Always Be Desperate

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Southeast Christian Church

Mar 15, 2023

Remember the story in Luke 7 where Jesus goes to the home of one of the religious leaders named Simon and has dinner with him. Luke tells us that a sinful woman from that town made her way in the house. Everybody in this town knew that she was a prostitute, and she was looked down on by other people; they made sure to keep their distance. Scripture says she was overcome with emotion and began crying on Jesus's feet as he is sitting there at the table. She kneels down, she undoes her hair, and she wipes Jesus's feet with her hair. Then she takes her perfume, and she puts that on Jesus’s feet. Simon is bewildered at this point, and Simon thinks in his head: If Jesus were anything special, he'd know who's touching him right now.

Verse 39 says, “When the Pharisee [Simon] who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.’” But Jesus reads his mind and answers his thoughts. Jesus then responds to Simon’s thoughts with a question of his own in verse 41. “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon responds that the one who had the bigger debt forgiven would be more appreciative.

At first, it sounds like Jesus saying that this woman can appreciate him more because she's just sinned more than Simon. But Jesus isn’t telling Simon to go out and sin more, then when he’s hit rock bottom, come back, and repent so he can really appreciate Jesus. However, that way of thinking doesn't match with anything else Jesus ever teaches during his ministry. So, what's Jesus actually saying? He's teaching that Simon has no idea how bad of a sinner he really is already. Or to use Psalm 34 language: Simon has no idea how desperate he really is. The key to growing in prayer is not learning about how you pray when you’re not desperate. The key is learning that you’re always desperate.

Reflection/Discussion Questions: When do you feel most desperate? How can you recognize your desperation in times that don't feel that way?

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