And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Luke 7:38
The picture presented in today’s text is one of the most amazing of all the events in the ministry of the Lord Jesus! First note that the woman did not even dare to face the Lord directly; she stood behind him, showing she was not looking for attention. Also note her weeping, so deep was her emotion and grief that her tears were sufficient to bathe the feet of the Lord Jesus, which she did. Then note how she offers her hair for a towel, and proceeds to anoint His feet with a precious ointment. It is little wonder that the Pharisee was astonished. Nobody had ever seen such a sight before, although the Pharisee was more taken up with who she was than what she had done. For us today, there is also a more important consideration than what this woman had done: why did she do it?
We do not read that this woman had encountered the Lord Jesus prior to this event. All we know is that she heard that he was at Simon’s house for a meal. Her response to that knowledge shows us that she understood Who He was. How she reached that conclusion we will never know, but acting upon her identification of Him as the Son of God, she responded in total humility, repentance, and worship. Everybody in town knew that she had a sordid background. Until this point in her life, her sinful ways had apparently not been too great a weight on her conscience. But suddenly, she understands that she needs a Saviour and that the Saviour is available to approach. Approach Him she does, although she stands behind Him in humility and shame. Even the circumstance of entering into the house of a man who would surely despise her wretched station does not hinder her. The very fact that she is there is an amazing display of the working of the Holy Spirit in her heart. She reaches a place that each of us recognize, the point at which God was able to bring to us the realization of His salvation.
There must have been two emotions that flooded this woman’s spirit as she stood behind the Lord Jesus: remorse and sorrow for her sins, and amazement that the Son of God should allow her to approach. We can have no doubt as to her repentance. For one thing, if her repentance was any less than real, the Lord Jesus would never have allowed her near. But He graciously accepts her tears, and the wiping of his feet with her hair, acknowledging the sincerity of her heart. Can we remember when our repentance before God brought us into the same place, that of being accepted by the Saviour?
Worship always delights the heart of our Lord. And this woman’s worship in the annointing of His feet with her ointment was genuine and unreserved. Did she deserve to be allowed to make such an offering? No more than you and I are deserving of bringing worship and thank offerings into the presence of our Lord today.
Our text gives us a wonderful picture that must surely remind us of our first encounter with our Saviour. – Jim MacIntosh