Go in peace, thy faith has made you whole!
None the less, the woman who is not named, enters the room. She has been listening to Jesus teaching and has seen His miracles performed and has come to the realization that this must be who they say He is; the Messiah, sent by God to save His people from their sin.
She stands behind Him now, maybe trying to control herself, but it is impossible! The tears are flowing uncontrollably as she stands at His feet! She wipes her eyes and sees that she has soaked His feet with her tears and kneels to wipe the wet dust from His feet with her most adorned apparel, her hair. She continues to cry as she thinks about her past and how many times she has felt the guilt of her sins; avoiding conversation with those who would dare to mention God or anything related to worship. This would normally have only made her feel worse about herself and the life she had chosen to live long ago. Now though, she was sitting at the feet of this One they called the Messiah, the Savior of His people! At His feet, where typically the servants would stay, she began to clean His feet with her hair and her tears. As she washed them she also began to kiss His feet, which was an act of adoration and respect for Jesus. But she didn't just kiss them once, but over and over again in love for her new found Lord! She felt so blessed to be able to show Him her love and belief in Him in such a way as this.
Then she took out the alabaster container of ointment, a bottle of perfume; a perfume that some theologians believe she had used to attract the attention of others and most likely her most treasured possession. Ointment was a very expensive product in this day and was used much like our cologne and deodorant today. You see, the Greek translation for the word that describes her as a sinner means one living in sin or a whore. Now how do we feel about this whole picture? What would we have been thinking if we had been sitting in that room, knowing that she had this reputation?
Wait! Let's bring it up to our day and time! Ok? What if she was a woman who was known as a Playboy centerfold and stripper who had been on public TV and the latest Yahoo News sites all over the world? Now, how does that make us feel? Maybe we can understand a little better about what happens next!
The Pharisee, whose name was Simon, was thinking within himself,"If this man was a prophet, he would have know what kind of woman was touching Him and that she was a sinner (whore)". That's when Jesus shared something with Simon. Jesus asked him,"If one man owed $50 and another man owed $500 and they didn't have anything to pay and the creditor told them that he wasn't going to make them pay. Which one of the men would love him more?". Simon answered and said that he supposed that the one that owed the creditor more money. Then Jesus said that he judged right!
Jesus told Simon to look at the woman, but Jesus also looked at her, according to this passage. Jesus had no problem giving her His attention because he saw her through different eyes; His eyes didn't judge her. Jesus told Simon, "See thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gave me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gave me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."
In Simon's eyes, he had few sins, so he had little love for the Lord. Do you think that if we feel this way about ourselves, it will also have an impact on how much we love our Savior. If Jesus walked into the room right now, how would you honestly react? Would you drop to your knees? Would you just stare at Him in amazement and wait forHim to recognize YOU? Do we think that we are going to be His focus when we get to heaven? Are we really that great in our own eyes? I hear this dangerous doctrine taught all across America today and it is teaching people to love God less, just as we see in the attitude of the Pharisee with Jesus!"How are we to feel the love that this woman had for Jesus?", you may ask, just as I did when I first read this passage.
We must look long and hard at what we believe! This passage has brought me to realize two very important things. I took the time to search my heart and see how I saw myself and what I felt about my past and what God had truly done for me. This brought me to a deeper appreciation of what Jesus meant to me. He was the one who forgave us all as He hung on the cross. He forgave us even before this, just as He had forgiven the woman that day so long ago. He forgave her for all of her past sins and her choice of lifestyles that had given her such a bad reputation. Let's look at what Jesus says to her next,
And he said unto her, "Thy sins are forgiven." ~ Luke 7:48
But why do you think Jesus make mention of this that day? I believe that He was making a point to each of those sitting at the table that day; also to each of us reading this passage today. Jesus knew that the question would come up in their hearts, "Who is this that forgives sins also?". This has become the question of the century by many a Muslim and other religions across the world and many of them deny it! They can't believe that a man named Jesus can pardon the sins of wicked men!
I believe what Jesus says next will help us to realize the awesome power of Jesus as the Messiah when we believe! And he said to the woman, "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." ~ Luke 7:50
It was the sincere belief in God and the message of the Messiah Jesus that caused this woman to change. Her faith was made alive and that seed of faith which had been dead began to grow in her heart, her mind and then became evident in her body. She changed the way she felt; she changed the way she thought and she changed the way she loved! She went from doubting, bondage and oppression to having faith, pardoned and peace.
Finally, let's take a look at the word "peace" in the Greek translation and what it means to those who have faith!
In the Greek the word "peace" is eirēnē
It is pronounced i-rah'-nay (go ahead, try to pronounce it one time)
Peace (used literally or figuratively); by implication prosperity: - one, peace, quietness, rest, + set at one again.
Let's take a few minutes to kneel at Jesus feet and adore Him as we grasp the fact that He has forgiven ALL of our sins! Let's love Him more and more each day and remember the words of Jesus, "Thy faith has saved you; go in peace."
Then she took out the alabaster container of ointment, a bottle of perfume; a perfume that some theologians believe she had used to attract the attention of others and most likely her most treasured possession. Ointment was a very expensive product in this day and was used much like our cologne and deodorant today. You see, the Greek translation for the word that describes her as a sinner means one living in sin or a whore. Now how do we feel about this whole picture? What would we have been thinking if we had been sitting in that room, knowing that she had this reputation?
Wait! Let's bring it up to our day and time! Ok? What if she was a woman who was known as a Playboy centerfold and stripper who had been on public TV and the latest Yahoo News sites all over the world? Now, how does that make us feel? Maybe we can understand a little better about what happens next!
The Pharisee, whose name was Simon, was thinking within himself,"If this man was a prophet, he would have know what kind of woman was touching Him and that she was a sinner (whore)". That's when Jesus shared something with Simon. Jesus asked him,"If one man owed $50 and another man owed $500 and they didn't have anything to pay and the creditor told them that he wasn't going to make them pay. Which one of the men would love him more?". Simon answered and said that he supposed that the one that owed the creditor more money. Then Jesus said that he judged right!
Jesus told Simon to look at the woman, but Jesus also looked at her, according to this passage. Jesus had no problem giving her His attention because he saw her through different eyes; His eyes didn't judge her. Jesus told Simon, "See thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gave me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gave me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."
In Simon's eyes, he had few sins, so he had little love for the Lord. Do you think that if we feel this way about ourselves, it will also have an impact on how much we love our Savior. If Jesus walked into the room right now, how would you honestly react? Would you drop to your knees? Would you just stare at Him in amazement and wait forHim to recognize YOU? Do we think that we are going to be His focus when we get to heaven? Are we really that great in our own eyes? I hear this dangerous doctrine taught all across America today and it is teaching people to love God less, just as we see in the attitude of the Pharisee with Jesus!"How are we to feel the love that this woman had for Jesus?", you may ask, just as I did when I first read this passage.
We must look long and hard at what we believe! This passage has brought me to realize two very important things. I took the time to search my heart and see how I saw myself and what I felt about my past and what God had truly done for me. This brought me to a deeper appreciation of what Jesus meant to me. He was the one who forgave us all as He hung on the cross. He forgave us even before this, just as He had forgiven the woman that day so long ago. He forgave her for all of her past sins and her choice of lifestyles that had given her such a bad reputation. Let's look at what Jesus says to her next,
And he said unto her, "Thy sins are forgiven." ~ Luke 7:48
But why do you think Jesus make mention of this that day? I believe that He was making a point to each of those sitting at the table that day; also to each of us reading this passage today. Jesus knew that the question would come up in their hearts, "Who is this that forgives sins also?". This has become the question of the century by many a Muslim and other religions across the world and many of them deny it! They can't believe that a man named Jesus can pardon the sins of wicked men!
I believe what Jesus says next will help us to realize the awesome power of Jesus as the Messiah when we believe! And he said to the woman, "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." ~ Luke 7:50
It was the sincere belief in God and the message of the Messiah Jesus that caused this woman to change. Her faith was made alive and that seed of faith which had been dead began to grow in her heart, her mind and then became evident in her body. She changed the way she felt; she changed the way she thought and she changed the way she loved! She went from doubting, bondage and oppression to having faith, pardoned and peace.
Finally, let's take a look at the word "peace" in the Greek translation and what it means to those who have faith!
In the Greek the word "peace" is eirēnē
It is pronounced i-rah'-nay (go ahead, try to pronounce it one time)
Peace (used literally or figuratively); by implication prosperity: - one, peace, quietness, rest, + set at one again.
Let's take a few minutes to kneel at Jesus feet and adore Him as we grasp the fact that He has forgiven ALL of our sins! Let's love Him more and more each day and remember the words of Jesus, "Thy faith has saved you; go in peace."
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