Spiritual Poverty. Luke- Week 12- Day 4

(47) Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
Luke 7:47

Explanation:

Jesus brings his whole argument down to this statement. This woman, who has sinned greatly, has been forgiven because she understood her need for forgiveness, and went to Jesus brokenhearted over her sin and with love of Jesus for forgiving her sin. Just like the two men in the story, the person who owed less, felt like he owed less, and therefore loved less.

Isn’t it interesting that this woman’s sinfulness has led her to an understanding of her own need for forgiveness? Her felt need for forgiveness drives her to trust in Christ as the One who could forgive and having experienced that forgiveness caused her to love Him greatly.

Contrast this with Simon who thought He was doing Jesus a favor by having him enter His home. Simon thinks He has the right to question Jesus because of his own religious authority and self-image as a good, moral, and upright person. He does not have a great love for God because He has no conception of his own sinfulness or need for forgiveness.

(20) And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. (21) Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
Luke 6:20-21

Those who understand their own poverty and go to God for help will receive help. This is really good news. This is the Gospel.

This does not mean that God is ok with our sin. This does not mean that Jesus condoned prostitution, or any other kind of immorality. On the contrary, He takes it so seriously that He is willing to become flesh and live a perfect life so that He could be the propitiation, the wrath bearing sacrifice, to pay for the sin of all mankind.

Application:

Those of us who are in Christ are spiritually rich, but we are only that way because of our loving Father who has given to us every spiritual resource that we need. We have the Holy Spirit of God in our hearts and the word of God in our hands and minds. We have everything that we need for life and godliness. But we do not have these things because we are so good. We have these things because of His grace and forgiveness.

If you do not know that your sins are forgiven, you can have this spiritual blessing and life, too. What is counter-intuitive is that spiritual riches are only available to those who understand their own spiritual poverty. We must go to God admitting our sin and our need for forgiveness, knowing, and believing that in Christ is our only hope.