While reading chapters 7-8 of Luke, one passage in particular caught my attention.
In 7:36-47 we see Jesus invited to dine with a Pharisee, cared for by a woman regarded by all as a “sinner” and Jesus using this recognition to make a strong point.
This woman came in and provided care for Jesus that should have been given by His host. She washed His feet, dried them and anointed them with perfume. This would have been the customary treatement of a guest by a host.
What stands out is that this woman washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. When she heard he was there, she came to the house and as she stood behind him, she started to cry. The translation says that she was “weeping” – a flood of tears because she recognized Jesus as the Savior, the one who could forgive her sins.
The host thought to himself, “If Jesus were really a prophet, he would know about this woman.” Jesus, recognizing the heart of this one posed a question – if one had two debtors, one with a small sum, the other large, and forgave them both, “which of them will love him more?“ The obvious answer was given, the one who owed a greater debt.
Jesus’ point was that this woman recognized the consequences of her many sins, while this Jewish paragon of adherence to God’s law needed no forgiveness (in his eyes). Consequently, she loved Jesus – greatly. The pharisee had little if any affection for Jesus.
We need to remember, it only takes one sin – one violation of God’s law – to separate us from Him. So, it doesn’t matter if we’ve sinned only once or have a multitude of sins, they all make it impossible to be with God.
So, we need to get past our comfort with “acceptable sin” – convenient lies, gossip, hatred of others – and recognize the gift that we’ve been given – the mercy we have in Jesus’ sacrifice.
We need to adjust our attitudes and love Him more!
