Seest Thou This Woman?
Today’s Verse:
And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. ~Luke 7:44
How would you feel if you were invited to someone’s house for a meal but you were disrespected, ignored, and set up for accusation? I think all of us would feel awkward, insulted, and angry with our host. Jesus was invited to the home of a Pharisee for dinner, and in the course of being there, a woman came to demonstrate the importance of showing her love for Jesus.
We see the profane.
A woman who was called a sinner heard that Jesus was invited to the house of Simon the Pharisee. Her heart was heavy because she knew that she had lived a life that had been very sinful. She had a reputation as an immoral person. She was rejected and sneered at by the high society of the Pharisees. She knew that she would not be accepted by the religious elite, but she sought acceptance and forgiveness with our Lord Jesus.
We see the passion.
This woman had great faith that Jesus would forgive her. She did something that was incredibly extraordinary. She opened an alabaster box filled with precious ointment, poured the ointment on Jesus' feet, and began to wipe His feet with her tears. Her act was one of great humility. Her act was one of great contrition. Her act was one of great sacrifice. She knew that she was in the presence of our Lord and felt great conviction about her sinful lifestyle. Without any words, she expressed her heart for the Lord as she carefully and lovingly wiped and anointed the feet of Jesus with her hair and tears. Would you go to such length to publicly show Jesus how much you love Him?
We see the pretender.
The Pharisee was indignant that Jesus allowed this woman to touch Him. He mumbled to himself, “If Jesus was a prophet, He would have known what kind of woman this is.” This Pharisee was filled with much self-righteousness and sought to discredit the Lord Jesus for allowing the woman to minister to Him. It’s interesting how this pretender wore the religious garments and had the title, but, in his spirit, had zero faith in Jesus and sought to throw both Jesus and the woman "under the bus.” Be careful of pretenders whose goal is to use you for their benefit.
We see the pardon.
First, Jesus used a powerful example of two men with different debts that had been forgiven to impress on Simon how the degree of forgiveness affects a person’s thankfulness. Second, Jesus turned the tables on Simon and rebuked him for the lack of faith and appreciation he showed to Jesus as his guest. Then, Jesus turned His attention back on this woman and forgave her of her sin. You can imagine the relief she felt as her sin debt was completely forgiven.
We see the picture.
Jesus said, “Seest thou this woman?” She is a powerful picture of how we should live our lives for the Lord after we are saved. Our affection and attention should be on demonstrating our love for Jesus and His body, the church. Sacrifices should not be a second thought. Having a tender heart and never forgetting the grace extended to us should be the motivation for letting others know that we love the Lord. What will you do today to demonstrate how much you love Jesus?
Have a passionate God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Luke 14-16