The phrase we may not want to hear: ‘I have something to say to you’

By Dean Collins

“I have something to say to you.” The phrase has a different impact than, “I would like to share something with you.” The first sounds as if the speaker could be angry or at least upset about something the recipient of the news has done. I usually sigh and brace myself when someone tells me, “I have something to say to you.” Likewise, most of us wouldn’t want to hear that from our boss at our office door or our spouse at the front door.

What if Jesus showed up at your office, your home, some social event, or even church, called your name, looked at you and said, “I have something to say to you”? I suspect your reaction might be hesitation, fearing he was about speak about that attitude or action that you were sure no one knew about.

How Simon reacted

In Luke 7 we read about an incident when Jesus used that phrase with Simon the Pharisee. Simon had invited Jesus for dinner along with several of his friends. Jesus had reclined at a table when a “woman of the city, who was a sinner” showed up with her expensive ointment and, kneeling at his feet, poured the ointment on Jesus’ feet. She began to cry, and when her tears dripped onto the feet of Jesus, she dried them with her hair. It was an awkward moment for Simon and for others.

Simon muttered mostly to himself, “If this man (Jesus) were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” That’s when Jesus delivered his line: “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

You have to give Simon some credit for his response. He told Jesus, “Say it, Teacher.”

We may do the same

I suspect there are many times in our lives when we mutter thoughts to ourselves, or sometimes to as many as we can, on a variety of social media platforms. We fail to think about what we are really saying. Otherwise, we would realize how self-righteous and judgmental our thoughts often are. Yet carelessly we share our unfiltered selves with the world.

Jesus doesn't have any social media accounts because he does not need them to know what is in our hearts. He can hear us express both our private muttering, our whispers, and our public posts. I wonder how many times Jesus by his Spirit and his Word tells us, “I have something to say to you” and we simply ignore him. We likely don’t even hear his statement because we have allowed our anger and judgment to get so loud we can’t hear anyone, let alone Jesus.

If we were aware of how many times we have missed hearing Jesus say, “I have something to say to you,” we would realize how very many times we have missed the mark. Jesus knows what we often try to hide from others and ignore ourselves. We have sinned, and more often than we probably know. The good news of Jesus is he loves us. He is not stingy with his love or his forgiveness. He proved that by dying for us. Our acceptance of him allows floods of love and forgiveness to wash over us. And when we choose to follow Jesus, he tells us that we are to treat others like he treats us. The implication is that we are also loving and forgiving, even to those we previously thought we were better than.

‘Go in peace’

At Simon’s house the crowd who watched the exchange of Jesus with the woman and with Simon said, “Who is this, who even forgives sin?” Once you know the answer, then we are ready to hear and follow the last words Jesus said that day to the sinful and repentant woman: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

It is a glorious thing to go in peace, live in peace, and offer peace to those around us.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Luke‬ ‭7:36-50‬ ‭ESV

Photo by Jonas Kakaroto at unsplash.com

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