A Portrait of Repentance

Luke 7:36-50

One of the Pharisees asked [Jesus] to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

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Imagine being at a dinner party in which an uninvited woman (likely a prostitute) comes in, and without a word, bows weeping before one of the guests sitting near you, washes his feet with her tears, and remains on the ground kissing his feet and rubbing them with scented oil.  As if an uninvited prostitute wouldn’t call enough attention to herself, her loud weeping, astonishing behavior, and the intense smell of her oil would cause every fork at the table to drop.  

This is exactly what happens in Luke 7 as Jesus attends an exclusive dinner party at the home of a Pharisee named Simon, and it shows the kind of response Jesus receives from people who recognize who He truly is.  Just as what Simon's dinner guests see, hear, and smell draws their attention to this woman (and the one she's bowing before), the telling of this account draws each reader's attention to her behavior in response to Christ.  Luke’s narrative points to a woman’s act of repentance, demonstrated through her learning, humbling, weeping, and ultimately worshiping of Jesus.

Learning

“Behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment” (v37)

The text says that as the woman learned Jesus was attending Simon’s dinner party, she prepared a gift for Him and went abruptly to see Him there.  However, deeper learning is implied here.  This woman wouldn’t intrude on a party and give an expensive gift to someone whom she believed didn’t deserve it.  This woman’s actions indicate that she had learned who Jesus was through His teachings and miracles in her city.  She had seen Jesus before, had heard Him speak on the Kingdom of God, had been moved by His proclamations of forgiveness over her sin, and in response, prepared herself to worship Him.

In the same way, we as believers aren’t brought to repentance – for the first or the thousandth time – without first understanding the gravity of our sin and the vastness of Jesus’ grace toward us.  Just like this sinful woman, Jesus died to liberate us from our sins, so that we would turn from them and worship God freely.

Humbling

“Standing behind him at his feet” (v38)

The next action described of the woman is standing behind Jesus, at His feet.  She bows before Jesus in humble submission, communicating her weakness and dependence on Him to change her.  Bowing illustrates the surrender of herself and her efforts in order to depend solely on Him. 

Notice too this woman is bowing before Jesus for the first time at a dinner party.  Her submission to Him before a table full of witnesses represents a bold, radical proclamation of Jesus’ Lordship.

Just as the woman submits to Jesus publicly, we should as well, both before the church we belong to and before those we are surrounded by.  When faced with choices to declare Jesus as Lord or not, may we be inspired by this woman’s courage.

Weeping

“And standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears” (v38)

Luke gives very little detail about this woman, but he does make one thing clear: she “was a sinner” (v37).  Luke isn’t stating the obvious here.  As a follower of Jesus’ entire ministry, Luke understood that all people are sinful.  His identification of the woman as a sinner communicates that she was considered one by everyone in her corrupt culture, even herself.

As stated before, this woman is widely interpreted to be a prostitute, which makes clear the source of her shame.  When she bows before Jesus, she weeps, producing enough tears to wash His feet.  That’s a lot of tears.  These tears flow from a heart that is convicted by the truth and broken over sin against God.  But as quickly as shameful tears fall from this woman’s eyes, they wash her Savior’s feet.  What a beautiful picture of redemption!  Jesus takes the woman’s shame upon Himself and transforms it into a means to glorify God.

Sin, no matter how minor we consider it to be, is rejection of God and violence done against His name.  In light of this, it is immensely gracious for Him to convict us and patiently lead us to repentance.  May we respond to conviction with sorrow over our brokenness so that we can see it restored to joy in Him.

Worshiping

“[She] brought an alabaster flask of ointment… and wiped [his feet] with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment” (v 37, 38)

Just as the woman’s tears signify transformation, so does her gift to Jesus.  Fragrant oil, in ancient culture, was a luxury.  As an alleged prostitute, this woman likely obtained the oil for her line of work and used it to make herself desirable to clients.  Again, what a beautiful, powerful picture of redemption!  Oil that was once kept for sin is now surrendered in worship of Jesus.  Oil that once masked the stench of this woman’s sinfulness is now used to anoint the Chosen One.  

The woman accompanies her gift with washing and kissing of Jesus’ feet.  This indeed is strange, and considering how dirty the feet of a homeless traveler would be, it’s disgusting.  But again, Luke includes this detail to make a point.  The woman doesn’t care that Jesus’ feet are filthy because He is precious to her.  She washes and kisses His feet as a transformed woman, wanting to please Her Lord.  True repentance has given her true affection for God.

God transforms our sin into something for His glory, but this often demands sacrifice from us.  As the woman gives up something she loves in surrender to Christ, may we model her repentance when God calls us to do the same.  But may we also see from this story that God doesn’t demand sacrifice without a purpose.  He removes what is necessary so that we may be free to delight in Him.

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Think about a way you’ve wronged someone you care about.  When you apologize to that person and he/she forgives you, it changes your relationship.  Knowing the grace that person has extended you by forgiving you makes you want to do good by that person.  God’s forgiveness and our response is far greater than this.  When we understand the multitude of ways we continually wrong Him and the complete forgiveness Jesus earned for us in His death, our response should be one of worship and wanting to do better by God, not to earn His favor but to delight the One who has shown us incredible grace.  

Repentance is a constant rhythm of the Christian life.  It requires understanding the Gospel followed by a humble, sorrowful, and often sacrificial response.  But, God’s design of this spiritual discipline is that it would increase our worship of Him.  When God convicts us, may we be like the woman, bowing and weeping before Him only to hear His words, “Your sins are forgiven and your faith has saved you; go in peace.

Painting credit: Christ at the House of Simon the Pharisee by Pierre Subleyras