Recently I read about a police officer who was assigned to run a radar trap along a state highway. He picked a secluded spot in a stretch of woods where right beyond a curve where he could not be seen. For the first week speeders were being nailed in record numbers. Then one day suddenly it dropped off dramatically. That seemed odd. So he calibrated his radar and went back out the next day. There were even less speeders than before. The officer decided that there must be something going on he couldn’t see. When the next day was slow, he decided to have another officer help him check it all out. It turns out that just up the road, at the edge of the woods was a young boy with a hand-lettered sign that read, “Speed Trap Ahead!” Further investigation turned up the boy’s partner, his little brother the next bend after the officer with another sign that read TIPS PLEASE. He had a bucket of money at his feet. That, to me, is one of the most ingenious Summer jobs I’ve heard kids come up with. But it also goes to show, just as the officer noticed, that if something is happening, often there is a lot going on behind the scenes.

That is the way it is in the church. Think about all of the people it took to have church here this morning. It took more than just the preacher. What about the men who got breakfast this morning? Who unlocked the doors? Who made the coffee? Who prayed for those coming? Who picked up people to come? Who copied the bulletins? On and on we could go. The church works, only because there is a lot going on behind the scenes by some dedicated people.
[Mission Trip, dedication of so many]

That is how it was with Jesus’ ministry. I love our text for this morning, because in this little slice of Luke we get to see what is going on behind the scenes. We read the scriptures and we usually hear the stories about all of the guys who followed Jesus. And those are very important. But every now and then we get a peek at some of the women who followed the Lord. Let’s look at a few of them from the text we read a minute ago. As we do we will see some very deserving women.

The first was not the marrying type at all. Why she was well known around town. And when Jesus was passing through one of the religious folks, Simon, threw a party for Jesus and had Him to dinner. He looked forward to night of theological discussion with this famous prophet. But who crashed the party? THIS WOMAN! She came and brought this extravagant jar of perfume. Look at her heart. At the sight of Jesus she stood there weeping. In His presence she knew what a sinner she was, but she also observed something else nobody else did. Jesus had walked a long way. It was customary for a servant to wash the feet of the guests, but no one had washed Jesus’ feet. So, with her tears, she begins to clean the dirt from His feet and to dry them with her hair. She kissed the feet no one else would serve and gave Him the greatest honor anyone could give. It was customary to anoint honored guest with refreshing oil on their head. But she goes one step farther. She anointed those feet with expensive perfume. And all the religious people felt ashamed at the way they had neglected Jesus, right? NO! Simon said, [39]

So Jesus tells Simon a story. Its point is very simple. A lender forgave two debtors. One owed 500 denarii, the other 50. A denarii was a day’s wages. The point was that one was payable, the other was not. It would have taken years at best. Which one appreciated it more? Of course the one forgiven the most. Simon got the point, and so did all of the other fine, upstanding religious folks. They made the mistake of thinking they had little of which to be forgiven. Never make that mistake! In faith this woman recognized her great need. And in love she served Jesus in a way no one else would! Everyone else may have thought she was a absolute tramp, but she was beautiful to the Lord.

It took this woman to show us what it really means to extravagantly love Jesus Christ. And I have seen her spirit in many of you. You come from all kinds of backgrounds, but some of the things a lot of you do, especially you women who know how to welcome people as we have done over the past couple of weeks at funerals, to show your love for Jesus Christ is a real inspiration to me. Thank God for the love of Christ that does not care what is in our past. Thank God for the faith of this woman and thank God for the faith of many of you. May we all love Jesus enough to serve Him extravagantly.
Well Jesus left that place and traveled around. And we are introduced to some of His greatest supporters. According to verse one the big twelve were there, but so were some others. It seems that the incident at Simon’s house was no isolated occurrence. This appears to have been common.
Many were not even named. They deserve our thanks for their example. But a few were.

There was Mary Magdalene. She was a story in herself! She was not quite the sweet girl next door. But she, too, in faith, latched on to Jesus. She had been delivered of seven demons. She loved Jesus so much that, unlike Peter, she went with Jesus to the cross and stayed with Him as He gave His life for you and me. She followed Jesus even to the tomb. She was the first to see the risen Lord Jesus, and she was sent to tell the disciples about it. We all talk about following Jesus, but if you want to know what it means, look at Mary Magdalene! Here is a life committed to Him in service!

Then there was Joanna, the society woman! She was the wife of Chuza, the chief steward of Herod. She was a well-known woman of means! Following Jesus meant she risked her reputation and social standing, but still she followed! In Christ’s love she made this improbable friend, Magdalene, and together they went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body for burial. And together they, along with the other Mary saw the empty tomb and were sent by the angel to tell the good news! Thank God for those of you who have been doing it ever since!

And next is mentioned Susanna. When Jesus was raised from the dead He appeared to Susanna, and said O Susanna, don’t you cry for me....not really! The truth is, we don’t know anything about this woman whose name means lily. Likely she, too, was a lady of great means. But this is the tip of the iceberg! Verse 3 says that many others were there. What were they doing?? They did something of utmost importance. They contributed to Jesus’ ministry and took care of the needs out of their own pockets. Without their generosity behind the scenes, the earthly ministry of Jesus could not have happened!

Today is Father’s Day. I believe fathers everywhere should be man enough to support what these women did, and what they are still doing today! What have we learned as we have looked at the lives of these wonderful followers of Christ? We have learned that in order for the earthly ministry of Jesus to happen, it took a lot of dedicated people. It still does! That ministry still goes on today. But it will not happen without your devotion and mine. The love of Christ encompasses those from every background and every class and every ability. Do we love Christ enough to serve Him with extravagance, to follow Him even when it costs us? Will we love and serve Him even when no one remembers our name? Do we love Christ enough to get involved?