Over and over again in Jesus’ ministry we find Him reaching out to everyone. He spent time and ate meals with the Pharisees, He encountered Romans along the road, He ate with publicans and sinners, and He even had contact with the prostitutes.
He wanted them all to be saved, and he reached out to them all. Here we have a picture of that. While at a dinner hosted by a Pharisee and prostitute came forward out of the crowd behind him and stood behind Jesus. She had noticed that no one had taken the time to wash His feet. She knew Who He was, she knew who she was, and she was broken at the rudeness of the host. It took great courage for this woman, with her reputation, to make her way through the crowd. As she did, she wept and when she got to Jesus she used her tears and her hair or wipe His feet.
The crowd was aghast. Now they do Jesus was not a prophet, because if He was He would have known the kind of woman she was and would have not allowed her to touch Him. Scandal was sure to follow.
Jesus explained the truth to them. Out of all those present this one woman knew her need, she knew that she was a sinner and she knew that only Jesus could deal with her sin. She loved Him because she knew what He could do in forgiving her sins. The Pharisees, in their self-righteousness had not need for Jesus, the did not love Him in any regard.
How much do we love Jesus? Do we, like this woman, look back and love Him because He did want only He could do for us? Or, do we like the Pharisees, take Him for granted?
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