Basically, a religious leader (known as a pharisee) invited Jesus and his disciples over for dinner. When they arrived the Bible says they 'reclined' at the table. They didn't sit up in chairs as they do now, because their feet were often so dirty. They would lean on table on their left side, with their feet away from the table, using their right hand to eat.
A woman,who had a very bad reputation in the town, heard that Jesus was eating nearby and went to the house. That's right...she just showed up. Awkward? Most definitely. She then began crying...like, really crying and she leaned down to let her tears fall on Jesus' feet. Let me first say can you imagine if you had been ridiculed and your WHOLE town thought you were sinful and terrible, and you just showed up where a gathering of HOLY men were thinking you could find forgiveness? This woman certainly had guts.
After crying on his feet literally, as I'm sure everyone watched awkwardly in astonishment, she began drying his (probably filthy) feet with her hair. She kissed his feet and then poured her perfume on them. Now back in those days, women carried a flask of perfume with them, normally rose oil, because they did not have access to showers like we do now and they used it to sweeten their breath and body.
But, why would she have just shown up in front of Jesus,whom she had never met?? He obviously had an impact on her life and as she entered and saw him she was overcome by thank fullness. There would be no other reason for it, but that. She knew HE could save her and it most certainly would NOT have been easy for her to do this. She had NO reason to think that they would be accepting of her; she was known for her bad reputation!!
Finally the religious leader had the unction to break the awkward silence and say something about Jesus:"If Jesus was legit, he would know that this lady has a TERRIBLE REPUTATION! She's known for the bad crimes she has committed around here!"
Jesus looked right at him and said, "I've got something to tell you..There were two guys who owed a bank owner some money. One owed him 5 million bucks and the other owed him 5 bucks. Neither of these guys could pay him back so he let them both off of the hook. Which guy do you think would be more thankful?Which guys is going to love him more?
The religious leader looked at Jesus and said, "The one who owed more money of course."
Jesus told him he was right. Then Jesus looked down at the woman who probably felt embarrassed she even made the decision to go there and said, "When I got here you didn't offer to clean my feet, but she has cleaned them with her own tears and her hair! You didn't give me a big hug and kiss welcoming or honoring me as your guest..but,I haven't been able to get this lady to stop kissing my feet! You didn't anoint my head with oil, but she has spared a whole flask of perfumed oil for my feet! Because, those who are forgiven of a whole LOT, love a lot more. But, those who are only forgiven for a little bit, don't love as much."
Then he turned to the woman, who was probably at this point feeling a lot more confident in her decision to come to where Jesus was, and said, "All of your sins- you can forget them. I forgive you. Today, your FAITH SAVED YOU. Now you can go home in peace."
If you took the time to read this, I hope it encouraged you to take a step of faith. God is not too far from you. Everyones feet stink at some point. He is not unreachable and you no longer have to track Him down in the middle east at at Pharisees house to get Him to forgive your sins. Whether you owe $500,000,000 worth of debt (sin) or $5.00 , there isn't anything He hasn't seen. If you have questions go ask your pastor and if you don't have one go ask a local church leader, but if you need prayer email me or leave a comment and I'd be happy to do so. You have so much more to see, do, and impact so Keep on Keepin' on.
rad@devout.com
Wow Audrey, this is sooo encouraging. I have been wandering in the desert - again - and this has certainly helped me. I must say, I do love your style! It is so today and down to earth!!! Keep it up please - I have been both enjoying and learning from your blogs. Thanks!!!
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