Sunday January 25, 2015 | Greg Boyd
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. 37 And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. 38 She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” 40 Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” 41 “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” 48 Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
We continue our short series on Women on the Outside this week by looking at the moving story of a prostitute who anoints the feet of Jesus with perfume and how we can learn much from how Jesus saw and responded to that woman.
Our Women on the Outside series has focused on the importance of taking the perspective of the outsider as most of the Bible focuses on the perspective of the loser, loner and outsider. In this story in the Gospel of Luke we find Jesus at a dinner with Pharisees and He is lying down on the floor, as was the dining custom in the ancient world. The context makes it clear that Jesus is invited to this dinner so the religious leaders of the day can try and trap him.
A woman who has “lived a sinful life” (most commentators believe this is a euphemism for this woman being a prostitute) approaches Jesus with, most likely, one of the tools of her trade of prostitution, an alabaster jar of perfume. This is, in all likelihood, one of the most expensive things this woman owns and the odor of the perfume would have been used to allure men to her. In her love for Jesus she anoints his feet and mops of his feet with her hair (the hair of a woman was her glory in the ancient world).
In the context of a meal with Pharisees, this act would be seen as a scandal. In the 1st century no woman was supposed to have anything to do with a man that was not her husband (no talking, touching, etc.). This is what gets Simon the Pharisee so incensed. This woman has now just performed, what could be construed as a sensual act, on Jesus and raises questions about Jesus’ character but also raises questions about the reputations of the Pharisees (known as the guardians of truth and righteousness). The Pharisees now move into damage control to make sure their own reputation are not sullied.
Jesus interacts with this woman in very unexpected ways that teach us how to interact with the rest of the world. Greg made three points that are critical: 1) In contrast to the Pharisees, Jesus looked at this woman made in the image of God and saw someone he was willing to give his life for. The way Jesus, and God (Hebrews 1:3) looks at us communicates love, worth and significance. God’s love for us infinitely outruns any ethical opinions he has about our behavior. 2) Jesus isn’t just our model of how God sees us, we are to IMITATE how Jesus looked at this prostitute. And this should apply to how we see ALL people. The same religious spirit that would cause us to see God as the cosmic Pharisee also conditions us to see others with Pharisee eyes. We see categories rather than people and we just evaluate people. Jesus calls us to throw off all the chains of religion. 3) Your love for God will never outrun your appreciation for being forgiven. The degree to which you think you have less to be forgiven than anyone else who has ever existed, so the true love of God will be cut off from you since you won’t be able to experience that love. The only way to come to God is to come to God as the worst of the sinners. We need to show up to God as the prostitute (1 Timothy 1:15).