The Long Table, part 3
The dinner that went sideways
Lorraine Abernathy
Luke 7:36-50
A respectable dinner turns awkward when an uninvited woman kneels at Jesus’ feet. Simon sees a scandal. Jesus sees someone who has been forgiven much.
Simon the Pharisee has invited Jesus to dinner, probably to size him up. Then a woman with a reputation walks in, weeps over Jesus’ feet and dries them with her hair. Every guest at that table knows exactly what should happen next, and Jesus does none of it.
“Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven, as her great love has shown.”
Luke 7:47
Jesus tells a short story about two debts, one large and one small, and lets Simon answer his own question. The point lands gently but firmly: the people who know how much they have been forgiven are the ones who love most freely.
Talk it over
When have you been more like Simon than you would like to admit?
What makes it hard to receive forgiveness without trying to earn it back?
Who in your life is treated like the woman at this dinner?
Go deeper
Read Luke 7 and 8 together and notice how often Jesus lets people interrupt him.
Speaker
Lorraine Abernathy
Date
Passage
Luke 7:36-50
Length
38 min
