A WORD FOR TODAY, June 12, 2025
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, June 12, 2025
“One of the Pharisees invited him to eat with him. He entered into the Pharisee’s house and sat at the table. Behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that he was reclining in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. Standing behind at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, ‘This man, if he were a prophet, would have perceived who and what kind of woman this is who touches him, that she is a sinner.’” Luke 7:36-39, WEB
Jesus walked miles a day. He walked everywhere sharing the message of hope and peace of God’s Kingdom with the world. I’m sure He was in great physical shape unlike most of us in this generation, because all that walking most certainly kept Him fit. I imagine however, that His feet suffered from the same problems that we experience when we do something like take a vacation at a theme park or hike miles a day in national parks. He didn’t have the benefit of modern shoes that are designed to take care of the feet, so I’m sure that they were cracked, dry, and sore after walking miles every day. At the very least, His feet were dirty from the hot sandy roads.
There is much more to today’s story than just the anointing of Jesus’ feet. We could talk about the woman, her sin, and Jesus’ forgiveness. We could talk about the Pharisee who was indignant about Jesus’ willingness to associate with a sinner and his assumption that Jesus could not be a prophet. We could talk about the differences between this story and the similar stories of women anointing Jesus that are found in Matthew, Mark, and John. Today’s passage is followed by a parable about forgiveness. We also hear in the first verses in Luke 8 about the women who followed Jesus and offered support to His ministry.
I think there is something very beautiful and poignant in the brief scene between the woman and Jesus. She came to Jesus in her sin and gave him her heart. We don’t know why the Pharisee invited Jesus to his home. Though this story happens early in Luke’s telling of Jesus’ ministry, the Pharisees were already questioning Jesus’ purpose and holiness. Did the Pharisee want to ensnare Jesus or was he truly curious about the things Jesus was doing and saying?
Whatever the reason, the Pharisee was not a very good host. Jesus entered the house but did not receive the proper hospitality due a visitor. There was no one to cleanse His feet from the dust of the road. A woman in tears approached Jesus with a jar of perfume and anointed his feet. I am sure that the ointment felt good on His sore feet, a wonderful relief from the heat and dryness of the road. She met a very real need with great love. She was an outcast sinner, and her actions offended the Pharisee. Why was she there? Was she a stranger to the Pharisee or was she a trap? The Pharisee immediately said of Jesus, “This man, if he were a prophet, would have perceived who and what kind of woman this is who touches him, that she is a sinner.”
Jesus made this a lesson in forgiveness. He embraced her and accepted her love, proving in the Pharisee’s mind that Jesus was no prophet. Jesus’ actions, however, proved something even greater. Jesus shined the grace of God. Even Jesus’ visit to the Pharisee’s house was an act of grace, for Jesus must have known the heart of that Pharisee. Jesus willingly went to share God’s love with both the repentant sinner and the one who did not acknowledge his own sin. God’s grace reaches out to the world, calling us all to see that we are all sinners in need of the Savior, which is Jesus. Grace even reaches out to those do not acknowledge their sinfulness, because Jesus wants everyone to repent, draw closer to God, and receive the forgiveness that He promised and that Jesus won for all of us on the cross. Jesus was more than a prophet. He is the LORD who died and rose again for our sake.
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