Women had a very distinct role in the gospel accounts for
being focal points of when Jesus’ ministry would either enter into a radically
dynamic shift or illuminate the deepest truths of His message at that given
point when women enter into the story. This story is somewhat both.
Luke 7:36-50 is textually fresh. All the gospel accounts
have Jesus being anointed in some form or another. Mark, Matthew, and John all
have the anointing happen at Bethany but Luke doesn’t mention a location.
Matthew and Mark say Jesus is at Simon the leper’s house, Luke says Simon is a
Pharisee. John doesn’t mention a host or
a specific location. Matthew and Mark have Him being anointed over His head but
Luke and John have His feet anointed. There’s a drastic difference in the
symbolism of the two and Luke and John do more dancing than most people catch
and I think this is one of those moments here. And the woman is changed in the
accounts also. John says it’s Mary of Bethany, Matthew and Mark say “a woman”,
and Luke says “a woman that has lived a sinful life”. Whatever. It’s a woman.
Got it. Matthew and Mark and John have Jesus being anointed to create a
transition for the reader to view this anointing in light of His burial but
Luke doesn’t do that. This anointing is early in His ministry and it’s a profound
moment for Jesus when it happens.
The Pharisee invites Jesus to his house to have a meal with
him. Jewish people liked to do things over food? Sounds like my group of
people. I don’t argue with food. This is right after Jesus has just addressed
messengers from John the Baptist and Jesus, a few verses back, told those
messengers about the effects of His ministry. The blind see, the dead now live,
the deaf can hear, and the sick are healthy. This Pharisee isn’t like the other
ones that you encounter later on in the gospels. He actually gives Jesus
somewhat of a shot here and inviting Him over to his house for food and lively
conversation is implicit in his giving Jesus a chance to see what He’s made of.
Jesus goes. The sinful woman walks into the house and goes to where Jesus is
and she drops to His feet.
Let me make myself clear here: She went into the house of a
Pharisee. She wasn’t invited. She walked into the house where an all-male
gathering was happening. A meeting of religious minds was happening here and
women didn’t have a place in those moments. And she, a sinful woman (A SINFUL
WOMAN) walked in and dropped to the feet of the guest, Jesus. She went looking
for Him. She knew who He was otherwise she wouldn’t have risked her social
standing (whatever social standing Jewish women had during Jesus’ time on
Earth, they didn’t want to waste that away because once lost it isn’t coming
back). She sought Jesus, even if it meant being ridiculed by the Pharisee.
He didn’t vocalize it. He wasn’t an animal. He hid it in his
heart. In verse 40 the Pharisee is given an identity: Simon. The name rooted in
the Hebrew verb “hear, listen”. It didn’t take divine knowledge for Jesus to
know that Simon was judging the hell (pun intended) out of the woman. “If this
man is a prophet…” is how Luke writes down Simon’s inner monologue. Simon was
willing to believe that Jesus was the prophet He behaved as and that’s big.
Let’s not undermine this here. Simon was willing to believe that Jesus was who
He said He was. Once again it doesn’t take divine knowledge to read someone’s
thoughts rather well. I do believe that if you’re connected with God then you
can be intuitive. You can read people (I’m
not saying if you’re not a Christian then you can’t do that) rather easily
and Simon probably wore it all over his face when he was judging her. There’s
silence in the room as this woman’s tears fall on Jesus’ feet and she dried
them with her hair and poured expensive perfume over them. Luke uses the word
expensive here. This may have been a woman of means. The perfume may have been
the only nice thing that she had and she was saving it for a special occasion.
This was a special occasion. It was the redemption of her soul. How much more
special a moment can that be?
Jesus calls Simon out, somewhat passive aggressively I
think, and says that He has something to say to him. Simon responds “Teacher,
say it”. The Pharisee called a Galilean day laborer a teacher. And Luke does
something unusual with his story and throws the parable of the two debtors into
the middle of this anointing. The main point of the parable: If you’re forgiven
a lot, you will love a lot. If you’re forgiven a little, you will love a
little. This woman showed the humility that Simon didn’t. It was customary to
wash a guest’s feet and greet them with a kiss if they were to enter your
house. 1 Samuel 25:41 is the first sign of foot washing as an act of humility
that we get in the Bible. This idea is nothing revolutionary to Jesus or Simon.
And Simon knew better but he probably thought that he didn’t need to humble
himself. Why? He invited Jesus over to his place after all! He was the one
giving Jesus a chance to prove His intellectual strength. And He did.
To me the act of Maundy (the term for foot washing in
Christianity) has always been this heartbreaking sign of servitude and humility
that the church has lost. It’s a gesture that shows that the person doing the
washing knows the gravity of what they’re doing. Their heart may not be one of
service and humility but doing that may show that “Hey I’m trying. I really
am.” I mean seriously. Have you washed someone’s feet? It’s not something
people are jumping up and down to do.
And
that’s the catch. Jesus never asked us to jump up and down to be humble and be
servants. He doesn’t seem to give a damn about how we feel, as well He
shouldn’t. He told us to do it.
The sinful woman is an example for all of us that we are to seek moments to serve others. We will find Christ when we serve our neighbors.
The woman sought Jesus. She went into that
house to humble herself. To her, Jesus was worth the societal embarrassment and
the verbal lashing she’d get from Simon. Jesus forgave her of her sins,
whatever they were. This woman sought a chance to serve the master of masters
and she left with her soul lifted of her sins.
This is Jesus’ first unique encounter with a woman in His
ministry. I say unique because this isn’t the first encounter He’s had with a
woman in His ministry, but the sinful woman is Jesus’ first unique encounter
with how His message affects everyone. Pharisees, women, and fishermen alike.
Chapter 7 ends with verse 50 and chapter 8 starts with Jesus’ ministry being
financially supported by Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna (8:3). These women
supported Jesus out of their private means. Maybe they were wealthy, maybe they
gave His ministry all that they had because, like the sinful woman, they sought
after being forgiven for their wrongdoings. But this is a crucial moment for
Jesus’ ministry. The sinful woman left with forgiveness and other women joined
His ministry and welcomed His message.
