Jesus anointed by a sinful woman. Luk 7:36-50. Part two. The story and comment. When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 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.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people 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 forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? 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. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” [Luke 7:36-50 NIV]. 1. The act of the woman(37-38). Her act was both brave and sincere and generous. She dident say anything during the whole incident as we know but she spoke anyway. She spoke through he actions. Word wouldet suffice for her so she acted and she brought the most expensive she had, her livesaving, in the jar and gave it to Jesus. Her tears were those of gratitude and showed her heart her true love for Jesus.people cry in response to something of beauty. Stephen Sideroff, says, a PhD staff psychologist at University of California Los Angeles when asked the question why we cry. And he continues There, I use the word melting. They are letting go of their guard, their defenses, tapping into a place deep inside themselves. The woman was melting in front of Jesus. By the sight of Him she remembered the beauty of the moment when she realised He had forgiven her for her many sins. Her tears sprang naturally from a place deep inside herself. 2. The blindness of the pharisee(39). The pharisee revealed his utter blindness by what he said. He was actually blind in three ways, first he was blind in not seeing a human being that was full of love. Secondly he was blind in not seeing who Jesus was, for him Jesus wasent even a prophet. And then he was blind in accusing Jesus for being blind. Blindness is always sure when people are not born into the kingdom and much sin causes much blindness. Accusing someone else for ones own fault, for ones blindness, is a principle we see so often. So not only did he not see the woman, he dident see jesus either. 3. The rebuke of Jesus(41-46). When using Simons name i think Jesus showed him more respect than he deserved after referring to Jesus as this man and the woman as a sinner but Jesus time and time again showed patience when dealing with sinners. Jesus never lost his temper when being provoked personally. So he adressed Simon using his name. Now Simon responded by calling Jesus teacher. I believe this was said in a sarcastic way considering his previous disrespectful behavior and insulting words towards them both. Now Jesus explains what just happened. He uses a parable to show the reason for her behavior, and he uses comparison to show the superiority of her love. It is only natural to be grateful when someone cancels our debt, and if the canceled debt was very large, our heart will become very large towards the generous absolver. Now Jesus compares her behavior to Simons. As host of the dinner normal courtesy would be giving Jesus water for his feet, give him a kiss on the cheek and pour olive oil on his head. But Simon never did that. The woman, the uninvited sinner amoung the exclusive sole male dinner guest, did that. And in a more profound way, for her water was her own tears that flowed from deep within her heart. Her kiss was not just one on the cheek, but an unbroken series of kisses on His feet where each kiss was like a shining pearl in a necklace that dident want to end. And her anointing was not done with olive oil, but perfume that equaled her entire live savings. 4. The answer to the riddle (47). Jesus now drives home the point he made in the parable and in the comparison, so that everybody now understand. Her act was a proof, a visible telltale sign that pointed to the fact that she knew she had been forgiven when she somehow, somewhere earlier, had met Jesus. Now she returned to say thank you. In her own silent yet thundering way. 5.The only words Jesus spoke to her and the concluding of the incident (48-50). Now we hear the only words Jesus spoke to her, as far as Luke goes. Jesus said to her: a, your sins are forgiven. b, your faith has saved you. c, go in peace. And in saying the first, declaring the sins forgiven, we for the first time hear the other dinner guest say something. They dident react much on the previous happenings but the usual uproar when Jesus publicly declared someone forgiven wasent lacking here either. In saying your faith has saved you which was a frequently statement by Jesus. It is as if our savior would like to give us some of the credit we were saved allthough the theology always is that its all by grace alone. Jesus shows His love for us in revealing His personal esteem and appreciation for our acts of faith, by using that phrase. Go in peace! Only three words. Now everything was perfect down to the smallest imaginable detail in her life, and there remained for her but to go. Go in peace. And she did. But how about you? Do you feel you can go in peace too? Can you go at all, or has the heaviness of unforgiven sin and guilt left you paralytic? And if you do manage to go, do you truly do so in peace? If not, you can have peace and live and walk in it daily by becoming a child of God. And if you are already, if your a born again christian, then confess all your sins, asking Jesus to forgive you, and then you will hear Jesus say the very 3 things to you today, as He said to her 2000 years ago: YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN YOUR FAITH HAS SAVED YOU GO IN PEACE!
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 11:22:14 +0000
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