a portrait

of

jesus

A PORTRAIT OF JESUS

Love and Forgiveness

“…her many sins have been forgiven for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Luke 7:36-50

Jesus was a guest in the home of Simon, a Pharisee, reclining at his table, when a prostitute entered with a jar of perfume. With tears she washed his feet, wiping them with her hair and covering His feet with kisses. Finally, she poured perfume on them. Simon was indignant. If Jesus was who He claimed to be, surely He would know what kind of woman this was! How could He let her near Him, let alone touch kiss and anoint him as she had; it was a disgrace!

Jesus reveals who He is, not by disclosing the morals of the woman, but by reading His host’s thoughts. He clears up the confusion in Simon’s mind by telling him a story about two men who owed debts to a creditor. Both men’s debts were cancelled, but one owed 10 times more than the other. Jesus asked Simon, “Which of them will love him most?” Simon answered correctly, “The one who had the bigger debt cancelled.” Jesus then chided Simon for not offering Him the common courtesy of washing His feet upon entering his home. The Pharisee had neglected a routine custom owed any guest. He was so busy looking at the blackened reputation of another, he was blinded to his own sin of omission. It never entered his mind that he had failed to show Jesus the respect He deserved.

Yes, this sinful woman did for Jesus, what Simon had thoughtlessly failed to do and a great deal more. Her tears flowed over His feet, and her hair gently dried them; she covered His feet with kisses and finally bathed them with perfume, all tokens of a heart filled with love lavished upon her beloved Lord. This woman truly appreciated the debt she owed! She fully recognized she was a sinner and how undeserving she was of Jesus’ love and forgiveness. Yet, Jesus had reached out offering her what she never dreamed was possible; pure, unadulterated love, and she showed her overflowing gratitude. He had forgiven her much and loved her in way she had never known before or thought possible. This woman of the night had found in Jesus what she could never find in the beds of the men with whom she had prostituted herself, namely, forgiveness for her sins, salvation for her soul, peace for her heart and the love for which she desperately longed. D. Mathewson