Read Luke 7:11-5011And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. 12Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 13And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. 16And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. 17And this rumor of him went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the region round about. 18And the disciples of John showed him of all these things. 19And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? 20When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? 21And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. 22Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. 23And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. 24And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 25But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts. 26But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. 27This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 28For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. 29And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. 30But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. 31And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? 32They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. 33For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. 34The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! 35But wisdom is justified of all her children. 36And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. 37And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. 39Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. 40And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 41There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? 43Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. 44And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 50And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. (Luke 7:11‑50)
In this passage two scenes are brought before us. In the one we find the Lord enters the city of Nain, and in the other He is a guest in the house of the Pharisee. The meaning of the word Nain is "beautiful."
It is a beautiful place to which the Lord comes; but what is then presented to Him? The saddest picture which earth could offer! He meets at the gate of the city a widow who had lost her only son. This was the filling up of sorrow. Greater you could not find. We can hardly estimate the desolation of a widow in those days. There was no provision made for them as now; and here was one, not only a widow, but one who had lost her only son, on whom her heart naturally fastened, and who had grown up to be her stay. He was dead, and she was left utterly desolate. What a commentary on the beautiful things of this earth! Here was a beautiful place, but what misery of heart in it; and the Lord comes to it only to find there the greatest human sorrow!
Elisha had found the same terrible contrast at Jericho. The "men of the city" say to him, "Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, a n d the ground barren." There was a positive attraction in the place itself, but then there was death and barrenness in it. The earth is like Jericho and Nain. That there is beauty in it I do not deny, but I say also there is death in it; "the water is naught, and the ground barren." 2 Kings 2:1919And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren. (2 Kings 2:19).
The blessed Lord came to declare God's thoughts about man, and here we find Him in this place called "beautiful," before a case of sorrow that, humanly speaking, was irreparable. What could you or I do in such a scene? What was all the beauty of the place to the widow when her last link to earth was gone?
But God had visited His people. Here was One who had come to destroy (not death only, but) "Him that had the power of death,... and deliver them, who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb. 2:14, 1514Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2:14‑15)). Well, it is He who comes to relieve the sorrow and desolation of this scene at Nain. His word is, "Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up.... And He delivered him to his mother."
Let us look now at the other scene. The Lord's fame had gone abroad. The "rumor of Him went forth throughout all Judea." And in verse 36 we find Him a guest in a Pharisee's house. He is now revealed as the Savior. In this day we hear a great deal about salvation, but I want more than salvation; and I have more; I have a Savior!
What is the difference? you may ask. Why this-even that I have the Person who wrought the salvation. Many a one who is not yet sure of the forgiveness of sins is more devoted than some who say they are. One is theoretically right but practically wrong; the other is practically right but theoretically wrong. Not one of the apostles, before the death of Christ, would speak with assurance of the forgiveness of sins; and yet how devoted they were. And why? They had got the Person.
It is the Lord's Person that is left out in the preaching of this day, while His work is proclaimed. If any sovereign of a country gave himself for me, would it not be far above any benefit he could confer?
Well, in Christ I have got the blessed One Himself-not salvation only, but a Savior. Simeon had the Savior in his arms (Luke 2). Nothing really satisfies the heart but a knowledge of the Person who has conferred the benefit. It is this that gives rest to the soul -security. I have love itself, the whole of His heart; and my necessity becomes the opportunity for the display of the love. Love is not exhausted by giving expression to itself, and GOD'S love is not happy till it has removed every hindrance to the expression of itself, and met my every need. Then only can it fully enjoy itself. The woman who touched His garment was made whole, but she had no sense of security till she knew the heart of the One who had healed her-till He made her to know, as it were, "I have done it, and with all My heart." Then she got the knowledge not only of salvation, but of a Savior (Luke 8).
Now it is just this which we get in this scene in the Pharisee's house. The report of the Lord had gone abroad, and this poor woman, when she knows where He is, comes to Him; for she says, I have got a Savior. Then mark! she comes to Him; she is drawn to Him; she was a sinner; she wanted a Savior; she knew that He sat in the Pharisee's house, and she was awakened to the sense of what He was in Himself.
How different was it with the Pharisee! He too had heard the rumor of this wondrous One who had brought in life when there was death, and he invited Him to his house. But mark the reception! Thus it is with many of the religious people of this day; they accord Him a certain reception, but there is no real link to Him. But this woman, who was a sinner, feels the magnitude and gravity of what He has wrought; and it is Himself, the Savior, that is before her mind, though she knows nothing about the extent of the blessing.
The Lord knows all about her history and state; and He says, "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much."
Now, this is just what characterizes a true reception of Christ. She has found out that He is the Savior; and how does she come to Him? Prepared to make the most of Him. She can do nothing else; she is taken up with the Person of the Lord; she is indifferent to the sneers of the Pharisees, and undeterred by her own wretched condition; she thinks only of making much of this blessed One. She was very ignorant, and as yet knew nothing of the forgiveness of sins; but she was regardless of everyone but Himself. He is her Savior, and her heart is so captivated with Him, that the one purpose of it is to make much of Him, at the expense of herself and everything else. Great love can make no account of self. To make much of its object is its one thought, and there is no effort. She "stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment."
The Pharisee received Him into his house, but had no thought of all these attentions, and in his heart he condemns her; but no matter what might be said of herself, her purpose was fixed; there was One before her to whom her heart was bound.
By an unseen process this woman is led to Christ; she is absorbed with Him. Like Jonathan to David, her soul is knit to Him, and the Lord takes it into account because He knew it was love. It is not a question of the amount done; it is the manner of the attention, the minuteness of it; and He marks the contrast between her and the Pharisee, and says, "Thou gavest Me no water for My feet: but she hath washed My feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest Me no kiss: but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint but this woman hath anointed My feet with ointment."
You may know the forgiveness of your sins, and yet your heart may not be bound to Him as it should be; and you may never have stepped out of your way for a moment to declare that He is the object of your heart, One so worthy in your eyes that the very thing that would distinguish you, is the very thing you would give to distinguish Him. Ah! if your soul has apprehended what Christ has wrought for you, your whole life will declare it. The order and depth of conversions are proved by the measure of the apprehension souls have of Him.
It is one thing to be saved, to have salvation, and another for your soul to be in immediate contact with your Savior. He has been lifted up as the brazen serpent. Have you looked and lived? If you have looked at Him, you cannot help loving Him; and, like Jonathan, your heart requires of you that its love should find expression without an effort.
We meet with conversions in the present day in which there is little evidence of affection to Him, no sense of who He is, or of His being personally an object to the heart. It is merely a question of happiness, or rather, rest of conscience. People are asked, "Are you happy?" I ask, "Have you found Christ?" And if you have, the distinguishing mark of your possession is that you delight in Him.
Neither do I believe it can be a happy conversion where forgiveness is everything. It is the one who is forgiven much that loves much; and where there is but little devotedness to Christ, there is little sense of what He has done. How often we are allowed to get into doubt, trouble, sorrow, just to bring to our souls the wonderful blessing of finding Christ our Object; when we have found Him, it is easy to give up everything for Him, nay it is pain to keep anything back from Him. Simeon, with the Babe in his arms, says, Everything for me is bound up in this Child; I do not want anything more. Peter forsook all to follow Him. Was it sorrow to him? It would have been far more sorrow if the Lord had forbidden him to do so. The man that was delivered besought Him that he might be with Him (Mark 5:1818And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. (Mark 5:18)). Zacchaeus wanted to see Him, and so this poor woman went straight to Him; He is her Savior. Paul says, He "loved me, and gave Himself for me." Can you say, He has done it for me? This is what occupies you with the Person; this is the mark of a true reception of Christ. If you have believed the testimony to His work, your heart ought to be occupied with the One who wrought it.
A devoted heart is only one that has discovered the worth of Christ, and no one can be devoted until he has discovered it. It is not a question of time or attainment; the immediate and necessary consequence of this secret being divulged to your heart is to make it true to the One to whom it is so deeply indebted. Love makes much of its object, and counts it not self-sacrifice. Self drops off when my Savior becomes the one Object of my heart.