Luke 7:36-50 tells a most poignant story of the sinful woman who came
and worshiped at Jesus’ feet. There are eight things that she did as she
ministered to Him. These make up a very beautiful, yet simple picture of
worship, and yet there is no mention of any words or songs that were uttered as a part of her worship.
• Verse 37 - She knew, or heard that Jesus was in Simon the
Pharisee’s house. I can imagine that her heart leapt with this news. It seems
to me that she had heard of Jesus before, and that she had thought about coming
to worship Him in response to some previous encounter with Him. Even if she
hadn’t met Him personally, she must have known enough about Him to trust that
He would not reject this lavish offering that she had prepared.
Have you heard where you might find Him this week? Are you listening for
news of His presence? What must we do in our hearts to prepare for a worship
encounter with Him?
• Verse 37 – she brought her
offering to the Lord. This woman was known to all as a terrible sinner, yet it
didn’t deter her from entering this house and interrupting the fellowship of
these men of God. The fact that she was there in the first place is a sign of
her passion and hunger for God. I wonder how many spoken and unspoken rules she
broke just to enter the house.
It is not enough to simply hear that Jesus is near – we must do whatever
it takes to draw near.
• Verse 38 – she stood at His
feet – behind Him. Some translations say that she knelt behind Him, and
some say that she stood. The issue is that she moved herself into a position of
being very near to Him. She was not willing to come before His face – the full
gaze of holiness shining into her sinful heart, and yet she is near enough to
minister to Him. I wonder how she knew that he would receive her offering. Her
first objective was to come to His feet.
Sometimes we come to the face of God and worship before Him – face to
face. Sometimes we sit at His side, or look into His hands. On other occasions
we must come to His feet and bow down in total vulnerability.
• Verse 38 – she wept. Sometimes
tears are our best prayers. All of her sin and shame came pouring out in these
tears. No words passed between them - just tears of worship, repentance and gratitude
flowed from her heart. A lifetime of suffering was turned into fragrant
worship.
I know that there are many times when I stop myself from feeling this
deeply in worship. Maybe my focus is too much on the music or other matters of
life. May I challenge us all to dig deeply into our hearts and make worship
offerings that are authentic – born in the core of our beings.
• Verse 38 – she washed Jesus’
feet with her tears. It was customary in Biblical times to wash the feet of
guests as they entered the house. Simon had neglected this common courtesy, and
a sinful woman used the only water available to her to perform this act of
humility – her own tears.
Tears are never wasted in God’s presence. Although Christ certainly does
not need to be washed, somehow I think that in this simple act of washing, she
received a cleansing of her heart and soul. As you pour out your heart and
tears in worship, something will take place in your heart where you are purged
and purified in His presence.
• Verse 38 – she wiped Jesus’
feet with her hair. Again, this woman had no towel to wipe away the tears
from Jesus’ feet – she used her hair, which is a picture of her natural beauty
and glory. She had once used her beauty to defile herself and bring separation
between her and God. In this act, she gave Him one of the only things she had left –
her beautiful hair. Once again she gave this to Him in total devotion. Her
hair had been used to woo men, now she used it woo her Redeemer.
Think about the things we have in our lives that we can lay at His feet.
Very often, these are ordinary things that become extraordinary gifts of
worship.
• Verse 38 – she kissed His feet.
The kiss is a most intimate act. Once she had successfully washed and wiped
Him without rebuke, she moved even deeper in worship and kissed Him. This is
quite a spectacle of public worship.
In so many of our cultures we are reserved in our expressions of
worship. Would we ever consider the total abandon of this woman as she kissed
the feet of Jesus? She had no thought of what people might think – all of her
focus was on the object of her devotion. Let’s not be too concerned about the
traditions and hindrances of our formal worship services. If our hearts are
pure and our motives are holy, then worship God with abandon.
• Verse 38 – she anointed His
head. This woman poured a costly, fragrant oil on Jesus’ head and feet.
This oil is called spikenard, which basically means "pure," "light," "the fire of
love." Such a picture of passionate worship! This was one of the most costly of all perfumes during Biblical times.
Some commentaries say that one pound of spikenard could cost a year’s salary
for the average worker.
Spikenard is a small attractive perennial and is usually found growing
on rock ledges and mountain slopes. It is prized for its aromatic rhizomes
(roots). We could say that true worship is found as we journey towards the Lord
up the mountains and in every stopping place along the way. Worship comes up
from the very core of our being just as natural spikenard gives of its
fragrance from the roots.
It is also interesting to note that:
- Prophets were anointed on the head (1Ki. 19:16)
- Priests were anointed on the head (Ex. 29:7; Lev. 8:12; Ps. 133:2)
- Kings were anointed on the head (1Sam. 16:13; 1Ki. 1:34, 45; 19:16;
2Ki. 9:1-6)
This woman was declaring Jesus’ ministry as a Prophet, Priest and King.
What a lovely picture this makes for those who love to worship. Just
think – when we worship the Lord as this woman did, we perfume Him and all
those around us. In John 12:3 it says that the
house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Not only the sanctuary of
our hearts, but the whole church should be filled with the fragrance of our
worship.
Just like in Jesus’ day, there will never be any lack of critics if we
determine to worship with all our hearts. The story of this sinful woman who
worshiped with abandon caused Jesus to remark:
Matt. 26:13 Assuredly, I say to
you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has
done will also be told as a memorial to her.
We usually think of receiving anointing from the Lord for ourselves...but this woman anointed Jesus! The honesty and simplicity of her worship became an anointing for Him and for all of us who hear this story.
Come – let us worship the Lord with all of our hearts!
There is one more snippet from Jesus that resounds through the ages: “He
who is forgiven little, loves little.” How true it is – among other things our
worship pours out of our gratitude and propels us into His presence. We enter His gates with thanksgiving. When
we understand the total depravity of our hearts and the extent of God’s
redemption, then it is totally natural to explode in passionate worship.
We can see such a clear distinction between two characters in this story
– Simon the Pharisee, who would have been a learned and pious man, and the
sinful woman who was clothed in shame. Clearly, all the learning and religious
duty of the Pharisee did not draw his heart to worship. On the other hand the
broken-hearted woman adored the One who had freed her from her life of sin and
shame.
There is nothing sweeter than learning how to pour our suffering before
the Lord as offerings of worship, and rising with robes of righteousness.
Listen for Him
Bring yourself to Him
Stand before Him
Pour out your heart to Him
Minister to Him
Give yourself totally to Him
Kiss Him
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.