Love vs legalism

This week's verses are Luke 7:36-46:

Now one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. Then when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus was dining at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfumed oil. As she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfumed oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” So Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” He replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed him 500 silver coins, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then, turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss of greeting, but from the time I entered she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfumed oil. 

Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to his neighborhood barbecue. While he was there, a woman of ill repute made a scene in her adoration and gratitude for what he had done. Simon's reaction, however, was not adoration. Jesus had just been disqualified on a technicality known only to Simon! Luckily Jesus knew what was in a man's heart.

Jesus calls him out. He explains what is going on, revealing the backstory behind the woman's actions. And then he points out that if they were adding up points, the woman has already outscored Simon that night, three to nothing! In revealing his legalism to him, Jesus also reveals the backstory of Simon's judgmental thoughts.

People usually take one of two paths when teaching on these verses. Either they are all like "bla bla bla Pharisees! Let's all laugh at the Pharisee and judge him!" (Which is kind of missing the point.) Or they preach about the woman's backstory and God's grace, and then imply that if we're not making lavish spectacles we're not genuine enough, which is also a bit like something a Pharisee might say.

Not very many people talk about the contrast of the Pharisee and the naughty woman, or about how very much Jesus loved the Pharisee. Jesus probably said more bad things about the Pharisees and the teachers of the law than about any other group, but here we see that he respected them enough to accept their dinner invitations. And we see that he was willing to take time to compassionately reach out to them.

Did he have to explain what the woman was doing? Did he have to point out the legalism of the Pharisee in such a way that he could see its futility? Wouldn't it have been easier just to leave in a huff and comment later about what a loser he was? Or quote chapters and verses at him like a cop making an arrest?

Instead he patiently tries to save him from his mistake. "Here is how you're reading the situation wrong. The woman is simply overjoyed at not burning in hell for eternity. And here is how you're reading life wrong. Life isn't a sport where we gain points and look down on each other, because you're always a couple steps away from being a loser in that game."

Have you ever had someone just turn off to you as a person because of something they disapproved of? It's really annoying, isn't it? Especially if they misjudged you in the first place! Imagine handling the situation with the same calm grace that Jesus did. That's real love and power there.

But look at the difference between the person who approaches Jesus in love, and the one who approaches him in legalism. The woman is so grateful that she ignores rules and decorum to come up and lavish him with praise. She doesn't care what she looks like. She doesn't care what anyone else thinks. She's not trying to score points. She is worship personified.

Compare that to Simon. On the surface, he's the more loving, because he put on a feast for Jesus. But he's not ignoring rules and decorum. He's keeping score. As soon as Jesus violates the rules of his game, he blows the whistle and marks the point. -1 for Jesus for not knowing what I know, +1 for me for noticing. Ever find yourself doing that?

Neither Jesus nor the naughty woman deny her sinful past. It simply has no more power to them because grace is stronger. The only person who is still in its bondage is poor Simon. It keeps him from fully loving her or Jesus. Of the three, Simon is the one in the worst shape. And it's him Jesus reaches out to, not the sinful woman who has already been set free.

In these verses, not only do we see how supernaturally compassionate Jesus was, but we also see the different outcomes of love and legalism. Legalism tries to exist outside of grace and forgiveness. To a legalist, God is just another way to earn points. "Went to church: 1 point. Gave money to homeless guy: 1 point. Read the Bible: 1 point. Wore Jesus shirt to work: 1 point." And yet it's never enough.

But no amount of points would win you the prize the sinful woman got in having her sins forgiven. The loving, forgiven, grace-filled Christian doesn't need to keep score. They've already won! And we can win too, if we let Jesus show us the futility of legalism and the conspicuous value of his grace and forgiveness.