St. Luke 7:36–8:3
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus said, “I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Some have tried to use this passage to say that we are justified by our works. They argue that Mary is forgiven of her sins BECAUSE she did a great work of love by anointing Jesus’ feet. But Jesus Himself interprets what He means a minute later when He says to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” She was not justified by works, she did not merit or earn the forgiveness of sins by her tears, her kisses, or by offering the valuable ointment. She was saved by faith. This means that she freely obtained God’s mercy because of God’s Word. She sought the forgiveness of sins from Jesus as the Messiah and Savior. That is faith, and that is how we are saved.
So, it’s really as if Jesus said to Simon the Pharisee: “Look at her! Look at this dear and faithful woman. Look at the way she honors Me and loves Me. It is obvious that her many sins are forgiven. By her love for Me, she shows that she has faith in Me as the One who saves her.”
What Jesus calls “love” here, is not just works of the Law, certainly not works done in an effort to earn salvation. But when Jesus talks about the “love” that Mary showed, He is talking about the entire worship that a Christian has toward God. This love or worship includes sorrow over sin, faith in Christ for salvation, and the good works that are freely done in thankfulness for what Christ has done.
At the same time, Jesus is pointing this out to Simon the Pharisee because he has not loved Jesus. Or in other words, Simon has not believed in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and so he has done no demonstration of love. This man is a Pharisee, a teacher of the Law, an expert in the Scriptures, and yet he did not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah or seek salvation from Him. While this humble woman, an apparently notorious sinner, realized who Jesus is, this proud Pharisee did not. This is evident by how he treated Jesus. He gave Him no water to wash His feet. He did not greet Jesus with a kiss or anoint Him. He has no works of love for Jesus because he does not care who Jesus is.
And even when the woman points out who Jesus is by her deeds, all Simon can think about is his own superiority. 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.” Simon the Pharisee thinks that he is better than Mary, and even better than Jesus! He thinks very little of his own sins, and so he will be forgiven very little, if at all. Why would he act with love toward Jesus? He has no reason to love a Savior, because he thinks that he does not need a Savior.
This is something we can still see among many people who consider themselves Church members, and yet care very little about God’s Word and receiving His gifts of grace. We can see this inside ourselves as well, because we have all taken our Savior for granted at one time or another. We have a big spiritual problem if we think that we can be good, decent people, and that God will be impressed if most of the time we manage to smile, be nice to others, and say a prayer every now and then. That is the attitude of Simon the Pharisee. That person thinks that he or she doesn’t really NEED Jesus all that much: “Sure, Jesus forgives my sins and that’s great, but it’s not like I have that many, and as long as Jesus takes care of a few little flaws here and there, I can manage the rest.” That is really the worst sin of all. By minimizing your sin, you minimize the One who died for it. And so like Simon, you do not truly worship the Christ.
On the other hand, some might think that Mary is a perfect example for those who live a sinful life, do whatever they want, and are still accepted by Jesus. They think that the Church, who says you need to repent and stop your sin, is being judgmental. They think Jesus is the great friend of sinners so He must not have any problem with their lifestyles. But Mary herself shows here how wrong that thinking is. There is no forgiveness for those who think they don’t need it. This goes for those hypocrites like Simon who think they are good enough, and it goes for sinners who don’t care about their sin, are happy about living in it, and when they hear God’s Word they ignore it or even call it hateful.
But Mary shows us that there is forgiveness for sinners who know and repent of their sins, they listen to God’s Word and accept it, they confess and lament their sins, and they turn to Jesus as their only hope. This is what Mary did. She offered Christ the highest worship possible. It’s not that she did something for Jesus in order to earn His favor. But she looked to Him alone as her gracious Savior. So she worshiped Him with faith. She worshiped Him with tears of sorrow, and with kisses of love. And she offered Him the costly ointment in order to honor the costly sacrifice that He would make for her.
Jesus is the Messiah and Savior, the only One in whom forgiveness can be found. His holy body was given into death in our place. His precious blood was shed and poured out to cancel our debt to God and to cleanse us of all sin. By seeking forgiveness from Him alone, Mary rightly worshiped Him with faith. By her deeds of love, she worshiped her God who died for her.
We all have been forgiven much. So then, let us love Him much. Like Mary Magdalene, a sinner who was rescued from the clutches of demons and forgiven by her Savior, let us also worship Jesus by faith and so receive His gifts. Faith is the Divine Service that receives the benefits offered by God… God wants to be worshiped through faith so that we receive from Him those things He promises and offers (Apology IV:49). Let us learn from the example of Mary and shed true tears of sorrow by confessing our sins and all that is wrong with us. Let us also kiss Him with love by eagerly coming to His altar and receiving His holy body and precious blood that forgives and makes us clean and holy. And let us offer to Him the costly ointment, that is, offer ourselves as a sweet smelling, living sacrifice: body and soul, everything we are and everything we have placed into His hands. Let us worship Him with the highest worship of all—to seek Him and embrace Him and look for the forgiveness of sins from Him. And then hear Him speak to you, just as He spoke to Mary, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
This sermon is based entirely on the Apology of the Augsburg Confession Article V:31–34.
