A Disturbing Dinner Party

[0:00] Well, let me invite you to take a copy of God's Word and have it open at Luke chapter 7, verse 36 to 50, so that you can follow along. Verse 34 reads, The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, that's the Pharisees, look at him, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.

[0:25] Let me just pray. Father, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be pleasing and acceptable in your sight. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

[0:37] All four Gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are fashioned in such a way to help us relive the life of Jesus.

[0:48] Each Gospel writer, in presenting episodes from the life of Jesus, are able, in their own unique way, using words to capture the most powerful and the most penetrating moments from the life of Jesus.

[1:09] Gospel accounts allow us to experience the depth of reality and feel the authenticity of Jesus' life.

[1:21] What's so amazing about the Gospels is that they allow us to meet with Jesus. And today, my prayer is that we are all going to meet with Jesus as we study this passage here in Luke chapter 7.

[1:32] In this passage before us, we have Jesus at a meal in a Pharisee's house. Let me put it like this. We have Jesus at a dinner party.

[1:44] But this isn't any ordinary dinner party because it's going to become a rather disturbing dinner party. The title of the sermon is A Disturbing Dinner Party.

[1:55] And just before we dive into the text, it's helpful for us to note that in the first six chapters of Luke, it's becoming increasingly clear that Jesus is a really popular and prominent preacher.

[2:13] The sermon on the plain. Thousands gather to hear him. The feeding of the 5,000. Thousands gather to hear him. See him. He performed many miracles as he passed through towns and villages.

[2:26] His name spread so fast. Let me put it like this. Jesus was a big deal in his own day. And we also know from basically the first six chapters of Luke that Jesus loved to associate with people from all walks of life.

[2:46] Jews, Gentiles. Romans, Samaritans. Rich, poor. Young, old. In fact, Jesus loved to associate with so many people that the gossip, the word on his street from the Pharisees was, he was a drunkard and a glutton.

[3:08] He was a friend of the tax collectors and sinners. He was a friend with social outcasts, with people who the Pharisees deemed beyond the pale. If you've not got the hint already, Jesus was loved by many, but he was hated mostly by the other religious leaders, namely the Pharisees.

[3:28] And I say all of that by way of introduction because that forms the backdrop to the passage we're looking at. But the most startling thing happens in verse 36. Look at verse 36. One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him.

[3:41] Why would a Pharisee ask Jesus to eat with him if Pharisees don't really like Jesus? Well, we don't know. Maybe it was because this Pharisee, let's give him the benefit of the doubt, wanted to get to know Jesus a bit better.

[3:54] Or maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was because this Pharisee wanted to rebuke Jesus for the people he associated with and rebuke Jesus for the lifestyle he was leading.

[4:05] Or maybe it was just the syndrome of Pharisee's outward appearances. Maybe he just wanted to have the most popular preacher wine and dine with him.

[4:19] Whatever the reason, we know based on verse 36 that Jesus accepted the invite to the Pharisee's house. So here's my first point, the details of the dinner party.

[4:31] We're told that Jesus accepted the invite and he went to the Pharisee's house and he reclined at the table. Can I just say this at the outset?

[4:42] Jesus never turns a person away when they invite him into their lives. So the details of the dinner party.

[4:55] A word or two about dinner parties in the ancient Middle East. If you don't know this already, but Middle Eastern people love, absolutely love, coming together. Friends, family.

[5:05] They love sharing life and they love doing it over food. Their culture is one where parties, suiries, whatever you want to call them, are a really important part of the rhythm of life.

[5:17] Great opportunities for people to come together. Great opportunities for the young to hear stories from the old. Great opportunities for entertainment and amusement. Particularly in a culture where there's no televisions, no newspapers.

[5:31] In the first century, it was common custom that at these dinner parties, if there was a special guest, that what would take place is there would be a meal laid out in the main room of the house.

[5:43] The meal would be on a table that would sit in the centre of the room, a circular table. There would be cushions that came out from this circular table and the main guests would gather around this table.

[5:56] It was a low-lying table. So often, when they sat at these tables, if you know what a chaise long is, they would sit with that posture.

[6:06] One, their head propped up on their hand, their left hand, that's a dirty hand. They would eat the food with their right hand. They'd be lying out flat and they would have their feet tucked in behind them.

[6:21] Do you know why they would have their feet tucked in behind them? Because in that culture, your feet are the most unhygienic part of your body. You know, they'd have no shoes, no socks, no sanitation.

[6:38] Their feet would often just walk along the dirty, mucky roads. To put it bluntly, the manky roads. Feet and food don't go together. So, if you want to picture this Pharisee's house, picture a table in the centre of the room.

[6:55] Jesus along with the other Pharisees lying out at this table. One other little detail I need to tell you about. If you throw a dinner party in the Middle East or in the ancient Middle East, it is common courtesy that all of your neighbours, anybody in the town can come along and visit.

[7:15] They can walk into your home and they can stand at the feet of the guests around the table. There's only one thing they can't do.

[7:27] The cardinal sin is to intrude into the conversation. Poor can come in. Rich can come in. People you don't know can come in.

[7:39] They can all loiter behind their feet. They can all hang about the perimeters of the room. But they cannot enter into the conversation. That's highly inappropriate and highly disrespectful.

[7:55] So, if you want to picture this Pharisee's house that day, you've got Jesus, Pharisees, gathered around this low-lying table, all eating and conversing, enjoying a good meal. I reckon because Jesus was such a popular and prominent preacher, it would be a packed-out house.

[8:08] Now, often at these occasions, it was common custom, they would be the finest of wine and the fattened calf.

[8:19] But this isn't a dinner party that's going to be remembered for what they had to eat or drink. In fact, this is going to be a dinner party that's going to be remembered for something else. And that leads us to the second point, the disturbing visitor who came to the dinner party.

[8:35] Look at verse 37. And behold, a woman of the city who was a sinner, when she learned that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment.

[8:51] Now, what a way to be identified. A woman who had lived a sinful life. You see, another thing you can see is, Luke uses the word, and behold.

[9:11] Luke's indicating to us that something startling, something shocking, has taken place. Although I said a few months ago, anybody was allowed into the dinner party in that culture, it's clear that this woman, she's not supposed to be there.

[9:32] And look, she's identified as a woman who'd lived a sinful life. She's a woman who's a sinner. Not a sinner that you and I are sinners, in the way the Jews would understand it, but she's an inverted comma sinner.

[9:44] She's someone who they would doom as beyond the pale. Most commentators and scholars would agree on the profession of this woman.

[9:57] She's a prostitute. Luke doesn't explicitly mention it, but it seems that she is a prostitute. There's a dinner party.

[10:09] Now there's a disturbing visitor who's just gatecrashed this dinner party. And Luke informs us that the reason she gatecrashed it is because Jesus was there. This woman wanted to be with Jesus.

[10:24] She knew the protocol. The doors would be open. There would be access available. She just didn't have to... The only thing she was not allowed to do is intrude into the conversation.

[10:37] Just picture that in your mind's eye. We're in a Pharisee's house. Jesus is there, filled with Pharisees, and in walks a prostitute.

[10:50] On Friday night, some of us in this congregation were down at Borehouse, having a meal, eating and drinking, and it was delicious. It was good. Just imagine a woman from Glasgow's red light district walked in.

[11:05] Picture on your head. Low-cut top. Mini-scarf. Face plastered with makeup. Red lipstick. Fishneck stockings.

[11:16] Large high heels. And the smell of cheap perfume. Imagine what we would have all said. Imagine how we would have all felt. Raised eyebrows. Red faces.

[11:27] Silent whispers. Who's this? What's she doing here? Well, that's exactly the atmosphere that's going on in this house when this woman walks in that day. And guess what?

[11:38] Where does she choose to go to? We're told by Luke she chooses to stand behind the feet of Jesus. Now, wait a minute. You've got the most distinguished guest reclining at this table, and in walks this prostitute, and she stands behind the most distinguished guest.

[11:55] All eyes would be on Jesus. Everyone's there to see Jesus, and now there's a prostitute standing behind his feet. And if matters couldn't get worse, this prostitute, this sinful woman becomes guilty of intruding into their conversation.

[12:12] Look at what Luke says. Verse 38. And standing behind Jesus at his feet, weeping. The word there for weeping means that she was having quite a sob.

[12:25] In fact, she was making quite a racket. You're seeing on telly how Middle Eastern women weep. All emotions are engaged.

[12:37] Martin Luther, the great reformer, commenting on this section says, it was heart water that came from her eyes. I like that.

[12:48] Heart water. So picture this woman standing at Jesus' feet, and she is weeping. It says that her tears began to wet his feet.

[12:59] The word wet there is also the word that is used elsewhere to mean rain. She literally rained her tears on Jesus' feet. Now just imagine you're the host Pharisee, and all this is happening.

[13:13] It just happened so fast. Imagine you're looking on. What would you be thinking? How would you be feeling? You know who she is. You know who he's supposed to be, so-called man of God, holy man of God.

[13:27] And in walks this prostitute, and she starts weeping, wetting his feet with her tears. I bet the Pharisee who's hosting this party is flabbergasted.

[13:38] He's flabbergasted. He's looking down at his feet. He's feeling hot under the collar. But worse than that, Luke tells us what happens next. Not only do the tears wet her feet, this woman does one of the most scandalous things a woman could ever do.

[13:59] She unfurls her hair. She lets her hair down. Now, you've got to understand this. In that culture, all women kept their hair up. Some women covered their hair.

[14:11] It was a scandal if a woman let her hair down in public. Women were only allowed to let their hair down in the privacy of the bedroom.

[14:23] It was a sensual, provocative act if a woman ever did it in public. They could be divorced, and they could be stoned, according to Jewish law.

[14:34] This woman lets her hair loose in the public house of a Pharisee. This is scandalous. This is disturbing.

[14:47] But it gets worse. Because then she bends down. And she begins drying Jesus' wet feet with her hair. Now, in some ways, we shouldn't be surprised.

[15:02] We read Proverbs 7, didn't we? We read what prostitutes do, the adulterous women do. They're loud. They go to the streets at night. They seize their opportunity. Imagine what this scene was like.

[15:19] Then it says, as she dried his hair, she then kissed his feet. See the word for kiss there? It's the same word that's used in Luke chapter 15, verse 20, when the father kisses the prodigal son when he returns home. It means, it literally has behind it, it was intense kissing, passionate kissing.

[15:37] So picture this prostitute bent at Jesus' feet, passionately, intensely, kissing his feet. Feel the atmosphere.

[15:48] Feel the tension. And then, she does another sensual act.

[16:01] She takes the alabaster jar of ointment that she has and she pours it on Jesus' feet. If you were in that house that day and you didn't know a prostitute was present, you would now be alerted that a prostitute was present because the smell of the perfume would permeate the air and it would fill your nostrils.

[16:28] And worse than that, where is this prostitute? She's there at the feet of Jesus, draped over his feet, kissing them passionately. And here's the greater shock, here's the most disturbing thing, Jesus doesn't seem to be doing anything.

[16:48] He's not told her to stop it. Now, feel the shock and the horror, the anger and the rage that must have been in the heart of the Pharisee.

[16:59] The utter disappointment that this so-called man of God is turning out to be. How do I know that he's filled with rage? Well, look at what it says in verse 39. When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is, for she is a sinner.

[17:24] Inside he's furious, inside he is seething. If this man were a prophet, you can hear him, can't you? You understand how he's thinking, don't you?

[17:35] If Jesus is supposed to be a prophet, and prophets can read the hearts and minds of people, he would know who she is. He clearly isn't. So how can this be a true spokesman for God?

[17:47] How can he be at a dinner party full of godly, respectful men? And how can he allow a woman like this to take the spotlight? This is scandalous.

[18:00] This is disturbing. Well, this leads to our third point. The dramatic twist in the story in the dinner party.

[18:15] If you're a faithful Bible reader, you will know that all is not as it seems. But like many of Luke's accounts, they have been written in a very deliberate way to give us the ability to relive that day as it happened.

[18:30] Luke has written this because he wants us to feel the intensity, the tension. He wants us to hear and see the inner thoughts and feelings of the Pharisee.

[18:41] He wants us to know the atmosphere in the room. And he also wants to get under our skin and into our hearts and he wants to expose our thoughts and our feelings.

[18:58] Here's a dramatic twist. Look at what happens in verse 40. Jesus, we are told, answered him. Just pause there. Jesus answered him. How could Jesus answer him?

[19:08] This man's just had a thought to himself. If this man were a prophet, he never verbalized the thought. Well, you get the point. Don't you? Don't you? Jesus is a prophet.

[19:18] He's just read this man's mind. He knows exactly what he's thinking. The scene is now set for a rather unnatural conversation which is going to throw a very different light on this party.

[19:34] Verse 40, Jesus says, Simon, stop there. Simon. All the way through we've not known this Pharisee's name but now Jesus begins to unveil some details for us and Jesus begins to peel off the rank, peel off the standing, peel off the pretense and he speaks to this man personally, privately and penetratingly.

[19:59] Simon. You see, Jesus knew the real individual underneath. Jesus knew the thoughts in his mind, the thoughts in his heart.

[20:10] Jesus knew this man inside and out and let me say this, it was a very ugly sight. And Jesus here this morning, he knows every single thing you're thinking, every single thing you're feeling.

[20:24] He knows every single thing about you. He knows you inside and out. Simon, says Jesus, I have something to tell you.

[20:38] Now, just for one moment, put yourself in Simon's sandals. Jesus has got this prostitute at his feet, she's weeping, she's trying, she's let her hair down, she's kissed him, she's poured perfume over him.

[20:49] Simon, I have something to tell you. Simon would probably be punctured by the fact that Jesus has called him by his first name, but now he said I have something to tell you, so maybe in Simon's mind he's jumped to sordid conclusions, he's waiting to hear Jesus make a confession.

[21:04] Jesus isn't, in Simon's mind, Jesus isn't just a drunkard and a glutton, a friend of tax collectors and sinners, Jesus might now show himself to be a fornicator.

[21:17] I think disturbing this part is, Jesus says I have something to tell you. Now Simon responds by saying these words and I bet you he lived to regret this. He says say it teacher.

[21:32] Teacher? Well look what Jesus does next, he shares one of the greatest stories you could ever imagine. look at what Jesus says. He says a certain money lender had two debtors, one owed 500 denarii, the other 50.

[21:48] When they could not pay he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more? The story's simple, the story's straightforward, two men, two debts, one large, one small, one money lender, both can't pay.

[22:02] The debtor cancels the debts. Now I bet you in Simon's mind he's thinking what in the world Jesus has just got to deal with a woman who's standing at your feet. And then Jesus the great teacher asks the simple question, now Simon which of them will love him more?

[22:25] Simple story, simple question, simple answer. But you can hear it in Simon's voice can't you? because he says, I suppose.

[22:37] There's hesitation, there's, Simon's worried, I suppose. It's as if he's worried about where all this is going. It's maybe not the question that bothers him, it's what's going to come next.

[22:51] He says, I suppose the one who owed the Lord your debt. And so Jesus says to Simon, you've judged correctly. But you see, you've got to understand this, the penny hasn't dropped for Simon.

[23:07] He remains a stranger to forgiveness. He remains a stranger to grace. He doesn't get the story. Here's a question, do you get the story?

[23:18] Do you get the story? See when it says the money lender forgave, you know that word there? It's the word carizomai. That word means this, he graciously forgave.

[23:32] He gave them what they did not deserve. That word in that day was a business term, but when Luke used it here, Paul also uses this term as a theological term. It's the same forgiveness that God gives us in Jesus Christ.

[23:47] Do you get the story now? This story points to the greatest story ever written. It's the story of the gospel. Jesus Christ has come to forgive and pay the debt of sinners because sinners can't pay their debts.

[24:07] Simon doesn't get it. Do you get it? In everything Simon has thought, in everything Simon has felt, he's left assorted conclusions. And sadly, can I say this, friends, that's what self-righteous people do.

[24:25] As I looked into my own heart, even this morning as I woke up and I pondered preaching this sermon, I see in my own heart seeds of Phariseeism. I'm good at being judgmental.

[24:35] I'm good at pointing the finger. I'm good at jumping to wrong conclusions. I'm even good at sometimes never fully grasping the wonder of the gospel.

[24:50] The second twist in this story comes in verse 44. You need to see this. Look at verse 44. Then turning towards the woman, Jesus said to Simon.

[25:01] In the story there's a literal turn. Jesus turns towards the woman who's at his feet. But here the dramatic twist comes. When Jesus turns to the woman, and notice here, Luke doesn't tell us her name, Jesus doesn't refer to her by name, but no longer is she called sinful.

[25:26] That's really important. But when Jesus turns to this woman, he doesn't speak to the woman, first he speaks to Simon. You see, Luke has been keeping us in the dark very deliberately.

[25:39] He's not been telling us the whole story, but it's because he shaped this account so we can relive that day, and now he wants us to see what was actually going on. Jesus says, do you see this woman?

[25:50] Here, friends, is this question I want to ask you. Do you see this woman? Self-righteous people don't like looking at sinners.

[26:04] Maybe Simon was looking down at his foot, so hot under the collar, so annoyed and so frustrated, feeling so uncomfortable. What Jesus does next is so disturbing because Jesus begins to criticise his host.

[26:20] Here's a cardinal person of social etiquette even in Jewish culture. Never, ever do you criticise your host. Listen to what Jesus says. Jesus, I came into your house, Simon.

[26:33] You did not give me any water for my feet, but she, this woman, wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, Simon, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.

[26:48] You did not put oil in my head, but this woman has poured perfume on my feet. And so what we begin to understand is Luke begins to unveil to us, through the words of Jesus, what's actually been going on all along.

[27:05] Simon did not go through the common customary social etiquette. Jesus walked into his house, invited him in that day, and there was no kiss of greeting, there was no washing of his feet, there was not putting some oil on his head, your sweaty brow, so that he would be fine as he enjoyed meal time.

[27:24] But this woman, this woman, she comes into this house, she sees that Jesus, her friend, has been slighted, Jesus, her saviour, has been slighted, she lets out the only water that she has, and it's the water in her heart.

[27:53] She's got no towel, and in the presence of Jesus, the Son of God, she lets down her hair. She can't kiss Jesus with a kiss of greeting, so she kisses his feet passionately.

[28:13] She uses the tool of her trade, but she pours it extravagantly male on his feet. Simon has shamed and socially humiliated Jesus.

[28:27] What sort of a host would do such a thing? Did Simon feel that he was too good to treat Jesus as an equal? But in comes this woman, and all of her actions stem from a deeper and purer love than anything that Simon ever would have in his heart for Jesus.

[28:46] And she was so remarkable that this woman, she does it so publicly and so unashamedly because she shows herself to be a grateful, saved sinner, not a stingy, stuck, self-righteous, religious leader.

[29:05] I think it's fair to say that this woman's acts demonstrated one thing. Let me be really clear on this. They demonstrate her true faith. They demonstrate her true friendship, with Jesus. Now, this is something you don't get instantly reading, but this is why you need to intently study the word of God.

[29:20] It is clear that this woman had a prior meeting with Jesus on a different occasion where Jesus forgave her. The ESV translation is not that clear on this. The NIV is actually clearer on this, but the original is the clearest.

[29:31] It's past tense when Jesus says your sins have been forgiven. Past tense, it happened in a different occasion. Your sins have been forgiven.

[29:43] it happened on some other occasion. Maybe it was at one of those other dinner parties where there were other drunkards and glottans and sinners. sinners. So please don't misunderstand me.

[29:54] This woman was not forgiven that day because of what she did in the house. That woman was forgiven because of grace. Because on a previous occasion she had made Jesus her friend and Jesus her saviour.

[30:06] And whenever the grace of God first met her in Jesus it changed her. It worked in her life and it produced in her an overflowing love for the saviour.

[30:17] You see brothers and sisters overflowing love is the most natural response to the forgiveness that Jesus offers. It is the most appropriate consequence of faith in Jesus Christ.

[30:31] But and here is the but only those who recognise the depth of their sin can really appreciate the forgiveness that God offers in Jesus.

[30:47] Simon couldn't see the scale of his own sin. Here's the unbelievable thing. Simon was blind to his sin.

[30:59] The whole time his in his thoughts he was judging Jesus. The whole time he was jumping to wrong conclusions. He was casting stones in his head and in his heart.

[31:10] He was taking out the speck in someone else's eye when there was a log coming out of his own eye. he couldn't see the scale of his sin but this woman knew the scale of her sin.

[31:29] And so she entrusted herself to the purest saviour, the holy saviour, the greatest saviour, Jesus Christ. I don't know if you've ever been in the presence of a prostitute.

[31:44] In Glasgow there's a bus that goes out into the red light district in different areas of Glasgow. It's a Christian bus, an outreach bus, I've been on it many a time. And many a time I've been on the bus and a prostitute in Glasgow's red light district has walked on.

[31:59] And if you meet a prostitute, there's one thing when they're getting help, they don't like looking at men. men, they feel so low, so despised, so marginalised.

[32:15] Here's a woman with no fear, with an absence of fear, who entrusts herself to Jesus Christ because she's been captured by him, the friend of tax collectors and sinners.

[32:26] that's pure love. Do you know what's so amazing about this woman? Is it's like she gets the cross.

[32:42] She has this foresight that she understands the cross because see the cross does two things, doesn't it? The cross does this, it shows us the depth and the scale of our sin. Because it's the son of God who had to pay the price for our sin.

[33:00] And the cross does another thing, it shows us the depth of the love of God. Because it's the son of God who had to pay the price for our sin in our place.

[33:13] It's like this woman has a foresight and she gets Jesus, she gets why he's here, she gets the cross. Do you get the cross? Some of you here might be thinking, the reason I don't get the depth of it is because when I look at my past life, I'm not a prostitute.

[33:32] Brothers and sisters, there are no little sinners, there are no little debtors. You could have lived a life where you've grown up in church all your life, never been wayward, but your whole life you've been blind to your self-righteousness and to your pride and to your lack of love for God and your lack of love for neighbor.

[33:58] The apostle Paul, who was a Pharisee of Pharisees, said that he was the chief of sinners. One of the most deadly sins is the sin of pride and self-righteousness.

[34:13] This woman recognized she had many sins, this Pharisee didn't even think he had many sins. I ask you, do you see the scale of your sin? Do you see the scale of your sin?

[34:30] Do you see the depth of the love of the Savior? He didn't turn her away. He accepted her public, passionate display of love.

[34:44] Because Jesus is a friend of tax collectors and sinners and I would want to suggest to you, Jesus is also a friend of Pharisees. That's why he accepted the invite. Jesus will be the friend of anyone who will welcome him and invite him.

[34:59] But most of all, anyone who will pay less their faith and trust in him. Because if you look at the very end of this passage, what does it say? Therefore I tell you, our sins which are many are forgiven.

[35:12] And then Jesus says to her, your sins are forgiven. And then verse 50 tells us why that's a reality. Because your faith has saved you. Go in peace. Now, this is how hard and this is how weighty this text is.

[35:28] You only get it when you get this point. This woman probably destroyed families, lives, husbands and wives and children.

[35:40] Jesus says to her, your sins are forgiven. Go in peace. Do you know the response of the men sitting around the table, the Pharisees is?

[35:58] Who is this man who even forgives sins? That's the biggest question you could ask this morning. Who is this man? This is Jesus.

[36:10] The son of God. The greatest friend of sinners. The saviour of the world has paid the debt of sinners on the cross. That's who this is.

[36:23] This is the king of kings who has all authority to say to anyone, your sins are forgiven if you put your faith and trust in him. I want to finish by asking you this question.

[36:37] Who are you in this story? Are you the prostitute? Or are you the Pharisee? Jesus would say, be like the prostitute.

[36:52] Put your faith in me. Your sins will be forgiven. If you are like the Pharisee, brothers and sisters, friends, if you look in our hearts, we'll probably all see sins of Phariseeism.

[37:06] then make this your prayer. Show me my sin and then show me you, my saviour.

[37:18] Let's pray. Father, as we come to you and we respond to meeting Jesus in this text, we realise that we need to take a deep, long look into our heart before we answer this question, who are we?

[37:44] Father, some of us here this morning know that we are Pharisees. Some of us here this morning know that we so often have rejected Jesus.

[38:02] Some of us here would admit that we can't see the sin in our own lives, but we're really good at seeing the sin in other people's lives. And so we pray, would you show us our sin so that we would see a great need for our saviour.

[38:20] And yet some of us are here this morning and we do see ourselves in a prostitute. We see our many sins. We see the horror of our sin. We see the horror of the cross that caused the Son of God to die for our sin.

[38:36] But we see the depth of the love and the grace and the mercy. And so we come in faith and we profess that we will love you and follow you all the days of our lives.

[38:51] We will not be ashamed publicly. We will not just live privately but our love will overflow because we have known and felt full and free forgiveness from the greatest friend of sinners that ever has been ever is and ever will be Jesus.

[39:13] What a friend we have in Jesus. And we pray this in his precious name. Amen. Amen. If you are here this morning and you're not yet a Christian and there's things that God's spoken to you this morning and you want to talk about it, talk to one of the elders, talk to myself or Mardo, we'd love to speak to you about your soul and speak to you about getting right with the Lord Jesus Christ.

[39:39] You know what's so amazing about this woman is that she didn't fear the reaction from everybody around her. The only person's opinion that mattered was Jesus' opinion. The only words that mattered was Jesus' words.

[39:53] And so publicly she was willing to make known her faith and her love. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that Jesus has been raised from the dead, you will be saved.

[40:07] Confess that Jesus is Lord. Believe in your heart and you will be saved. We're going to conclude. We're going to sing Psalm 145. Second version. You'll find this on page 444.

[40:23] We're going to sing verses 8 to 14. And we'll sing this to God's praise. Let's stand and sing. The Lord our God is gracious all darm and God hunting may unto all that is the Lord.

[41:14] O what all his works his mercy is. Thy works all praise to thee afford.

[41:31] Thy sins, O Lord, thy name shall bless. The glory of thy kingdom show.

[41:48] Shall they at all thy power tell? That so man's son's deeds may hold.

[42:05] His kingdom's grace the tough excel. Thy kingdom hath mine and that hope.

[42:21] It hath through ages all remain. Thy Lord affordeth all that fall.

[42:39] The cast of grace set up again. Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us this day, now and forevermore.

[42:57] Amen.