“Whatever is Lovely” -- Luke 7:36-50

“What a lovely person” is something we say about a person we know and think highly of. That lovely person exhibits certain ways of relating to her or his world and toward others. We find ourselves admiring the loving person, perhaps wishing we could be more like him or her.

But what is a lovely person? And what does that have to do with Paul’s admonition that we think on whatever is lovely?

The answer is the idea of lovely as Paul uses it in Philippians 4:8.

When I think of lovely, the first thing that comes to my mind is art in its various forms. A wonderful drawing or statue; a pleasant song whose words touch our hearts and whose music lifts our spirit; a poem or story, an actor or actress—all these things can be described as lovely. And rightfully so.

But that’s not what Paul is referring to in this passage.

Paul uses a word that suggests how people relate to each other. The lovely person expresses love to others in the way they live out their lives. And that’s what we’re looking at in today’s passage. It’s a little unusual, perhaps, to use this passage to speak about being a lovely person. After all, the people we read about may not seem particularly lovely at first glance. And most sermons from this passage speak about redemption and forgiveness and faith. But the reality is that a lovely life is one that embodies redemption and forgiveness and faith and extends them to those around us.

With this in mind, let’s look at our passage.

Central Truth: That which is lovely is expressed in concrete ways.

The setting (36-39)

This passage is about a meal at a Pharisee’s house. Jesus has been invited and He has accepted the invitation. This reminds us that Jesus is open to meeting with anyone and everyone, even those who were opposed to Him. It’s quite possible this Pharisee is someone who is sympathetic to Jesus, like Nicodemus. But make no mistake—the host of the meal is a Pharisee and he sees the world through the eyes of a Pharisee.

I find it interesting in Jesus’ day that anyone could show up at a meal or party, whether they are invited or not. There are several instances in the Gospels where Jesus is seated at a meal when the uninvited person or people are made known through one way or another.

At this dinner, a woman has found out that Jesus is at the Pharisee’s house, so she invites herself to attend. Now, granted, she doesn’t ask for anything to eat, but she does come for a reason. Instead, she proceeds to worship at Jesus’ feet. Literally.

The Bible tells us she stands behind Jesus as He is reclined for the meal, and she begins to weep. As she weeps, she notices her tears fall on Jesus’ feet. Seeing this, she then bends down and begins to wipe the tears away with her hair. As she is kneeling at Jesus’ feet, she begins to kiss His feet. She takes the alabaster jar of perfume she has brought—probably with the intent of anointing Jesus’ head—but she begins to use the perfume to anoint Jesus’ feet.

All of this may seem a little strange to us. I know I’d feel extremely awkward if someone started doing that to me or to someone eating with me. Certainly, the host was bothered by what he was witnessing, but for reasons that speak more to his heart than to the actions of the woman.

The Bible is very clear that this woman had lived a sinful life. We’re not sure exactly what her sins were, but we can probably guess that she was similar to the woman at the well or the woman caught in adultery. Regardless of what she has or hasn’t done, the Pharisee knows of her reputation. As he watches her washing Jesus’ feet with her tears and anointing them with expensive perfume, he looks down not only at her, but also at Jesus. “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner” (v. 39).

With this thought, the Pharisee shows us that his Pharisee world view still has a grip on him, whether or not he was sympathetic to Jesus. It would seem that, if he had had an open mind about Jesus, that mind was rapidly closing in light of what he was seeing and what he was thinking. By allowing a sinful woman to touch Him, Jesus was betraying the fact that He was no prophet, at least in the Pharisee’s eyes.

The question (40-43)

Jesus has always had a way of turning our world upside down. He has a way of penetrating our thoughts and bringing us to a complete stop, forcing us to re-examine who and what we are and think.

So it is in this instance.

The Pharisee—who we find out in v. 43 is named Simon—has made his judgment in light of the woman’s actions. He already knows about her—she is a sinner—and now he knows about Jesus—he’s no real prophet. Jesus’ words to the Pharisee in these verses and the next shows us that Jesus is not just a prophet, but that He’s the Son of God.

Jesus tells a parable of two men. These two men have a debt. One of the men owes a debt of roughly 500 days’ wages, while the other owes a debt of fifty days’ wages. Both debts are substantial, and both men are told that the debt is being called in. Both men admit they are unable to meet their respective debts. We know this is fictional, because the moneylender, upon learning of the debtors’ quandaries, simply decided to forgive the debt.

Jesus then asks His host a question. “Now which of them will love him more?” (v. 42). That is, which of the two debtors will express greater gratitude to the moneylender? Which of these two men would have a greater sense of relief and appreciation for what has been done for him?

Simon doesn’t take long to answer the question. Maybe I’m reading something into the answer, but it seems to me as though the Pharisee in Simon is already looking down on people who find themselves in debt. “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt” (v. 43). There should be no supposition. Either Simon has no concept of empathy for those who find themselves in trouble or he is afraid to answer the question. It’s possible that Simon, having already reached his conclusion about Jesus, is no longer interested in knowing what Jesus thinks and wishes this meal would end. Perhaps Simon is ready to wash his hands of this fake prophet and His entourage.

In either way, Jesus is about to use this parable to teach the host a valuable lesson, and give the woman a greater gift than she had anticipated, if she anticipated one at all.

The lesson (43-50)

As Jesus has been speaking to Simon, Jesus was facing His host. Now Jesus turns His attention to the woman. This is the first time in this passage that we know Jesus acknowledges the woman at His feet.

As Jesus looks at the woman, He addresses Simon and everyone else in the room. In Jesus’ lesson, He uses contrast to show the difference between a lovely person and an unlovely one. Jesus points out to Simon that he failed to do the duties of a host in every sense.

First, there is the matter of washing Jesus’ feet. It was customary in those days for a guest to be offered water to wash the dust of the road off his or her feet. Jesus points out to Simon that he never did this for Jesus. In contrast, the woman at Jesus’ feet has washed His feet with her tears. As Simon had not offered a basin of water for Jesus’ feet, he had no reason to offer Jesus a towel. The woman used her own hair as a towel to wipe Jesus’ feet.

Second, it was customary for a host to greet his guest with a holy kiss. We read about this in Paul’s letters. It was a custom—sort of like an air kiss today, or the quick peck on both cheeks—to let a guest know that they were an honored and welcome person in the household. Like a hug today for close friends. Jesus points out that Simon never kissed Jesus, but the woman at His feet has been kissing His feet almost from the time she got there.

Finally, there is the question of anointing. If a guest was an honored guest, the host would demonstrate the honor by ceremonially anointing the guest’s head with oil. This would be done by pouring a small portion of oil on the top of the head or on the temple. Simon did not anoint Jesus. In contrast, the woman bathed Jesus’ feet with her expensive perfume.

Through their actions, Simon and the woman have demonstrated their true hearts when it comes to their relationship with Jesus. Simon, even though he invited Jesus to his home, had kept Jesus at arm’s length. He had fed Jesus, but his words and his actions let us know that Simon really wasn’t prepared to accept Jesus as an equal, much less as the Son of God.

By contrast, the woman had deliberately come to Jesus with the specific purpose of showing her love to Him in a very real way. As soon as she entered into His presence, she began to weep. She wept tears of regret, shame, love. As she wept, she noticed her tears had fallen on Jesus’ feet. She then knelt down and wiped these tears from His feet, kissing them gently and lovingly as a sign of her devotion to Him. She further expressed her love through the pouring of the perfume over Jesus’ feet. Figuratively, the woman embraced Jesus as Son of God and Savior. Her actions demonstrated her faith in Him.

As a result, both Simon and the woman got what they wanted. Simon confirmed his disbelief about Jesus, while the woman received forgiveness.

Throughout the meal, Jesus has spoken to Simon only and not to the woman. Now Jesus turns to her and says to her, “Your sins are forgiven” (v.48). He then tells her that her faith has saved her, and she is free to go in peace.

Conclusion

We have here the story of two people. Both people are real, and both reacted to the world in very different ways. One showed himself to be aloof and above those around him. He recognized sinners, and condemned them for their sinful ways. He looked at people in trouble and didn’t really care about them at all. He saw the Son of God sitting at his table and didn’t think too much of Him, either. Jesus didn’t meet Simon’s expectations, so Simon rejected Him.

These are not the actions of a lovely person.

By contrast, there is the person who recognized that she was a sinner in need of God’s grace and mercy. She turned to the One she believed could offer her this grace and mercy, and she demonstrated her love for God through the way she treated Jesus.

The lovely person is the one who gives themselves completely to Jesus and, as a way of demonstrating their love for God, extends that love to those around them. The lovely person doesn’t look down on others, but seeks to lift them up. Read 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John 4. Recall the Golden Rule. How we treat one another—even the unlovely—is how we demonstrate our commitment to Christ.

If we want to think on whatever is lovely, then we will begin to walk in a lovely way in our world. We won’t react to adversity with like mind, but with the mind of faith in God and His love for us.