Luke 6

Chapter 6. The Son of Man and the SinnerFor the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. (Luke 19:10)This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. (Luke 15:2)In nothing is it more true that God’s thoughts and ways are as high as heaven above the earth as in His dealing with sin and sinners. Human nature goes either to the extreme of undue palliation or undue severity, either embraces or consumes the transgressor. Divine grace, while condemning sin with a holy severity unapproached by the severest human standards, at the same time meets the sinner with a tender grace and an almighty help and love of which this beautiful gospel affords a series of illustrations unequaled in any of the books of the New Testament. In this respect, Luke is indeed the gospel of the Son of Man and of Him might be written over almost every chapter, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). In the present chapter we will present five pictures of Christ’s grace in relation to sinners, most of them peculiar to Luke.

Section I: the Calling of Levi

Section I—the Calling of LeviLuk_5:27-32While this incident is not peculiar to the Gospel of Luke, yet it forms the introduction to a number of incidents that are not related by any other evangelist and it gives us the keynote of the whole. Here we see especially the unconventional character of our Lord and the simple and informal way in which He came into contact with sinful men. He sat down in the home of Levi with the company of tax collectors and sinners in the most unaffected and natural way, and by tact and sympathy He won His way to the hearts of men rather than by stately messages and formal addresses. If we would be soul winners like Him, we must learn to be “all things to all men so that by all possible means [we] might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). But the special lesson of this incident is the beautiful tact which Christ used to save men as links through which He was able to reach other men. Levi represented the class from which he came, and through him the Savior was able to come in contact with a great multitude who would have naturally stood off from Him had He met them as a Jewish rabbi; but as the friend of Levi they gladly received Him, and doubtless others also “left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:28). Have we used our past and the influence which even a sinful life may have caused over our fellow men to bring them to the Christ who has redeemed us from a life of sin?

Section II: the Sinful Woman in the House of Simon

Section II—the Sinful Woman in the House of SimonLuk_7:36-50In looking at this touching example of our Savior’s love, it will help us to enter into the spirit of it if we recall the probable prelude to the story in Luke. This will be found in the closing verses of the 11th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. The beautiful words of invitation with which that paragraph closes, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Luke 11:28), would seem to have been spoken in immediate connection with this incident. Probably they form the close of an address which the Master had just been giving in some public place to the assembled crowd, and among those who heard it were both Simon and this sinful woman. On him it had made a profound impression, and with evident sincerity he had invited the Lord to come to his home and accept his hospitality. The evangelist tells us that he “invited Jesus to have dinner with him” (Luke 7:36). This word “invited” carries with it the idea of earnest and perhaps repeated importunity. He was evidently cordial and sincere in his invitation. The Master’s own words in the parable that followed in the house of Simon leaves no doubt that, notwithstanding all that was wrong in his spirit, he had been forgiven. He was certainly one of the two debtors referred to in the parable and Christ says the Lord “canceled the debts of both” (Luke 7:42). We are not, therefore, to think of him as a supercilious and scornful adversary, but as an honest friend gradually emerging from the prejudices of the Pharisaism in which he had been so long schooled. The Lord appreciates his spirit, and in the scene which follows is endeavoring to help him quite as much as the sinful woman. An Oriental SceneThe scene in the house of Simon is a striking one. Reclining at the table in a large court, with their feet extending back from the table on the Oriental divans, the guests were assembled to eat; while around the walls of the large chamber or court a motley crowd sometimes gathered, freely passing through the open doors according to the simple etiquette of an Eastern home. There was, therefore, no reason why this poor woman of the town should not also slip in with the crowd and take her place behind the seated guests. The language of the narrative implies that all this had been carefully planned by her. She had known that Christ was to be there, and she had chosen the time to express her love and gratitude. She had heard Him utter those gracious words of invitation already quoted. Perhaps He had looked into her face and made her know that her sins were forgiven. Certainly she had taken this by faith herself, for the Lord clearly implies that her great love was the result of a sense of great forgiveness. The language of the narrative implies that the gift she brought had been hers before. Probably it was the wages of her sin, and surely if ever a gift was “tainted” this was. But the Lord can accept the gifts of the vilest if they are accompanied by the tears that show that the heart and hands that bring them have been cleansed. She had evidently meant to be calm and proper in her thank offering, but before she knew it a storm of feeling had swept all barriers away, and she found her tears would not stay back as she had bid them, but fell in torrents of passionate love and contrition at His feet. Luke says, “she began to wet his feet with her tears” (Luke 7:38). That implies that she stopped her weeping just as quickly as she could compose herself, but already those tears covered His holy feet and made it difficult for her to anoint them as she had planned. The tears were not in the program, and so it became necessary to wipe them away. Impulsively she loosed her tresses and with her hair she wiped away the tear stains from His feet, and then she took the costly spikenard, and with many a caress of love she anointed His blessed feet until the house was filled with the odor of the oil. The Temptation of Simon It had all been so sudden that the company of guests were held spellbound, and Simon himself was the most impressed of them all. Well he knew her character, and expected his guests with becoming dignity to check or rebuke this sudden interruption. What must have been his amazement when he turned and saw the Savior Himself evidently accepting with complacency and approval this extraordinary demonstration. Immediately the confidence that had started in his own heart began to be rudely checked. Must he not be mistaken? Can this man be a true prophet and not really know the character of the woman who was touching Him; or, if He knows, can He be a good man to allow her to take such liberties? Jesus understood his thought, and quickly answered it. We do not need to speak out for the Lord to know what is passing in our hearts. Very striking are the two expressions, “the Pharisee… said to himself,” and “Jesus answered him” (Luke 7:39-40). No word had come out from those cold and haughty lips, but he had spoken all the same, and Christ had heard it. It would not do to let the temptation be unmet. Simon must understand, and the woman, too. And so that matchless parable follows in which the guilt of both is pictured in such discriminating and heart-searching words. Then the grace of God to both is pictured in the matchless language of the parable, and the gentle yet unmistakable reproof is suggested to the proud heart of the Pharisee, while to the sinful woman He addresses the reassuring words that her sins, which are many, are forgiven (see Luke 7:48), “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:50). Lessons For us the lesson is plain and full of the gospel of the grace of God.

1. We are all debtors.
2. There is a great difference in our debts. God does not condone gross sin, but characterizes it at its true estimation. Yes, her sins are many. There is no attempt to whitewash her life. It is all frankly conceded. She is a greater sinner than Simon, but…
3. Both are equally bankrupt. They have nothing to pay. Simon cannot meet his debt any more than the woman can.
4. The free grace of God frankly forgives them both.
5. Love is not the crown of forgiveness, but the proof of it. She is much forgiven, therefore she loves much. Put in the word “therefore,” instead of “for,” and you get the gospel truth unmixed with error.
6. It was her faith that saved her, not her love; but her faith worked by love and melted her heart with tender gratitude for her forgiveness.
7. Forgiveness brings us into peace. “Come into peace,” is the literal translation of the message of her Savior; a land of rest, a new world of infinite and everlasting joy, and doubtless in the coming days she was found with loving heart and willing hands among those that ministered to the Lord. This is the gospel of the grace of God. This is the attitude of Jesus Christ toward sinful men and women.

Section III: a Sinful Man

Section III—a Sinful ManLuk_19:1-10Now it is not a sinful woman, but a sinful man, that meets us, and it is a new type of sin altogether. Perhaps before the world it may seem much more respectable. Here is no degrading lust, no repulsive debauchery and open vice, and yet here is perhaps the hardest and most hopeless of all the forms of human sin: the love of money. But there is a key even to the heart of Zacchaeus. That key is the love and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Master did not wait until Zacchaeus had sought Him, for Christ Himself was seeking this poor lost sinner. How sublime the grace that offers itself to the sinner unsought and unconditionally! “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5). So the Master gave Himself unreservedly, unconditionally to this hard and sinful man, and what was the result? Listen: Zacchaeus stood and cried, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 7:8). That was the repentance that comes from one touch of divine grace. So the sunrise melts away the fogs of night. So the summer melts away the frosts of winter. So the Gulf Stream embraces in its mighty arms the icebergs of the Pole, and lo, they fall into that warm and fertilizing stream that turns the shores of Western Europe into summer lands. And so the grace of God transforms the hardest heart. But above all other impressions that we gather from this matchless picture, there is none more touching than what Robertson of Brighton has so happily called “Christ’s estimate of sin.” Speaking of Zacchaeus, He does not seem to think of his hardness, his meanness, his selfishness, but only of his danger. In the thought of Christ, it was enough that he was lost and He had come to seek and save him. So Christ is looking at every sinner still with a deep concern that is only too glad to forgive the past, if only He may save for the present and future. Oh, that we may have that love for sinful men, for perishing men!

Section IV: Christ Weeping Over Jerusalem

Section IV—Christ Weeping Over JerusalemLuk_19:41-44The one touching yet terrific truth that stands out above all others from this dramatic picture is that marvelous love that can still pity when it is too late to save. As Christ looked down upon that doomed city lying at His feet, He knew that the day of grace was already past, but nonetheless did He cry, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42). Blessed Heart of infinite and everlasting love, it is sweet to know that even when we will not let You save us, we cannot keep You from loving us. Surely, this should be enough to touch every sinner’s heart and drive him to the feet of Jesus. There is a day of grace, and it passes even long before the thunders of judgment roll and the lightnings of doom burst from the angry clouds. All may be calm, certain and free from alarm, and yet the soul be lost and Christ have for you only the mercy of His tears.

Section V: the Dying Thief

Section V—the Dying ThiefLuk_23:39-43This is not peculiar to Luke in one sense, for two of the other evangelists refer to it, but only Luke gives the details. They seem to have just mentioned it, and then remembered that it was best suited for the gospel of the Son of Man and left it for Luke to tell the story in detail. It is inexpressibly touching that Luke should make it the last scene in the Savior’s life, for as he finishes his narrative we hear Jesus gently say, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46); and with that first ransomed sinner in His arms Jesus has entered Paradise. His last act on earth was to save a brutal murderer; His first in heaven was to present him washed and glorified before His Father’s throne. Surely, this was a fitting picture for the Gospel of the Son of Man. What is the supreme message of this scene in connection with our subject? Surely it is this: that the destiny of the sinner depends upon his attitude toward the cross of Jesus Christ. There were two sinners there that day, “one on his right, the other on his left” (Luke 23:33), and while one went with the Redeemer into Paradise, the other passed with curses upon his wicked lips from Calvary to perdition. The only reason was that one accepted Jesus as his Savior and the other refused Him. What a message of warning as well as encouragement! How awful to think that we may find the way to hell from the very side of the crucified Redeemer, as well as the way to heaven, in the last moment of life, from the depths of a life of wickedness by simple faith in the Son of Man. On which side of that cross are you?