”Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47).
During His earthly ministry, Jesus was the visible embodiment of God’s kingdom on earth: His person, teaching, healings, miracles, etc.
We only have a limited number of His sermons and talks but the assumption can be made that the major theme of His words was “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news.”
Previously, we have witnessed Jesus and His disciples attending a party hosted by Matthew. Many sinners and tax collectors were present. Some righteous people were peeking over the fence, most likely jealous of the “good time” all were having. “Why does your…” (Luke 5:30).
This time, Jesus was invited to a “proper” party, actually called a dinner, hosted by one of the righteous people in town.
It looks like His disciples were not on the invitation list.
Let us consider some words which tell us something about the woman in this story. Let us consider the word, presence.
“When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume… (Luke 7:37). The word “learned” tells us that she must have heard about Jesus…that she must have heard about this young Rabbi who speaks about God’s kingdom…about repentance and believing in the good news.
What was the good news? The good news was that the “year of the Lord’s favour” has started. God’s favour…the Jubilee year was here.
What was the main thing about the year of Jubilee? Forgiveness. Freedom from slavery…or debt, etc.
She was looking for an opportunity to meet Jesus…One day she heard it on the grape vine! Her presence at the house where Jesus was having dinner tells a story of hope…expectation…faith.
What story does your “presence” tell?