"What"s she doing here?"
"Has Simon seen her yet?"
"He won"t appreciate this, I can tell you!"
You"ll find similar stories in the other three Gospels-tales of a woman who spilled out her costly perfume from an alabaster jar, twice on his head, once on his feet. The other three versions, however, shift to the disciples whining about how the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor.
In this version, the woman and her worship are the focus of the story, not the perfume. Check out the reaction from the Lord and those around him: When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself... Luke 7:39 Good old Simon the Pharisee didn"t miss a trick. As host and self-appointed spiritual watchdog, he kept an eye on everything that was said and done in the company of Jesus. One could hardly miss the woman on her knees at the teacher"s feet-making a complete idiot of herself, to his way of thinking.
All that crying and kissing. Female foolishness!
"Said to himself" means Simon was thinking, not speaking out loud. Unless he was mumbling under his breath in a stage whisper meant to be heard by the audience. Then, too, maybe Simon was so peeved over this woman"s actions that he needed to voice his displeasure, if only for his own satisfaction.
"If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is-that she is a sinner." Luke 7:39 Doubt was setting in. "If..." Prophets were supposed to know everything, the seen and the unseen. Could be Jesus isn"t much of a prophet after all. The healings this week were impressive, but who knows? Maybe it was all smoke and polished bronze.
Simon"s disgust at the situation was surely written all over his face. Look at her! Touching him like that. Maybe if she"d been a n.o.blewoman, he would have overlooked her actions, but it was her station in life that upset Simon. "That kind of woman." A sinner.
Of course, for members of this legalistic sect, anyone who wasn"t a Pharisee was a sinner. She was merely the worst of the worst.
The host of the party may have been sympathetic toward Jesus and his ministry, but he was completely unsympathetic toward the woman. A popular Greek proverb, later recorded in Scripture, would have suited Simon"s mood well. It"s easy to imagine him quoting this for Jesus" benefit, with a face devoid of compa.s.sion.
Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 1 Corinthians 15:33 Ah, but the fact is, Simon hadn"t said a word. He"d only thought these things. That"s why the next verse is startling.
Jesus answered him... Luke 7:40 Stop right there. "Answered"?
Does this mean the Lord interpreted the man"s body language, the look of displeasure in his eyes, the frown of distaste? Or...did he literally read Simon"s mind?
Fully G.o.d, remember. Jesus heard every word in the man"s heart, spoken or not. These verses elsewhere in Luke confirm it: Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked... Luke 5:22 He saw through their duplicity and said... Luke 20:23 And we think we can keep our sins a secret! The Lord knows about them, child. All of them.
Jesus immediately got his host"s attention.
"Simon, I have something to tell you." Luke 7:40 Polite, inviting, confidential. It drew Simon right in.
"Tell me, teacher," he said. Luke 7:40 Jesus didn"t teach unless there was a ready pupil. Eye to eye now with Simon, he spun out a parable-a story with a lesson-as only the Great Teacher could: "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" Luke 7:41-42 Some of the Lord"s parables send me scrambling for a calculator or a calendar to figure them out. Not this one. Short and sweet. A banker canceled the debts of two men-one a little, one a lot.
Which one would be more grateful?
"No-brainer" would be an understatement.
Simon (proud of himself, no doubt) came up with a quick answer.
Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." Luke 7:43 What"s to "suppose" here? It"s obvious. Ever the good teacher, Jesus acknowledged his pupil"s right response.
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said. Luke 7:43 He affirmed, encouraged...and lowered the boom.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon...
Luke 7:44
Back at last to our fallen woman, huddled on the floor at Jesus" feet. Were you afraid he hadn"t noticed her? Not a chance. The man who could sense a woman touching his cloak in a crowded marketplace definitely wouldn"t miss this woman"s utterly tactile tears and kisses on his bare skin.
He"d merely waited for the perfect, teachable moment.
Looking directly at her, while still speaking to Simon, Jesus said five words that changed the lives of both his listeners.
"Do you see this woman?" Luke 7:44 Simon had seen her, but only for what she was, not who she was. He had looked at her form but not her face. He had eyed her actions but not looked her in the eye and connected with her, human to human.
"See her," Jesus implored. "See her as I see her."
Mea culpa, Lord. I am no better than the Pharisee.
My friend Sara and I were hurrying down the streets of Edinburgh one damp, chilly December day. The Scots call such weather dreich, meaning "bleak, dreary, dismal, G.o.dforsaken." It was all that and then some. A thick fog had settled in, making it difficult to see more than ten feet ahead of us.
Yet Sara managed to spot the diminutive woman in ragged clothes with her back propped against the wall of an upscale department store, its windows gleaming with Christmas cheer. The contrast between the colorful decorations and this stranger"s drab and wrinkled clothing was stark, unsettling.
"Do you see this woman?" Jesus said.
I didn"t see her until I saw Sara bending over to slip a British pound at the woman"s feet and offer her a gentle word of comfort. Sara stood and turned toward me, tears in her eyes. "She has an inhaler," she whispered.
My friend had noticed every detail and responded with her heart. I"d barely seen the woman, mentally labeling her a poor beggar and fumbling with my packages, pretending not to notice. (Please tell me you"ve been there. This looks so ugly on paper.) Forced now to turn toward this silent woman in need, I was grateful for a chance to recover the eyes of the Spirit who lives in all of us who love the Christ and so added my own coin to her small pile. How much better it is, though, to see an opportunity first and give with joyous abandon.
That was precisely the point Jesus drove home to Simon: "I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair." Luke 7:44 Barefoot or in sandals, travelers of the day arrived with their feet covered with dust and dirt. It was customary for a host to offer water and a towel for a quick foot scrub. Simon dropped the ball. The woman, however, did the right thing.
"You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet." Luke 7:45 A brotherly kiss on the cheek was a common greeting, especially for the host to offer his guest of honor. Simon neglected that duty, too. Once again, Miss No-Name earned a brownie point.
"You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet." Luke 7:46 Meshiach in Hebrew, Christos in Greek-both mean "anointed one." If our stingy host had put a bit of oil on the head of Jesus, we might have overlooked the foot-washing blooper. Oh, but Simon missed this opportunity as well. Instead, a woman who embodied everything the Pharisee hated earned a four-star hospitality rating. In his own house.
She not only broke open her jar, she shattered the mold of how worship was to be done-pa.s.sionately, personally, and with humble abandon. As Eugene Peterson observed in The Message, "Impressive, isn"t it?"1 Very impressive.
By pointing out the things she did right and the things Simon should have done, Jesus managed to affirm her and admonish him at the same time, without stripping either one of dignity. He let the contrast of their actions speak for themselves: No water from him versus many tears from her.
No towel from him versus gentle hair drying from her.
No kiss from him versus endless kisses from her.
No oil from him versus expensive perfume from her.
Which is especially interesting, considering that...
He was a pious man versus she was a sinful woman.
We"re not told how Simon the Pharisee reacted. Was he angry? Stunned? Ashamed? Repentant? He couldn"t have missed the message. This parable was anything but subtle.
Jesus took every opportunity to remind religious leaders of their hypocrisy, as in this little p.r.o.nouncement to the chief priests and elders on another occasion: Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prost.i.tutes are entering the kingdom of G.o.d ahead of you." Matthew 21:31 Ouch! Politically correct? Not Jesus, no way.
And what of our dear sister, still on her knees before the Christ? Did her face remain bowed during his brief, pointed words to Simon? If so, we can imagine the blush of delight mingled with embarra.s.sment that danced across her features while Jesus sang her praises. Or perhaps she looked up to gaze at last upon the One whom she loved and worshiped so completely.
Without question, her head would"ve snapped to attention on hearing this: "Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-for she loved much." Luke 7:47 True, he does acknowledge her "many sins." No getting around her former Bad Girl status. But he doesn"t condemn her for her many sins. He doesn"t even charge her to "go and sin no more," as he does a woman caught in adultery in another setting.
Since Jesus knew everything about this quiet worshiper, perhaps she"d already given up her life of sin. After all, the evidence of a changed heart was kneeling at his feet. Without a word, she expressed repentance. Without a sound, she cried out for forgiveness. Without a syllable, she spelled out the desire of her heart: to love him.
Her actions said it all.
And it was good.
In Don Francisco"s haunting song based on this story, he wrote, "For the depth of G.o.d"s forgiveness, it"s more than you can see. / And in spite of what you think of her, she"s Beautiful to Me."2 Our love and worship make us beautiful to G.o.d. And why are we surprised? When my Bill turns to me with love in his eyes and kind words on his lips, he is the most handsome man on earth. He a.s.sures me that when I speak and demonstrate love to him, I, too, am beautiful. (I usually argue with him, but he seldom listens...bless his soul!) Every coin has two sides. Jesus turned this one over to reveal the sad corollary: "But he who has been forgiven little loves little." Luke 7:47 When I sit in church on Sunday morning feeling disconnected and out of tune with the music, the elements, the worship, it"s easy to blame a bad night"s sleep or a p.r.i.c.kly discussion with Bill in the parking lot.
The truth?
I am not willing to confess my sins so that true worship can begin. I have forgotten how much I"ve already been forgiven so that my grat.i.tude can flow in ceaseless praise. Quite simply, my love has grown cold.
Worship is about rekindling an ashen heart into a blazing fire. This woman was a torchbearer. Jesus surely felt the heat in her touch, her tears, her kiss. She came asking for nothing, concerned only with giving him glory, honor, and praise the only way she knew how.
On a chilly Edinburgh street or a soul-frozen Sunday morning, my only hope for fanning the flames of my faith in Christ is to do as she did two thousand years ago: Seek him openly.
Abandon self humbly.
Worship him completely.
Embrace his forgiveness joyfully.
Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." Luke 7:48 Finally he spoke directly to her. Simon wasn"t included in this one. Forgiveness is always personal with him. He died for the sins of the whole world, but forgiveness comes to each of us, individually, when we demonstrate our readiness to accept it.
"Forgiven?" How our made-new Good Girl must have hugged that truth to her bosom!
The rest of the partygoers were less enthusiastic.
The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" Luke 7:49 Even while stuffing their faces, they"d tuned in to the drama unfolding at Jesus" feet. For once, they stopped talking about her and shifted their gossip to him.
"The nerve of this guy!"
"Who does he think he is, forgiving her sins?"
"Hope he"s got all day. That hussy"s racked up a ton."
"Huh. I"ve seen your own sandals parked outside her door more than once, Zeke..."
Jesus ignored their grumbling, keeping his focus on the woman kneeling before him as he offered her a benediction: Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you..." Luke 7:50 It was not her love that saved her. It was her faith in his power to forgive her. It was her faith in his steadfast love for her. And it was her faith expressed in actions, not words. While the story of the woman at the well was all dialogue and no action until she ran back to town, this woman teaches us without speaking one syllable. When his forgiveness flowed toward her in the sacred silence of their communion, love and grat.i.tude filled the air with the fragrant aroma of a soul set free.
"...go in peace." Luke 7:50 Peace. What everyone hopes for, prays for, longs for. The Amplified Bible phrases it, "go (enter) into peace [in freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin]." Peace comes to those who are willing to move away from sin and toward the Prince of Peace, until his peace becomes their own.
"Seek peace and pursue it," wrote the psalmist.3 Seek and enter in, dear woman.
Hear the hearts, if not the voices, of all the nameless women through the centuries who found peace at the foot of the cross. See them beckoning you with tear-stained hands: "Come! Come meet a man who forgives sins. Even mine. Even yours, beloved."
What Lessons Can We Learn
from the Sinful Woman?
People will talk, no matter what we do.
How often we get derailed by snide sidebar conversations and pointedly rude asides! When she was steeped in sin, the woman"s nosy neighbors whispered about that. When she sacrificed herself in worship, they tsk-tsked about that. When Jesus forgave her sins, their tongues wagged about that. Let"s forget trying to squelch gossips with words; they"re masters of that media. The best way to zip their lips is simply to turn away from the noise and focus our eyes and ears on the One whose opinion really matters.
We are not trying to please men but G.o.d, who tests our hearts. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 The Pharisees thought they were the Good Guys.
We think of Pharisees as ancient hypocrites, religious jerks, or worse. The truth is, they were the righteous men of their day, avoiding sin and proclaiming G.o.d"s Word. Simon called Jesus "teacher," invited him to supper, and sat by Jesus" side, willing to be taught. What Simon wasn"t willing to do was humble himself and worship Christ as the sinful woman did. Before we"re too hard on old "Simon Says She"s a Sinner," we need to look in the mirror. Those of us who"ve been involved in church for a while may appear a tad "Simon-ized" ourselves.
"No one is good-except G.o.d alone." Mark 10:18 One person"s beautiful is another person"s ugly.
I use my perfume, "Beautiful," very sparingly since it"s potent...and pricey. Even so, one gentleman sitting next to me at an airport complained about my "awful fragrance." Though I could-and did-change my seat to help him out, I couldn"t change my cologne so easily. A scent, once released, is tough to contain. (Skunks use this to their advantage!) In the spiritual realm, since we can"t change the aroma of Christ that lingers around us, even when it offends others, we might as well break open the whole bottle and let the world catch his scent.
For we are to G.o.d the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 Silence speaks volumes.
This woman didn"t vocalize anything, let alone her need for forgiveness. She never even moved her lips except to kiss her Savior. Which means she couldn"t have prayed what"s often called "the sinner"s prayer." Oh no! Was she truly forgiven? Of course. Jesus can discern our thoughts and read our intentions as if we each were a well-worn book. (Hmm...considering how often our words don"t match our hearts, it"s amazing the Lord listens to our lips at all.) Yes, putting words to our deepest thoughts has great value, both for us and for others. Public confession and testimony work best with words. But when we"re talking to Jesus directly, as she was, we can hear better when we"re listening in silence and worshiping...not talking.
The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him. Habakkuk 2:20
Good Girl Thoughts Worth Considering
1. Have you ever been too overwhelmed to speak and found yourself weeping instead? How did that make you feel? Weak? Embarra.s.sed? Relieved? Cleansed? What do you imagine brought this sinful woman to tears?