At the feet of Jesus

This portion of the Gospel of Luke contains the narrative of something interesting that happened while Jesus was having lunch at the house of a Pharisee named Simon who had invited him to lunch. In the passage we see how the Lord Jesus Christ establishes a great contrast between the attitude of a repentant sinner and a sinner who does not.

In this narrative there are two types of sinners:

SIMON EL FARISEO:

Lc. 7:36, "36 One of the Pharisees begged Jesus to eat with him. And having entered the Pharisee's house, he sat down at the table. "

Simon was a religious of the sect of the Pharisees and of the upper class of Palestine, who invited Jesus to share a luncheon in his house, as Jesus agreed to share with all kinds of people who wished to meet him, without
import the social class or the religion to which they belonged, no one was excluded from their attention and their love, attended.

Most of the houses of the rich were built around an open courtyard, when the guest turned out to be a teacher allowed public access in that courtyard, to listen to the dissertations.

A PROSTITUTE:

Lc. 7:37, "37Then a woman of the city, who was a sinner, knowing that Jesus was at the table in the Pharisee's house ..."

The text says that this woman was a sinner, to indicate that she was a harlot or that she practiced prostitution, because women recognized as prostitutes were rejected by Jewish society and especially by religious circles, so there were social activities in which the presence of recognized prostitutes was not allowed.

In this story there were two different attitudes of two different types of sinners:

SHE FEELED THE NEED FOR FORGIVENESS

"... brought an alabaster bottle with perfume; 38 And being behind him at his feet, weeping, he began to water his feet with tears, and wiped them with his hair; and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the perfume.

This woman recognized that she was a sinner, she felt impurity, she felt lost and condemned. The guilt of her sin was more than she could bear, she had a desperate need to be forgiven and cleansed, but she had heard that Jesus spoke of the love and mercy of God (Mark 1: 14-15), and of the call of Jesus to men and women to repent and prepare for the kingdom of God, had disturbed him.

So knowing that Jesus was in that place, he felt that there was hope for her and he was full of faith, he did not care about the risk of being rejected by the people and taken by the Pharisee from the patio of his house, he knew that the public he would scoff at her, but in spite of everything he approached the Lord.

Standing there and grieved fell at the feet of Jesus, with so much broken heart that his eyes shed plentiful tears, untied his hair, dried and kissed the feet of Jesus, and poured the ointment on the feet of Jesus. Few times during his ministry someone showed so much love and devotion to Jesus.

She surrendered her heart and her life to the Lord, begging for his forgiveness. So much was his brokenness that he could not speak, but Jesus knew his heart, words were not necessary.

HE SELF-JUSTIFIED:

Lc. 7:39, "39When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself: This one, if he were a prophet, would know who and what kind of woman is the one who touches him, who is a sinner".

This man considered himself better than other people and especially better than the sinful woman, therefore he would never allow himself to be touched by her; because he considered that his own judgment, opinions and behavior were better than those of others. I expected Jesus to judge and act like Him, I thought that Jesus should reject that woman, and by his very condition I felt no need for repentance and forgiveness. In two areas it was believed good enough.

He believed himself good enough in religion, he was a Pharisee, a man who had devoted himself to practicing religion; He also considered that his behavior was good and irreproachable, he understood that he was a man respected by others, morally enough, that is why he believed that he had not done anything that needed forgiveness.

These two different attitudes yielded two different results:

Lc. 7:40, "40 Then Jesus answered and said to him, Simon, one thing I have to tell you. And he said to him: Say, Master. 41 A creditor had two debtors: the one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty; 42 And not having them with what to pay, he forgave both. Say, then, which of them will love you the most? 43 Simon answered and said, I think he for whom he forgave more. And he said to him: You have rightly judged "

Jesus told the Pharisee that he had something to tell him that required his attention. Every self-sufficient person needs to listen attentively; Jesus here wants to let the Pharisee know that more than a prophet Jesus was the Son of God and that he knew his thoughts, Simon never said anything, he had only thought "for himself" about the woman.
Jesus wanted to show the Pharisee, who knows the truth of every thought within man.

SHE WAS FORGIVEN AND REMAINED IN HER SINS:

Lc. 7: 44-48, "44 And returned to the woman, said to Simon: Do you see this woman? I entered your house, and you did not give me water for my feet; but she has watered my feet with tears, and has wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss; but this one, since I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46You did not anoint my head with oil; But she has anointed my feet with perfume. 47 Wherefore I tell you that his many sins are forgiven him, because he loved much; but he who is forgiven little, little loves. 48And to her he said: Your sins are forgiven you "

She was forgiven because she recognized that she had many sins, that is why she loved Jesus a lot, she surrendered her life to Jesus in humble adoration, she anointed the feet of Jesus in an act of supreme devotion, love and surrender. She with respect and reverence gave the most precious of her possessions, illustrating that she gave her life to the Lord.

He showed what a sinner has to do by coming to Jesus, come with an attitude of repentance, feeling the need for God's forgiveness, Psalm 51: 1-4.3. He was not forgiven because he acted in a spirit of self-justification, understood that he had no sins, felt no need for repentance and forgiveness, therefore I love Jesus little. The person who comes to Christ, has to come with a contrite and humiliated heart.