A woman no one invited walks into a dinner at the home of a respected Pharisee, the town’s well-known sinner. She washes Jesus’ feet with her tears, dries them with her own hair and pours out on them perfume worth a year’s wages. This moving scene from Luke 7 becomes a lesson in love: love that does not judge, is ready to pay a price and cannot stay indifferent. Listen and ask yourself whether your love for God and people still moves you to action.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- What three acts of hospitality does Simon neglect, and what does his neglect, set against what the woman does, reveal about his attitude toward Jesus in Luke 7:36-50?
- What truth about forgiveness and love does the parable of the two debtors illustrate, and why does Simon turn out to be a debtor too?
- The Pharisee sees the woman only as a sinner. Through what "lenses" of judgment do you most often look at others, and what might seeing them through love look like?
- The sermon says that love which costs nothing is not real love. What does showing love to the people close to you actually cost you: time, ego, personal wants, or money?
- The woman comes despite shame and the fear of ridicule because she has experienced grace. What moves you to act out of love for Jesus today, and what holds you back?
- Who around you is it easy for you to stay indifferent toward, and what one concrete step of love, including sharing the gospel, can you take this week?
