Are You Ready?

Gtcotr/ss090124 

Luke 19:10  “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

 

One day Jesus was talking with a large group of people in a town near the Sea of Galilee. He was telling them about the ministry and the message of John the Baptist. John the Baptist preached a baptism of repentance in preparation for the coming of Messiah. Jesus said that there had never been a greater prophet born of a woman than John the Baptist. Let’s read:

 

Luke 7 NKJV

29  And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

30  But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

• Common people and even the worst sinners acknowledged God and repented of their sins and were publicly water baptized.

• The Pharisees however were a self-righteous lot who rejected the notion they needed to repent.After all they were the important religious, political, and academic leaders of the day … some were attorneys who worked for the government. 

• What would it look like for your local and national leaders, or their attorneys, to publicly admit they were wrong and needed to change? People might lose confidence in the system.

 

36 ¶  Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat.

• Note that an unrepentant, self-righteous Pharisee who had just rejected the will of God for his life, invited Jesus to have dinner at his house …

• And … even knowing what Jesus knew about him, Jesus went!

• I have this feeling that Jesus will go anywhere He is invited.

 

37  And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil,

38  and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

• The Pharisee had already rejected the will of God for his life.

• Then the Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner. (Probably as a matter of pride, wanting to have this famous man in his house as a symbol of his community status.)

• Now, the Pharisee begins to insult Jesus and criticize Him.

 

39  Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

 

This Pharisee … if all he was going to do was to judge and complain, why did he even invite Jesus to his house? And on top of that … Why did Jesus go? What did Jesus expect? What did Jesus accomplish? Was it worth it?

 

Let’s take these one by one. We will go in reverse order:

1. Was it worth it?

a. Yes! Well worth it to Jesus and to the woman.

b. Not everyone will get saved … but for those who do … putting up with a little rejection, a little criticism, a little complaining … it’s well worth it.

2. What did Jesus accomplish?

a. He accomplished the goal of His ministry: To seek and save the lost. That’s the reason He came.

b. He found what He was looking for. It may not have been what some think was the most important person at the party, but Jesus found the next one He was looking for. 

3. What did Jesus expect?

a. Jesus expected to find someone who wanted to be forgiven and needed to be saved. He knew God would have someone waiting on Him to get there.

b. Jesus expected to find a lost person who wanted to be found.

4. Why did Jesus go to the Pharisee’s house?

a. Because He was invited.

b. Jesus will go anywhere He is invited. Jesus has something to say everywhere He goes.

c. And God always has someone ready to be saved.

 

Luke 7 NKJV

44  Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.

45  “You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.

46  “You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.

47  “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

48  Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

49  And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

50  Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

 

God always has someone ready to be saved. Are you ready? 

• You may be the only one in the house ready to go all in for Jesus.

• It may not even be your house.

• You might be the primary reason Jesus accepted this invitation to dinner.

• We could be religious Pharisees, filled with pride and fleshly motives and yet still Jesus would have come here today, just for you.

 

There is no doubt that God prepared the heart of this woman and when she heard Jesus was in the house, she came in only expecting to pour out of her heart and worship Him. She didn’t expect the Pharisee to help her.

 

She was a sinner. She knew it, the people in town knew it, and Jesus knew it. Yet, she was the very person Jesus was looking for in a place she didn’t even belong.I wonder how many people will get saved in places today where nobody even wants them, just because someone invited Jesus to the meeting.

 

Both Jesus and the woman got what they wanted that day and the woman left forgiven, saved, and with the new found peace of God in her life. 

 

Are you ready? Your sins are forgiven! Let’s pray.

 

“Go in Peace.”