A Christian Home or a Religious One?

When our Lord left heaven, He didn’t come to earth as an aloof sovereign, meeting with the common people only for the few seconds it would take to provide the first-century equivalent of a photo shoot. He came to be with His people. So we read that He spent a great deal of time in homes, and, in every instance, He brought blessing. Joy, healing, fellowship, resurrection, salvation—these all came as a result of His presence and ministry.

Of the many homes He entered, three were the homes of different Simons: Simon Peter, Simon the leper, and Simon the Pharisee. The first two of those men genuinely desired the Lord’s presence. But Simon the Pharisee was far from sincere. Although he requested that Christ come dine with him, he subsequently made it clear that his motives were corrupt. Strange, isn’t it? God comes to earth and is heartily welcomed into the home of a fisherman and into the home of a leper, but there is only sneering condescension for Him at the home of the religious elite.

But someone else entered the home of Simon the Pharisee: a woman with an unsavory past who was drawn to the Lord Jesus in faith and humility. We see her faith in that she entered the home at all—a home where she knew she was unwanted. We see her humility in her reverent treatment of the Lord.

Simon, looking on the outside, snidely thought, “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” (Lk. 7:39). Really? Would Christ have to be a prophet to know that? Everyone knew it! As a result, everyone else looked on the scene and saw only what was visible to human eyes: a religious leader, a sinful woman, and Jesus of Nazareth (the non-prophet, in Simon’s mind). But the Lord saw everything as it truly was, and it couldn’t have been more different.

The sinful woman had been transformed—perhaps at that very moment—into one of God’s shining saints, and her act of love, worship, and repentance stands out as a brilliant example to every believer.

The religious leader is nothing more than a petty, envious critic. His self-righteousness might have impressed others (and certainly impressed himself) but was utterly distasteful to the Lord.

And Jesus of Nazareth? The man who, according to Simon, couldn’t be a prophet because He didn’t know “who and what sort of person” the woman was? He was the only one who did know! And, more than that, He knew “who and what sort of person” Simon was, and He proceeded to prove it by openly answering Simon’s thoughts!

“Man looks on the outside, but God looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). On the outside, Simon’s home was religious—far more religious than any of our homes. But God isn’t looking for religion. Simon had religion and ended up critical and irritated. The woman had faith and ended up saved and honored by the Lord Himself.

It ought to make me ask myself: Is my home a Christian home or is it merely a religious home? Is it a place merely of religious duty or is it lovingly centered on Christ? It makes all the difference—both in this world and the next.