The Courage of an Outsider...

At the church where I serve we have been spending our time together looking at various encounters that people had with Jesus that are recorded for us in an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. And as we look at these encounters with Jesus, we are discovering several timeless truths that have the potential to powerfully impact our lives today.

This week would like for us to spend our time together picking up where left off last week, where we see an another individual have an encounter with Jesus. And as we look at this encounter that this individual had with Jesus, we are going to discover another timeless truth that can occur when we encounter Jesus. So let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in Luke 7:36:

Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.

Luke brings us into this section of his account of Jesus life by setting the stage for the encounter with Jesus that we are going to look at this morning. Luke tells us that one evening one of the Pharisees, who were the self righteous religious leaders of the day, invited Jesus over to his house for dinner. Jesus accepted the invitation to have dinner with this Pharisee, named Simon, and his other Pharisee friends.

You see, the Pharisees wanted to have dinner with Jesus because they were trying to figure out Jesus. However, as Jesus was engaging in dinner and conversation with the Pharisees, word spread through town that Jesus was in town having dinner at Simon’s house. And as word spread through town about Jesus being in town, word reached the ears of a woman who Luke describes as being a sinner.

Now when Luke refers to this woman as a sinner, he is revealing for us the reality that this woman did not measure up to moral standards in a way that resulted in her being viewed as an outsider. This was a woman who was far from God and who was viewed as an outsider by others.

Luke explains that when this woman who was far from God and who was viewed as an outsider heard that Jesus was at Simon the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume with her and headed over to Simons house. Once at Simons house, Luke tells us that this woman who was far from God and who was viewed as an outsider proceeded to approach Jesus so that she could engage Jesus. This woman who was far from God and who was viewed as an outsider then positioned herself behind Jesus, where she began to weep. And as she wept, this woman who was far from God and was viewed by an outsider by others washed Jesus feet with her tears and her hair, while kissing his feet and anointing them with the perfume that she brought with her.

However, to fully understand what is happening here, we first need to understand a few things. The first thing that we need to understand is that, in Jesus day, as is often the case today, people wore open toed shoes or went barefoot as they traveled. However, unlike today, people in Jesus day either walked or rode a donkey or camel everywhere they went. In addition, everyone traveled on the same path, which was not paved. 

So, imagine walking on a dirt covered road in the desert on the same road that animals also walked on. Not only would your feet be covered in dirt and sweat; your feet would also be covered in whatever you stepped in as you traveled. So when this woman is washing Jesus feet with her tears and her hair, she is removing any dirt, sweat, urine, or feces that Jesus had stepped in on his journey to Simon’s house.

Now a question that could arise here is “Well Dave, how could this woman be standing behind Jesus and washing His feet? How could she even get at Jesus feet if she was standing behind Him?” If that question is running through your mind, I want to let you know that is a great question to be asking. And that question leads us to the second thing that we need to understand, which is how people ate in first century Jewish culture.

During the first century, people did not sit around tables and chairs to eat a meal like we do today. Instead, in the first century, a room would have a table that sat only a short distance up from the floor. Individuals who were eating at the table would recline, or lay on their side, on the floor with their head by the table and with their feet out away from the table. So that is how this woman could be standing behind Jesus and washing His feet.

Now I want us to take a minute and imagine ourselves in this event from history as this woman. I want us to place ourselves in her shoes. Imagine being this woman who is far from God and who is viewed as being an outsider by others. You have a story; you have a reputation. And you see the glares of others. You hear the whispers as you walk by. You watch as people cross the street so to not be too close to you.

You are that woman. Can you imagine the scene as you walk into a room filled with self righteous religious men who clearly viewed you as an outsider? Can you imagine the scene as the conversations stopped and every stare was directed at you? Can you imagine the murmurs, the grumbling?

Here is a question to consider: how much courage would you have to have to go to Simon the Pharisees house? How much courage would you have to have to walk into a room full of men with your story and your reputation?  How much courage would you have to have to walk into a room where you are viewed as an unwelcome outsider? How much courage would you have to have to risk what could happen to you by entering into that room?  What would drive someone to kneel behind Jesus and begin to wash His dirty feet with your tears and your hair? What would drive someone to break open a bottle of perfume to anoint Jesus feet?

You see, it is not as though this woman did not know that she was far from God and was viewed as an outsider when it came to having a relationship with God. It is not as though this woman did not know how the men in the room viewed her.

However, all this woman knew was that she was fallen, flawed and broken. All this woman knew is that she needed to be with Jesus, whatever the risk and whatever the cost. Maybe you are far from God and feel like you are an outsider when it comes to a relationship with God or others. Maybe it would take everything within you to take the risk to come to church. Maybe you are just wondering how Jesus could even consider connecting with an outsider like you? Maybe you are wondering how others who go to church would respond to you being in church?

Tomorrow, we will see how the owner of the house responded to this woman who was far from God and who was viewed as an outsider crashing his dinner party…