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If Jesus Lived Today How Would He Handle Sincerity
(Luke 7:44-47; Matt. 9:10-13)
(Delivered 9-22-02)

The motivational speaker who was energizing a group of salesmen
said, "Now, when it comes to sincerity, there's only one rule,
'Always be sincere whether you mean it or not.' "

Well, it makes a big difference to God whether we mean it or
not. The Psalmist said, "Surely you desire truth in the inner
parts . . ." (Psa. 51:6).

Paul said, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but
have not love, I am only are sounding gong or a clanging cymbal"
(I Cor. 13:1).

John said, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother,
he is a liar. . ." (I John 4:20).

All of these Scriptures involve being genuine and honest and
sincere. There's a wonderful incident in Jesus' life that
showed a sinful woman's sincerity. "Now one of the Pharisees
was requesting Him to dine with him. And He entered the
Pharisee's house, and reclined at the table. And behold, there
was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned
that He 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 7:36-38).

This was a most unusual and daring act for a woman and
especially a prostitute. It got a lot of attention and the
inevitable criticism. The Scripture says, "Now when the
Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said . . . '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).

We don't know if Simon said this out loud or if he whispered it
to a companion. We don't know if his rude comment was overheard
by Jesus or one of his disciples; but the Lord's response was
immediate and quite pointed. He never let snide hurtful remarks
go unchallenged. "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Simon, I
have something to say to you.' And he replied, 'Say it,
Teacher.' 'A certain moneylender had two debtors: one owed five
hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to
repay, he graciously forgave them both. Which of them therefore
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.' And 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 he who is forgiven little,
loves little.' " (Luke 7:40-47).
I'll bet that the room was deathly silent when Jesus finished
speaking; but he was more interested in the woman's feelings. He
turned to her and announced clearly for everyone to hear, "Your
sins have been forgiven" (Luke 7:48).

Matthew probably gives us another version of this event. Again,
there was a woman demonstrating her sincere affection and again
there was criticism-this time from Jesus' own disciples. This
Scripture says, "While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man
known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster
jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as
he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this,
they were indignant. 'Why this waste?' they asked. 'This
perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given
to the poor.' Aware of this, Jesus said to them, 'Why are you
bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The
poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have
me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to
prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this
gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will
also be told, in memory of her' " (Matt. 26:6-13).

Again, Jesus defended the woman for her understanding, love and
deep concern. He wasn't as much interested in the specific
actions as he was with her sincere motive. Why do you suppose
Jesus responded the way he did in this situation? What lessons
can we learn from this incident? What point does it make about
sincerity?

I. FIRST, THE WOMAN HAD HONEST CONCERN.

She cared enough to violate custom and put herself at risk for
condemnation and maybe even punishment. She crashed a party.
She touched a male. She associated with people out of her
social class. She didn't let public opinion or social mores
influence her decision. She would have agreed with Eleanor
Roosevelt who said, "You may as well do what you feel in your
heart to be right, because you're going to be criticized
anyway."

A wise man said, "To avoid criticism you must say nothing, do
nothing and be nothing." We can't allow ourselves to be
influenced by negative associates. Jesus agreed. He said, "Be
careful not to do your `acts of righteousness' before men, to be
seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your
Father in heaven" (Matt. 6:1).

II. NEXT, THE WOMAN SHOWED HER REAL FEELINGS.

She cried and ministered and served. She wasn't ashamed to show
emotions. She was open and honest. There was no mask or false
front. There was no pretense. She wasn't flattering Jesus or
trying to impress him. She was simply expressing her affection
and gratitude. Emotions are often hidden in our world. We are
afraid to appear vulnerable; but Jesus always showed his
feelings. The scripture says, "As he approached Jerusalem and
saw the city, he wept over it " (Luke 19:41).

He cried at Lazarus' tomb. The Scripture says, "Jesus wept"
(John 11:35).

Deceit is deadly. The Psalmist said, "No one who practices
deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will
stand in my presence" (Psa. 101:7).

III. FINALLY, THE WOMAN USED HER RESOURCES.

This woman was not wealthy. She probably spent her entire dowry
on this one grand gesture of appreciation and worship. It
wasn't a practical thing to do. In fact, it's probably not
something Jesus would have advised; but he realized her pure
motives and accepted the tribute graciously.

This was a case that demonstrates the motto: "It's not the gift,
it's the thought that counts!" This woman may have heard Jesus
say, "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed
down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your
lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you"
(Luke 6:38).

Now, what if this were today? Would Jesus accept some personal
gift from a Las Vegas showgirl? Would he allow such intimate
personal attention from a well-known prostitute? Would he
accept such a strange and excessive gesture of admiration from a
questionable character? .

Well, we don't know exactly what Jesus would do if something
like this happened in America today, rather than in Palestine
2000 years ago; but we do know what his general attitude would
be.

1. FIRST, JESUS WOULD STILL APPRECIATE HONEST CONCERN.

He realized that this woman didn't give in order to get back a
reward. She didn't give in order to get praise. She really
cared. He said, "She loved much."

To Jesus, love was proof of dedication. He said, "By this all
men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one
another" (John 13:35).

Later Paul said, "Grace be with all them that love our Lord
Jesus Christ in sincerity . . ." (Eph. 6:24).

Sincerity is essential. There is an old story about a man who
dreamed that he was in church on a Sunday morning. He saw the
keyboard musician playing vigorously; the praise team singing;
and the other musicians playing with gusto. But the man heard
no sound.

The congregation was singing, but the sound was muted. When the
minister rose to speak, his lips moved, but there was no volume.

The man asked the Lord for an explanation and a voice said,
"This is the way it sounds in heaven. You hear nothing because
there is nothing to hear. The people are engaged in the form of
worship, but their thoughts are on other things and their hearts
are far away!"

As Jesus said, "These people honor me with their lips, but their
hearts are far from me" (Matt. 15:8).

2. NEXT, JESUS WOULD STILL APPRECIATE REAL FEELINGS

Jesus detested hypocrisy, and he recognized this woman's
empathetic nature. He always responded to earnest seekers. The
Scriptures refer to genuine emotions as coming from a pure
heart. "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not
lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false; he will
receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his
Savior" (Psa. 24:4-5).

Later the writer of Hebrews expressed it this way:"Let us draw
near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty
conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water" (Heb.
10:22).

3. FINALLY, JESUS WOULD STILL APPRECIATE GENEROUS ACTS.

But he would point out that why we do something is sometimes
more important than what we do. Jesus was not necessarily
commending the woman for the actual gift of perfume. Rather he
was commending her for the love and generosity that prompted the
gift.
She showed her love for Jesus when so few did. She had a
similar attitude to the poor widow whom Jesus praised. "He . .
. saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 'I tell
you the truth,' he said, 'this poor widow has put in more than
all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their
wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live
on' " (Luke 21:2-4).

He recognized and rewarded sincere dedication.

Now, if we're to take the Gospel seriously, what does this mean
for us?

Remember the Scripture says, "Whoever claims to live in him must
walk as Jesus did" (I John 2:6).

If Jesus lived today he would still consider people's motives
for service.

According to legend, an angel was observing people's behavior.
One night, he noted a hungry newsboy who had fallen asleep. A
couple came by and saw him. The girl quietly put a dollar into
his pocket and was walking away when the young man with her went
back and gave another dollar. An old lady standing by gave him
a quarter and another man handed over a small coin. All in all,
the little boy received almost 3 dollars. Delighted, the angel
flew away to notify the divine recorder about the good deeds he
had just witnessed. "I know, I know"; said the recording angel,
it is all written down already!" He showed him the book, but
there was only $1.25 recorded. He gave this explanation: "That
young girl gave a dollar out of love, and the old lady gave a
quarter out of pity; but the young man only gave because he
wanted to impress his date, and the other man gave because he
didn't want to be considered stingy. Those last two don't
count."

Are you sincere in your Christian dedication? Jesus was!

Do your words and your feelings always match? Jesus' did!

Do you serve out of love and concern? Jesus did.

Confucius said, "Sincerity is the basis of every virtue!"

"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart. . ." (Heb 10:22);
because "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in
spirit and in truth" (John 4:24)

****
(Word Count 2050)

These messages are from an unpublished manuscript © copyrighted
by Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK. Please use them in
any way you think appropriate. The only thing we ask is that
you give credit for original material in published works.

EMAIL SERMON SERVICE is a free service from Diversity Press.
Material in our sermons usually present the Gospel from a
psychological point of view.

My ministry has been blessed immeasurably by reading other
people's sermons. When I started preaching 55 years ago, I
waited for "inspiration" before I began my sermon preparation
(usually Saturday night, about midnight). Then, I discovered it
wasn't inspiration at all-it was sheer PANIC. I would have
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Comments are always welcome. (Please indicate if you do not want
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Miles E. Wesner