Luke 7:36-50
This is SUCH a great story. Do Not Skip It.
You can read it here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%207%3A36-50&version=NLT
This is one of those absolutely beautiful stories of grace on display. It is also a picture of worship. There are actually two times when a woman put expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. Once was this woman. We only meet her as an “immoral woman.” It seems like no one knew her name but everyone knew she was and how she lived. The second time this happened was Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus, not long before Jesus died. That story is still to come.
Today we read about this “immoral woman.” It’s kind of crazy right? We are all sinners. We are all “immoral people.” But with some people it’s just easier to observe from a distance. So the rest of us point our fingers, shake our heads and feel better about ourselves because we don’t do THAT, as if THAT is somehow worse than our hidden sin.
When Jesus responded to his self righteous host, he didn’t bother to confront the man’s assumption. That wasn’t the lesson he wanted to convey and his audience wasn’t looking for a multi-point sermon anyways. Some people are forgiven much, some little. I guess that’s true, but it’s also irrelevant. Because it’s also true that even a little is all it takes to be completely alienated from God. The sweetest little Sunday school teaching Granny is hopeless and helpless but for the grace of God. So was the Pharisee who invited Jesus for dinner that day, but it’s pretty clear he was less aware of his sin than the woman who loved much. Did you notice that? In verse 47? Jesus changes her identity. When she walked into that house, she was an “immoral woman”, now she is “the woman who loved much.”
I love that description!
Jesus didn’t focus on her past. He saw her in that moment. She was the woman who loved much.
Let’s look at her again. She walks into a room full of people who probably did not welcome her. She stands near Jesus, crying. As her tears fall on his feet she wipes them with her hair, kisses them, and pours very expensive perfume on them. I can’t imagine a more comprehensive picture of worship. That’s what my worship should be. I’ve been forgiven much! I should be a woman who loves much.
Let’s break down this example because it’s powerful.
First, the focus is Jesus. She hears Jesus is near and she goes to him. She doesn’t care where it is, she just wants to be where he is. You know from the context that everyone is looking at her, judging her. She wasn’t oblivious to the stares and cruel whispers, but all she is interested in is Jesus. Is my worship like that? Am I unconcerned with what the people around me are thinking, seeing, assuming? True worship requires my uninhibited attention on Jesus.
Secondly, she is weeping as she stands behind him. From the context, we can guess that these are tears both of repentance and of gratitude. She is aware of her unworthiness and is truly sorrowful, but she is also aware of his grace and is desperately grateful. We don’t weep at the feet of someone we expect to kick us in the head. She worshipped knowing who she was and who he was. Is my worship that well informed? Do I understand my position before him? And do I understand just how gracious he is? Do I understand this man who has both the power and inclination to forgive me? True worship requires me to know the object of my worship.
Then there is this slightly uncomfortable expression of gratitude. I’m good with seeing someone weeping in God’s presence. That seems appropriate. But when her tears land on his feet she kisses them away and wipes them with her hair. That’s a little next level for me. I’m not very touchy feely, and this goes somewhere I can’t see myself going. I’m seeing an intimacy, a humiliation, a willingness to completely abandon herself. Cleaning feet was the job of a very low level servant, and to dry them with her hair? True worship is only concerned with caring for, obeying, honouring the master. She wanted to give Jesus what he deserved, regardless of the cost.
This brings me to the final thing I learn about worship from the woman who loved much. True worship is not concerned with the cost. If you’ve ever heard someone preach on this passage you’ve heard that an alabaster jar of perfume was pricey. Like life-savings pricey. This stuff was an investment, and she dumped it on Jesus’ feet. I imagine when she heard he was nearby she went riffling through her house frantically. She wanted to give him something to show her love and gratitude. Nothing seemed worthy of him until she spotted what was likely her most prized possession. She grabbed it with hardly a thought as she ran out the door. And she poured it all over his feet the first chance she got. In that moment it was worthless compared to the opportunity to demonstrate her love for him. True worship is recklessly generous.
Jesus saw the beauty of it. He saw her sincerity. He told her that her sins had been forgiven (which of course scandalized those who heard it, but whatever).
Jesus saw her. He saw her heart. He saw her act of worship. Of course everyone else in the room missed the point. A worship service that Elevation Worship, Chris Tomlin and Cece Winans combined could not have led, happened at Jesus’ feet that day, but only Jesus and the woman who loved much attended. Everyone else was trying to decide if they should be judging Jesus, or the woman.
