Proportional Love
3/10/25 Bible Thought (Luke 7)
Many things in life function in proportions. When a crime is committed, the punishment ought to be proportional to the crime. Stealing might be illegal, but someone who steals an apple from the supermarket surely won’t be punished as severely as the one who has committed murder. Likewise, the cost of many items is proportional to the supply and demand, and also the cost of making it. Presently, eggs are $6 a dozen, which no one feels is right, but apparently, it’s at least claimed to be proportional to the issues of supply.
In Luke 7, there are a number of wonderful stories that we could take time on, but I want to focus on the ending of the chapter with the sinful woman who is forgiven. One of the Pharisees actually invited Jesus into his home for a meal. As they are reclining at the table, a woman comes into their midst. Now, we don’t know her name, and we really don’t know much about her, but she’s introduced as, “a sinner” (Lk. 7:37). She’s the kind of woman that the religious elites wouldn’t want to be around. She was unclean, sinful, and far from God. They were clean, upright, and they were devoted to God. She didn’t belong, or so they thought.
She comes and washes Jesus’ feet with her tears, she cleans them with her hair and kisses and anoints them (Lk. 7:38). It was quite a scene that certainly made the homeowner uncomfortable as he concludes that if Jesus were a prophet he would know this woman was no good. Then, in the irony of ironies, Jesus, the One who is far greater than a prophet addresses Simon the Pharisee with a story. The story is about two debtors who owed a moneylender. One owed more than a year’s wages, 500 denarii. The other owed 50, a little shy of two months wages. Neither of them could pay, and the moneylender cancelled their debts entirely. Jesus then concludes with a question for the host, “Now which of them will love him more?” (Lk. 7:42b).
Surely, the answer is easy. The one who is forgiven of the larger debt will be more thankful and will love the lender more. The Pharisee answered rightly and thus condemned himself. As a host, he hadn’t done anything special for Jesus. Now, it wasn’t an expected or required thing for Simon to wash Jesus’ feet or to have someone else do it, or to offer him a kiss of greeting.[1] However, the lack does show that Simon didn’t do anything special for Jesus as his guest, who is at the least a rabbi and at most, the Messiah and the Son of God. Whereas the religious elite offered no special treatment for Jesus, this woman goes beyond the second mile in her adoration for the Savior whom she had found.
She had many sins, but not too many to find forgiveness at the feet of Jesus. After this encounter, Jesus declares, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Lk. 7:50b). Her love was proportional to her forgiveness. She had a greater need, and therefore when that need was met, she was more thankful. The Pharisee, being self-righteous, didn’t realize his great need.
It makes me wonder how we respond to the Lord in our own lives. Obviously, He isn’t going to walk into our homes incarnate today. But what does our love for the Savior look like? Truly, if our love for the Savior waxes cold, it’s because we’ve forgotten how much we’ve been forgiven of. We must remember that God didn’t have to forgive us. Grace is unmerited and undeserved! We were the debtors. We were the ones in trouble. He didn’t owe us. He had no obligation to us and yet He lavished His grace upon us in His Son Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus ascended Golgotha for us, while we were still sinners (Rom. 5:8). All of us needed saving (see Rom. 3:23) and He made a way for us. We must remember that whether we fell short by an inch or a mile, we still fell short and we needed saving. We have all sinned against a holy God. The significance of our sins isn’t just in what they were, but in Who they were against. Thus, every sin, small or great, is an eternal offense against an eternal God and needs atonement. We need His grace, and if He has graced us in His Son Jesus Christ, then certainly we ought to respond with incredible love and sacrificial devotion to Him, today.
[1] Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 390.
Enjoyed the read! Thank you.