Vers. 36-50.-Lovetheproofofpardon. The generation to which Jesus had come with his social gospel thought him too "free and easy" with sinners. 'l'he Pharisees thouuht he had no riuht to associate with publicans and sinners, although he did so to save"them. But the" wisdom of his policy would be justified by the conduct of his converts, and here we have a justification ready to hand. One of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. He accepts the invitation, and is reclining at his table, when, lo I a poor woman "off the streets'' comes in behind him, and in her penitence and grati- tude prepares to anoint with spik~nard bis blessed feet. She had heard him preach, si,e had received pardon for all her sins, she could not resist this exhibition of gratitude for it. But as she is about to anoint his feet, her pent-up grief refuses further restraint, and bathes them with copious tears, and, having no towel with her or offered to her, ~he unties her flowin'c: hair, content to wipe with it the beautiful feet of him who had hrought her glad tidings. Having thus washed and wiped them clc:m, she_ proceeds 10 auduL them with the ointment. 'l'o this conduct the Pharisee 6ecretly objects, and 1 Cf. Robertson's• Human Race and other Sermons,' p. 182. on, vn. 1-!iO.] TIJE GOSPEL ACCOriDING TO ST. LUKE.
tnkcs it RB prnnf positive that Jes11s is nr,t the discern in~ Prnplwt l•e pr, f.,s~eR to he Our Lord's pamble soon corrects the error e.nd reveals the truth, e.nd ih,, pCJor sinner, 10 cnitent an<l so grateful, is <lil!TlliRsed in peace. 1• • GnEAT BIN BHOULD NOT HINDT.;e. ANY OF us FBOM C0UINO TO ,het:s FOR PAHDON. Thie is one of the difficultieR which men make for themsdves--they fancy that gre;,t sin may keep einnere from pardon. Now Jesus me.de it very ph1in that o-reat sinner~ might receive prndon just as well as little sinners. The psalmist once prayed," Pard,,n mine iniquity, for it is great" (Ps. xxv. 7), e.nd some of the most notorious sinners ever seen have become monuments of mercy and joyful through pardon. This case before ue is one in point. Jesus had so presented his message of salvation tha.t this woman from the town embraced it and rejoice<l in the thought of forgiveness. While, therefoce, no one would recommend a. sinner to sin in order to inter,sify his sense of guilt and qualify himself for receiving Christ's salvation, we would recommend every sinner to believe that the very enormity of bis sins will move Christ's pity, and, when pur'!e<l a.nd pardoned, illustrate his saving power, Suppose a. patient is brought to a hospital a mass of disease er of wounds and bruises: will not the very magnitude of his distress constitute such e.n a.ppea.1 to pity a.a will secure his immedi;1te admission ? In the same way, great sin is an argument with the Saviour in favour of mercy, rather than any obstacle to it. Besides, we shonld always remember that our sense of sin is always vastly below the reality, aud that we in most penitent mood have really a better opinion of ourselves than the circumstances warrant. II. WE OUGHT COURAGEOUSLY TO PROFESS CHRIST BEFORE llfEN. This poor woman needed courage to profess Christ in Simon's house. Simon and his guests belonging to the Pharisaic party loathed her. It was a place where she was certain to be scorned and perhaps expelled. But h'er sense of obligation to Jesns and her love for his Person were so great that she could not forego her desire to make her way to bis feet. And so she steals in and gets behind her Master, and proceeds to lavish her attention on his feet. So courageous is she, that she leisurely a.nd most carefully washes his feet a.nd wipes them with her hair and auoints them with the ointment; so that she actually, a.s Godet remarks, did the honours of the house, which Simon had neglected.1 We need similarly to add to our faith courage (2 Pet. i. 4). We ou~bt to give our hear~ free play in their loyalty to Jesus. We must profess him before men, at whatever cost. III, JESUS WILL ALWAYS TAKE OUR PART AGAINST THOSE WHO MISTAKE OUR MOTIVYS OB DESPISE us. Jesus will acknowledge our profession of him in the next world, and even in this. In the case before us we see him taking the Pharisee to task for his mist-a.ke about the woman. Simon made several mistakes. 1. About the woman being unpardonaL!e and unpardoned: she was neither. 2. About Jesus as being undiscerning and so ignorant of tb.e woman's state: be was more thoroughly acquainted with her than she or Simon could be. 3. Abcut himself, a.s nrarer God's kingdom than she wa.s: he was really further from Christ than she.:i And Jesus consequently takes up the woman's cause and vindicates her character as a. cban~ed woman now and pardoned. This he does in parabolic language. The two debtors who are both forgiven have not the same sense of gratitude. Their gratitude is in proportion to their forgive- ness, Hence the poor woman, feeling how much she has hcen forgiven, is propor- tionately grn.teful, 'fbe defence was triumphant. And in the same way will Jesus defond us if we a.re courageous in following him. IV. LovE 1s TTIE PROOF OF PARDON. We are not pardoned because we love our Saviour, but we love him because he has pardoned us. Hence the stronger the love, the stronger must be our sense of the a.mount of sin we have been forgiven. Our love will grow just in propc,rtiou to our appreciation of our pardou. 3 Hence the man who comes to believe, with Paul, that he is "the chief of sinners," will love the Lord accord- ingly.· He will feel constrained through his sense of obligation to love God with all bis being, 1 Cf. Saurin's 'Sermons,' tome iii. sermC\n ii. 1 Cf. Ker's 'Sermons,' pp. 16-28. 1 Cf. Maelnron"s • l:,erwous,' i. p. 28; Gerok's 'Ernngc-licu-Prccligten,' s. i!il; Saph.lr'■ •Couv1Jreiou,' p. 253, 200 THE GOSrEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. [en. mi. 1-66.
V. CHRIBT18 ASSURANCE OF PARDON 8EOURES PEACE. The poor sinner's peace wn~ threatened through the contempt of the Pharisees. But Jesus gives her special assurance, and sends her off in peace. So wiU it be in our own experience if we ~oarely trust him.-R. M. E.