36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is, that she is a sinner.” ~ Luke 7:36-39
Our text today is a narrative, a true story. In v.36 we learned that as "the friend of sinners," the Lord Jesus responds affirmative to the invitation of a Pharisee, who is the worst of sinners, even worse than the prostitute. The worst possible sinner, the most unredeemable of all is the one who thinks he's not a sinner and doesn't need redemption, who thinks that God is pleased with him the way he is. This is the worst of sinners.
The Apostle Paul was one of these and that's why he called himself "the chief of sinners." The worst kind of sin is the sin of self-righteousness, the assumption that we by our own religious activities and moral merit can somehow earn a place in the kingdom of God. That is the most heinous crime of all for it treats the sacrifice of Christ with utter disdain, as being unnecessary and foolish.
The religious leaders hated the Lord Jesus and His message. And, they were in the process of accumulating incriminating evidence against Him. This is why Simon the Pharisee asked the Lord Jesus over for a meal. This Pharisee has in mind getting Jesus in a situation whereby His own words He can incriminate Himself.
Simon is no friend of the Lord Jesus, though he may have feigned a measure of friendship. He is a hypocritical enemy, along with the rest of the self-appointed guardians of external righteousness. He hated everything Jesus said and was. But the full hostility hasn't yet broken out. They’re still accumulating their material against Jesus. They want Him dead. Now there are serious plots. Trapping Him in His words is their intent so that they can then accuse Him of some crime of bringing about His own execution.
The Lord Jesus willingly went into the house of a man whom He knew was a hypocrite. He went there knowing the man was going to do everything he could to get some incriminating evidence against Him. The Lord Jesus graciously meets with the people who saw Him as their enemy.
The meeting was a lunch meeting where they reclined around the meal table. The doors were open and the town folk were allowed to listen to the conversation that ensued around the table which was in the middle of the house. Everybody who is around the table is leaning in to the table. Around the perimeter walls were spaces for the local people to come in and experience the event itself and to hear the discussion and learn from it.
In v.37 we read, "A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume." It was not shocking for a stranger to listen in on the conversation, but it was shocking that a woman who was a prostitute came. And, by the way, this is not Mary Magdalene. She is first introduced in Luke 8:2.
This woman brought an alabaster jar of perfume which was part of the trade of being a prostitute. In v.38, we learn she went to the Lord Jesus to anoint Him with this costly perfume. She is weeping. She is flooded with tears over the reality that she is unworthy. As she weeps, she begins to wet His feet with her tears. She's sees all things that the host did not provide the Lord Jesus when He arrived, primarily washing His feet.
And then we read in v.38, "Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them." She took her hair down because all Jewish women in public were required to wear their hair up. To let one's hair down was a sign of shame and looseness. But she had no choice except to use her hair to clean and dry His dirty feet.
Once His feet were clean, it says she was kissing His feet. The Greek word that Luke employs is kataphileĊ is an intense word. This word is used in Luke 15:20 of the father's kisses when the prodigal came home. This woman is there at His feet and first the tears start falling on His feet and then she realizes that she can use the tears to clean His feet, a courtesy that hasn't been given to Him. And then she can take her hair down and use her hair to dry His feet.
And then comes the woman's final act of generosity, she anoints Jesus' feet with the perfume. So swept away in the emotion she opens the alabaster bottle and she pours the perfume out on His feet.
I mean, this could be a very, very difficult situation for Jesus. In the first place, she's a known prostitute. She's shamefully taken down her hair, certainly in the view of the Pharisee. She's touching Him. Not only is she touching Him, but she's washing His feet with her hair. Not only that but she continues to embrace His feet to hold on to Him, as if she didn't want to let Him go. And then she's pouring out this perfume. This could be a very serious breach of propriety. It would be very easy to say, "How in the world does this prostitute feel so familiar with Jesus? She must know Him. How did He have any relationship with such a shameless woman?" Well somebody might make an obvious connection.
Then in v.39, Simon the Pharisee picks up on it. "When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is, that she is a sinner."
In v.39, Luke gives us a view into the Pharisee’s thoughts. The Pharisee wondered if the Lord Jesus was a prophet, but now he concludes the Lord Jesus could not be for if He was He would have had insight into this woman’s background and rejected her overtures. What the Pharisee thinks he sees, is not what the Lord Jesus sees. The Lord Jesus does not see a sinner in this woman who was a prostitute, what He sees is her.
Simon, the Pharisee was a man who was looking to incriminate the Lord Jesus. But as much as he wanted incriminating proof that Jesus was not the Messiah, he couldn't bring himself to say, "Here's a man who is familiar with a prostitute." No one ever accused the Lord Jesus of that. That shows a measure of real respect of the Lord Jesus and a true understanding of His goodness and purity so that the worst the man can say was, "He just doesn't know who or what kind of person she is." Simon chalks it up to ignorance rather than evil.
Notice the Lord Jesus is not put off by this woman or her past. He does not reject her or keep her at a distance. He is not afraid that her impurity will rub off on Him. Instead, he accepts the woman as she is. He does the same for us. He doesn’t require that we clean ourselves before we come to Him. He doesn’t require that we get our lives together before He hears our prayer inviting Him into our lives. Instead, He invites us in just as we are.
