How to Come to Jesus

       Today as I reread the story of the woman sinner finding forgiveness in her Savior, I had to ask myself if I have done the same since finding salvation in Him as a teen.  This woman had to crash a dinner party at the house of a Pharisee.  Pharisees avoided defilement at all costs and a wicked sinner, a woman at that, would have been avoided.  This woman knew that, yet entered the room knowing how she would be seen- but she didn’t care.  How often do we come to Jesus hiding in the shadows, not wanting anyone to see?

“And one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And going into the Pharisee's house, He reclined.” And behold, a woman, a sinner in the city, knowing that He reclined in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster vial of ointment. And she stood behind Him, weeping at His feet, and she began to wash His feet with tears and wipe them with the hair of her head. And she ardently kissed His feet and anointed them with the ointment.  Lk. 7:36-38 

       Check out the picture of how they used to eat and we see how the feet were often behind the person reclined to eat.  There stood the woman, so abased by her own sin that she stood sobbing/ weeping over Jesus’ feet.  Probably horrified (I would be anyway) by this odd washing, she quickly humbles herself down at His feet and tries to dry them off with her hair.  Her hair!  Most of us would say “Ew!” and would find anything to dry off dirty feet besides our hair.  And while she’s drying, more tears are falling because she is still humiliated by her own sin.  She kisses His feet over and over again (a woman touching a man’s feet- a rabbi at that! forbidden…), ignoring embarrassment, and anoints them with perfumed oil, probably bought at great cost to her.

       This woman sees her own sin, totally gets how filthy she is and is willing to put what’s left of her reputation on the line.  She is at the lowest she can go and nothing else matters.  In her remorse, she falls at the feet of Jesus humbling herself.  Did we do this?  Do we continue to do this?  She will do anything for her Lord even if it means humiliating herself, wiping His feet with her hair.  She shows her great love for Jesus in her continuing kisses and costly anointing (v.45,47).   Are we willing to humiliate ourselves for Jesus and do we love Him so much we remain at His feet kissing them?

And He turned to the woman and said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I entered into your house, yet you gave Me no water for My feet. But she has washed My feet with tears, and has wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with ointment. Lk. 7:44-46

       In contrast, Simon wanted Jesus ‘in his life’ on his own terms.  He probably thought: ‘You can come in, but I’m not going out of my way to extend hospitality.  You can sit at my table, but I’m not humbling myself at Your feet.  And I am not defiling myself by touching Your filthy feet.  I will show You some respect, but not great love that I don’t yet feel.  I will not spend of myself on You…’  Which way do we ‘come to Jesus?’

And He said to her, Your sins are forgiven. And those reclining with Him began to say within themselves, Who is this who even forgives sins? And He said to the woman, Your faith has saved you, go in peace. Lk. 7:48-50

How will we come to Jesus?

       Notice the words of Jesus are not spoken to Simon, but to the woman- the sinful woman Simon looked down upon.  Jesus spoke the words to her that we all need to hear: “your sins are forgiven.”  Forgiven.  Washed away.  Because she trusted Jesus…  Because we trust Jesus.  Because we see who we are and fall at His feet repenting of our sins.  Today.  Tomorrow.  Always. 

His forgiveness…

          His peace…

Thank You Jesus!!!