MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/01/2026
9:29 PM
My
Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 “Intro
to The Transformed Sinner”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke
7:36-50
Message of the verses: “36 Now one of the Pharisees was
requesting Him to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and
reclined at the table. 37 And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner;
and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house,
she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, 38 and standing behind Him at His
feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and she wiped them
with the hair of her head, and began kissing His feet and anointing them with
the perfume. 39 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 sort of person
this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner!” 40 And Jesus responded
and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say
it, Teacher.” 41 “A moneylender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred
denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they were unable to repay, he canceled
the debts of both. So which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and
said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And He said to
him, “You have judged correctly.” 44 And 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.
45 You gave Me no kiss; but she has not stopped kissing My feet since the time
I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet
with perfume. 47 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have
been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little, loves
little.” 48 And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” 49 And then
those who were reclining at the table with Him began saying to themselves, “Who
is this Man who even forgives sins?” 50 And He said to the woman, “Your faith
has saved you; go in peace.”
“This passage emphasizes several key
themes: forgiveness, humility, and love. The woman’s actions demonstrate
deep repentance and devotion, contrasting with Simon the Pharisee’s lack of hospitality
and understanding. Jesus uses the parable of the two debtors to teach
that those who recognize the magnitude of their forgiveness respond with
greater love. Ultimately, Jesus affirms that faith and love are
intertwined with forgiveness, and He pronounces peace upon the woman,
highlighting the transformative power of grace and faith in Him.” (Gateway
Bible)
I stated in last nights SD that this
introduction from the pen of John MacArthur would probably take two SD’s to
finish, but because of the many verses that he used in this introduction I
think it will take longer for me to get through this introduction.
MacArthur writes “The main thrust of
this passage appears on the surface to be the transformed life of the sinful
woman. But she was merely one element of
the story which focuses primarily on the Lord evangelizing a Pharisee. Jesus used her as a testimony to him and the
others present of the truth and power of the gospel. Ironically, Jesus demonstrated His power to
forgive sins and transform lives by using the very type of person the Pharisees
despised the most. In reality, the
self-righteous, hypocritical religious leaders were the worst possible sinners;
people who believe they are not lost and think they do not need redemption
cannot be saved.
“The Lord Jesus Christ came to seek
and save the penitent and believing lost (Luke 19:10)—the self-righteous
members of the religious establishment as well as the outcast riff raff of
society. In keeping with the truth, Luke
records two other occasions when Jesus had a meal at a Pharisee’s house
(11:37-54; 14:1-24).” Now because of the
length of these verse references I will not put them on this SD, but please
take the time to look them up and read them.
“In both instances, the Pharisees had no genuine interest of Jesus. Having already rejected Him and His message,
they were merely attempting to gather evidence they could use to condemn
Him. In 14:1 Luke notes that the Pharisees
present were ‘watching [Jesus] closely,’ while after the meal recorded in
chapter 11, ‘the scribes and the pharisees began to be very hostile and to
question Him closely on many subjects, plotting against Him to catch Him in
something He might say’ (vv. 53-54).
“This incident is not to be confused
with the later anointing of Jesus by Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus
(Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8).”
I will just look at Mark 14:3-9 as the other gospels are very similar.
(Mark 14:3-9)
“3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of
Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster
flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured
it over his head. 4 There were some who
said to themselves indignantly, "Why was the ointment wasted like that?
5 For this ointment could have been sold
for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they
scolded her. 6 But Jesus said,
"Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing
to me. 7 For you always have the poor
with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not
always have me. 8 She has done what she
could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel
is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of
her.’”
“The story
recorded in this passage took place in Galilee, not Bethany; the unnamed woman
was a sinner (most likely a prostitute, as noted below) not Mary; this
anointing happened much earlier in the Lord’s ministry, not during Passion
Week, at the house of Simon the Pharisee, not Simon the leper. The only superficial similarity is that the owners
of both houses were named Simon. However
Simon was an extremely common name in Israel.
The New Testament lists several other men by that name, including two of
the apostles, Simon Peter and Simon the Zealot, (Luke 6:14-15), one of Jesus’
brothers (Matthew 13:55), a man from Cyrene forced by the Romans to carry Jesus
‘cross (Mark 15:21), the father of Judas Iscariot (John 6:17), the false
prophet Simon the magician (Acts 8:9-24), and Simon the tanner, at whose house in
Joppa Peter stayed (Acts 9:43).” Now in
conclusion to this morning’s SD I will quote these verses in the order that
they are above.
(Luke 6:14-15)
“14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his
brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of
Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot,”
(Matthew 13:55)
“55 Is this the carpenter’s son? Is not his
mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and
Judas?”
(Mark 15:21)
“21 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of
Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus,
to carry his cross.
(John 6:17)
“71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot,
for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.”
(Acts 8:9-24)
“9 But there was a man named Simon, who had
previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying
that he himself was somebody great. 10
They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying,
“This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a
long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12
But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom
of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13 Even Simon himself believed, and
after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great
miracles performed, he was amazed. 14 ¶
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the
word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they
might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he
had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid
their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given
through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that
anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, "May your silver
perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with
money! 21 You have neither part nor lot
in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of
yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be
forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are
in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord,
that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.’”
(Acts 9:43)
“43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one
Simon, a tanner.”
Spiritual
Meaning for my Life Today: This story that I am looking at is the story
of the salvation of a prostitute who had much courage in doing what she did,
but the Lord rewarded her courage as He says in the passage that she became a
believer.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: I
am trusting the Lord to continue to see me through this very difficult time in
my life, as I continue to grieve the death of my wife.
9/1/2026
10:09 AM
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