Faith & Unity Week Two
A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “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 7:36-39 (NIV)
Have you ever shown up to an event uninvited and unwelcome by the host? If the woman weeping and cleaning Jesus' feet were asked this question, she would say "yes." This woman showed up at the home of a Pharisee who was hosting a lavish meal for Jesus. Women were never invited to these events, so it's unclear how she got into the home. However, we do know that the Pharisees did not welcome her.
The host thought she was a sinner. In ancient times, "sinner" was used to define someone who was a prostitute or tax collector. Since women weren't allowed to be tax collectors back then, this woman was presumably a prostitute. For most of her life, she had labored in sin and carried a burden of guilt that was too heavy. Other men had taken so much from her, but Jesus was a Man who promised to give her something out of His love.
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." That's precisely what the woman did. She came to Jesus, ready to receive rest from her way of life, hateful stares, abusive treatment, and guilt and shame. She was so moved by the rest Jesus could provide that she did something the Pharisee hosting the meal failed to do: wash Jesus' feet and anointed Jesus with oil.
In ancient times, doing these things for guests was proper etiquette, but the Pharisee hosting the meal didn't do it. The reason? He was self-righteous. A self-righteous person seeks their own glory and judges others. The object of their worship is the self, and they are "blinded to the fact that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
This Pharisee was so self-righteous that he questioned Jesus' credibility since a sinner was touching him. In response, Jesus honored the woman's broken spirit and told the Pharisee, "She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful." Then, Jesus looked directly at the woman and said, "I forgive your sins."
Isaiah 57:15 says, "I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit." A contrite spirit is a humble, broken spirit. It's repentant and unselfish. That's the spirit the woman had when she fell at Jesus' feet, weeping and worshiping Him. That's also the spirit Jesus honored—not the self-righteous one the Pharisee had.
We have a contrite spirit when we give our brokenness to Jesus and let Him, as the ultimate pottery maker, turn us into someone new. What spirit are you approaching Jesus with today? Are you coming to Him with a self-righteous spirit that's quick to judge or a contrite spirit that's humble, ready for rest, and eager to be something new?
