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Sunday, May 3, 2009

Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness and Goodness

We are in the midst of a study on the fruit of the Spirit. Each week, from a different passage, we've looked at one facet of this jewel that is produced, ultimately, by the Holy Spirit. This week we will examine two closely-related facets of this beautiful jewel: kindness and goodness.
Kindness is a thoughtful, considerate disposition that a believer has toward a person; goodness is the concrete expression of that kindness in deeds. To put it another way, "goodness is out outgoing expression of a kind spirit."

The words "kindness" and "goodness" don't appear in our passage, but Christ and the Sinful Woman clearly and beautifully display them. Simon the Pharisee displays the opposite. Remember, love is the sum and source of the other qualities that make up the fruit of the Spirit, so when love is present, some measure of the other qualities is present also. Wherever real, Spirit-wrought love is found there will be kindness and goodness, and that is what we find in this story.

Luke 7:36-50
36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." 40And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "Say it, Teacher."

41"A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 43Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly." 44Then 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. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." 48And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" 50And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

To understand this story, we have to know some of the customs of that day. This was probably a nice home constructed around a central courtyard where formal meals were served. The guests were reclining around a table on low couches, their feet extended away from the table. As the host, Simon should have shown the following courtesies to Jesus: place his hand on Jesus' shoulder and give him the kiss of peace on the cheek; have his sandals removed and his feet washed; anoint Jesus with a touch of olive oil. Since none of these kindnesses was shown, so Simon showed himself to be a rude and unkind host.

Another custom was that visitors would come in off the streets and sit around the courtyard wall to observe the happenings and, perhaps, even carry on conversation with the guests. Typically, a lot of folks were coming and going. One such visitor was the woman in our passage. Luke calls her a "sinner." Either she was married to a prominent sinner, or she herself was notorious for some sinful lifestyle. Many believe she was a prostitute. Whatever the reason for her status as a sinner, she was not welcome in the Pharisee's home. You can imagine the shock and the whispers, "Oh, look who's here! Can you believe her audacity, to come in here?"

Why did she come? She was grateful! She had met Jesus before, she had heard the good news about how she could be cleansed of all her sin, and that's what had happened to her. So she went to Jesus and stood at his feet. The tears began to flow from her eyes onto his dusty feet. The tears kept flowing and flowing; then she fell to her knees, unbound her hair (a no-no for a Jewish woman), and wiped the tear-drenched feet of Jesus. The text says she repeatedly kissed his feet and then she took an alabaster vial of expensive perfume and anointed Jesus' feet.

Can you picture this woman? She was unashamedly crying, her nose was running, her hair was a mess. She was a wreck. But what she did was truly an act of goodness, flowing from a heart of kindness and love for Jesus, and out of the kindness of his heart, Jesus welcomed her goodness, which was given to him without any concern for what Simon and the others would think.

Simon the Pharisee, however, didn't like what he witnessed at all. He sat there and complained to himself. He assumed that if Jesus knew who the woman was he would have sent her away.

Jesus confronted Simon with a parable about two debtors who couldn't repay their debts. Simon understood that the debtor who was forgiven the most would love the most. Then Jesus drew the comparison, point by point, between Simon and the sinful woman. Simon didn’t wash Jesus’ feet, but the sinful woman washed his feet and wiped them with her hair; Simon didn’t give Jesus the kiss of peace, but the woman hadn’t stopped kissing his feet since she came in; Simon didn’t anoint his head with oil, but she anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume.

Jesus drew the conclusion for Simon: The woman is the 500 denarii debtor. She recognized “her sins are many,” and because she was forgiven fully, she displayed such love and kindness to me. But the reason you don’t have any love for me and have been everything but kind is that you don’t recognize your sin, and you have never been forgiven. What a powerful blow to this religious conformist!

Jesus affirms the woman’s faith. Your sins have been forgiven (your love for me has made that clear); your faith has saved you. Then he sends her on her way.

Here are powerful and challenging truths:

Great love, kindness, and goodness flow from the realization that you have been forgiven a great debt by Jesus. If you appreciate the extent of your sin—and on the other hand know the extent of Christ’s love for you in forgiveness—you will love much. Acts of goodness flow from a heart mellowed with kindness.

Sometimes we don’t have a strong sense of our sinfulness because we don’t look below the surface. Outwardly, you may look pretty good, but what about the pride, selfishness, lust, bitterness, impatience, etc.? When you become aware of some of your heart attitudes, your sinfulness becomes apparent.

Being kind and doing good things are evidence of your faith, not the cause of it, and give one assurance of his faith. Notice in v. 50, Jesus says to the woman, “Your faith has saved you.” In v. 47 he says, “…her many sins have been forgiven, for she loved much ….” In other words, the evidence of her having been saved and forgiven was her great love and kindness.

Our world needs to see and experience your kindness and goodness. In many respects, you live in a harsh world. You hear of horrendous crimes regularly; you hear of political infighting and scandals; you hear of harshness, meanness, and spite everywhere. As those who have been shown the kindness and goodness of Jesus, we must follow in his steps and show kindness and goodness to others.

How will you respond?

Do you know someone who is an example of kindness and goodness? How can you imitate his or her example?

Can you think of times in the last week that you have been unkind? How have you fallen short ? How could you have behaved differently?

With the men in your group, discuss specific ways you can show more kindness and goodness to others—your spouse, your family, your co-workers, your neighbors.

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