Dr. Rick Mandl - October 6, 2020
Paid In Full
Devotional Manuscript: Paid in Full
Message by Dr. Rick Mandl, October 6, 2020.
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
Hey church family. During his time on earth, Jesus said a number of things that upset the religious leaders of his day. I would imagine that you would be hard pressed to find anything he said that might have upset them more, than when he shared a parable and then in explaining that parable to them said . . .. “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors, and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do.”
Prostitution is something that is condemned in Scripture as immoral. And yet two prostitutes can be found in the genealogy of Christ, and one of them, Rahab, is actually included as an example of faith in Hebrews 11. Luke 7 tells us that when Jesus sat down to eat in the home of a Pharisee named Simon, “….a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, She brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them." (vv. 37-38).
When a female was referred to as "a certain immoral woman" in that culture, it meant one thing: It meant she was a prostitute. So why did this woman come to the house of a Pharisee? Only one reason, It was because Jesus was there. I think she thought, “If I'm ever going to find love and forgiveness and hope, it's going to be from that Man.”
When Simon the Pharisee, saw her barge in and break down in remorse and repentance, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” It was then that Jesus spoke up and told a story about two debtors, one who owed his creditor five hundred pieces of silver and one who owed fifty. Neither one could pay their debt, but the creditor decided to forgive them both, cancelling their debts. Jesus asked Simon, "Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said. . . . He continued . . .“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”
Jesus was saying, "Simon, these two debtors, of whom I speak, are you and this woman. She's a 500 silver-piece sinner, but you're a 50 silver-piece sinner. Her sin may be an outward sin of passion, but yours is an inward sin of pride, And the fact is neither of you can pay the debt you owe to God." Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven. . . Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
The lesson in that story is that whether we are a great big sinner, or a really wonderful little sinner, all of us have a debt we cannot pay. But Jesus paid a debt He did not owe. Because of that, every single human being can be forgiven by God. This woman was very aware that she was a great sinner and Jesus was a great Savior, so she sought that forgiveness from Him. And she walked away that day, knowing that God has a big eraser when it comes to sin. Thank the Lord that you and I can know the same thing today.
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
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