Forgiveness and Mercy and Yom Kippur

<p>FORGIVENESS AND MERCY AND YOM KIPPUR</p> <p>John the Baptist was the messenger that had been sent by God to prepare the way before Jesus, preaching repentance and the forgiveness of sins that would come through Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world  Luke 7:29 When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, and were baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.</p> <p>One of those Pharisees who had rejected the teaching of John the Baptist that day afterwards invited Jesus to his house for a meal where there were many guests, and among them was a woman of ‘the city’ who was one of those who had repented and been baptised along with some of the other guests. Such dinners of hospitality were often open and public for the Jewish community with both local and regional guests and where many topics of the day were discussed.</p> <p>Luke 7:36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. 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, and 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. Now 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.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And h