As I was looking for what the bible says about tearing down idols, I found a verse that touched me so deeply that I have not been able to forget the tenderness that was revealed in the words that I found there. Luke 7:38 shows devotion to Christ in its purest form.
Here’s the verse in its bible surroundings.
(36) One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to dine with him, and He went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.
(37) And behold, a woman of the town who was an especially wicked sinner, when she learned that He was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment (perfume).
(38) And standing behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with [her] tears; and she wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed His feet [affectionately] and anointed them with the ointment (perfume).
(39) Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw it, he said to himself, If this Man were a prophet, He would surely know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him--for she is a notorious sinner (a social outcast, devoted to sin).
Luke 7:36-39 AMP
Jesus was asked to dinner by a Pharisee. There is no real indication as to the motives of this religious leader. Perhaps he was looking for evidence against Jesus to share with the Jewish leaders. Perhaps he just wanted the prestige of having a miracle worked at his dinner table. We don’t know. What we do learn about the host is that he does not KNOW Jesus.
In this translation of verse 37 this woman is described as “an especially wicked sinner”. Several of the resources I use for study translate the original word as “devoted to sin”. How many of us are willing to admit that before we came to know Christ, we were “devoted to sin”? Paul admitted it in 1 Timothy 1:15
(15) The saying is sure and true and worthy of full and universal acceptance, that Christ Jesus (the Messiah) came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost. AMP
The same Greek word that Paul used to describe himself as was also used to describe this woman. And like this woman, Paul’s sinful reputation preceded him. In Acts 9:10-14 Ananias tries to remind the Lord of Paul’s reputation:
(10) Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he answered, Here am I, Lord.
(11) And the Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying [there].
(12) And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias enter and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.
(13) But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard many people tell about this man, especially how much evil and what great suffering he has brought on Your saints at Jerusalem;
(14) Now he is here and has authority from the high priests to put in chains all who call upon Your name. AMP
How many who love Christ are turned away by “church folks” because of their past? How many are not allowed into the general fellowship because of what someone has “heard” about their past. The Lord knows, because like this woman, they go to Him instead.
Like Paul, this woman’s life was changed by the love of Christ. This one act of worship shows the kind of transformation that is possible by the power of God. Perhaps she was not knocked off of a horse and blinded, but she was radically changed nonetheless. So much so that when she learned where Jesus was having dinner that night she went to Him.
The Spirit of God gave her the courage to come and worship her Savior in a place where she likely would not have been welcome.
Her host knew who she “had been” and reacted to her past, but that did not stop her.
She endured the disapproving stares of the other guests who “knew” who she had been. But even their disgust could not make her hide her love for the Lord.
She walked past the shame that had caused her to become an outcast as she came into the presence of the Living God. That shame that comes from inside as well as outside. That shame that makes us make us want to hide was overcome by His love for her. Her love for Him gave her the strength to keep moving towards Him until she was at His feet. Her tears of gratitude were so plentiful that they wet the Masters feet as she stood over His reclining body. Then, throwing off what was “customary” in Jewish society, she touched Him. She wiped his feet with her hair, and she kissed his feet, with affection then anointed them with an expensive ointment.
This is the fruit of true repentance.
In Ezra 10:1 there is a similar display of repentance:
(1) NOW WHILE Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there gathered to him out of Israel a very great assembly of men, women, and children; for the people wept bitterly. AMP
If you have not seen the sins that the Children of Israel were weeping over I recommend that you read Ezra. It’s only 10 chapters, but it’s packed with reality for today. In chapter 9, you can find one of the most awesome prayers of repentance ever offered to God. So complete was their grief over their sin that God’s people were even able to give up their foreign wives and children to please God.
If you have not lived a life that brought scorn from others, it may be difficult for you to imagine what this woman may have gone through. If you have not experienced that scorn as it is dispensed by “religious” people, you many not understand the enormous obstacle that this woman had to overcome to get so close to Jesus. There are many circumstances that can bring a woman to a place of being “devoted to sin”. But nothing is reported to keep us away from Jesus more effectively than “religious” people who don’t “know” Him for themselves.
Perhaps she was an orphan, or a slave who had no relatives to care for her after the death of her owner? Or was she a young widow, like Ruth, who had lost her husband? Perhaps she had been raped or molested as a child which would make her unsuitable for marriage? Unfortunately, in those times, it could have been that she had been divorced by a husband who considered her performance as a wife unsatisfactory. Jewish law would have forbidden her to remarry. There are many more circumstances than most people realize or care to consider. But at this moment captured for us in the words of scripture, none of that mattered.
Notice that she did not try to justify herself. She did not stop to try to explain her presence in polite company, she just went to the Master. She performed an act of worship that has made her famous for over 2000 years.
The host assumed that as a prophet, Jesus should have known and rejected this woman. Jesus demonstrated the characteristics of a shepherd as He defended His sheep who had found her way to him.
He used a parable to point out that one who had been forgiven for so much sin would naturally love Him more than one who had been forgiven for less. He then, pointed out to Simon, His host, that he had not even offered Jesus even the common courtesy that was customary for a host to offer a guest. He noted for all to hear that this woman had done all those things and more! But then, He offered further offense to His host and others who were present by assuring this woman that her sins had been forgiven because of her faith.
Ezekiel 16:58-63 shows us a picture of the depths of sin that the Lord forgives.
(58) You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your [idolatrous] abominations, says the Lord.
(59) Yes, thus says the Lord God: I will even deal with you as you have done, who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant;
(60) Nevertheless, I will [earnestly] remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant.
(61) Then you will [earnestly] remember your ways and be ashamed and confounded when you shall receive your sisters, both your elder and your younger; I will give them to you as daughters, but not on account of your covenant [with Me].
(62) And I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord, [Hos. 2:19, 20.]
(63) That you may [earnestly] remember and be ashamed and confounded and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I have forgiven you all that you have done, says the Lord God. AMP
Like King David, our sins are continually before us. This passage shows us how much the Lord is willing to forgive. Our knowledge of our sin should always bring us weeping to His feet. Our remembrance of what He has saved us from should always cause us to worship Him for His love and forgiveness. Our knowledge of His willingness should move us to the type of worship that this woman displayed.
The oil that Mary Magdalene would later use to anoint Christ was said to have filled the whole house with its fragrance! That’s exactly what the worship of this woman did at the house of Simon the Pharisee. Even though the fragrance was not mentioned, there is no denying that all who observed it were affected by the fragrance. Even if it was to some the smell of death as described in 2 Corinthians 2:14-16:
(14) But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
(15) For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;
(16) to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? NASB
I believe that there is a reason that the Holy Spirit chose to reveal to us those who were offended by the act. I believe is it so that we will not make the same mistake when we come upon an act of worship so pure as this one. We need to look with the eyes of discernment to see past old behavior for the new love of God. The Spirit of God will tell us when it’s the real thing, if we would only listen.
For those of you who have been led to believe that you need to hide your love of God, I encourage you not to be turned aside from that love. Keep your focus on the heavens where He awaits your sincere worship. His love will heal even the most deadly wounds that the world inflicts on His children.
My prayer is that all of us would be able to experience the kind of love that this woman has for our Lord and that the Lord will pour out His love on those who have never known such a love.
Walkininthespirit
5-20-06
