The church of the 21rst Century has become very much like Simon the Pharisee. We have invited Jesus to sat at meat with us without worshipping Him like the sinner woman in this same story. We are either identified with the Pharisee or the sinner. Most will quickly say "well I'm certainly not a sinner," which is the attitude most in the church take today. If we are not this sinner woman, then that makes us the Pharisee. We are one or the other. Jesus' heart is toward the "sinners" of us who have been broken like this woman who had nothing to bring but her tears, her glory, her praise and her service. If we are going to partake of HIM, we must worship Him as she did and not just invite Him to our "gatherings" as Simon did.
By Chris McDonald
TEXT: Luke 7:36-42 - And one of the
Pharisees desired him that he would eat
with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
[37] And, behold, a woman in the city,
which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the
Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, [38] 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.
[39] Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spoke within himself,
saying, This man, if he were a prophet,
would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches him: for she
is a sinner. [40] And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have
somewhat to say unto thee. And he said, Master, say on.
The story of the Pharisee and the
sinner woman in Luke 7 portrays two diametrically opposed people in the church
today. When one reads this story it's very easy to quickly identify with
Simon the Pharisee. It's hard pressed to get anyone today to admit they are a
sinner. The hyper-faith teachings of the 20th Century have taught us to never
say that we are "sinners saved by grace." Instead we have been told to beat our
chest and boldly proclaim we are the "righteousness of Christ." Before you hit
that email button to correct that statement let me finish this journal. This
journal is not about theology, it's about passion and love for our Lord. It's
about a sinner woman and a Pharisee. If you wish to identify with this sinner
woman then you and I are in the same boat. I gladly identify with her and I'll
get more into that in a second. If you are too proud to identify yourself with
this sinner then that's fine too. But be warned before you read on - if you
refuse to identify yourself with her you must identify yourself with the
Pharisee.
The Pharisees Desired Him That Yeshuah Would Eat With Them
Luke 7:36-42 - And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat
The Bible says Simon, one of the Pharisees desired Him to eat with him. Jesus didn't turn down the invitation to the Pharisee's house even though even at this point in His earthly ministry they had been one of His worst critics and condemners. I can't help but believe Jesus knew before hand what would take place in the house of Simon. Some translations in the other three gospels identity this Simon as Simon the "leper." Either way, as Tommy Tenney puts it, Simon was a SPIRITUAL leper even if he was not physical one.
Self-righteous people always will invite Jesus to their house for show and position. The modern church does the same. We even put Jesus' name our songs, our hymnbooks, our lyrics, our choruses, our messages, our Sunday school lessons, our bulletins. Some churches use His name as part of theirs to make sure people know that Jesus has been invited to their church or effort. As this story unfolds we will see that even though Simon invited Yeshuah to his house, he was not the least bit courteous or gracious to the Son of God. One, because he had questions in his heart about the validity of Yeshuah's claims and two, I believe, was just a smugness in general in the nature and character of Simon that kept him for being a servant-minded host.
I want that last statement to sink in a minute. If there was ever a time when we needed to be humble in the church it is now. Yet at no other time in history do I believe that we have been so smug and arrogant about our accomplishments. Many in the church, including ministers of the gospel, preachers, teachers, prophets, evangelists, etc., are busy DOING things for God and "in His name," without actually having an intimacy or relationship WITH God and with Yeshuah. Our pride in our accomplishments is blinding us to our true condition before the Lord. I'm not perfect. I've had a few battles with pride myself. Actually more than a few. Pride and arrogance were hallmarks of my youth when I was being a youth pastor and eventually a pastor of a small congregation in North Florida. Everything centered around what "I" was doing. If I went to a prison to conduct a service, I'd make sure I got an accurate count of those who came down to confess Christ so I could go back and "brag" about how many got saved to my church or family. My ego got so big no one could talk to me. Those who did I would just ignore and if I saw someone who was not believing just like me I'd be very hard in my opinions about them. If someone had sin in their lives I'd be very harsh and judgmental about them at the same time I myself would be battling the same sin. PRIDE DOES THAT TO US. It blinds us. When I would preach, Id be very good at slamming my fist down on a pulpit condemning homosexuals and those involved in sexual sin without ever taking inventory of my own life which was full of deceit, lying, pride, arrogance, self-righteousness, vain-glory and wanting to be seen by men. Friend, what goes around comes around. When we judge others harshly we had better get boomerang insurance because it's coming home.
I just hold my head down and shake it in remorse sometimes when I think about the people the Lord put in my path during those years who I probably offended and hurt by my arrogance and pride. I missed a great deal of opportunity to minister in Yeshuah's love to them because of my self-righteousness. This same attitude would lead to a total collapse of my life in 1996 where I fell into sin for 3 years without any desire to serve God or ever darken another pulpit ever again.
I'm not an "expert" on ministry. There are those who are reading this who have been in ministry a million years longer than me so I'm not writing this out of a superior, "know-it-all" attitude or a Monday morning quarterback. I know the ministry itself is a calling and Satan fights that calling at times in our lives constantly. Those on the front lines of ministry are also on the front lines of battle. Furthermore, the ones with greater exposure on a national level fight even greater devils. Satan sends evil spirits to sidetrack us and get us puffed up and prideful to blind us from the true calling of Yeshuah's love which is really what ministry is - LOVING PEOPLE WITH YESHUAH'S LOVE. It's not about preaching and teaching even though that may be a part of it. It's about pouring water on the hands of those we serve and washing their feet if needed. The enemy knows too well that by attacking a man of God he has greater opportunity and access to attack multitudes of people because the leader he is attacking usually has people under his authority and leadership who will inevitably be affected if the leader gets off track. I know there are days when every demon in hell comes against the man of God and very few can understand the fight in the SPIRIT realm we go through except fellow ministers. There is a higher level of battle and a higher level of accountability toward God as well. That's why James almost BEGS those reading his epistle to NOT seek leadership.
Having said that I want to say this. Before the church here in America has revival there will have to be a humbling of our attitudes toward God and a breaking inside of the MINISTRY. PRIDE and ARROGANCE is keeping God away. One of the three original temptations in the Garden of Eden was about pride. Satan told Eve, "you will be as gods," if you partake and eat of the fruit the Lord forbid you to eat. That appealed to Eve's pride and the same lie appeals to our pride today. Ministry used to be giving our money and time to feed the poor, clothe those who were naked and needy, and ministering to widows and orphans. Ministry used to be taking in the stranger and aliens among us and meeting their needs and showing God's love to them even if they did not "accept" our way of thinking or come into "our camp." Today, all we do is seek to build bigger buildings, build bigger ministries, have bigger television audiences, make bigger names for us - and at the expense of our precious Lord, Yeshuah. We know in the modern 21rst Century church the exact thing Simon knew in this story - IF WE INVITE JESUS TO BE PART OF WHAT WE'RE DOING IT WILL ADD PRESTIGE AND LEGITIMACY to our ministries in the eyes of the people we are trying to gather into our "GROUP." And that feeling pervades in the pews too. Those who attend our churches want Jesus to come and be there in name so it will feel like church. We want His name mentioned in our Sunday school lessons, our sermons, our songs, etc. But when it comes to becoming intimately passionate TO JESUS and worshiping JESUS that becomes a different story just as it did so long ago in the house of Simon.
We Need Divine Revelation To Face The Days Ahead
Before I dive into this narrative I want to interject this because it is very relevant to what I am writing. THE CHURCH NEEDS DIVINE HELP FOR THE DAYS AHEAD OF IT. There is absolutely NO WAY we will be able to survive here on EARTH without our Heavenly Bridegroom directing us and speaking to us and being AMONG US as He was among those seven candlesticks in John's visions of the end times. We need HIM. We need HIM. We just don't need His "presence" in our churches, we need HIM to be IN OUR CHURCHES every Sunday. There is a big difference which I will deal with in a moment. Wrath and judgment are coming. Harvest is coming. Both will affect everyone reading this article right now. Both will cause two things-a pulling TO God and a falling away FROM GOD - both in the ministry and the laity.
But for us to receive divine revelation in this final hour it is imperative we get "broken" before the Lord and remove pride and arrogance far from us. It is imperative we take a hard look at our motives of WHY we are doing what we do FOR HIM and see if our motives are truly to give HIM GLORY for what is done. When you have had this type of problem you can smell pride 10 miles away. I've been to various churches over the past few years and I can tell you - 99% of them are filled with the same attitude Simon had in this story. Nearly all church members in America would quickly and readily identify with Simon 10 times over and twice on Sunday before they would ever admit they identified with this "sinner woman." But friend, that's really the only two type people we have today in the church - the Pharisee or the sinner. Give that some thought a minute. Give that some DEEP thought. The Pharisee may have been religious but he was blind to who Yeshuah was even though he had desired Him to "sit at meat." A sinner woman would enter the room and break forth with the most humble acts of worship ever recorded in the annals of human history and saw with "sinful" eyes what men with doctorates don't see today - the BEAUTY OF YESHUAH, our precious LORD.
God gives GRACE to the HUMBLE, but He resists the proud. Our PRIDE must go! We are too proud to allow the HOLY SPIRIT just come in and yank the controls out from underneath us and take over our people, our services and our church. Most pastors have had such an egotistical outlook on their churches for so long they have become detached from their sheep and even more sadly, detached from GOD. It just amazes me how pastors had made themselves so "inaccessible" to their people simply because of their "name." Friend the very SON OF GOD, the one who CREATED the universe was the most accessible minister in the entirety of the human race. JESUS NEVER CARRIED A SCHEDULE BOOK AROUND! He went aside for seasons to rest and get renewed but when He came back from those seasons, He moved in the power of the HOLY SPIRIT and ministered to multitudes. And preacher friend, you may brag to others of how much "revival" your church is experiencing but believe me when God shows up at a church there is not HOOPLA, there is BROKENNESS AND REPENTANCE on such a level people are not boasting, they are prostrate on the floors weeping, begging God to deliver them from their condition. That's the humility God is looking for today to move in America. That's what is at stake. That is the gauntlet. That is the key to this country's existence because if America as a nation doesn't repent she is going to be destroyed. But before we as the church can decree and cry out for national repentance we must repent ourselves! We must humble ourselves as this sinner did in this story recorded by Luke and honor and adore and lavish the SON OF GOD with our praises, our service and our love. That's what He is looking for.
So many of us come to church to "get something from God." We hold revival "meetings" hoping the evangelist will wave a magic wand and make us all good and perfect, meet all our needs, end our problems and send us home squeaky clean Christians. Friend, that is NOT going to happen. When we come to church, our experience should be one of ministering TO THE LORD. It's His house! And we need to treat our Lord with more respect and LOVE than we do. He's not Santa Claus, He's GOD. He's not a bellboy we can just snap our fingers and demand to go fetch our bags and blessings. We can't just come to church and talk about "blessings, blessings, blessings," all the time. What about "we're undone, we're undone, we're undone, we're undone!" When's the last time we've come to church and just stopped everything we were doing and just fell on our faces and cried out to God to deliver us from ourselves? When's the last time we've shed tears over the lost outside our walls? I tell you what we do. We SMUGLY get behind our pulpits and proclaim that everyone in our church is ok and "that world" out there needs Jesus. FRIEND, IT'S NOT JUST THAT 'WORLD' OUR THERE THAT NEEDS JESUS, THE CHURCH NEEDS JESUS! THE CHURCH NEEDS A FRESH REVELATION OF JESUS. THE CHURCH NEEDS A TOUCH FROM YESHUAH. THE CHURCH NEEDS TO BE SET FREE FROM LEGALISM AND LETHARGY. IT NEEDS TO BE DELIVERED FROM THE POWERS OF JEZEBEL AND THE WHOREDOMS OF IDOLATRY that have crept in and kept our hearts cold and calloused instead of on fire for a loving God.
And I will tell you this - if the "church" at large don't get its collective act together soon, God is going to jump right over us and go into every bar in America and just start having revival right there. He's tired of being invited to our churches to "sit at meat," and not be adored, worshiped and lavishly loved on! He's hurt! Tommy Tenney puts is very well when he says, "its dangerous for us to be led by our 'number-crunching' intellect because we can over-analyze (miss) the purposes and causes of God we will end up like the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes who missed their hour of visitation." Friend, the church in THIS GENERATION cannot afford to do that! Too much is at stake. The harvest is at the door. Souls are in the balance and if we miss out God will still have the harvest, we will be the ones who will lose out though in eternity! People are sick of the manipulation and HYPE we shovel them every Sunday. They long to be in the LAP OF GOD. They long to just sit in their Father's lap and intimately tell Him how much they love Him and hear Him tell them back how much He loves them. God wants to reintroduce Himself to HIS CHURCH! He wants us to get reacquainted with HIM! He doesn't care how messy it gets when this happens. He wants to be intimate with US!
And on this day in eternity, at a Pharisee's house, there was a woman who marked the road to this intimacy with her tears and dismantled her glory for the Lord. I'm sure the towns folks called her a sinner (or probably worse) and the church folks were probably harder than the towns folks. (CAN I SAY AND INTERJECT SOMETHING HERE - WHY IS IT THE CAB DRIVER WHO DOESN'T KNOW GOD HAVE MORE COMPASSION ON THOSE WHO ARE FALLEN THAN PREACHERS AND THE CHURCH??? THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION!) But she touched something on this day by her humility that we as the church need for this hour.
A Woman Who Was A Sinner
Luke 7:37 - And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
It's a miracle this woman made it to Jesus to be honest. I can't imagine the courage that she must have had to first seek out where Yeshuah was at meat, and then to be brave enough to go into the Pharisee's house and just stand there before the Creator of the Universe. That took some guts. And I'm sure it took her going through some very very ugly comments from those she asked seeking Jesus. You know it's a real shame the church is very much the same today.
You see the world in general - ALL THE WORLD - everyone, no exceptions is hungry for God. There is something in the soul of mankind that thirsts for GOD. That's the way God created us. He put HIMSELF in us so that the only thing that would satisfy us would be HIM. Immorality, drugs, alcohol, money, greed, material things, are NO SUBSTITUTE for the living water only Jesus can give. This woman was no different. (Some translators believe this was Mary; I believe it was a separate event in the life of Yeshuah and a separate woman; either way the story's meaning and message is the same) The world at large is seeking God. Those steeped in darkness in the clutches of Islam are human beings who are thirsty and seeking answers to why they are on earth. They think the Koran has the answer and obeying Mohammed promises eternal life but all they do is out of a deep cry to find GOD. The violence our country experienced was done at the hands of men who literally thought flying planes into buildings would bring them heaven. They are in need of LIGHT. They are in need of YESHUAH.
Many others turn to drugs and other deadly habits in an effort to satisfy this craving. Satan has always sought to feed man the lie that fleshly gratification and lust will satisfy man's thirst for God. Man always pay a high price for this delusion including eternal separation from God if he doesn't repent. Regardless of WHAT a person does it's still an effort on their part to find God. That's why the occult and psychic hotlines have become a five-billion dollar industry. People are wanting answers. And no matter WHAT this woman had done to have received the label of "sinner," she came looking for Yeshuah and was ready to endure any score, ridicule, laughter, sneers, jeers or worse, just to have a moment in eternity with the one she had heard about evidently. Get this picture for a second. I mean friend, this is what everything in life period is all about. You have a Pharisee in the house who has invited Yeshuah to his house for mainly show, yet he is a religious as religious can be. He probably has never smoked a cigarette, never cheated on his taxes or his wife, never stole a dollar, never said a cuss word, never lost his temper and is well-respected, affluent among the town of Jerusalem. Then all of a sudden in comes a woman who more than likely sold her body to men for money or worse and had a reputation that MORE than preceded her. And they both find themselves in the presence of Yeshuah with two totally different perspectives of HIM.
The sinner brings an alabaster box of ointment. It was costly ointment. You see sinners always bring the most costly things to Yeshuah. It's Pharisees that are stingy and criticize those who "go all out" for Yeshuah. By the way, God is not a tight-wad as so many teach today. God is as liberal as it gets when it comes to giving as anyone could be. He's just not wasteful. He spared no expense for our redemption and He spares no expense today for His children. He's just not wasteful. He sees greater value in a soul than a building. In His kingdom, PEOPLE ARE the building. I don't know the price she paid for the ointment but to her it was worth it to be able to minister to Yeshuah with it.
Broken, humble "sinner" people always feel this way. Nothing is too costly to them to minister to Yeshuah. Nothing is held back.
7:37c - When she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment...
That alabaster box of ointment was not cheap. Sinners never bring anything cheap to Jesus when they meet Him face to face. Many of them have realized that the One who has saved them is worthy of ALL praise and glory and NOTHING is too expensive to lavish upon Him. Sadly, those of us in the church don't tend to have those same "values" when it comes to our Saviour. This sinner woman KNEW that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house. She went out and bought the most precious of ointments. That ointment represented her thankfulness for who the Lord WAS, NOT for what He had done for her. As of this moment, He had not done ANYTHING for her.
That is the attitude that is choking us here in the church. We are seeking the Lord for what He can DO, instead of just loving Him for WHO HE IS. When we see HIS HEART insteadd of HIS HAND, we will spare NO EXPENSE for our worship. We will spare no expense for our praise. We will be as the widow woman and GIVE IT ALL! We won't hold back. We won't second guess whether God is speaking to us about giving that extra $100 to the Kingdom. No, no, no! We won't be worried about the COST, we'll be passionately concerned about the CHRIST. Are you hearing what I am saying to you? Glory to God.
This ointment represented the brokenness of this woman's life. She couldn't bring Jesus a good reputation. She couldn't bring him her financial portfolio. She couldn't bring Yeshuah her string of successes. She couldn't bring Jesus her long list of church affiliations. NO. She was a SINNER, so she could only bring the ointment. The alabaster box of ointment was one of the most expensive on the market. A similar exchange took place in the home of Simon the leper when Mary of Bethany poured alabaster out on the Lord's head.
Mark 14:3 - And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at
meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very
precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
It also had reference to the old Testament when Moses was instructed by God to make a "sweet perfume" for the altar of worship:
Exodus 30:25 - And thou
shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the
apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.
It was a "holy anointing oil." You
see when we truly repent and are born again our lives become "PRECIOUS" in His
sight. Human life is PRECIOUS in His sight. That is why abortion is such a
dastardly act of cowardice on the part of a woman. The life inside her is
PRECIOUS in the sight of God. The life inside her is more than just a "blob" or
a "mass of tissue," or a "fetus." It's a living SOUL. And the souls of ALL
humanity are precious in the sight of God. Jesus said what would it profit a man
if he gained the whole world and lost his own SOUL? And what would a man give in
exchange for his soul? Those questions can only be answered in our hearts in we
understand the worth God puts on that soul. The answer is NOTHING! There is
NOTHING that God will take in exchange for a man's soul.
That sinner man or sinner woman out there in the ghettos, the streets, the brothels, the bars, the insane wards - THEY ARE ALL JUST ALIKE in the sight of God. They are no worse off that some of you reading this who have been Christians for 40 years. Why do I say that? Because in God's sight - we all have a SOUL. And on that basis we are just the same. There are no exceptions to the requirements of our soul to inherit eternal life. The rules apply to all the same way. We must come through the CROSS! We must come through Yeshuah, the one who SAT AT MEAT this day in the home of Simon the Pharisee. Many think the account of Mary in Mark 14 and this story in Luke 7 are the same. Either way it's not important. If they are the same story it's interesting that Simon is called a "leper" in Mark's account. You see religion makes you a LEPER. It separates you from the sinner man but it also separates you from GOD!
And Stood At His Feet Weeping...
Luke 7:38 - 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
Jesus was about to lay bear Simon's heart for the actions of this sinner woman were really bothering Simon. I mean they were bothering him BAD. What actions were they you may ask? Well let's see: One, she stands at His feet behind Him - JUST WEEPING. You see broken people see their condition before God and they weep about it. The power of tears is so enormous and life-changing it beggars description. I remember hearing a recent prophetic utterance concerning America following the September 11,2001 attacks. One key element of this utterance was the call from God to the American church to WEEP for repentance. The utterance said the Lord was looking for TEARS to fill the land of America over our sin. A truly contrite person will see themselves as God sees them and it will cause us to WEEP, not laugh and joke around - but WEEP. It will cause us to howl and moan over the barrenness of our hearts. It will NOT cause us to look at our fellow man and JUDGE him for HIS failures while we sweep our own under the rugs. NO, NO, NO. There is a power to the tears of our heart. There is a power to the cries of the saints.
Ps 30:5 - For his anger endures but a moment; in his favor is life:
weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Ps 6:8-10 - Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath
heard the voice of my weeping. The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD
will receive my prayer. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them
return and be ashamed suddenly
David cried out to God to hear his "WEEPING." The Lord has "heard my supplication," and my enemies are "ashamed." Could it be that America's enemies are not ashamed to do the things they do to us because we have not wept? Could it be that the world and the ungodly world system that is opposed to everything in the church are not ashamed of what they do because we have not "wept?" And is it possible that the reason we have not wept is that we are like Simon the Pharisee and we don't see our true condition and as a result do not see the beauty and passion of the one "sitting at meat" with us each Sunday? Weeping may endure for a night but JOY comes in the morning. We will not have joy in the church until we have the weeping. The very existence of America may depend on the tears we shed NOW for the nation. In our arrogance and pride we blind ourselves to that need. Our arrogance and pride in our numbers, our buildings, our activity, have blinded us to our need. When Isaiah got a glimpse of the same glory this woman caught a glimpse of he too wept and cried, "I AM UNDONE, UNDONE! A MAN OF UNCLEAN LIPS AND I DWELL IN THE MIDST OF AN UNCLEAN PEOPLE."
Today, to hear most of the church talk we don't come anywhere remotely CLOSE to this type declaration or weeping. No, we brag about how great our little group is here or our little group is there. We have no real passion for the lost. The thought of millions, perhaps billions, spending eternity without God in hell doesn't even shake us any more. I remember when I was young and heard a message on hell or the rapture it would scare me to death. Today our young people just sit back and yawn at those messages now. WHY? Because our words are drier than the Arizona desert in July solely because we have not caught a glimpse of HIM and WEPT! Jesus wept many times for the nation of Israel. He prayed for Jerusalem and wept bitterly over her. He cried Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how OFTEN I would have taken you under my wing but YOU WOULD NOT and now your house is left for desolation." How long has it been since we've wept over our nation like that? How long has it been since we have wept over Jerusalem like that?
What will it take for us to find our place like this woman - weeping behind Yeshuah? Another September 11, 2001 -type tragedy? God forbid but if we don't repent as a nation (and as a church) judgment will fall again and the next judgment may not be laced with as much mercy as the one in September was.
...And Began To Wash His Feet With Tears, And Did Wipe Them With The Hairs Of Her Head
She begins to then take the tears of her brokenness and washes his feet with tears. After this she kneels down further and wipes the Lord's feet with her head. You see all of these "acts" were acts of WORSHIP. Her hair and hands were "tools" of her trade perhaps if she was a prostitute. But now since she met the Lord, she was using those same tools to WORSHIP HIM! She was using these same tools to bring GLORY to HIM. She removed her own glory for HIS. Get that? I want to let that sink in. SHE REMOVED AND LET DOWN HER OWN GLORY FOR HIS GLORY! And that is the sin of the 21rst Century Church. We have refused to stop seeking our own glory for HIS. Jesus said that a man who seeks his own glory is corrupted by that pursuit. How corrupt are we in the modern church with that in mind? Should we ask ourselves in the modern church whether or not the things we do are for HIM or for US? That's a sobering question but one that needs to be asked. This sinner woman didn't have a motive or an agenda. She was a sinner. She had nothing to be proud of - yet she WORSHIPPED HIM.
Yes I am going to say it here. I will deal with it more in a minute but dear God help the modern church. Some people that attend church now a days sit on their pew so pious and holy and won't clap their hands, raise their hands, or move a muscle when the worship service starts. Some churches are so dead it isn't funny. You can try and wrap that last statement up and say "well we have to be careful what we say about other churches." Yes we do need to be careful what we say but the facts are the facts. There is not enough of GOD in most churches to save a fly. There is no conviction, no healings, no passion, no effort to worship Yeshuah. The preaching has degenerated into a "blessing-club" type message that offers us everything from GOD without calling for a lifestyle that we give EVERYTHING TO GOD!
Some churches claim they don't like the "worship choruses," so they sing hymns. Some more contemporary churches have brought the worship choruses to the services to make their people want to worship more and the people STILL don't worship. We hire professional song leaders, bring in local rock bands to get the people fired up and yet NOTHING HAPPENS still. Why don't people want to worship? I tell you why! They are the Pharisee in this story and not the sinner. I asked a question at the beginning and it bears answering now. You and I are either the sinner in this story or we are the Pharisee. We can't be both nor can we say we're neither. ALL OF THE CHURCH falls into one of these two categories. One may quickly say "well I sure am not the sinner woman here." Well if you are not the sinner woman in this story -then you are the Pharisee!
The sinner woman had no reason NOT to worship Him. She knew what she had done and how much forgiveness and love this man had to whom she was lavishing her worship and love upon. Simon on the other hand had every reason TO worship Yeshuah and he just sits there without moving and doing anything. Yet in his heart, he resented this woman and we will deal with that in a later journal. Dear God help us in the church. We come to church on Sunday and sit there like a knot on a log and just stare the preacher down daring him to say something to "stir" us. Dear God we don't need to be sitting there like a knot on the log. We have a REASON to rejoice and WORSHIP OUR LORD! Glory to God. I mean friend if He has saved you like He has saved ME YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SIT STILL without falling on your face and thanking HIM! You won't be able to sit still and have no emotion! Some say, "well I'm just not an 'emotional' person." That is so bogus. We are very emotional people - ALL OF US. If someone crosses us or we go to our favorite sporting event believe me some of us act worse than our 3-year olds! If there is a huge sale at the local shopping mall then we get VERY emotional about it.
The question is simple. Is there anything GREATER to get emotional about than our LORD? Is there anyone in the UNIVERSE who is WORTHY of our praise??? Is there anyone in the UNIVERSE who is more WORTHY of our worship and service????? NOOOO! He is WORTHY of ALL PRAISE AND GLORY!! HE IS WORTHY! A sinner woman saw Him as being WORTHY of her tears, her washing His feet, her wiping His feet with the hair of her head and washing His feet with her tears. But only SIMON found this disgusting. AND RELIGIOUS PEOPLE ALWAYS DO!
This Man If He Were A Prophet....Would Have Known Who And What Manner This Woman Who Touches Him Was.......For She Is A Sinner
Luke 7:39 - Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches him: for she is a sinner.
We are either this woman or we are Simon. I'm certain very few people want to identify themselves with this sinner but she is the type person that Yeshuah came to earth for. He knew exactly "who and what manner of woman" it was that touched Him. Thank God one day in my past the Lord didn't care "who and what manner a person" I was but He saved me. He delivered me. He set me free from sin. He set me free from bondages in my life. He put my feet on the solid rock. He lifted me up above the shadows. He put a new song in my heart. He forgave me of my past, my sins and my failures. He washed me in His blood. WHY? Because I was a sinner! Because I was worse than this precious "sinner" woman in this story. And what she did in this story I want to do today.
I want to LAVISH the Lord with my praise. I want to LAVISH the Lord with my tears - a sign and type of brokenness before Him. When I weep before Him it is a sign my dependence to even breath is on Him. I see myself for who I am and then I behold Him for WHO HE IS -that will make you weep! I want to LAVISH my worship and praise upon Him just like this sinner woman lavished her alabaster perfume upon His head. I want to kneel in humble submission to Him and kiss his feet. I want to wash His feet with my tears and dry them with my hair. All of these acts are acts of WORSHIP. When I kneel down in the privacy of my home and lift my hands to him - I'm worshipping HIM! When I open my heart up to His love by communing with Him through prayer, supplication and intimacy - THAT IS WORSHIP.
It's really sad that the ONLY PEOPLE WHO DON'T WORSHIP AND PRAISE OUR LORD ARE THE SIMONS IN THIS WORLD- ESPECIALLY THOSE IN THE CHURCH! A sinner has no problem worshipping God! That may get a raised eye-brow from some for me to say that but it's true. Jesus Christ would be at home in a bar if His redemptive purposes took Him to the bar to save someone who was lost.
Remember this: a sinner woman IMMEDIATELY recognized Yeshuah for who he was while a religious Pharisee who supposedly knew the Law of God and the prophecies concerning Yeshuah sat there and was BLIND TO WHO THE LORD WAS AND HIS REDEMPTIVE PURPOSES ON THIS EARTH. You can say "well that was Simon," we are so much more enlightened today than Israel was during those days. Yes we are and that will be our greater judgment. That's why Yeshuah declared the "publicans and harlots" would enter into the Kingdom quicker than the religious. Many will miss God in this great hour of visitation because of their religious arrogance and spirits. That's why it's easier to see a drunk come to know Yeshuah than it is a church member. That's why it is easier to have a drug addict who is saved be so fired up for Yeshuah that cities and nations are changed for the glory of God!
There Is A Little Of Simon In All Of Us
I want to tell you this before we go on. THERE IS A LITTLE OF SIMON THE PHARISEE IN ALL OF US. Even the best of us who try really hard not to be religious fall short of our pursuit of living a "religion" free life. Even those who brag about how "humble" they are - they still have a little bit of SIMON in them! We almost are "proud" of our humility. How funny, yet how sad. Simon sits and watches all of this take place with the woman. Instead of embracing what she has done and recognizing the eternal significance of it, he mumbles to himself, "if this man were a prophet, then he would have known who and what manner of woman this is who touches Him, for she is a sinner."
Don't that sound just like the modern church. God cleans a sinner up and saves him/her and brings them into our church. Instead of rejoicing what the Lord has done in their lives we murmur and complain about their "past" when the Lord wants them to become part of leadership and the ministry of the body. Preachers are certainly to be held to a higher standard than the laity but the question becomes by whose standard are we holding up? We can say "we hold the standard of the WORD" as our banner but if we boast in that we had better have our own closets clean before we judge another. A leading Christian magazine has become nothing more than a glorified "smut" rag reporting on all the failures and misdeeds of preachers. They use the guise they have a right to "expose" sin in the camp. Well what about the sin in their OWN camp? And if they say they have no sin in their camp they lie. There is NO ONE who has NO SIN in their camp. We all have failed God and have areas of inadequacies. But if we choose to live by the law we will die by the law. If we choose to become a judge of others we then align ourselves with SIMON the PHARISEE and we will miss out on God's eternal purpose.
Do you think Simon cared anything for this sinner woman? NO. And the modern church cares NOTHING for the sinners around them either. Oh, we get behind our pulpits and brag about how much our churches are "evangelistic" and "care about people." Yea, we care alright. We care as long as the people who attending our church do not bring any type reproach upon us where we have to choose between being a true Christian or just a hypocrite ourselves. I remember a church up north whose catch phrase "hurting people are welcome here." Hurting people were welcome until they crossed the pastor and then the hurting people left hurt again. The pastor declared the first day I ever attended the church that if anyone left 'his' church it would be the people, NOT HIM. Well, how lovely, yet how arrogant. I'm not judging the pastor, God is his judge. But how many people have come in and out of our fellowships with deep seated hurts that the church has been blind to? It's a sobering question but one we need to address!
Let me tell you this. Jesus knew exactly "who and what manner" of woman this was. He also knew "who and what manner" of man Simon was too. Simon may have wanted to act "pious" and "righteous" to his friends, but he was sitting by the one "who tried the heart." Jesus looked into Simon's heart and was not that impressed with his religiosity. No, Jesus wasn't impressed at all but he was very impressed with the sinner.
I was when He saved me. HE STILL knows today. Thank God He knew what type people we were and HE STILL LOVED US. Oh, Glory to God. He knew what type people we were and He still DIED FOR US. He knew what type people we all were but HE STILL WAS BURIED in the EARTH for three days and three nights where He secured for us all eternal salvation. He took the keys of death, hell and the grave away from Satan STILL KNOWING WHO and WHAT manner of people we were! He still LOVES US to day!
It is the ultimate form of arrogance and hypocrisy to look at another and take the attitude of Simon. That's how many in the church act. We feel so holy and righteous because we are faithful members of our local church. We leave our church services and drive down the road going home and see a drunk or homeless person begging for food. Then the "Simon" rises up in us and we think, "well, Lord I sure am glad I'm not that type 'manner' of person." "Lord, I sure am glad I'm not like them." WELL FRIEND YOU ARE LIKE THEM. You may not be guilty or bound by the same sin but you have no right to brag or boast! THE ONLY GOODNESS we can claim in ourselves in YESHUAH and HIS SPIRIT - NOTHING MORE.
I Have Something To Say To You........Master, Say On....
Luke 7:40 - And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he said, Master, say on.
We will complete this journal in the second part of this writing titled "They Both Had Nothing To Pay." Yeshuah was about to lay the plan of redemption and heaven's gauntlet down for all eternity for the entire human race. It's sad Simon was so blind to what was going on, because the Lord was about to do something powerful in his midst. The Lord was about to bring salvation to a sinner woman who did nothing but worship Him, adore Him, LOVE HIM and minister to Him.
As we close let me say this. You can judge others if you like but you do it to your own peril. You are either Simon the Pharisee or the sinner woman. There is no gray area in this story. I'll identify with this sinner woman seven days a week and twice on Sunday. We have plenty of Simons in the church today but I leave you with a warning. Whatever measure you meet out in judgment to others is coming home to you one day. The Lord's plans are redemptive. He came to save ALL humanity, not just a select few. He came for the poor, not just the rich. He came for the brokenhearted, not just those who have never had a problem. He came for the outcast, the derelict, the downtrodden - the SINNER. Which one are you?
Heavenly Father we come to you in the name of Yeshuah deliver us from ourselves and our pride and arrogance. Give us a heart like this sinner woman to WORSHIP you and to LAVISH our love on you in these last days. Let nothing be spared in our devotion to you. Keep us from religious pride that blinds us to you and your love for others. BURN in us the desire to do what You want us to do! Thank you for the great harvest of souls coming in the near future. In Yeshuah's name. Amen