October 12, 2025 // Luke 7:36-50
APPLICATION: Read & watch/listen to Luke 7:36-50
Sermon Title: Grace At the Table
Sermon Notes:
I. The Table of Criticism (vv. 36-39)
A. The Invitation to the Table (v. 36)
B. The Intrusion at the Table (v. 37)
C. The Indignation at the Table (v. 39)
II. The Table of Comparison (vv. 40-43)
A. A Parable Told (vv. 40-42)
B. A Question Asked (v. 43)
III. The Table of Compassion (vv. 44-50)
A. The Savior's Observation (vv. 44-46)
B. The Savior's Declaration (vv. 47-48)
C. The Savior's Benediction (vv. 49-50)
Life Application:
A few years ago, a young woman named Sarah racked up a mountain of credit card debt during college—shopping, eating out, and living beyond her means. By the time she graduated, the total was overwhelming. She tried to pay it down, but the interest kept growing faster than she could manage. She stopped answering calls, avoided letters, and felt the heavy shame of a debt she could never pay.
One day, she received an unexpected letter—not another bill, but a notice: her debt had been completely forgiven. A local church had quietly paid it off as part of their ministry to struggling students. Sarah couldn’t believe it. She wept with joy and gratitude. She wrote, “I didn’t deserve it. I didn’t earn it. But someone loved me enough to take care of what I could never fix.”
From that day on, she lived differently. She was more generous, more gracious, and more grateful—because she understood what it meant to be forgiven much.
That’s the story Jesus told at the table that night in Luke 7. Simon the Pharisee saw a sinner; Jesus saw a soul forgiven. The woman’s tears weren’t embarrassing—they were evidence of understanding. She knew the weight of her sin, and she knew the wonder of His grace.
When we realize how much we’ve been forgiven, our worship deepens, our pride dissolves, and our love overflows. Like that woman at the table—and like Sarah with her canceled debt—those who have been forgiven much, love much.
Digging Deeper:
A. The Surprise Visitor - Our English translation obscures the onlookers’ shock because “When a woman” (the opening phrase) is literally, “And look, a woman!” The shock was due primarily to the woman’s being “a sinner” (v. 39). This term allows two possibilities. One is that she was married to a prominent sinner, the other is that she was a prostitute. The latter seems apparent from Simon’s revulsion at her actually touching Jesus, as recorded in verse 39. This is the view of most commentators, older and modern.[1]
B. Insolvency - Jesus’ point is not only that both Simon the moralist and the prostitute were debtors/sinners, but that both were equally insolvent. If you are unable to pay, it does not matter how great the debt is. You are insolvent, period! And that is the condition of the whole human race. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This doesn’t mean that men and women cannot improve themselves or their character to some extent, but rather that they cannot wipe out their status as debtors—sinners. What we all must understand is that the condition for being forgiven is to realize that we are broke and insolvent, whether we are accomplished moralists or accomplished sinners.
C. Guilt and Forgiveness - Those who have been forgiven the most love the most! Some of the greatest sinners have made the greatest saints!
St. Augustine is the greatest classic example. As a seventeen-year-old student he acquired a live-in girlfriend who shared his bed for a decade and bore him an illegitimate son. At the age of twenty-three Augustine authored a book with a title that today sounds very twentieth-century—On the Beautiful and the Fit. But then, through the prayers of his mother, he came to see his sin, was converted, and became Augustine of Hippo, the greatest theologian of the early church.
Similarly, John Newton, author of the great hymn “Amazing Grace,” had once been a debauchee and a slave trader.
Some people whom we would not touch with a ten-foot pole, if they met Christ, would put us to shame with their fervent love. Such people love much because they have been forgiven much—and they cannot get over it.
However, this does not mean that unless one falls into the depths of sin, he or she cannot love God deeply. What is necessary is a consciousness of sin. The depth and passion of our personal Christianity depends on how clearly, we see our personal guilt—and then our forgiveness in Christ.
Questions to Consider:
1. Seeing the Scene (Observation)
1. What do you notice about the differences between Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman in how they approach Jesus?
2. Why do you think the woman was willing to enter Simon’s house despite knowing she wasn’t welcome there?
3. How does Jesus use the parable of the two debtors (vv. 41–43) to expose Simon’s heart?
4. What do you think Simon expected Jesus to do when the woman began weeping and anointing His feet?
2. Hearing the Heart (Interpretation)
5. What does this passage reveal about how Jesus views sinners and religious people?
6. How does the woman’s expression of love demonstrate her understanding of forgiveness?
7. What does Jesus mean when He says, “Her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown”?
8. Why is it often easier for people like Simon—religious, respectable, rule-keeping—to miss the message of grace?
3. Living the Lesson (Application)
9. In what ways might we sometimes act like Simon, judging others while forgetting our own need for grace?
10. How can we cultivate a heart of gratitude like the woman—overflowing in love because of forgiveness?
11. Who are the “unwelcome” people in our lives or churches that Jesus would gladly receive at His table?
12. What specific act of worship or love could you offer this week in response to Christ’s forgiveness in your life?
Prayer Time:
[1] R. Kent Hughes, Luke: That You May Know the Truth, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1998), 276 - 281.
Sermon Title: Grace At the Table
Sermon Notes:
I. The Table of Criticism (vv. 36-39)
A. The Invitation to the Table (v. 36)
B. The Intrusion at the Table (v. 37)
C. The Indignation at the Table (v. 39)
II. The Table of Comparison (vv. 40-43)
A. A Parable Told (vv. 40-42)
B. A Question Asked (v. 43)
III. The Table of Compassion (vv. 44-50)
A. The Savior's Observation (vv. 44-46)
B. The Savior's Declaration (vv. 47-48)
C. The Savior's Benediction (vv. 49-50)
Life Application:
A few years ago, a young woman named Sarah racked up a mountain of credit card debt during college—shopping, eating out, and living beyond her means. By the time she graduated, the total was overwhelming. She tried to pay it down, but the interest kept growing faster than she could manage. She stopped answering calls, avoided letters, and felt the heavy shame of a debt she could never pay.
One day, she received an unexpected letter—not another bill, but a notice: her debt had been completely forgiven. A local church had quietly paid it off as part of their ministry to struggling students. Sarah couldn’t believe it. She wept with joy and gratitude. She wrote, “I didn’t deserve it. I didn’t earn it. But someone loved me enough to take care of what I could never fix.”
From that day on, she lived differently. She was more generous, more gracious, and more grateful—because she understood what it meant to be forgiven much.
That’s the story Jesus told at the table that night in Luke 7. Simon the Pharisee saw a sinner; Jesus saw a soul forgiven. The woman’s tears weren’t embarrassing—they were evidence of understanding. She knew the weight of her sin, and she knew the wonder of His grace.
When we realize how much we’ve been forgiven, our worship deepens, our pride dissolves, and our love overflows. Like that woman at the table—and like Sarah with her canceled debt—those who have been forgiven much, love much.
Digging Deeper:
A. The Surprise Visitor - Our English translation obscures the onlookers’ shock because “When a woman” (the opening phrase) is literally, “And look, a woman!” The shock was due primarily to the woman’s being “a sinner” (v. 39). This term allows two possibilities. One is that she was married to a prominent sinner, the other is that she was a prostitute. The latter seems apparent from Simon’s revulsion at her actually touching Jesus, as recorded in verse 39. This is the view of most commentators, older and modern.[1]
B. Insolvency - Jesus’ point is not only that both Simon the moralist and the prostitute were debtors/sinners, but that both were equally insolvent. If you are unable to pay, it does not matter how great the debt is. You are insolvent, period! And that is the condition of the whole human race. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This doesn’t mean that men and women cannot improve themselves or their character to some extent, but rather that they cannot wipe out their status as debtors—sinners. What we all must understand is that the condition for being forgiven is to realize that we are broke and insolvent, whether we are accomplished moralists or accomplished sinners.
C. Guilt and Forgiveness - Those who have been forgiven the most love the most! Some of the greatest sinners have made the greatest saints!
St. Augustine is the greatest classic example. As a seventeen-year-old student he acquired a live-in girlfriend who shared his bed for a decade and bore him an illegitimate son. At the age of twenty-three Augustine authored a book with a title that today sounds very twentieth-century—On the Beautiful and the Fit. But then, through the prayers of his mother, he came to see his sin, was converted, and became Augustine of Hippo, the greatest theologian of the early church.
Similarly, John Newton, author of the great hymn “Amazing Grace,” had once been a debauchee and a slave trader.
Some people whom we would not touch with a ten-foot pole, if they met Christ, would put us to shame with their fervent love. Such people love much because they have been forgiven much—and they cannot get over it.
However, this does not mean that unless one falls into the depths of sin, he or she cannot love God deeply. What is necessary is a consciousness of sin. The depth and passion of our personal Christianity depends on how clearly, we see our personal guilt—and then our forgiveness in Christ.
Questions to Consider:
1. Seeing the Scene (Observation)
1. What do you notice about the differences between Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman in how they approach Jesus?
2. Why do you think the woman was willing to enter Simon’s house despite knowing she wasn’t welcome there?
3. How does Jesus use the parable of the two debtors (vv. 41–43) to expose Simon’s heart?
4. What do you think Simon expected Jesus to do when the woman began weeping and anointing His feet?
2. Hearing the Heart (Interpretation)
5. What does this passage reveal about how Jesus views sinners and religious people?
6. How does the woman’s expression of love demonstrate her understanding of forgiveness?
7. What does Jesus mean when He says, “Her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown”?
8. Why is it often easier for people like Simon—religious, respectable, rule-keeping—to miss the message of grace?
3. Living the Lesson (Application)
9. In what ways might we sometimes act like Simon, judging others while forgetting our own need for grace?
10. How can we cultivate a heart of gratitude like the woman—overflowing in love because of forgiveness?
11. Who are the “unwelcome” people in our lives or churches that Jesus would gladly receive at His table?
12. What specific act of worship or love could you offer this week in response to Christ’s forgiveness in your life?
Prayer Time:
[1] R. Kent Hughes, Luke: That You May Know the Truth, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1998), 276 - 281.