Luke 7:36-50

Luke 7:36-50 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and 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 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?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

How big a debt do you owe? Is it considered to be little by you? Are you a pretty good person? Sometimes our perception of how good we are gets in the way of God's grace. We are so sure of our goodness that we forget who we are in God's eyes. In God's eyes sin is a cancer, an enemy, a destroyer, and people outside of Christ deserve a just sentence of eternal damnation. If you don't see who you are in God's eyes, you will never fully understand what Jesus did on the cross, and you will surely never be found at Jesus' feet with tears, wiping his feet. The woman in this scripture understood two things that day. She knew herself and she knew Jesus. The Pharisee knew neither. He was comfortable to be with the Son of God as an equal. He was there to question Jesus' authenticity. He was with Jesus to judge, not to worship. 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.

Do we know that we are colossal sinners? Do we understand as sinners we don't deserve anything from God but judgment? Unless we fully comprehend that unadulterated, unmerited grace has come to us through the cross, we'll never find tears of gratitude on our faces, and the alabaster jar of perfume will always be too expensive for us to waste it on Jesus' feet. If we don't fully appreciate the marvelous work of Jesus on the cross, we will be parsimonious in our thankfulness and love. I often wonder why people cannot worship wholeheartedly, with vigor. I wonder why they cannot readily praise God joyfully with their lips. Maybe, they are like the Pharisee who doesn't believe he has to be forgiven of anything or maybe they don't believe there is much in their lives of which they need to be forgiven. If they hold either one of these opinions, they will never know the full extent of God's mercy and grace.

Yes, the Pharisee could sit there smugly, wondering how much of himself he should give to this man Jesus. But the woman knew she needed to give all she had to Jesus, for she knew who she was: she was a sinner. She brought an alabaster jar of perfume and poured the contents on Jesus' feet, revealing how much she loved him. Do we love him that much? Are our souls ready to burst with tears of love or are our souls dry? Do we find worshipping and serving Jesus just an empty, unemotional experience? Would we cheer louder for a football team than for Jesus? Would we maybe even shed a few tears of joy if our favorite team won a championship? But for Jesus we find no tears, no tumultuous joy inside, no shouts of victory on our lips, no songs of praises in our hearts. How much do we love Jesus? Is Jesus just your love on Sunday or on the mountaintops? Is He your love in the valleys, the hard times? Is He your love all the time, expressed with tears of joy and perfume for his feet? Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (vs 50) The woman, who loved Jesus greatly, knew Jesus as her man of authority and grace, who could take away sin, who could make her whole again. May each of us open our eyes and see him so clearly.