Introduction: Two men took a line of credit from an individual financier. Both used the line of credit for various purposes. One was careful to only dip into it for small amounts, a little extra to cover the mortgage on a tight month, or a few hundred extra to cover financing on a good used vehicle. A little discretionary money for a business trip, a little extra for a nice gift on Valentine’s day.
The second man was less prudent. He purchased a deck for his home with a built-in hot-tub. He upgraded his new leased vehicle from the standard to the leather package with the High-output engine. He flew executive class when coach would have got him to the same destination. On Valentine’s Day he took his wife on a week long cruise, all paid for on his line of credit.
Then disaster struck. The company where both men worked announced that the market had collapsed, and all employees were now redundant, no severance, no pension, no pay-check. Immediately the loans were called due. The first man owed $5,000 and had no means to pay, that seemed slight compared to the second, who owed ten times that amount. The creditor to whom the debt was owed considered the situation and then told both men, that he would forgive their debt completely.
Which of these men would be most grateful?
I. The Pharisee (Simon)
This was the story that Jesus told that made Simon the Pharisee grimace. With a simple story Jesus had cut to the quick of Simon’s secret prejudice and had made his point.
Had Simon been a better judge of character, he would have realized that Jesus was more than he ever imagined he might be. But Simon was not an astute judge of character.
As far as his fellow Pharisees were concerned Simon’s ability to judge character was a little lacking in the simple fact that he had invited Jesus to join him for dinner. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that Jesus was sitting at the table of a tax-collector. It didn’t take much to see that Jesus really wasn’t the sort of character that ran the Pharisee ‘Supper Circuit’ very often. But the supper promised to be interesting, if nothing more, so the Pharisees came to eat with Jesus at Simon’s table.
I imagine that Simon was probably a tolerated Pharisee, not because of his high moral standard, but rather because he was a morally upright man of some means. He couldn’t recite the Torah verbatim, but he could throw a nice dinner party, and that was enough to cover a few other weaknesses.
Occasionally Simon would do something a little embarrassing, like posing the question of whether Jesus might not be some sort of prophet as the common people were saying, that perhaps he does have some sort of mandate from God.
The question of what Simon thought of Jesus is an interesting one. Three things can be deduced from this brief passage.
First of all, it is apparent that despite his apparent penchant for spending time with unsavoury people like Publicans and Lepers, the Pharisees still accepted him as a good and moral man. Nothing could be more anathema to a Pharisee than the thought of coming into contact with a person that might render them ceremonially unclean. How humiliating to imagine what it would be like to be seen offering sacrifice to be made clean once more, the Pharisee’s prided themselves on their immaculate behaviour.
Simon would have been relieved if Jesus arrived at the same time as some of the other Pharisee’s, then it would seem like a natural oversight if he didn’t embrace him and greet him with a kiss on the hand or cheek as was the custom of the day. Fortunately Jesus had simply made his way to the table and found a place to recline without the need for human contact. While Jesus seemed to be a righteous man, there was no way of knowing whether he might have come into contact with an unclean person and rendered himself unclean on the way to Simon’s home.
Second, we see from Simon’s reference to him as ‘Teacher’, that some of the Pharisees were willing to accept the popular designation of Jesus as a Rabbi, a spiritual teacher of the people. With this in mind Simon would have ensured that he checked and double checked the Mishnah for proper dinner etiquette. Surely he had scoured the house for leaven, which he knew he wouldn’t find because he never allowed any in in the first place. The proper bowl for ceremonial hand washing was set out and the table was spread with only foods that had been clearly certified in the Law and Prophets as being clean and acceptable. Hanging on the wall was Simon’s own pedigree, a genealogy of his decent from Abraham which assured that he was a member of God’s holy people. Perhaps a copy of the Shema was neatly displayed in the entry way. Everything a good Rabbi would be looking to find was in Simon’s home.
Finally, it is evident that Simon entertained the idea that Jesus might actually be a prophet. This was the word on the street. Not a prophet like Moses or Elijah surely, but perhaps a messenger sent from God with the purpose of turning people’s hearts and minds to God. At least it didn’t seem inconceivable to Simon, not at first, not until she arrived.
It was actually in the midst of his silent thoughts about Jesus’ identity that Simon saw the shadow of a woman pass through the door and into the dining room falling suddenly at the outstretched feet of Jesus and bursting into tears.
II. The Woman
How long had the woman stood by the window of Simon’s house trying to draw the courage to enter that Pharisee’s home?
How long did she debate whether she even dared enter?
Did she stand there from the beginning of the meal wrestling with herself, or did she come directly in?
Scripture doesn’t say. What we do know is that she came bearing a precious gift, an alabaster flask filled with costly perfume. It seems entirely likely that this flask summed up the entire wealth of this woman. Perfumes in those days were rare and costly, and the finest sort was rarely used.
This flask represents not only her earthly possessions, but her worldly past. The term used of her twice in this passage identify her as a notorious sinner, one who was especially wicked.
How had she become such a notorious sinner? This term was reserved almost exclusively, in the case of women, for those who played the harlot. The home wreckers who for a price would prostitute themselves. How did this beautiful creature come to such a hated profession?
Again the scripture is silent? Was she a prostitute of necessity, an orphan or widow who had turned to harlotry to survive? Perhaps she was sold into prostitution by a slave owner who saw a better way to make profit? Perhaps she was abused in life and was hungry for love, believing this to be the only role she was suited for? Most likely there was a combination of things that brought her to this place, but scripture is clear that she was not an innocent victim of sin, but a willing participant.
What would her life have been like? A woman like this would have a list of gentlemen callers, although none could be rightly called a gentleman if he called on the likes of her. It seems evident that she had both beauty and some degree of wealth, not vast riches, but enough to live comfortably. Yet it seems almost certain that she was a ‘void’.
When was the last time anyone had seen HER? Many looked and saw a prostitute, some saw a woman of pleasure – these Pharisee’s saw a notorious sinner. Her beauty had brought her wealth, but at the cost of her identity – maybe even her soul!
But then she met HIM. He was different from every man she had met before. Perhaps it had been that very day in the midst of a crowd that she saw him, and she was convinced that he had SEEN her. Really seen her, as if his eyes had looked into her soul. And she had heard His words, ‘Come to me you weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.’ And it seemed that he extended the invitation to her personally.
The words burned in her heart, she believed them, and strangely she felt that already her life was changed. She knew her life as a harlot were over, she could never go back to being a void, not after having been truly seen. When she heard that he was dining at Simon the Pharisees she was determined to see him, to present him a gift of gratitude, to speak for a moment with him.
The gift she brought was all she had. It was of great cost in the world, but seemed meager in comparison with the value of the gift she had received when she believed his words. How could a wretch dwelling on the outskirts of hell say thank-you to one who invited her to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?
What did she mean to do that night? Did she intend to anoint his head with the costly ointment? Did she hope to look into his face and see if his eyes could really see her? Did she intend to fall at his feet, or is that just where she ended up? Did she plan what would happen when she got to him; or did she just plan to get to him? Did she recognize any of the other faces at the table; did she feel the icy glare of Simon as she entered?
With all the courage she could muster she brushed through the curtain in the doorway and rushed towards Jesus, shutting out the other faces, eyes focused on the one whose back was to her, heart pounding, mouth dry, knees buckling, tears coming, sobs convulsing in great heaves of emotion all so sudden and unexpected.
What sort of tears did this woman cry?
(long pause)
Then she was aware of the fact that the tears were falling from her face onto the feet of Jesus. Each one traced a little river through the dust and sat in muddy little puddles on the cushion. Embarrassed to stain Him with her tears she pulled the pins from her hair and as the long tresses came free she began to wipe the mud and tears away, and with it the little rivers on his dust covered feet.
No words came, but in quiet gratitude she kissed his feet, all the while the tears fell. Remembering herself she broke the bottle of ointment and poured it out on the master’s feet, filling the room with rich fragrance.
III. The Saviour
Jesus’ first clue that the woman was present was when the entire table of Pharisee’s seemed to recoil, as if a rat had suddenly come into the room from the street. The faces were a contorted mixture of revulsion and disgust. Then suddenly he felt warm tears on his feet and heard the sobbing.
It was at this point that Simon, who was not an astute judge of character, was thinking about Jesus’ identity and had suddenly settled on the thought that Jesus was most certainly NOT a prophet – he had just allowed this notorious sinner to touch him, rendering him ceremonially unclean, and even now he says nothing, and as he was thinking that Jesus spoke.
“Simon,” he said, “I have something to tell you.”
The dinner party had suddenly become a write-off in Simon’s mind, and he seemed a little distracted as he said, “Speak on, Rabbi.”
Jesus said, “Two men took a line of credit from an individual financier,” the story didn’t take long and ended with Jesus asking, “Which of these men would love him more?”
Simon grimaced, with this little story Jesus had cut to the quick of Simon’s secret prejudice and had made a point. In case the point was unclear however Jesus continued, now with a tone of indignation, but strangely, not indignant for his own sake, but for the sake of this wretch sobbing in a pool of tears and perfume.
“Simon, when I came in, you gave me no water to cleanse my feet, but this woman has washed my feet with her dignity.”
“Simon, when I came, you denied me the common courtesy of a kiss in greeting, but this woman has not stopped kissing my feet.”
“Simon, when I came, you did not even offer me some common olive oil to freshen my head, but this woman has poured out all she has on my feet.”
“Truly, Simon, I say to you, her sins which are many have been forgiven, do you see the result? The one who has been forgiven little, has shown little love.”
Then he turned to this woman and with eyes that did see her, and with her all that she had ever been and all that she would one day be and said, “Your sins are forgiven – go into peace.”
With that the supper at Simon’s broke into chaos. In wholeness and completeness the unnamed women went out; having spoken volumes without saying a word.
At the same time the Pharisees were proclaiming their unbelief asking the question, “Who does this man think he is, claiming to forgive sins.”
Conclusion: Will you permit me in conclusion to return once more to where we began?
Two men took a line of credit from an individual financier. Both used the line of credit for various purposes. One was careful to only dip into it for small amounts; the second man was less prudent.
When the loans came due one owed $5,000 the other $50,000 AND NEITHER HAD MONEY TO PAY. The creditor to whom the debt was owed considered the situation and then told both men, that he would forgive their debt completely.
The Pharisee’s were so furious over the forgiving of this woman’s great debt of sin, that they neglected the fact that they too had a debt which they were unable to pay.
They refused to recognize that no amount of good behaviour could erase the effects of bad behaviour – that despite their adherence to the law and their good moral lives they were doomed without forgiveness.
Had Simon and his friends been more astute judges of character, they too, like the unnamed woman might have asked for forgiveness, and they to would have entered into peace. But pride had blinded their eyes.
