How Much Do You Owe?
Deep In Debt
In an account unique to Luke, a sinful woman visits Jesus and anoints him. She says nothing, but her actions speak a thousand words. The problem is that her intimacy with Jesus produces an array of opinion. Her action forces Jesus to explain how he responds to others, especially sinners. In the response he reveals both his philosophy of dealing with people and his authority.
During a meal at the home of a Pharisee, a well-known sinful woman enters to anoint Jesus’ feet. We are not told what her sin has been. Traditionally she has been called a prostitute, but the text is not so specific.
Whatever her sin, her reputation precedes her.
It may seem odd that she is able to “crash the party” and approach Jesus, but in the ancient world it apparently was common to allow access to a meal in honor of a major teaching figure
Here no one expresses shock that the woman is present; the scandal is that she has drawn close to Jesus and he has let her approach him. As long as she sat in the bleachers, everything was fine, but when she steps onto the playing field, people become upset. They don’t think a spectator should become a key player.
The woman’s actions reflect great cost, care and emotion. The perfume she uses is both precious and expensive
If this perfume is nard, it would have cost three hundred denarii, or about a year’s salary, per pound!
Approaching a reclining Jesus, she anoints his feet as tears of joy and appreciation pour out upon him. The undoing of her hair is culturally shocking. Her kissing of Jesus’ feet also expresses an intimacy shunned in this culture. Everything about her action is offensive, except for the attitude that fed it, an attitude Jesus exposes in his parable in verses 41–44.
Imagine the nerve of the woman, who surely realizes how others are viewing her. The strength of her love has caused her to be bold in expressing appreciation to Jesus.