Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go into peace.” Luke 7:48-50.

Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:

Which makes you happier, to be forgiven of all you have done wrong in your life or to be healed of illness and pain? The good news is, they go together and in Jesus, I give you both and so much more.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; He pardons all your iniquities, He heals all your diseases; He redeems your life from the pit, He crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; He satisfies your days with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. Psalm 103:1-5.

And why can I bless you so abundantly in every area of your life? Read on in the same Psalm:

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:10-13.

And how did I remove your sins so far away from you? I had to do it Myself. My own arm reached down to save you. My arm of flesh.

Surely our sickness and griefs He Himself bore, and our pains and sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. Isaiah 53:4-6.

These prophecies were all well in place and had been spoken years before when Jesus came in fulfillment of them all. Indeed, He was foretold to you since the beginning when I told of the seed of the woman who would CRUSH the devil’s head as I spoke to Adam, Eve, and the devil in the Garden of Eden when sentence was pronounced on the first man and woman. And down the ages I continually held out as sure the promise of the Redeemer who would come to Zion, the suffering servant, who would bear all your sins and ills. He would take the burden that none of you could bear and set you free of the law of sin and death, condemnation, pain, and shame.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

There was no curse in the world until Adam’s sin brought it in. And with the death he ushered in came sickness, pain, shame, and blame. You see this immediately upon his rejecting My Word and being stripped of glory. He ran and hid in fear, hid his sin, and then, when he saw I knew what he had done, he blamed Me and the woman I had given him. And so the darkness moved in with the sin.

But the people living in darkness have seen a great light, on those in a land of gloom, light has shone. My Word is a light to your path and a lamp to your feet. And My Word became flesh and dwelt among you and you have seen His glory, filled with grace and truth. He is the light of the world and those who follow Him will never walk in darkness but will have the Light of LIFE. Eternal life.

Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:12-14.

Everywhere He went, with every sinner He spoke, My Son brought the light that led them from sin to repentance, to new life in Him.

In the last Life Lesson, we considered My Son’s conversation with the paralytic whereby He released him from his sins and the healing came with the release. Sickness, deformities, pains, diseases, even though all have not sinned in the manner Adam did, are caused by sin, they are the effects of sin in the world and in individual lives. But My Son came to set the captives free. And that is why the first benefit listed in Psalm 103 of which all the benefits that follow proceed is the forgiveness of sins.

Forgiveness is the very best gift you can give anyone and I have freely given it to you in Christ. Forgiveness makes you whole again. It gives you back your integrity and self-respect. It makes you one with Me and your fellow man. When there is no sin, the bitter roots are gone, barriers are gone, and dividing walls are down. You can just run with confidence right to My throne of grace to receive mercy (healing mercy, forgiveness mercy, provision mercy) and find grace (answers and divine skill in you, partakers of My divine nature) just when you need it.

And this is why sinners, outcasts, lepers, sick, and demon possessed people drew close to My Son, they wanted freedom from the torment of the prison wherein the devil had trapped them when he lured them in. As he did with Adam.

Do you remember the woman who was so tormented by her sins and her past that she boldly came right into a Pharisee’s home where Jesus was reclined at table as a guest for dinner? She brought the most valuable possession she owned, an alabaster vial of perfume. And her bold actions and the Pharisee’s reactions, though kept to himself, brought on a most edifying conversation between Jesus and the woman and Jesus and the Pharisee all at the same time. Which the Pharisee otherwise would never have engaged in or learned the meaning of forgiveness bringing grateful love beyond love.

Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. Luke 7:36.

This Pharisee, whose name is revealed later in the conversation, had a heart inclined to Jesus. He invited him to his home so he could learn more about Him and ask Him questions. You will see from his thoughts into the evening that he believed Jesus to be a prophet. He was brave to invite Jesus when his fellow Pharisees were rejecting Jesus and even, with the priests and scribes, seeking ways to kill Him. Animosity towards Jesus brought the usually divided Pharisees and Sadducees into a semblance of unification.

But with Jesus in his house the Pharisee found out impossible things took place and light came into a dark world.

And there was a woman in the city who was a known sinner (a sinful and immoral person); and when she learned that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. Luke 7:37-38.

This woman knew about Jesus and came looking for Him. She had heard Jesus speak of repentance and the Kingdom. She had heard reports of the healings and of the signs that followed Him. She heard He forgave sins, even of those caught in adultery, and hope came into her heart of a new beginning, a clean slate.

“A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the LORD, .

She had heard His Words and they had touched her to her very core. She came of her own free will with true repentance in her heart. No blame, no questioning, only love. To take redemption, you must know you need it and you must want it. She did not care who saw her and what she looked like, she was focused on the One who forgave sins. And she did not come empty handed. She brought her most valuable possession.

You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. Exodus 23:15.

Burdened with her past and her present, she knew in Him there was forgiveness. Tired of living as an outcast from the Temple and the sacrifices, she came in hope against hope of finding a heart that would understand in Jesus and pull her out of her pain. And hope does not disappoint.

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.” Luke 7:39.

The Pharisee did not voice his contempt aloud, but carried on an inner conversation that condemned the woman and questioned My Son. Be careful about your inner conversations that condemn others and question Me. But My Son wanted to help the Pharisee to repent as well so He did not turn a deaf ear to the Pharisee’s thoughts but gave him a new perspective. When you are on the wrong track, I bring you back with a question. Like “Who told you that you were naked?” Or, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”

And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” Luke 7:40-43.

The Pharisee felt pleased that he had given the correct answer. Jesus never tears down and He never corrects without also giving edification and encouragement. A bruised reed He will not crush and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish. No, He will strengthen the weak and fan cold hearts into flame.

And now Jesus would teach the self-righteous Pharisee about the beauty of forgiveness and its affects on the sinner. It will make the sinner into a saint once set free of the encumbrance of the sin that so easily entangles those who let it creep in. And now the Pharisee is identified by name, Simon, in Hebrew, Shimeon (שִׁמְעוֹן), which means “listen” or “hearing.” Let him who has ears to hear, hear.

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. You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.” Luke 7:44-47.

The one who has very little love is forgiven very little, the one who has great love is forgiven much. David had great love towards Me, and I forgave him immediately. His repentant heart was a heart of loving gratitude for My forgiveness. He counted on it. Adam had no love for Me, no repentance. He died in his sin. But I was there to forgive.

Jesus then addressed the woman so she could leave without a doubt in her heart but go into the peace that passes understanding. Though her sins had been as red as crimson they had become as white as snow. She was willing and obedient. She would have the best of the land of the living.

Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go into peace.” Luke 7:48-50.

And I am the same yesterday, today and forever. Know that your faith in My love and forgiveness, as expressed in all I did for you in Jesus to set you free, has saved you, go in peace. This woman had encountered Love Himself in Jesus, a pure love that she had never known. It had nothing to do with flesh, but everything to do with spirit. Her heart was moved and her tears were no longer of torment but of joy.

I love you. Is it time you had a conversation with Jesus? But you will note, the repentant woman never said a word but her actions made it very clear what she was saying with her heart. Do not just give Me lip service, involve your heart in the conversation. I know what your heart is saying.