New Hope Calendar

Do you see what I see?
Luke 7:36-50

 

…one of the Pharisees…
Self-image (message he heard in his fallen world):
*Superior
*Chosen
*Insider
*Clean & Holy
*Adequate

 

…a woman…a sinner…
Self-image (message she heard in her fallen world):
*Inferior
*Despised
*Outsider
*Dirty & Unholy
*Inadequate
*Hopeless…desperate

 

Big Idea: Our image of ourselves is tainted because we live in a fallen world.
“Then one of the Pharisees invited Him to eat with him.  He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table…”

 

Table Fellowship:
–        friendship, intimacy, and unity.
–        reinforced social values, boundaries, statuses, and hierarchies.
–        Challenging these traditions and hierarchies viewed as dishonorable

 

Big Idea: Our image of God is tainted because of how we view ourselves (and vice versa)…

 

Simon the Pharisee
God-image (message he heard in his fallen world):
*Exclusivistic
*Performance-oriented
*Prejudiced

 

The sinful woman
God-image (message she heard in her fallen world):
*Distant
*Inaccessible
*Condemning

 

Big Idea à Our ability to wildly & extravagantly love hinges upon our image of God & ourselves.
The Anointing
“…a woman in the town who was a sinner…brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil and stood behind Him at His feet, weeping, and began to wash His feet with her tears.  She wiped His feet with the hair of her head, kissing them and anointing them with the fragrant oil.  When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, ‘This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching Him – she’s a sinner!’…
“…Turning to 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, with her tears, has washed My feet and wiped them with her hair.  You gave Me no kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing My feet since I came in.  You didn’t anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much.  But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.’  Then He said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’”

 

Simon the Pharisee
Simon was unable to love extravagantly because…
–        He failed to see himself accurately
–        He failed to see Jesus accurately
–        Thus, he failed to see the woman accurately

 

The sinful woman
The woman was able to love extravagantly because…
–        She saw Jesus accurately
–        She saw herself accurately through Jesus’ eyes
–        Resulted in her…
*Making an extravagant & costly offering to Jesus
*Taking an incredible risk

 

Big Question: How can we see what God sees?