. "THY faith hath saved thee; go in peace." Whatever gospel truth we find expressed in the writings of the apostles, we shall find illustrated in the ministry of Christ. The apostle Paul wrote, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. 5:1. In this lesson we have a practical illustration of that statement. Many who are longing for peace fail to find it, because they seek for it in the wrong way. They are looking for peace as an evidence that they are accepted with God, whereas peace comes as the result of knowing one's acceptance with God. "Being justified, . . . we have peace." But right here many still err. They think that peace is merely a state of feeling, and so they look for a certain indescribable feeling of peace, and if they do not have it, they are in darkness and despondency. Those who depend on this feeling will have a fitful experience, and run the risk of fatal deception. All should understand that peace is not feeling, but an actual fact. It is reality, and not imagination or sentiment. Peace does not depend on feeling, and there may be, and often is, absolute peace with God and no feeling whatever. If this were not so, then a knowledge of acceptance with God would be only a matter of feeling after all. For if a certain feeling must always accompany peace, then one would have only to consult his feelings to know whether or not he is justified, since peace always accompanies justification. One's feelings are from himself, but peace with God comes from God. One can understand his own feelings, even though he cannot describe them; but the peace of God "passeth all understanding." Phil. 4:7. It is God who speaks peace to his people. Ps. 85:8. God is "the God of peace" (Heb. 13:20), and Christ is the "Prince of peace" (Isa. 9:6). "He is our peace." Eph. 2:14. Christ is a real being, and not a mere feeling; and we have peace with God only by having Christ, who dwells in our hearts by faith. Eph. 3:17. So peace, like righteousness, is ours only by faith. And this is so because it is not simply a consequence that follows the receiving of righteousness, but it accompanies righteousness, as a part of it. "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Ps. 85:10. "The work of righteousness shall be peace." Isa. 32:17. Righteousness is the character of the God of peace and the Prince of peace. We get righteousness by getting the life and character of God in Christ. But we get peace in the same way, since peace is as much the life of God as is righteousness. So we get righteousness and peace by taking Christ for all that he is. His peace was unruffled by all the tribulations which he endured; he is used to such things, and therefore will not leave us when tribulations come. To everyone he says, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33.