Does Jesus Still Want His Dirty Feet Kissed?
Luke 7:36-50
Aug. 26, 2007 FBC, Chester Mike Fogerson, Pastor
I Introduction
A Story
B In the Ancient Near East, there was no trash pick up, sanitation department, trash receptacles.
1 Trash, waste, dinner scraps, dirty water, dog droppings were all thrown out into the street.
a Open-toed shoes (sandals) the common footwear
b The custom was when you entered the home of a person you were visiting, they’d have their servant (wife/child) tend to your feet.
aa Wash, dry, apply perfume or oil to them
bb Give you water to drink
c Jesus would often get invites to dinners or banquets, & would walk on these dusty roads teaching in-between being a guest (or target).
2 Simon, a Pharisee, asked Jesus to his house for a banquet, meet & greet.
a Ancient Near East custom would tell us that this banquet was an open-air event, & the lower end of the socio-economic scale were (though not invited) at least allowed to listen & wait for table scraps.
b Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus. Why? 1) To get to know Him better or 2) to gather evidence.
c Jesus came. Why? 1) Couldn’t be accused of refusing to meet with Pharisees 2) to keep a divine appointment that would allow the lives of Simon the Pharisee, Sally the prostitute, & Jesus to intersect.
C In Luke 7, we see these three lives intersecting...
1 Simon the Pharisee (educated, successful, well-off, powerful, religious, moral, well thought-of, respected).
2 Our lady, who is not to be confused with Mary of Bethany (John 12) or Mary called Magdalene (Luke 8:2).
a We get the impression she is a woman from the streets, bad reputation.
b The Scripture tells us she was a sinner (KJV, NASB), sinful life (NIV), town harlot (MSG)...we can’t make a pig’s ear into a sow’s purse.
3 TEXT
a I could preach 2 or 3 months on these 14 verses...but I’m not
b The intriguing thing is the kissing of Jesus’ feet.
4 The woman cried on His feet. How much fluid comes from tears? 1 cc? 2 ccs? (Drops)
a Jesus’ feet were dirty, covered with filth, dust, & things I don’t want to know about.
b She puts tear drops on them, dries them with her hair & begins kissing His feet (one of only two instances of someone kissing the Master).
5 Jesus didn’t stop her!
a He blasts Simon for not kissing Him, no water for His feet or oil for His head.
b Jesus accepted every tear, kiss, ounce of perfume that the woman gave Him.
D Today, if we were at that banquet, who would we be beside? (Transitional sentence).
II Simon thought he was too good to kiss Jesus’ feet & the woman thought she wasn’t good enough to kiss His feet.
A Simon was probably a good person.
1 Read his Bible, went to church, did his best to do what he thought God wanted him to do, he loved God.
a Simon even asked Jesus to supper-that’s doing the right thing.
b We can identify with Simon!
aa Not perfect, but we’re no hooker
bb We try! We love You, Lord, for not making us like him/her.
2 He was a good person, but not perfect.
a He asked Jesus to supper, but never offered Him water for His feet, oil/perfume for His head.
b He did just enough to be nice to Jesus. He did his duty.
c How many of do what we do for God out of a sense of duty?
aa We’re being nice to God, being a good Christian, what Christians are supposed to do...he saved us, right?
bb I think we miss something with Simon’s approach.
B The woman’s approach is more favorable to Jesus.
1 Her background was definitely different than Simon’s.
a She didn’t read/own a Bible, went to church twice a year, seldom ever did the right thing...town harlot, not on the city council.
b But one day she met a man; who wanted her, but not for His pleasure; would pay for her, but it would be with His own blood; set her free & make an honest woman out of her...that man was Jesus.
2 She came to Jesus weeping!
a She knew her sins were great/many...she wasn’t Simon.
b Before she could break the vial of perfume on Jesus’ feet, her heart broke & spilled tears all over His feet instead.
c She knew her heart had been a train wreck & Jesus saved her, had forgiven her!
aa What the woman did, she did out of her heart, & Jesus accepted every tear, kiss to His feet, drop of treasured perfume.
bb How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!" Romans 10:15 (NASB)
C Jesus wants us to come to Him like the woman.
1 We are all sinners.
a Some of us a lot, some more than others...ALL are sinners.
b The big difference between the prostitute & the Pharisee is not their amount of sin, but rather the awareness of their guilt.
aa Simon didn’t think he was all that bad, the woman knew she was all that bad.
bb We are all that bad...at least before we met Jesus!
2 We are all saved the same way.
a The woman was not saved because she loved Jesus, or even because God loved her (God loves the whole world, but the whole world is not saved).
aa Her tears, kisses, perfume didn’t save her (evidence, yes!)
bb V. 50: And He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
b For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph 2:8-9 (NASB)
aa Grace is love that pays a price, & that price was the death of the Son of God on the cross.
bb We too often forget that none of us are good/ righteous/moral/religious/respected enough for salvation.
cc We’ve forgotten how to cry!
dd May we never get so sanctified that our tear ducts get blocked.
III Conclusion
A Which person do you most resemble: Simon or the woman?
1 I believe all of us could learn something from the lady kissing Jesus’ feet.
a All of us are in need of a Savior.
b All of us can serve Him out of grateful, healed hearts.
2 So what?
a When was the last time you allowed yourself to come to Jesus in a way that brought Him glory & made you weep?
aa We’ve got reason to weep!
bb We’ve got reason to worship!
b May we continue to have a tear of gratitude in our eyes until we cross the river & enter the land where He’ll wipe away every tear.
B Story
