Things May Not be as They Seem

Things may not be as they seem.
Luke 7:36-50
36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know this who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.” 41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed him five hundred denari, and the other fifty. 42 “And when they had nothing which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 “You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 “You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” 48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 59 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
In Verse 36, we see Jesus accepting an invitation for dinner from a Pharisee. As we read on we realize that Jesus has sparked the Pharisee’s curiosity enough so that he wanted to learn more. Here the Pharisee stands at a threshold we all will at some time in our lives stand. When we are faced with the question of a savior, will we be curious? I believe that it was curiosity that drew me nearer to Christ as I began to listen to Pastors on the radio. I remember thinking that if this Christianity is real, than I want to hear more, if so many were drawn to Christ, than there had to be something there. Perhaps this was the thinking of the Pharisee as he invited Jesus to his home.
The woman in the following verses is often considered to be a prostitute, or Mary Magdalene mentioned in Chapter eight. Though this is speculation, we do know that the woman was a sinner, and this qualified her for the need of a savior. The fact that she brought the oil with her shows that she had put some thought into act before she entered the house. Perhaps she had heard the teaching of Jesus and had thought on it for awhile and now had come to worship Jesus in the only way she knew how.
V.38 “and stood at His feet,” In eastern society the people reclined on one side; the legs bent to one side with the feet turned outwards behind them. This is how they had meals, and this is position the woman found Jesus. “and she began to wash His feet with her tears,” The Jews wore sandals instead of shoes, so while walking the feet were constantly dirty. It was a custom to provide water for the guests to wash their feet as they entered the house. We carry on the same custom with the welcome mat at the door, in hopes that guests will wipe their feet or remove their shoes before they enter the house. “she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.” The kissing of the feet was an expression of honor among the heathen of the time, as they practiced to their idols. 1 Kings 19:18 “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
In verse 39 the Pharisee judges not only the woman but Jesus as well. He reasons that if Jesus were a genuine prophet he would know the character of the woman. In the reply in the following verses Jesus shows that He indeed knows the character of the woman as well as the character of Simon.
In the parable told in verses 41, 42 Jesus teaches that the greater the forgiveness the greater the love. This parable gives two different examples of God’s grace. Jesus contrasts it to the two different receptions He received from Simon and the woman. Simon displayed very little hospitality, while the woman honored Jesus with her attention. This further convinces me that Simon considered Jesus a mere curiosity.
In verses 44-47, Jesus applies the principle of the story to Simon and the woman, showing that one realizes the depth of his sin, and the greatness of God’s grace and the other sees no need of a savior thinking himself justified by law. In admitting this we realize our own frailty in being able to save ourselves from the wages of sins. But what of one who thinks that they have no sin? What of those who feel that they are a good person and that they shall receive mercy on their own merits? 1 John 1:8 Says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
Jesus saw two sinners that day, both in need of a savior. Simon only saw a woman of bad reputation, who was not worthy of consideration. Let me leave you with this story I found that I feel says that things are not always as they seem.
An African king had a close friend who had the habit of remarking "this
is good" about every occurrence in life no matter what it was. One day
the king and his friend were out hunting. The king's friend loaded a
gun and handed it to the king, but alas he loaded it wrong and when the
king fired it, his thumb was blown off.
"This is good!" exclaimed his friend.
The horrified and bleeding king was furious. "How can you say this is
good? This is obviously horrible!" he shouted.
The king put his friend in jail.
About a year later the king went hunting by himself. Cannibals captured
him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some
wood, set up a stake and bound him to it. As they came near to set fire
to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being
superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. They
untied the king and sent him on his way.
Full of remorse the king rushed to the prison to release his friend.
"You were right, it WAS good" the king said.
The king told his friend how the missing thumb saved his life and
added, "I feel so sad that I locked you in jail. That was such a bad
thing to do"
"NO! This is good!" responded his delighted friend.
"Oh, how could that be good my friend, I did a terrible thing to you while I
owe you my
life".
"It is good" said his friend, "because if I wasn't in jail I would have been
hunting with you and they would have killed ME."
Source unknown