Warnings of Jesus; Second Tour of Galilee

Well, we're studying a section of the life of Christ where his popularity and fame is spreading. There are great crowds that are following him, and yet in the midst of that there is also rising and fermenting opposition to our Lord and His ministry on the part of the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the nation. We talked about Jesus' ministry in the Kaepernum area, the healing of the centurion servant last week. We talked about the raising of the widow's son at Nain, and then we began talking about the message from John the Baptist. The message that John had sent to question whether or not Jesus was really the one, the Messiah, or whether or not they should be looking for another one. And we talked about why John would ask that kind of a question, and then we focused on Jesus response to John and how gracious and kind and tender he was and uplifting and encouraging about John rather than taking the opportunity to correct or rebuke or to make him look bad in front of the crowd for doubting Jesus. He responded in such a gracious way. And what an example that is for us is we watch our Lord's life and those kinds of things. We were right in the middle of that passage when we ended last week, so I want to invite your attention to Matthew chapter 11, and we'll begin back in verse 11 to kind of catch the flow of thought here, Matthew 11, verse 11, we'll finish out this story about the message of John and how Jesus responds. Jesus says in verse 11, I tell you the truth among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist, yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. We had talked about that verse, but notice something that Jesus says in verse 12 that is equally puzzling in the minds and hearts of many people. He says from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it. What do you think Jesus means by that? Kingdom of heaven is forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it. What's that about? What's he talking about there? Resistance? Resistance, okay? All right. Any other ideas? We'll pull together some ideas if you have them and then we'll try to sort them out and see where we think we end up. Resistance, okay? Any other ideas or thoughts? Bill? Okay. All right. The kingdom has suffered violence and the violent take it by force. What do you think that might be referring to? That particular translation kind of favors one interpretation of this passage. I'm trying to get an answer. I don't know either. That's funny. Steve? Persecution for following Christ, okay? So resistance to the kingdom or violent people seeking to lay hold of it is one idea. Persecution for following Christ is another idea that is a common interpretation of this passage. Any other thoughts? You've really hit on the two major interpretations of this passage or the two ways that most commentators and people who write on the scriptures would take this passage. And one is that the kingdom of God is forcefully advancing in the sense that it's growing powerful and that really fits into the context of Jesus spreading fame and popularity and the crowds that are swelling to hear him and see the miracles. Kingdom of God is forcefully advancing and the forceful or forceful men lay hold of it. Many take that to mean that because of the persecution that people coming into the kingdom will face that it is only those who are courageous and bold who are forceful in a sense who will lay hold of the kingdom and stick it out if you will. So that's one major interpretation. There are many who believe that's what the passage is referring to. And then there are others who say that because the kingdom is forcefully advancing in the sense of growing quickly and people's response to Jesus that the second part of Jesus' statement refers to what Walt mentioned resistance or opposition that there are forceful people who because of the growing popularity of Jesus are seeking to lay hold of this and stop it. And so Jesus would be referring to the Pharisees in this case. I'm not sure which one he means to be honest. I would slightly favor the second of those that Jesus is referring to the rising growth of interest in his ministry and message and the kingdom that is being offered. But there are people who are seeking to oppose it in very strenuous ways and trying to lay hold of it and do a way with it in a sense as far as the growing popularity of Jesus in his ministry. I would take it that way. But it's a little it's one of those sayings that's a little difficult to know exactly maybe what Jesus intended by that. Any other thoughts? I'm very much aware now that when I'm teaching like this, there are those of you sitting out there with good study Bibles with good study notes. There are others of you sitting out there with iPads and you're looking stuff up in commentaries and all of that kind of thing. I can see the blue glows on your face. You know I know what you're doing. So you know you may have you may find some insight that I haven't looked at or discovered yet Larry. Yeah that's a that's an interesting thought from the immediate context. He's been talking about the very powerful ministry of John. What did you go out to see a man in soft clothing? You know that no no he was a powerful prophet of God and so in that sense of the immediate context then that would tend to favor the idea that forceful men take hold of it in the sense that this is not this is not persisting what we're talking about here. Okay so that that may tend to favor that. Mark this down on your list of questions you want to clarify when you get to heaven. Okay and I'm in a sense mean that seriously we will come to a better understanding of things when we get there but I don't know that we'll take a lot of time satisfying our curiosity in heaven about our questions. But Jesus goes on to say in verse 13 for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John and if you are willing to accept it he speaking of John he is the Elijah who was to come. We talked about that a little bit early on when we were introducing the gospels and talking about Elijah and we talked about this passage. Again this is a passage that there are different ways of looking at it. There are some who who there are actually three passages that where John and Elijah intersect each other and in Luke chapter 1 verse 17 the angel Gabriel in announcing John's birth said he will come in the spirit and power of Elijah and prepare the way for the Lord and turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and vice versa that's combination of two prophecies in Malachi 4 which is about Elijah coming before the day of the Lord before Christ comes and then also a combination of Isaiah 40 that he will prepare the way of the Lord. So John's ministry will be in the spirit and the power of Elijah and then this passage which says if you accept it he is the Elijah who was to come. In other words he would fulfill the prophecy of Elijah the one who was to come to prepare the nation for the coming of Christ but then in John's era in Matthew 17 when Jesus comes down from the mount of transfiguration and the disciples have just seen Moses and Elijah with him there on the mountain and they ask him what the prophets mean that Elijah would come before the coming of the day of the Lord and Jesus says Elijah does come and the key to that is understanding is he saying Elijah has come or Elijah will come and those who say well Elijah has come and in fact the passage goes on to say that he was not accepted and they understood that he was talking about John the Baptist but there are many who take the Matthew 17 passage to indicate that Elijah still will literally come in the future before the second coming and may well be one of the two witnesses in the book of Revelation there's a lot of conjecture about that and that could be it couldn't you know it may or may not be who knows for sure but I think the point here is that if Israel had accepted the message of the kingdom John certainly would have fulfilled that prophecy of the Elijah who would come to prepare the way of the Lord since Israel did not receive the kingdom and did not accept their king that kind of leaves the door open at least for a more complete fulfillment of that prophecy in the tribulation time verse 15 he who has ears to hear let him hear and then Jesus says something very interesting here as he completes this confirmation of John's ministry he says verse 16 to what can I compare this generation they are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to others we played the flute for you and you did not dance we sang a dirge and you did not mourn the idea is that he's comparing this generation to children who are not satisfied with anything you suggest they do with any game you suggest they play let's play wedding feast let's have a feast and let's dance no I don't want to do that well let's play funeral no I don't want to do that you know just like kids who are very petulant and don't want to do anything that's suggested then he makes the gripping application of that in verse 18 for John came neither eating nor drinking and they say he has a demon verse 19 the son of man came eating and drinking and they say here is a glutton and a drunkard a friend of tax collectors and centers so the idea is you weren't satisfied with John's ministry and it was on this end of the spectrum almost ascetic almost an extreme self denial type of ministry and you wouldn't accept that and here comes the son of man who will go to a banquet and and will eat with others with even associate with centers and you don't like that either you're critical of both and then Jesus makes this very interesting observation but wisdom is proved right by her actions some translations will say by her children the fruit of a ministry the fruit of a ministry demonstrates its wisdom is what Jesus is saying and there is a sense in which you say God blessed the ministry of John it bore fruit God is blessing my ministry it's bearing fruit at very different ministries very different approaches but God is at work in both and it is the fruit that demonstrates his blessing there's a great lesson I think to be learned there about our tendency to favor one ministry or one preacher or evangelist or whatever over another and you know like the Corinthians did well I'm a Paul guy I'm a Peter guy I'm a a Paulus guy and then some who said I'm a Jesus guy you know we're the real spiritual ones there we have a tendency to do that and and we need to recognize God uses different people in different ways different levels of response but the fruit of the ministry in people coming to know Christ and growing up in him is the determining factors to whether or not God is involved and he may use different people in different ways so we need to be open to that okay I've said all I want to say on this particular story any comments or questions before we move on to the next event okay couple Steve I think was first helpful and then, comparing the sounds of how the words were very, very powerful, saying to these of the people, people who were afraid of the words of character, these people who were just powerful of these. And the folks, these people of that generation, who were very great and were not afraid to follow that in that manner. You know, it didn't even happen right before you were just like the right person. Okay. The immediate context, I think, is we observed before, does tend to favor maybe that approach. But I think there can be a combination here. I really think we can still see it as, Kingdom of God is forcefully advancing. It's growing, but there are people who are trying to squash it. Forceful men trying to lay hold of it. I still think that can go either way, but maybe the immediate context would favor that understanding. Walt, you had a question or comment? Yes. There's a passage where the disciples wanted to produce someone who was apparently preaching you in the name of Christ. Christ told him that he was leaving the world so that they're not against the earth. Could we use that same bottle of asphalt feeling of the church's state, like, walls, and context? I think so. If you didn't hear Walt's question, Walt is saying there was an occasion in the Gospels where the disciples saw a person who was preaching was not with them and said they're not with us. We should re-rebuke them in the Lord said, no, don't rebuke them if he's not against us. He's with us. Can we use that for modern day application with other churches and so forth? And I think, yes, to a certain degree. Obviously, God uses different people, not just our kind, our group, our domination, or whatever. God uses different people. We have to make sure in this day and age, in their plenty of warnings of Scripture about this as well, especially in the pastoral epistles, to make sure that they are doctrinally correct. So you have to draw some lines somewhere. It's not everybody that says Lord, that really knows Christ, and is really doing His work. So we have to make sure they're doctrinally correct, but there are people in different groups who are doctrinally straight on the basics and may not see everything the way we see it, but we shouldn't rebuke them. We're in the same, we're on the same team. So I think there's some application there to us today. I went to a Grace Brethren seminary. It's not just Baptists or independent Bible churches that are doing great works for God. There are some other great people in other groups who are doing wonderful work for God. We can't become exclusive of those kinds of books. I'm almost sure it's even a personal doctrine of these almost sure it's even an hour from there. Yes. Exactly. That's a good point. I'm not sure if anybody who comes to think of this, he's got it all right. It's the first sign you better beware. We all ought to have a humble spirit and seek to learn, because although the Bible can be understood by anyone who is open to study and the Spirit of God's leadership, nobody should have the pride to say I understand it all, and I've got it all right. So it's a good reminder. Yes. We can learn a lot from other people who can help us to sharpen our study of the Word and our understanding of the Word. People who may not agree with us with everything can cause us to think more deeply about, am I really seeing this correctly? So it's a good exercise. I think someone else had a hand up back there. I don't know if you were just slain in the Spirit or what, but... That shouldn't have said that. Any other comments or questions? Okay. Let's just go right on in Matthew's account here, verse 20, the woes on the cities of opportunity. Matthew, chapter 11, verse 20, this is where Jesus begins the warnings that we wanted to talk about tonight. Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles have been performed because they did not repent. Woe to you, Chorazan. Woe to you, Betheseda. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in Sackcloth and Ashes. But I tell you it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No. You will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you. Before we jump into this or two or three things I want to deal with here, but let's look at the map. Because Jesus points out three cities that the Bible says many of His miracles were done in. At this point in His ministry and they are Chorazan, Betheseda and Capernum. Now remember we've seen all of them right in this region on the north side of the Sea of Galilee. We've seen that Capernum really is the Lord's home base, if you will, for His Galilee and ministry. It spends a lot of time there and we've already seen several miracles that have taken place there. But no doubt this whole region. I mean the sermon on the Mount was done from this area. This whole region, you talk about great crowds following Him. Obviously the people from right next door have the greatest opportunity to hear, to see, to witness the Lord's ministry. And so the people in this region have had great opportunity. So Jesus says to these cities, whoa, whoa is a dangerous word. It's a word that was used in the prophets and the Old Testament of judgment. It meant judgment on you. God's judgment is coming on you. And so really this is a message of warning of God's judgment. Judgment on you, Betheseda, Chorazan. And then notice, he says, if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed on Tyre and Sidon. And if we, I'm sorry Greg, if we can go back to that map, you won't, well you won't see Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon are coastal cities out of the region of Israel up here in what is often known in the Bible is Phoenicia. And so these are Gentile cities. Okay, these are not even in Israel. And he says, if the miracles that had been done around you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented a long time ago. There's something very interesting about what Jesus says here. And it is this that God knows every potential circumstance. This is one of the passages that is one of the amazing passages about the omniscience of God. When we talk about God's omniscience, we're talking about God knows all things. And when we think of that, we typically think of God knows all actual events. He does. He knows all actual events in the past, in the present, and that will happen in the future. But this is one of those passages that says that's not where God's omniscience stops. God knows every potential circumstance that could happen, that could have happened in the past, that could but will not happen in the future. You see Tyre and Sidon did not have the opportunities that Betheseda and Coruscan had. They did not repent, but God knows what would have happened if they'd had the same opportunity. So God's knowledge is far beyond just knowing all things. It's knowing all potential circumstances or all potential events under all potential circumstances. This is one of those passages that when you begin to think about it, it just blows your mind at the knowledge of God, his omniscience. So Jesus makes this authoritative statement as to what would have happened if these people had had the same light and opportunity that the people in his ministry had had. I'm not sure. Help me a little bit. I can obviously, Jesus did say that they would have repaid in other words they would have been terrified. They would have been terrified. I'm not sure. Help me a little bit. I can obviously, Jesus did say that they would have repaid in other words they would have been terrified. And believe that they were in the presence of God or something or the Son of God, and they would have recognized the Son of God. But if that were the place that they could face, then you see that that's my problem. I think I know where you're coming from. I mean God is going to say all those who beat the grant. We're telling you that we're talking about a potential circumstance that because it didn't happen, we know it was not in the mind of God for it to happen. So in that sense it's an impossibility. But I think what he's saying is if these people had seen the same miracles, heard the same teaching, had had the same opportunity, they would have recognized those were the credentials of the Messiah, they would have trusted him and accepted him as Messiah and as Savior. Really it's a statement about the rejection of the people in Corson and Vets-Seda more than it is about the potential repentance of the people in Tyrant's side. If there were no believers in Tyrant, but they would be good and they would experience damn things in a public room. Certainly. And that's exactly what Jesus goes on to say in verse 22, it will be more bearable for Tyrant's side and on the day of judgment than for you. They will still be judged and they will still be held accountable for not having trusted the Lord, but it will be more bearable for them. Now that opens up a whole other can of worms that I have no clue how to explain. I'm glad because that would be way too much confidence in this teacher's ability. I accept Jesus' statement for what it says. There is another passage that deals with this same thing in Luke 12 where Jesus is talking about the opportunities before Israel and those who have been with many stripes or those who have had much light and much opportunity and refuse to be with many stripes and others who are beaten with few stripes. I accept the statements that in the judgment for people who are ultimately going to be in the lake of fire, there is some kind of levels of punishment. Now how that works, what it looks like, I don't understand. I simply don't and I don't know that anybody does. Hell is hell, the lake of fire is the lake of fire. How it can be more bearable. Obviously we know the great white throne judgment which is for all unsafe people. People are judged according to their works. So that again indicates that there will be levels of punishment because not every unsafe person has the same degree of sin and same degree of evil in their lives. So in some way there will be levels of punishment but how that works, I don't know. Steve, very quickly please. Well we haven't gotten that far yet. Go ahead. So we got in place that these things happen and I think kind of the point you have got that you are sending this to the fire is on to this which you are going to have to worry about. Let's hang on to that thought. But he finishes up by saying in verse 23 and you cappernum will you be lifted up to the skies, same type of thing here. No cappernum, you will be taken down to the depths if the miracles that were performed and you had been performed in Sodom. Now this must have really out. This must have hurt. Sodom is the quintessential example in the Old Testament of people who deserve to be judged. And Jesus is using them for example if they had had the light you had they would have repented. It will be more tolerable or more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you. Here's the point. God's judgment is based on opportunity and a light that you've had. You have more opportunity you have more light you have more information you have more of God's revelation. You've got more to answer for. That's the whole point here. The people who saw Jesus in person, heard him teach, saw his miracles, all the credentials. They have a lot more responsibility, opportunity and a lot more to answer for than people back in the Old Testament like in Sodom who had very little light, very little witness given to them. Not certainly like Copernum would have had. Which should save volumes to us about the opportunities that we have and how much we have to be accountable for. I hope everybody in this room knows Christ as Savior and so you've already crossed that bridge and taken care of that where you will not fit into the category of a Copernum, a Coruscant or a Beth said it. But even as believers we still have a lot to answer for because of all the opportunity and the light we have and the ability to be taught the scriptures. I mean there are places in this world where people can't even get their hands on Bible and we haven't stacked up at home. We have a lot to answer for, a lot to give an account for and I think sometimes we kind of shrug that off. That's very serious. Very serious. Okay, I think I saw a hand. Was it Greg? No, it's not. It's here in the field of the field and you know, all the God. Yeah, that's a great point. You know. Yes, send and send and send in one sense in another sense. It's not and we're really dealing with two different things here in the sense that any sin no matter how slight it may appear to us is an eternal offense against the Holy God. Then if I tell one white lie in my life and that's all I ever do wrong, I am guilty and condemned to hell in that sense. Send a send a send James to 10. If you offend in one point, you're guilty of all James says. That was his point that all sin renders us guilty before Holy God, but not all sin is equal in its damaging effects on us or others. Okay, obviously the social consequences of sin for other people for our families, you know, my telling a white lie is not going to be as damaging to my family in its consequences to them as maybe a lifetime of drunkenness and abuse of my family. So, you know, there are different levels of consequences and so in that sense, we can see that some sins are worse than others, but in the sense of violating the Holy Standard of Holy God, no matter what the sin is, it's equally done that. You're right, but we're dealing with two different things here. Sin will be punished, will be judged, even unsafe people, we judge because of their works. Not every unsafe person's works are as deeply sinful as others. Not everybody sins to the same level, of the depravity or in the same number of ways. So in the sense of judgment, there's a distinction. Yes, Charlie? I don't know. I don't know. I think there's love in the body else, judgment, there's nothing to do with that matter. You're coming to jail on it, Charlie, you're holding, not drinking, you just have to send the demon to jail and try to keep it up. And you're offering the job to keep you stale, just keep it up. You still love your ears, you know, you're more of a drunk, but you're at it. Now the death of this man is the main reason that this world will not open up to himself, but he will not be here to give his people a never-ending struggle to not even have love. He said technology to those who have dreams is a divine hope. And it's a much more powerful love than the world. Yes. That's what I think is the problem that I know. The problem of the religious lawful man, that I need to get in the air. Okay. Yeah, there's a lot of that in this passage. And I think ultimately in the things we don't understand about judgment and the very things we're talking about now, degrees of punishment and so forth, where we have to come down as exactly what you said, Charlie. And we have to leave that with him. So I'm content to leave that with him and move on. Let's move on to real quickly, verse 25. At that time, Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, because you've hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. What Jesus is talking there in the context is who has received the message and who has rejected it. The people who rejected it were the real wise and learned ones, or the ones that studied the Old Testament that should have known. And the ones who received him gladly were for the most part the common people. I think that's where he's what he's talking about here. But all of that is in the Father's control. He says, this was your pleasure. You've revealed it to those who were like little children. And this was your good pleasure. And then notice this very strong statement in verse 27, all things have been committed to me by my father. No one knows the Son except the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Very strong statement on God's sovereignty in getting the message to people and them understanding it. And it's those kinds of passages that bother people, that disturb people. But usually when there's a passage like that, there is almost immediately in the same context a balance to it. And that's exactly what Jesus does here. Jesus states something that is beyond our ability to fully understand the latest God's sovereignty and salvation. Whom he chooses to reveal this to, he chooses to reveal it's his pleasure. I don't have any say in that, but then notice Jesus goes right back to a universal invitation. Verse 28, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. So right after the strong statement on the sovereignty of God and God's part in our salvation, which is beyond our ability to fully understand, he goes right back to human responsibility. And there's always that balance in Scripture. Go to John 6 where Jesus says, no man can come to me except the, no man can come to the Father except the Spirit draw him. Very strong statement of God's part in salvation and in the very same context, he says, anyone who comes to me, I will not cast out. So it's your responsibility. You come to me. So there's this balance in Scripture that we've got to maintain. It's one of those tensions that we don't want to go too far in either direction. We want to keep it in tension in balance. And so yes, God is sovereign in salvation. It is his pleasure. What happens? He chooses to whom he will reveal. But the invitation is to everybody. Come, come Jesus says, all you, all you who labor and have a laden and I will give you rest. So the invitation is universal and that puts the responsibility on us to come. And in verse 29, take my yoke upon you. The yoke that block of wood that would tie two oxen together so they could pull together. That concept was used in New Testament times of coming under the training and teaching of a rabbi or of a teacher. And so Jesus says, take my yoke. Become my disciple. Learn from me. And he says, for I am gentle and humble in heart. By the way, that's the only time Jesus ever said anything the gospel about his own character. His own personality character type that type of thing. I am gentle and humble in heart. He says, and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy. My burden is lighter direct contrast to the Pharisees and the heavy burdens they were placing on everybody to keep all the minutia of the not only the law, but all of their interpretations of the law. Jesus would later say in Matthew 23, you buying burdens on men's backs. You're not willing to carry yourself. You can't even handle all that yourself. And you expect everybody else to do that. And so Jesus says, come to me. If you're burdened and pressed down, I will give you rest. My yoke is easy. My burden is light. I'm not going to burden you down with all of that stuff. The religious traditions of the Pharisees. I'm asking you to follow me. That's not that there were no standards. Jesus had just gotten through with the sermon on the mount. The standard is very high, but it's a standard that has worked in and through us by the Holy Spirit as we become more light Christ in our growth. It's not a standard we have to meet up to in order to get in. Okay, and that's why Jesus said, just come to me. Just come to me. And I'll give you rest. Spiritual rest. So there's a balance here between God's sovereign design, in salvation, and the free invitation to everybody to come and receive Christ. And that balance is consistent, not only in the gospels, but also in the epistles. Okay, well, on the things of opportunity, we've probably done enough there. Any comment or question quickly before we move on, at least introduce the next story. Okay, Luke chapter seven, let's at least introduce the next story in this part of our Lord's ministry. And that is the anointing of Christ's feet by a sinful woman. Luke chapter seven, or excuse me, Luke seven verse 36. This appears to be the next event recorded in the gospels. And again, we don't know how much time is involved here. It just says now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him. We don't know if it was a week later, two weeks later, a month later. We don't really know. So again, the gospel writers pick out certain events in our Lord's life. And it's not exact consecutive as far as this next day or whatever. But this seems to be the next event that is recorded in the gospels. Verse 36 says he went to the Pharisees house and reclined at the table. But in those days, regardless of what Leonardo da Vinci painted in the last supper, they didn't sit at tables like that. They would recline at a very low lying table with their feet stretched out behind them. And you have to be able to see that in order to understand this story. It's not like the woman crawled under the table to get to his feet. It's a different setting than what we think of today. And so what is everybody is facing the table, probably reclining on their left elbow, their feet are stretched out behind them. It's like spokes on a wheel as you're at this table. And so it would be very easy for her to reach his feet. In fact, that would be the first part of him that would be accessible when she would come in the room. So he's reclining at the table. Verse 37, when a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisees house, she brought an alabaster jar perfume long narrow neck jar alabaster jar of perfume. Verse 38, as she stood behind him at his feet, weeping. Evidently, she got close to him and broke down. Now what does that say about her conviction? Okay. What do you think has been going on in her heart? Guilt fear. Forgiveness. Repentance. Okay. Yeah, probably both. Yes. Shame. Probably a lot of things going on. Maybe everything you've mentioned is going on here, but it leads me to believe that somewhere along the line she's been in one of those crowds. And she's heard Jesus teach. I mean, she knows who he is. And she's heard where he is. And she wants to come to him. Why would she do that unless she understood and believe who he was? So maybe she's been in one of those crowds or someone has told her about Jesus. And there's something going on in her heart. I think by way of true repentance and faith. I mean, we'll see later on that Jesus acknowledges her faith. Murt, you have a question or comment? I think she. In some way she knew that the Jesus was the way that God made her life. Yeah. Yeah, there's something going on here like that that she knows that in order to get her life right with God, she must come to him to Jesus. And so she breaks down evidently when she gets to him and begins weeping. Carolyn. Perceptive all. Yeah. More up than other things. Because I mean, they didn't see that at them. And it's like that. Yeah. And she was excessive enough in what knowledge she did. Exactly. And then it called her a great deal of I guess, latitude would come in to that thought that it should happen. Yeah. I tried to place myself in her shoes and wondered how I would respond is I was the one doing this. And so I think she's probably one more perspective. Perceptive all. I think that's a great way to say it. I think she is a beautiful example and the Pharisee Simon as Jesus will identify him a little bit later. She and Simon are a beautiful example of what Jesus has just said. The father has revealed these things to the little children and not to the wise and learned. Simon is one of the wise and learning. He's a Pharisee. He's a religious leader. This woman would be at the very lowest end of society. And she's the one who has the perception to realize who he is, not Simon. And Jesus will really nail him on that at this dinner. But let's at least finish the verse and then we'll go. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping. She began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. That obviously is an evidence of worship. One of the one of the new testament words for worship, by the way, Prascanero means to kiss toward. It means to literally bow before a king and to kiss toward as a sign of homage, as a sign of reverence. And it's very much what she's doing. Very much what she's doing. This is not inappropriate. This is nothing immoral or anything like that. This was a cultural way of expressing worship and adoration. And for one who would be royalty. I mean, that's the way you would do that. And so she's, she really is expressing a deep-seated sense of probably all the things you've mentioned involved in it. Gil remorse, faith, repentance and because of that gratitude and worship and awe. I think all of that probably is involved here. Okay, it's one minute after eight. Charlie, if you can give me a 30 second question. What do you think I'm also feeling in the presence of the dead? Which one is more appreciative of being forgiven and a dead or a little later? In fact, that's exactly what Jesus is going to say at this occasion. And we'll have to get that next week. Okay, but that's exactly your, she leaves right into that. And Jesus talks about that in this setting. Let's pray and we'll close.