The Very Friend You Need
(No. 2484)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1896.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
AUGUST 22, 1886.
"A friend of publicans and sinners." Luke 7:34.
THIS title was given to our Divine Lord and Master by those who were
disposed to quibble at Him and were unwilling to be convinced that He
was the Messiah. John the Baptist's self-denial was pushed much too far
for them. They could not understand a man wearing a garment of camel's
hair, with a leather belt about his loins and whose food was locusts
and wild honey. The man was either too good for this world, or he was
not in his right mind. "He has a devil," they said, as they turned away
from him. But they could not say this of the Savior, for He ate and
drank as others ate and drank, and made no difficulty at all about
meats and drinks–so they said of Him–"He is a gluttonous Man and a
winebib-ber–a friend of publicans and sinners." Thus our text comes to
us as the language of certain gentry who said, even of the Savior, that
they could not listen to Him because He seemed to be a Man who went in
and out with ordinary people and did not distinguish Himself by being
an ascetic.
I also heard a man say, some time ago, that he could not listen to a
certain preacher because, unhappily for him, he happened to be very
stout–he could profit by the ministry of a man who was very thin, for
the objector thought he looked more saintly! Well, it may be so with
some people, but, for my part, if anybody can do me good, whether he is
stout or thin, I shall make no question about that matter! Whether he
is an inch or two shorter or taller will not be a question for me to
consider. I think that I should never refrain from consulting with an
eminent physician because he happened to have black hair, or light
hair, or any peculiarity of that kind! Yet people are often so
indifferent about their soul affairs that the littlest trifle in a
service, the tiniest accidental thing will often keep them from
listening to the most weighty Truths of God that concern their immortal
interests!
Now let us come to this title of our Master. They called Him, "a friend
of publicans and sinners." It is somewhat noticeable that He quotes
this saying Himself. Probably neither Matthew, nor Mark, nor Luke, nor
John would have told us that they called Jesus, "a friend of publicans
and sinners" if He had not repeated it, Himself. It is clear from this
fact that He was not in the least ashamed of the title! He repeats it
almost as if He enjoyed it, as if He took the title home to Himself and
wore it as some distinction which He was glad to have! He, Himself,
says it and He takes care to say it again and to bid both Matthew and
Luke record it, that He was called, "a friend of publicans and
sinners." What He was not ashamed to repeat, we are not ashamed to
think of at this service! So, first of all, let us notice that this
saying, in the sense in which they meant it, was not true. But,
secondly, in a higher and better sense than they understood it, it was
true. When we have thought over these two points, we will, in the third
place, ask one another, "Since it is true that Christ is a friend of
publicans and sinners, what then?"
I. First, then, IN THE SENSE IN WHICH THEY MEANT IT, THIS SAYING WAS
NOT TRUE.
The Lord Jesus Christ was not "a friend of publicans and sinners" in
the sense of being in the least like them. Our proverb says, "A man is
known by the company he keeps," but you could not have known the Lord
Jesus Christ by the company He kept. It would be strictly true to say
of Him that He was "holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from
sinners"–that even when He was present with them and received them,
and ate with them–yet still there was a grave distinction between Him
and them so that you could never consider Him to be of the same class
with them. No, Brothers and Sisters, His bitterest enemies could not
truly lay any sin to His charge! They had to hire false witnesses to
make up an accusation against Him and when they had made it up, there
was really nothing in it. The quick-eyed prince of this world, Satan,
himself, could find nothing sinful in Him. And the princes of this
world, whose eyes, through their malice, had become like the eyes of
lynxes, yet could not discover anything for which they could blame Him.
He was not like they were. He was not like any sinner, He was not like
the drunkard, He was not like the adulterer, He was not like the thief,
nor was He in the least like the hypocritical Pharisee who, with all
his attempts to appear righteous, was not really like the Savior. So,
Christ was not"a friend of publicans and sinners" in the sense of being
like they were.
And, in the second place, He was not "a friend of publicans and
sinners" in the sense of aiding or abetting them in evil He never said
a single word that could encourage any man to sin. He never did a
single act by which any man would have said that he was helped to be a
transgressor. I do not suppose that any other man ever lived who could
be truthfully said to be harmless, for all of us do some harm, even if
unconsciously. Our example, either in its defects or in its excesses,
must be injurious to somebody. Even those who endeavor to keep their
example as pure, clean and worthy of imitation as possible, yet,
perhaps, sometimes lose their temper, or occasionally speak unadvisedly
with their lips, or, now and then forget what they ought to have
remembered and thus incidentally do harm. But our Lord Jesus Christ
never did. No one among us here was ever led by the example of Christ
to do harm. His example is matchless in this respect that if we copied
it as far as it is imitable, we would only have copied perfection and
followed on after the highest virtue! There may be some who join with
publicans and sinners, so eating and drinking with them as to encourage
gluttony and drunkenness–so singing and laughing with them as to
multiply wantonness and uncleanness–but this could never be said of
the Savior. He was not like they were nor did He aid them, so He was
not, in that sense, a "friend of publicans and sinners."
And, furthermore, He never uttered principles which would encourage
persons in sin, or which would help their consciences to be quiet while
they indulged their vices. Alas, in modern times there have been some
who, even from the pulpit, have taught men that sin is a trifle and,
with regard to the future state, they have either denied its existence,
or have tried to make it so pleasant to the ungodly that it seems if
you followed the preacher's leading, you might as well die impenitent
as fall asleep a Believer in Jesus! They have either denied that there
is any wrath to come, or they have smoothed it over and made the
descent to the Pit to be pleasant to men. This is setting a trap to
catch men's souls–but Christ never did that. Such as He loved the
sinner, He denounced his sin and proclaimed the judgment to come in
words most striking and terrible! Where can you find, in all the books
you may read–even in the writings of those mediaeval preachers which
are so generally condemned, or in the works of those old-fashioned
Puritan preachers who are so sneered at, nowadays–words that equal in
their crash of terror the sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ? O Sirs, if
you do not care to read the Epistles, read the records of the four
Evangelists and note what Jesus said! He never made the way of sin to
appear pleasant, nor tried to minimize the dread result of iniquity.
No, He was not, in that sense, "a friend of publicans and sinners." He
was a better friend to them than He would have been if He had acted
like that! He dealt more honestly with them and did not smooth their
path with flatteries.
And once again, Jesus was not "a friend of publicans and sinners" in
the sense that He ever courted popularity among them. Many of them
would have taken Him by force and made Him a king, but He hid Himself
from them. They "drew near to Him for to hear Him," but He never said a
single syllable to pander to their depraved tastes, or to ease them in
their consciences while continuing in their sins! He aimed at winning
their souls, but not at winning their applause. I heard of one who, at
the election, advertised himself as, "the friend of the working man." I
daresay the working man would find it difficult to discover any
particular friendship in him, now that he has become a Member of
Parliament! It is very easy to profess to be a friend of anybody when
there is something to be gained by it! But our Lord and Savior had
nothing to get out of those He met while here on earth. He had
everything to give to them and He did'give all that He had, yes, and
Himself, also! But He never cajoled them, or sought their friendship,
that He might win their acclamations. So it was not true that He went
about among men trying to ingratiate Himself with the lowest of the low
and the vilest of the vile. Nothing of the kind! Christ always stands
out before us as the advocate and pattern of everything that is pure,
true, right and noble, so that, in the sense intended by these
quibblers, He was not "a friend of publicans and sinners."
II. But now, dear Friends, I have a much more pleasant matter to speak
of when I say that IN A HIGHER AND BETTER SENSE, THIS SAYING WAS TRUE
and it is stilltrue that Jesus Christ is "a friend of publicans and
sinners."
He was, first of all, a most hearty and affectionate friend to guilty
men. His whole soul was filled with love to men while they were yet
sinners and enemies to Himself. It was this that made Him leave His
Father's court and all the royalties of Heaven to come and be born in a
stable, and laid in a manger–and to labor in a carpenter's shop and to
become the poorest of the poor and the most despised and rejected of
men! All this was because He loved men, not only as men, but as
guiltymen. Their guilt excited His pity, for He knew the misery which
lies concealed behind the apparent pleasure of sin. And to deliver
guilty men from the consequences of their sin, He came to live where He
could not have a place to lay His head, where, at the last, He did not
even have a garment with which to cover His naked body! Our Lord Jesus
was a truly sincere, intensely affectionate, earnest Friend–never
before or after did any man have a nature so intensely affectionate as
had the Lord Jesus Christ! He always seems to me as if He combined in
His blessed Person both the sexes of our common humanity, as if He were
the perfection of all that can be found in man and woman, too–so
tender and so gentle, and yet so strong. The masculine, with all its
force, and the feminine, with all its gentleness and sympathy, were
united in Christ! He never thought of sinners without love, never
looked at them without pity, never heard their cruel words without
returning them good wishes, never saw their miseries without being
moved with compassion. He was a model of gentleness such as you and I
may well desire to imitate, but shall never reach. He was "a friend of
publicans and sinners" in the intense affection of His heart.
You need not wonder, therefore, that I add, in the next place, that He
was "a friend of publicans and sinners" in a very practical manner, for
intensity of heart is sure to bring forth fruit. Tell me that you love
me and it will come to very little if you only love me in words. But if
there is true love, there will be corresponding action, there will be
proofs of that affection. Our Savior proved His love to men in His very
coming to this earth, as I have already said, but when He was here, He
went about doing good. He never was invited to do good to any and
refused, however lowly–and, let me add, however polluted they might
be, they were always welcome to His benediction. He went about
preaching the Gospel which could elevate those who were fallen and
comfort those who were despairing and, at the last, He proved His love
in the highest conceivable manner. If a good shepherd laid down his
life for his sheep and, in doing so, was proved to be good, did not
Jesus do so? Let me quote those blessed words of the Apostle
Peter–there is more music in them than in all Homer's poetry–"Who His
own Self bore our sins in His own body on the tree." That we might
live, He died! That we might be cleansed from our iniquities, the Lord
has laid them all on Him! O Sinners, Christ is, indeed, your Friend,
since, by His death, He has already done for you all that Almighty Love
could suggest and Omnipotent Love could carry out! Yes, and rising from
the grave and mounting to His Throne, He made intercession for the
transgressors and He continues to prove His love to sinners by daily
pleading for them! The prayer He commenced on earth has never closed,
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Oh, yes, He is
intensely, deeply affectionate within Himself, but He is abundantly and
practically the Friend of sinners by what He does for them! How I wish
that some of you would prove this by going to Him, that He might
exercise upon you all the matchless skill of His inimitable Grace!
Further, Beloved, I call your attention to this fact, that our Lord
Jesus Christ is the Friend of sinners in the wisest possible sense. He
is affectionate and practical, but He is also wise. You know that there
are several ways of proving yourself a man's friend. There is a man who
calls upon one whom he regards as his friend and he says, "Friend, I
need you to give me some drink." And his friend says to him, "There is
the bottle–take as much as you like." A man who acts like that is only
worthy to be called a foe! The poor fellow has another friend upon whom
he calls and, to his request, his other friend replies, "I cannot give
you strong drink, for I believe that it would greatly injure you. I
look upon it as a mischievous thing and I am afraid the habit of
drinking is growing upon you. Excuse me, but I cannot give it to you."
I think you will all agree that this last is much the wiser friend! I
know persons to whom, if you go and hint to them what advice you would
like them to give you, they will give you that advice, directly. When
people come to me to ask for advice, I generally know that they have
made up their minds as to the advice I am to give them and, if they
find that I advise what they wish, they think me very wise! A wise
friend knows that though he might ingratiate himself for a moment by
giving congenial advice, yet, by-and-by, when it turns out for evil, he
would have done his friend an ill turn and would be blamed for having
done so. The wise friend often throws cold water on our plans and says,
"You are quite wrong," although we would have wished him to have said,
"You are right."
The Lord Jesus Christ is such a wise Friend that He says to the sinner,
"Come, Friend, if you would be happy, you must give up that sin." He
does not say, "I will be your friend and help you through the scrapes
into which you have got through your sin." "No," says Christ, "I will
help you out of your sin if you will trust Me, but if you will keep
your sin, you will have to smart for it and I will not help you out of
that sorrow." He comes to you, my dear Friend, and He says,
"You want to be happy, but that is not the most important point–you
must first be holybefore you can be happy." "O Lord Jesus!" says the
sinner, "I want peace." "No," says Jesus, "you do not need peace–it
would be injurious to you to have peace in your present condition–you
must have, first, purity. I must, first of all, show you where you are
wrong and set you right." As He does it, sometimes we cry out, "It is
very rough treatment, Lord!" I have known, in cases of surgery, that a
patient has been very anxious for the healing of the wound. "No," says
the skillful surgeon, "not yet. There is much proud flesh which must
first be taken away. We must not close this wound yet. It must be left
open, for there is much that must still come forth from it if we are to
have a permanent cure." Thus does the Lord Jesus Christ often deal with
sinners. He is their true Friend even when He lays the axe to the root
of their tree of self-righteousness and begins to cut it down! He means
to make sure work and abiding work, so He bids the sinner renounce his
sin, repent of his transgressions and seek that complete change of
heart which will produce a radical change of life. Christ is "a friend
of publicans and sinners" in a very wise sense.
And, Beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ is "a friend of publicans and
sinners" in a very intense sense. There is an old proverb which says,
"A friend in need is a friend, indeed." Christ is the Friend of sinners
in their time of need. You, Sir, have gone on in profligacy and
extravagance till you are brought to beggary. Yet even now you may come
to Christ! You have ruined your health by sin, yet you may still come
to Christ! Possibly you have even disgraced your character by some
overt crime, yet you may come to Christ and Christ will come to you!
"Oh, but nobody speaks to me!" He will speak to you! He will find you
alone in your shame and will speak words of saving power to you. Do I
address some poor woman who has lost her character and is shunned by
everybody? Jesus Christ comes even to you as you stand alone and He
says, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more." The Lord Jesus
likes to catch us when we are down at our very lowest. When others say,
"Now he is down, keep him down," Christ says, "Now he is down, up with
him!"
There is a story told about the Savior. I do not suppose that it is
true, but it ought to be, for it is just what might have happened. It
is an old tradition that one day, in the streets of Jerusalem, there
lay a dead dog and one kicked the body and said that it had the mange.
Another kicked it and said, "How its bones stick out! What a cur it
is!" But there came One who stood by this dead dog and said, "What
white teeth it has!" He had spied out the only good thing that could be
found in the dead dog and, as He went on His way, the people asked,
"Who was that?" And others answered, "It was Jesus of Nazareth." As I
have said, I do not suppose that story is true, yet it is just as
Christ would have acted and that is the way He does with people–He
spies out some good thing or other, if there is any in them–or if
there is no good thing in them, He still loves them till He loves them
into goodness! He knows the blessed art of getting hold of people at
their worst and then and there putting into them some point of
brightness of character which delivers them from being utterly cast
away! My blessed Master likes picking sinners off the very dunghills of
sin! How many poor captives has He fetched from prisons and set them
free! How many has He gathered whom the devil, himself, had cast away
as worn-out and good for nothing! These are the very persons that He
takes and makes to be His beloved ones, who shall wash His feet with
their tears and wipe them with the hairs of their head. Yes, Christ
Jesus is a Friend of great intensity for He is a Friend in need.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is also the Friend of sinners for constancy. He
is the friend of the sinner when he begins his sin and He checks him.
He is the Friend of the sinner when he goes on in his sin and He warns
him. He is the Friend of the sinner when he has grown old in sin and
still He holds him back. He is the Friend of the sinner when the sinner
gets to be, as it were, farthest gone of all–not only ripe, but
rotten! Still does Jesus follow him–the wonderful perseverance of
Divine Mercy is a theme that may well excite the marvel of angels! O
Sirs, I wish you who have gone far into sin could but feel that still,
in His pity, He looks upon you and still, in His love, He pursues you!
He is, indeed, the Friend of sinners! You wrote "sinners" in very small
letters, once, and then you might have written, "friend," in equally
small letters. But now you write in large capitals–"SINNERS." Oh, what
a size the letters would be if they truly described you! But larger
than all is that blessed word, "FRIEND." As you seem to grow in sin, He
seems even more to grow in friendship and so you sing to Him–
"Still does Your good Spirit strive– With the chief of sinners dwell."
Oh, that He would lead you to believe this even now, so that you might
fly into His arms! He is the Friend of sinners for His constancy.
I have nearly exhausted my time, so I can only say, my Lord Jesus is
the Friend of sinners in the largest conceivable sense. There never was
a sinner to whom He was not willing to be a Friend! If you, poor
Sinner, will but seek Him, He will be found of you. In a revival,
perhaps, there may be hundreds coming to Christ–do not think that you
will be one too many. And in dull times there may seem to be none
coming to Christ–do not think that He will refuse you because you are
a lonely one! Where do you dwell, my Hearer? Perhaps on some lone moor,
or in some far-away glen, or out in the bush–yet Christ is there–so
seek Him in the silence of the evening. Or do you work in the midst of
the busy city where all is noise and turmoil? Yet He will hear you
amidst the hum of labor and the din of traffic–your whispered prayer
will reach His ear and heart–
"Jesussits onZion'shill, And receives poor sinners still," and that at
all hours of the night and all moments of the day! If He should refuse
you when you go to Him, you will be the first whom He ever refused–and
I am sure He will not begin with you! That cannot be, for Jesus said,
"Come to Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest." He also said, "Him that comes to Me, I will in no wise cast
out." No, that will never be your case nor mine, Beloved, if we come to
Him! It is impossible! So let us rejoice that throughout all time, as
long as there is a sinner out of Hell, Christ is ready to be that
sinner's Friend!
III. So I shall close my discourse when I have asked and answered one
more question, AS CHRIST IS THE FRIEND OF SINNERS, WHAT THEN?
Well, first, let us do as the sinners used to do in His time, they drew
near to Him–"Then drew near to Him all the publicans and sinners for
to hear Him." There is a great crowd of people–what a dense throng!
Who is that in the middle? It is Jesus of Nazareth, the great Messiah
Prophet preaching! Who are those gentlemen standing on the edge of the
crowd, wearing broad phylacteries, discussing among themselves and
sneering at the doctrine that is being taught? Those are the very
respectable people who never do anything wrong–the Scribes and
Pharisees–the learned men who know all that can possibly be known by
anybody! These people always stand at the very outside of the ring. But
who are those in the middle of the throng? And, straightway, some
Pharisee holds up his hands in disgust and says, "It is perfectly
shocking! Wherever the Nazarene goes, there is always a pack of the
riff-raff round Him! Whenever He speaks, you notice that He is
surrounded by a lot of tax-gatherers–the scum employed to gather the
money for the Romans–for no Jew would do that unless he was very far
gone. Do you not see that there is one of them close to His side just
now, listening to Him, and the tears are running down his checks? That
is the kind of wretch to whom He preaches! And see that woman over
there, that is the style of His hearers."
Now, why did men and women of that kind always get so close to Christ?
It was because they felt that He was their Friend. No, Rabbi Simeon,
they will never come round you, so you need not trouble yourself upon
that point. You can gather up your skirts and go home. They will not
offend you by getting too close to your heels, for you are no friend of
theirs. They know that and, somehow, sympathy draws people, while
coldness repels them. I pray the Lord Jesus Christ to exercise that
drawing influence over you, my dear Friends. Knowing that you are
sinners, come and listen to the sinners' Friend. Read the writings of
the four Evangelists and see what He has said to you–and whenever His
Gospel is preached, or anything is said about Him–try to understand it
and accept it. You will do so if you are wise.
Next, not only draw near to Him, but test Him as often as need arises.
There is nothing like putting Christ to the test! In a side street, not
far from here, you may have seen in a window this notice, "If any poor
girl upon the streets desires to escape from her sinful way of living,
she will find a friend inside." I felt very pleased when that notice in
the window was pointed out to me and I think that if I were a poor girl
in that sad case, and wished to escape, I would go inside to see what
the friend could do for me. The Lord Jesus Christ has put in His window
a message of this kind, "Any sinner of any sort who desires to be
saved, let Him come to Me." Now, do not merely stand at the window and
read it, but come inside, my poor Brother! Come inside, my Sister! Come
to Jesus. Come to Jesus just now!
To get at Him, there is only this to be done–just trust Him. Trust Him
implicitly, wholly, solely. Trust Him now. When you trust Him, then you
are saved, for it is written, "He that believes on the Son has
everlasting life." If you have trusted Christ, you have everlasting
life! That act of faith proves that everlasting life has dropped into
your bosom and that Christ has said to you, "Your sins, which are many,
are all forgiven you. Go, and sin no more."
When you have trusted Christ and proved Him to be your Friend, proclaim
to others what you know of Him. Whisper it about. You will find some
more poor sinners who will be glad to hear the good news! You remember
the dog at the hospital that went of his own accord and had his broken
leg set–and then he went again with another broken-legged dog? He was
a sensible animal and oh, let every poor soul that has received Christ
go and find another soul and bring him to Christ! In the depth of
winter, at a time when I had a balcony to my study, I put some crumbs
out upon it and there came a robin redbreast, first, and he pecked and
ate all he could. I do not know his language, but I fancy I can tell
what he said, for he went away and came back with ever so many sparrows
and other birds! He had said to them, "There are crumbs up here, come
and get them." And they all came and they came in greater numbers every
day–and I do not know how it was except that they told one another.
One day, whether it was the robin or the sparrows, I do not know, but
some of them told a blackbird and he was a bigger fellow than any of
them. When he came, he stood near, for I should think, a minute, and
then he spied me inside and flew away, for he thought, "That good man
does not like blackbirds." But he did not know me! I was pleased to see
him and I should have liked to see a lot of such birds. So the robin
went up to him and told him that he had been there for the last three
or four days and I had never even threatened him. And, after being
persuaded a little, the blackbird came back and the robin seemed to me
to be quite pleased to think that he had converted this fellow and
brought him back, for they dropped down together on the crumbs, and
they had such a joyful feast that they came again and again!
Oh, there are some of you, dear robin redbreasts, that have been here
ever so long and have been eating my Master's crumbs! You have brought
some sparrows to the feast–now try to entice a blackbird and if there
is one blackbird bigger and bleaker than another, go and fetch him and
bring him, for Jesus says that He will cast out none that come to Him
by faith–and you may be sure that it is true, for He is "a friend of
publicans and sinners." God bless you all, dear Friends, for Christ's
sake! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: LUKE 7:24-50.
Verse 24. And when the messengers of John were departed, He began to
speak to the people concerning John. What did you go out into the
wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?Certainly not! John could
never be compared to a reed shaken by the wind, for he was strong,
sturdy, firm and steadfast. He was not like so many preachers,
nowadays, who are swayed by the ever-changing opinion of the age–the
thought of these modern times–and so prove themselves to be mere reeds
shaken by the wind.
25. But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment!
Behold, they which are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are
in kings' courts. John had been preaching in the desert with all his
might, warning sinners to flee from the wrath to come. He was no court
preacher, but a minister to the multitude, who delivered his
Heaven-Inspired message in his own straightforward earnest style.
26, 27. But what did you go out to see? A Prophet? Yes, I say to you,
and much more than a Prophet. This is he, of whom it is written,
Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, which shall prepare Your
way before You. John was the morning star and Christ the glorious Sun!
John was the herald proclaiming the coming of Christ and Christ,
Himself, followed close at his heels!
28. For I say to you, Among those that are born of women there is not a
greater Prophet than John the Baptist. His was the highest office of
all, immediately to precede Messiah, Himself.
28. But he that is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he. We
have a fuller Gospel to preach than John had and we may expect to see
greater results from the preaching of that Gospel than John could hope
to see.
29-32. And all the people that heard Him, and the publicans, justified
God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and
lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not
baptized of him. And the Lord said, Unto what, then, shall I liken the
men of this generation? And to what are they like? They are like
children sitting in the marketplace and calling, one to another, and
saying, We have piped to you, and you have not danced; we have mourned
to you, and you have not wept. These children could not agree as to
what game they would play. "Come," they said, "let us imitate a
wedding. We will pipe and you can dance." But the others would not
dance. "Well," they said, "let us play at something. Let us imitate a
funeral–we will be the mourners." Then the others would not weep.
They would agree to nothing that was proposed and that is the point of
the Savior's analogy–that there are multitudes of men who always
quarrel with any kind of ministry that God may send them. This man's
style is much too ornate–he has a superabundance of the flowers of
oratory. That other man is much too dull–there is nothing interesting
about his discourses. This man is too coarse–he is so rough as even to
be vulgar. That other man is too refined and uses language which shoots
over people's heads. It is easy to find fault when you want to do so.
Any stick will do to beat a dog and any kind of excuse will do to allow
your conscience to escape from the message of an earnest ministry. Our
Lord told the people that this was the way they had acted towards
Himself and John the Baptist.
33. For John the Baptist came neither eating breadnor drinking wine–An
ascetic of ascetics–
33. And you say, he has a devil "He is out of his mind altogether,
possessed by the devil."
34. The Son of Man is come eating and drinking–That is the Lord Jesus,
Himself. He comes as a Man among men, and sits with you at your feasts,
and does not lead the life of an ascetic.
34. And you say, Behold a gluttonous Man, and a winebibber, a friend of
publicans and sinners! There was no pleasing them either way! Whichever
form of preacher the Lord sent, whether an ascetic or one like
themselves, they found fault.
35. But wisdom is justified of all her children. There shall come a day
when it shall be seen that, after all, God knew best what style of
preacher to send. He had work for each man to do and He adapted the man
for the work He had entrusted to his charge.
36. And one of the Pharisees desired Him that He would eat with him.
And He went into the Pharisee's house and sat down to eat. Invitations
from Pharisees were rather scarce–they did not often ask Christ to
their houses. Even before this meal is over, there will be sure to be
something like a quarrel, depend upon it!
37. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner–Her name is
not given and there are good reasons why it should not be given.
Certainly she was not Mary, the sister of Lazarus, nor Mary Magdalene,
we may be quite sure of that. Our Savior leaves her in an anonymous
condition and it is usually best that converts of this character should
not be exhibited and their names made known. I believe that much cruel
wrong has been done to reclaimed sinners when they have been pushed to
the front. "Behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner."–
37. 38. When she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house,
brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at His feet behind Him,
weeping–His feet probably lay towards the door as He reclined at the
table. And she could readily get at them without becoming too
conspicuous in the room–she "stood at His feet behind Him, weeping."–
38. And began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the
hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the
ointment. What a blessed amalgam of humility, penitence, gratitude and
love! All these are seen in what she did, especially in that unbinding
of the tresses of her beauty which had been her nets in which she had
taken the souls of men. Now she uses these for a towel. She "began to
wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head,
and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment."
39. Now when the Pharisee which had bid Him, saw it, he spoke within
himself–He did not like to say it in so many words, but he spoke loud
enough for himself to hear it and for Christ to hear it, too.
39-44. Saying, This Man, if He were a Prophet, would have known who and
what manner of woman this is that touches Him: for she is a sinner. And
Jesus answering said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. And
he said, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two
debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when
they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me,
therefore, which of them will love him more? Simon answered and said, I
suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And He said to him, You have
rightly judged. And He turned to the woman and said to Simon, Do you
see this woman? ' 'You did see this woman and you looked upon her with
a frowning face. Now take another look at her by the light of My
parable." "Simon, Do you see this woman?"
44. I entered into your house–"Therefore you were bound by the
obligations of a host."–
44. You gave Me no water for My feet.–An ordinary commonplace courtesy
in the East, almost a necessity for those who have walked far and whose
feet are weary and dusty–"You gave Me no water for My feet."–
44. But she has washed My feet with tears–Costly water this! "She has
washed My feet with tears."
44. And wiped them with the hairs of her head. ' 'She has done it, she
has done it better than you would have done it! She has done it best of
all–she has done what you ought to have done–she has done it when
there seemed to be no claim upon her to do it."
45. You gave me no kiss.–Though that was the ordinary mode of
salutation to an honored guest–
46. But this woman, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My
feet. "You said in your heart that if I had been a Prophet, I would
have known who and what manner of woman this was. I do know and I am
telling you. If you had given Me a kiss, you would only have coldly
kissed My brow, but she has found it in her heart to honor Me by
kissing My feet. Since I came in, she has not ceased to kiss them,
unwashed as they were, and she has not only kissed them, but she has
also washed them with her tears."
46. My head with oil you did not anoint–"You, the host, whose duty it
was to anoint the head of your guest, did not do it."–
46. But this woman has anointed My feet with ointment. The best oil she
possessed or could procure.
47, 48. Therefore Isay to you, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven;
for she lovedmuch: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves
little. And He said to her, Your sins are forgiven. "Not because she
has done this, but this is an evidence that her sins are forgiven. This
act of greater love is the proof that she must be conscious of the
greater forgiveness–'she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven,
the same loves little.'" It is always like that! Your converted
Pharisees have to be made to feel like this woman before they will
render love like hers. And if Simon is ever made to feel that his sin,
in a certain light, is as great as the sin of this fallen woman, then
he will love as much as she does, but not till then. Jesus said to her,
"Your sins are forgiven." Oh, the marvelous music of that short
sentence! If I had to choose from all language the choicest sentence
that my ears could hear when under a sense of sin, it would be these
four words which the Master addressed to this woman who was a notable
public sinner, "Your sins are forgiven."
49. And they that sat at meat with Him began to say within themselves,
Who is this that also forgives sins?Now, you see, they begin to mutter
and to quibble. What is this poor woman to do? Probably she felt ready
to speak up for her Master, but, sometimes, it happens that the Lord
Jesus Christ will not permit certain, even of His forgiven ones, to be
very prominent.
50. AndHe said to the woman, Your faith has savedyou; go in peace. She
was best out of the way of all controversy. She would honor Him most by
going home and there sweetly singing to His praise and drinking deep
draughts of His love. If any of you converts are meeting with those who
laugh at you, do not stop where they are, but go about your business
with these sweet words of your Master ringing in your ears–"Your faith
has saved you; go in peace."