Luke chapter 7 verses 36-39 (NIV)
When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
I pondered on two different things on reading these verses. Firstly, I wondered if this Simon was the same person referred to as Simon the Leper in two of the other Gospels, since they also tell of Jesus being annointed at his house too. (Matthew Chapter 26 verse 6 and Mark Chapter 14 verse 3) It’s not certain yet it made me think. If Simon the Pharisee had been healed of his leprosy, then he wasn’t very grateful to Jesus for the healing, and he certainly showed no compassion for the woman who anointed Jesus. Was this then the reason for the parable Jesus told about gratitude? It struck me when considering this thought that people can be mightily touched by God, and some even healed, but they don’t continue on in what Jesus has done for them. I know of someone who received physical healing from God, and although she openly acknowledged it at the time, she has never come to faith and continues on in her life without any interest in the things of God. We can see a similar story when we read of the ten lepers who Jesus healed, yet only one said thank you. Its easy to quickly forget how much Jesus has done for us and we can never thank Him enough. I was listening to a sermon by Max Lucado, one of my favourite christian writers this week, and he was talking about the importance of gratitude to God. He said, and I love this quote, “Gratitude is the first born child of grace.” If we accept the grace that Jesus has shown us, which we didn’t deserve, then how can we not then be grateful and extend grace and mercy to others as ambassadors for Jesus?
My second thought on today’s passage was that even if this is a different Simon, Jesus knew his heart and accepted his invitation to dinner. What was Simon hoping to get from extending the invitation? Was he genuinely seeking, or was he trying, as some of the other Pharisees had done, to catch Jesus out? He certainly wasn’t expecting an uninvited guest to get all of the attention. Perhaps Jesus accepted the invitation because He knew the woman was going to be there. Perhaps, like the woman at the well, it was another divine appointment. Jesus was able to set her free and offer a lesson to Simon. Jesus knows when the time is right to minister to us, either in conviction, or healing. His timing is perfect. This means that He sometimes meets us in places where we don’t expect Him to, or speak through people and circumstances we certainly wouldn’t have anticipated. It’s a reminder that nothing takes Him by surprise and He knows exactly what He’s doing, and that is another reason for us to show Him our gratitude.
Dear Lord,
I am indeed grateful for the reminder of the grace and mercy that Jesus showed to both the woman and to Simon. Help me never to take for granted all that You have done for me, and to extend grace and mercy to others, as a follower of Jesus whenever the opportunity to do so arises. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.