Bringing chapter seven to a close

The next portion of chapter seven speaks of John the Baptist’s place in the ministry of Jesus. John sent his followers to Jesus to ask if He was the Messiah that everyone was expecting? Jesus answered that they should go back and tell their leader what they saw happen regarding healing, raising of the dead and how Jesus shared the Good News with the poor of spirit and to also tell him that “whoever is not offended by me, God will bless them”.

After the men left to return to John the Baptist, Jesus explained who John the Baptist was and what role he played in the ministry of Jesus. If we think of relating to John’s position from a business perspective we could see him in charge of pre-event publicity or as a marketeer of an upcoming event who’s main job was to prepare the marketplace ahead of time so that the potential customers are informed and ready to make a commitment when the time came to make one. Looking at the ministry of John the Baptist in this simple and realistic way, helps me to appreciate the practical plan of God. Jesus went on to say that as great as He thought John was and how important he was to the ministry, you and I were and are just as great and important to that same ministry.

Jesus went on to describe society as a bunch of whiners and complainers (sounds like me) who despite all efforts made in their direction, were and are, not happy. He also pointed out that there were those who called John the Baptist “demon possessed” because he did not drink wine and he often fasted. Those same people called Jesus “a glutton and a drunkard” because He went to social events where He ate good food and drank wine. This goes on today as people around us can’t wait to be critical of us and we can’t wait to judge them, both believing the impossible, because both can’t be right.

There are Christian churches that are steeped in traditional laws that outlaw drinking of alcohol, dancing, and forms of modern entertainment like movies and music. Jesus never once tells us that we can’t have a drink, play a card game with your friends or take your wife dancing. All He tells us to do is to make sure that He is number one in our lives, for us to share His gospel with the world and to enjoy the life that He has given us. Obviously, if you can’t have just one drink, if the friendly card game drives you to wind you up in an Indian casino for a week or if going dancing puts you into contact with a bad influence, don’t do it. One of God’s greatest gifts to us is, free will. We are to use this gift wisely.

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to come to his home for a meal and Jesus accepted the invitation. While at the dinner, a woman, who Luke describes as an “immoral woman” approaches Jesus. Now when we see this description we can be fairly certain that God is speaking of a prostitute. Prostitution is known as the “oldest profession” and because men are men, has always been a common way for a woman to make money. According to information from Charles Stanley’s website, answering the question of whether a prostitute can be saved in Christianity, he states at http://www.gotquestions.org/prostitution.html


The Bible tells us that prostitution is immoral. Proverbs 23:27-28 says, "A prostitute is a deep pit; an adulterous woman is treacherous. She hides and waits like a robber, looking for another victim who will be unfaithful to his wife."

To quote further from this site, God forbids involvement with prostitutes. "For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell" (Proverbs 5:3-5).

Prostitution not only destroy marriages, families, and lives, but it destroys the spirit and soul in a way that leads to physical and spiritual death. God's desire is that we stay pure and use our bodies as tools for His use and glory (Romans 6:13). 1 Corinthians 6:13 says, "...But our bodies were not made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies."

Although prostitution is sinful, prostitutes are not beyond God's scope of forgiveness. The Bible records His use of a prostitute named Rahab to further the fulfillment of His plan. As a result of her obedience, she and her family were rewarded and blessed (Joshua 2:1, 6:17-25). In the New Testament, a woman who was known for being a sexual sinner found an opportunity to serve Jesus while He was visiting in the home of a Pharisee.

The woman, recognizing Christ for who He is, brought a bottle of expensive perfume to Him. In regret and repentance, the woman wept and poured perfume on His feet, wiping it with her hair. When the Pharisees criticized Jesus for accepting this act of love from the "immoral" woman, He admonished them and accepted the woman's worship. Because of her faith, Christ forgave all her sins and she was received into His kingdom (Luke 7:36-50).

When speaking to those who refused to believe the truth about Him, Jesus Christ said, "I assure you, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. For John the Baptist came and showed you the way to life, and you didn't believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to turn from your sins and believe him" (Matthew 21:31-32).

Just like anyone else, prostitutes have the opportunity to receive salvation and eternal life from God, to be cleansed of all their unrighteousness and be given a brand new life! All they must do is turn away from their sinful lifestyle and turn toward the living God, whose grace and mercy are boundless. "What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

With this kind of prevalent thought, I can only imagine the ruckus that was stirred up when this woman came up to Jesus in this social environment. To make matters worse, she opened an expensive jar of perfume and while tears streamed down she started kissing the feet of Jesus drying her tears with her hair. Now, an account of a woman washing the feet of Jesus and the anointing with perfume is found in Matthew, Mark and John. Conventional wisdom tells us that this is the same account from different apostles in different locations. It may be possible that these are different accounts and they happened at different places and times.

While I read this account today, I try to visualize myself as being at this dinner, watching everything unfold. Enlightened as we are today, we would like to believe that we would have had something wonderful to say to the other guests as the prostitute is kissing the feet of the famous guy, but the truth is that we would be freaking out with everyone else.

Have you ever been put in a position, by someone else, hoping that you would fail just so they could announce to the world just how bad you failed. I am quite positive that the religious leader who invited Jesus probably was waiting for something scandalous to happen and he wasn’t disappointed when this woman showed up to tend to Jesus. We know this to be the case because Luke tells us that the Pharisee used the sinfulness and aforementioned biblical verses to condemn the woman as a sinner and Jesus as a false prophet because He let her wash His feet with her tears.
This religious person didn’t say any of this out loud and before he could, Jesus confronted him, telling him that He had something to tell him. The Pharisee told Jesus to say what He had to say, and it went like this:

“A man loaned money to two people and neither of them could pay him back. One of the people owed ten times the amount of the other and both of the debt amounts were forgiven equally. Who do you think love the man more after this?”

The Pharisee answered, “The one with the larger debt.”

Jesus responded by saying, “Dude, look at this woman kneeling here. When I got here tonight, you ignored me and didn’t offer me water to wash the road dust off of my feet, but she did it with her tears. You didn’t offer me oil for my head and she used an expensive perfume to anoint me. She has many sins and they are forgiven as I speak and because she acknowledges that she is so sinful and she is grateful for the salvation, unlike others who don’t think they are as bad as her”

I guess everyone else at the party started looking at their feet and mumbling while wondering out loud “who the heck does that guy think he is?” And in response to their remarks and comments, Jesus told the woman that she could go in peace and that her faith had saved her. I find a awful lot of the Pharisee in me and my life. I am quick to judge and “know” when someone is a bigger sinner than me. Reading this account helps to smooth the edges of my judgement of others and hopefully I will have a handle on it by the time that I am called home.

Like that woman in this account, our faith is our salvation and Jesus still tells us to “go in peace”. It is up to us to accept it.