Whose Story Is It Anyway?
Whose Story Is It Anyway?
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
Imagine, if you will, that you are talking to someone who just read a story. It is a story you are unfamiliar with and this person is telling you a little bit about the story. There are only two characters in this story. We’ll call them A and B. And that’s it…no other characters. Now imagine, if you will, that this person is telling you about the two characters. This is what the person says. Only character A has any lines of dialogue in the story. Only character A has a name…character B is not given a name. The story take place entirely in character A’s home. We know only character A’s “job” for lack of a better term. And we even know what character A is thinking. Character B is not named. We are not told anything specific about character B’s life. Character B has no lines of dialogue. We have no mention of what Character B’s thoughts are. You would probably, and logically so, come away with the conclusion that the story is about Character A. By this time I am sure you’re thinking I’m going somewhere with this…and I’m sure you’re hoping I get there quickly. Let not you hearts be troubled.
One of the benefits of having a Gentile write one of the Gospels is that we get a somewhat different perspective on the ministry and work of Jesus. Luke was almost certainly a Gentile. So it comes as no surprise that the Gospel that bears his name has certain earmarks that the other Gospels lack. One of the most interesting aspects of Luke’s Gospel is his focus on the outcasts of society. He spends more time focusing on marginalized people. This, of course, does not mean the other Gospels do not do this. They all do. But it’s different with Luke. Being a Gentile in a Jewish culture, he himself was a part of a marginalized people. Many times the word Gentile was used as a synonym for “sinner”. He was an outsider in the society in which he lived. That’s why he focused so much on other outsiders.
His Gospel is full of outsiders within that culture. Women; the physically disabled (especially lepers); tax collectors; demon possessed people; wayward children; prostitutes; criminals; Samaritans. Luke is the only Gospel that records Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son. Luke is the only Gospel that records the salvation of the thief on the Cross. Luke is the only Gospel that records Jesus’ cleansing of the Ten Lepers noting that the only one who thanks Jesus was a Samaritan. Luke is the only Gospel that records the Parable of the Good Samaritan. You get the point.
Luke is also the only Gospel to record an event that to me personally is the most touching, and amazing of all of His interactions with people. This event can only be found in Luke. There are similar events in Matthew 26; Mark 14; and John 12…but this is a different event altogether. The event I am referring to is in Luke 7:36-50. So I don’t have to recap, I’ll give you time to read it. I’ll wait. Are you back? Good. As I said, this is a very well known story. But there is something very interesting going on here. The vast majority of folks will obviously see the woman as the main character in the story. And maybe that’s the case. But here’s the thing.
Using the scenario I started with…under most circumstances…she would not be viewed as the main character. Only Simon is given a name. The woman is not. Only Simon has a speaking role. The woman does not. Only Simon’s background is explicitly given. The woman’s is not. The entire event takes place in Simon’s house. Yet it is fascinating that the guy that seems to be the focus is almost reduced to an afterthought by readers. We should really pay more attention to him. It’s understandable, by the way. Jesus’ grace, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation take center stage and all of that is directed to the woman. She is the one redeemed. She is the one who is saved. She is the one who is forgiven. She is the one that leaves in peace.
Yet we know way more about Simon than we do about her. We ignore him and his plight to our own caution. We’re in Simon’s house…we know he is a Pharisee…we know he considers himself a righteous person…we hear his words…we even know his thoughts. The woman is unnamed. We don’t where she is from or where she lives. We do know she is broken. We can read between the lines to see she is clearly a prostitute. We don’t know her thoughts…we don’t hear her words. But we know she’s lost. Utterly lost. She is being crushed under the weight of her own sin. And in her desperation she throws herself at Jesus’ feet…and His mercy. She does not ask one thing of Jesus verbally. She simply weeps and her tears fall on Jesus’ feet. She is so ashamed of her sin that she can’t even allow her tears to “stain” His feet so she wiped them off with her hair. It’s easy to see why we would focus solely on her.
But what about Simon. It was not out of kindness that he invited Jesus. The Pharisees had an acrimonious relationship with Jesus. He was not even extending basic, polite courtesies to Jesus…which Jesus clearly pointed out. He viewed Jesus as a fraud which is revealed in his thoughts. And here’s the kicker…he thought he was a righteous, Godly man devoid of sin. He reveals this in his thoughts when he thought that if Jesus was Who He claimed to be that he would know this woman “is a sinner”. Meaning clearly, he did not see himself as a sinner. As Hamlet once said: “Ay, there’s the rub.”
We know from the end of these passages that the woman was saved. Jesus Himself says so in Luke 7:50. But there is another person here. Simon. Jesus did not give such an assurance to Simon. He did not tell Simon he could “go in peace” as He said to the woman. There would be no peace with Simon. There would be no salvation for Simon. Not because he didn’t greet Jesus in a polite manner. But because Simon himself should have been at Jesus’ feet. His tears should have been falling on Jesus’ feet. He should have realized the crushing weight of his own sin. But he didn’t do any of those things. Why? Because he thought he was just fine. He was a religious leader…not a sinful prostitute. She needed saving…but he didn’t.
The single biggest reason people are not saved is not atheism or agnosticism or ignorance. It is because of the fallacy of the good person. When you think you are a basically good person, you don’t need a Savior. When you minimize your sin, you don’t need a Savior. When you think of yourself more highly than you ought, you don’t need a Savior. The woman was saved, in part, because of her understanding of how desperately she needed saving. Yes, the woman was saved…and we rejoice for that. But Simon was not because of his refusal to acknowledge his sin and beg forgiveness from the only One Who could save him. So important is this element that it has led me to ask this question: Who is this story really about?
-Dr. Danny Purvis
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
Imagine, if you will, that you are talking to someone who just read a story. It is a story you are unfamiliar with and this person is telling you a little bit about the story. There are only two characters in this story. We’ll call them A and B. And that’s it…no other characters. Now imagine, if you will, that this person is telling you about the two characters. This is what the person says. Only character A has any lines of dialogue in the story. Only character A has a name…character B is not given a name. The story take place entirely in character A’s home. We know only character A’s “job” for lack of a better term. And we even know what character A is thinking. Character B is not named. We are not told anything specific about character B’s life. Character B has no lines of dialogue. We have no mention of what Character B’s thoughts are. You would probably, and logically so, come away with the conclusion that the story is about Character A. By this time I am sure you’re thinking I’m going somewhere with this…and I’m sure you’re hoping I get there quickly. Let not you hearts be troubled.
One of the benefits of having a Gentile write one of the Gospels is that we get a somewhat different perspective on the ministry and work of Jesus. Luke was almost certainly a Gentile. So it comes as no surprise that the Gospel that bears his name has certain earmarks that the other Gospels lack. One of the most interesting aspects of Luke’s Gospel is his focus on the outcasts of society. He spends more time focusing on marginalized people. This, of course, does not mean the other Gospels do not do this. They all do. But it’s different with Luke. Being a Gentile in a Jewish culture, he himself was a part of a marginalized people. Many times the word Gentile was used as a synonym for “sinner”. He was an outsider in the society in which he lived. That’s why he focused so much on other outsiders.
His Gospel is full of outsiders within that culture. Women; the physically disabled (especially lepers); tax collectors; demon possessed people; wayward children; prostitutes; criminals; Samaritans. Luke is the only Gospel that records Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son. Luke is the only Gospel that records the salvation of the thief on the Cross. Luke is the only Gospel that records Jesus’ cleansing of the Ten Lepers noting that the only one who thanks Jesus was a Samaritan. Luke is the only Gospel that records the Parable of the Good Samaritan. You get the point.
Luke is also the only Gospel to record an event that to me personally is the most touching, and amazing of all of His interactions with people. This event can only be found in Luke. There are similar events in Matthew 26; Mark 14; and John 12…but this is a different event altogether. The event I am referring to is in Luke 7:36-50. So I don’t have to recap, I’ll give you time to read it. I’ll wait. Are you back? Good. As I said, this is a very well known story. But there is something very interesting going on here. The vast majority of folks will obviously see the woman as the main character in the story. And maybe that’s the case. But here’s the thing.
Using the scenario I started with…under most circumstances…she would not be viewed as the main character. Only Simon is given a name. The woman is not. Only Simon has a speaking role. The woman does not. Only Simon’s background is explicitly given. The woman’s is not. The entire event takes place in Simon’s house. Yet it is fascinating that the guy that seems to be the focus is almost reduced to an afterthought by readers. We should really pay more attention to him. It’s understandable, by the way. Jesus’ grace, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation take center stage and all of that is directed to the woman. She is the one redeemed. She is the one who is saved. She is the one who is forgiven. She is the one that leaves in peace.
Yet we know way more about Simon than we do about her. We ignore him and his plight to our own caution. We’re in Simon’s house…we know he is a Pharisee…we know he considers himself a righteous person…we hear his words…we even know his thoughts. The woman is unnamed. We don’t where she is from or where she lives. We do know she is broken. We can read between the lines to see she is clearly a prostitute. We don’t know her thoughts…we don’t hear her words. But we know she’s lost. Utterly lost. She is being crushed under the weight of her own sin. And in her desperation she throws herself at Jesus’ feet…and His mercy. She does not ask one thing of Jesus verbally. She simply weeps and her tears fall on Jesus’ feet. She is so ashamed of her sin that she can’t even allow her tears to “stain” His feet so she wiped them off with her hair. It’s easy to see why we would focus solely on her.
But what about Simon. It was not out of kindness that he invited Jesus. The Pharisees had an acrimonious relationship with Jesus. He was not even extending basic, polite courtesies to Jesus…which Jesus clearly pointed out. He viewed Jesus as a fraud which is revealed in his thoughts. And here’s the kicker…he thought he was a righteous, Godly man devoid of sin. He reveals this in his thoughts when he thought that if Jesus was Who He claimed to be that he would know this woman “is a sinner”. Meaning clearly, he did not see himself as a sinner. As Hamlet once said: “Ay, there’s the rub.”
We know from the end of these passages that the woman was saved. Jesus Himself says so in Luke 7:50. But there is another person here. Simon. Jesus did not give such an assurance to Simon. He did not tell Simon he could “go in peace” as He said to the woman. There would be no peace with Simon. There would be no salvation for Simon. Not because he didn’t greet Jesus in a polite manner. But because Simon himself should have been at Jesus’ feet. His tears should have been falling on Jesus’ feet. He should have realized the crushing weight of his own sin. But he didn’t do any of those things. Why? Because he thought he was just fine. He was a religious leader…not a sinful prostitute. She needed saving…but he didn’t.
The single biggest reason people are not saved is not atheism or agnosticism or ignorance. It is because of the fallacy of the good person. When you think you are a basically good person, you don’t need a Savior. When you minimize your sin, you don’t need a Savior. When you think of yourself more highly than you ought, you don’t need a Savior. The woman was saved, in part, because of her understanding of how desperately she needed saving. Yes, the woman was saved…and we rejoice for that. But Simon was not because of his refusal to acknowledge his sin and beg forgiveness from the only One Who could save him. So important is this element that it has led me to ask this question: Who is this story really about?
-Dr. Danny Purvis
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