Tempo de leitura:
Tamanho:
Index
Topic: Do you know what salvation means?
Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.“Luke 7:50.
The purpose of the class is to show that we are saved by grace, through faith in Jesus, and that we want to love Him more and more each day, be close to Him and consecrate our lives to Him.
Note: Teachers should read Luke 7:36 to 50.
Introduction
This month we are learning more about Salvation in Jesus. We are also celebrating the Feast of Dedication, which is when we dedicate ourselves more to the Lord, we give our lives more to the Lord, because He saved us. And the question is: How is our heart? Are we loving Jesus more? Are we giving our lives to the Lord? Today we are going to meet a woman who was rejected by many, but who gave her heart to Jesus. What happened? That’s what we’re going to see.
Development
One day, a Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to eat at his house. Jesus went and sat down at the table. In that city there was a woman known as a sinner. The Bible does not say her name, but it tells us that when she heard that Jesus was in Simon’s house, she went there. Surely, she had heard about Jesus’ miracles, his love for people, his mercy to those who suffered, how Jesus did not despise people…
She took with her an alabaster flask. Alabaster was a stone used to make small vessels, and ointment was a fragrant oil. Imagine the situation. Simon, a religious authority, and other people, along with that sinful woman. Certainly, in another situation, she would never have entered that house. But Jesus was there. And she entered. And do you know what she did? She went to Jesus’ feet and began to weep. Her tears wet His feet. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them and passed the ointment on them. What a remarkable scene!
This woman was not concerned about what people would think of her. She knew she was a sinner, she needed forgiveness, and she was at the feet of the One who could forgive her. Simon focused on the sins of that woman, but Jesus did not. He also knew everything about her. He knew her sins and her past, and yet He did not send her away. Simon thought, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” Luke 7:39b.
Simon did not say it out loud, but Jesus knew his thought. So He told him a short parable and also compared the woman’s attitude with Simon’s.
At that time, when a visitor was received, some acts of hospitality were common. As people walked along dusty paths wearing sandals, it was common to offer water to wash their feet. There was also a kiss of greeting and oil to anoint the head.
Jesus showed Simon that he had not done these things. Simon had not given Him water for his feet, while this woman had wet His feet with tears and wiped them with her hair. Simon had not received Him with a kiss, but she would not stop kissing His feet.
Simon had not anointed Jesus’ head with oil, but this woman had anointed His feet with ointment (Luke 7:44-46). And turning to the woman, he declared, “Your sins are forgiven.” Luke 7:48. The people there began to wonder who Jesus was, who even forgave sins. Then Jesus showed that He had power not only to forgive but also to save. He said to that woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Luke 7:50.
What wonderful words! That woman arrived there as a sinner, but she went away forgiven and saved because she believed in Jesus. Now let’s understand what the Lord wants to teach us.
That woman could not go back to the past and erase what she had done. Nor could she pay for her sins. But she did something very important: she went to Jesus’ feet. Her tears showed a repentant heart. By wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair, she showed humility. By kissing His feet and passing the ointment on them, she showed love and honor to Jesus. The woman’s attitudes showed her faith, her repentance, her humility, her love and gratitude. That is why Jesus said: “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Lk 7:50.
That woman did not deserve it, but she achieved salvation. This is where we understand grace. Grace is receiving from God what we cannot achieve on our own and do not deserve. God offers us forgiveness and salvation by grace, because He loves us.
And how do we receive that salvation? By faith. Having faith in Jesus isn’t just about knowing He exists. It’s about trusting Him as our only Savior. That woman came to Jesus because she believed in Him. God’s Word teaches, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”. Eph 2:8-9.
See how simple it is: salvation is a gift from God. We cannot buy it or deserve it. We receive it by grace, through faith in Jesus. And this story teaches us something very important for our days. The more that woman recognized the forgiveness she needed to receive, the more she demonstrated how important Jesus was to her.
And now we return to the question at the beginning: How is our heart toward Jesus? Are we loving Jesus more? Have we longed to be closer to Him? Or are other things occupying our hearts so much that we are leaving Jesus in a secondary place?
During this month, which is the month of Dedication, go more to the feet of Jesus. The Lord wants to give this experience to adolescents. And we should not go to Jesus just one day, just this month. We need to go to Him every day of our lives. To go to Jesus is to seek His presence in prayer, to hear His voice in the Word, to obey what He teaches us and to trust Him in every situation of our life.
Today we do not wash Jesus’ feet with tears or carry a flask with perfume. But we can demonstrate how important Jesus is to us by the way we live. Repentance appears when we forsake sin. Love appears when we obey God’s Word. Gratitude increases when we recognize what Jesus did for us on the cross.
Conclusion
Today we have learned more about salvation: “For by grace you have been saved through faith…” Eph 2:8a. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. And whoever understands that grace desires to be ever closer to the Savior. So during this month of the Feast of Dedication, let us make the decision to love Jesus more.
Let’s seek the Lord more. Let’s consecrate ourselves more to the Work of God. Let’s ask the Lord for a humble, voluntary and grateful heart that belongs only to Him and desires to please Him every day. May our choice be to be closer to Jesus, our only Savior.
Suggested Praises: It’s your precious blood; Waters of Salvation; Jesus is my shining light
Question for Adolescents
Read Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9, and answer: How are we saved? Answer: By the grace of God, through faith. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.
