I don’t want us to miss the gift of repentance as we return to the Lord. There is something so beautiful and outrageous about godly repentance found in this passage.
“When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. …
“Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.’
“Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’
“The other guests began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’
“Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’” -Luke 7:36-38, 44-50
Repentance Leads to Forgiveness
Normally, I will read this passage through the eyes of the woman, longing to bring her best gift to Jesus and pour it all on Him. In fact, this is one of my favorite passages to motivate my mission teams as we head into the field for ministry. But as I reread this, I saw something different this time. If you look at her broken and contrite spirit, she is receiving something from the Lord in her repentance. Jesus is washing her clean, forgiving her of her sin, shame, and guilt. He is so tender toward her, not condemning her nor preaching to her about the degree of her sin. Instead, He removes all of the degrading shame and sin. He recognizes her faith and repentance and tells her three things:
“‘Your sins are forgiven.’”
“‘Your faith has saved you … .’”
“‘… go in peace.’”
She didn’t ask for any of these three gifts. But Jesus knew exactly what she needed in order to be free. Essentially, she came to love Jesus and worship Him, but Jesus did something even greater so she could be free. What a glorious exchange.
Repentance Leads to Freedom
Jesus invites us to an encounter with Him. There are places in our lives and in our hearts that are burdened with so many things. The cares of the world can choke out our love for Jesus. We search high and low for temporal things to give us momentary relief and we just pile on the regrets, idols, baggage, and entanglements. Jesus wants us to be free. Our freedom is what He paid for with His whole life. If we will just come to Him and own what we need to own as the Holy Spirit brings it into the light, He will say the same things He said to this worshiping woman: “‘Your sins are forgiven. … Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’”
It’s time to be free so your heart can draw near to Jesus. He has so much to show you.
Jesus, shepherd us and lead us beside quiet waters where You restore our souls. I pray for the spirit of repentance to fall upon each one of us so that we may receive the gift of freedom You died to give us. Show us, in the secret place, where we need to repent of things hidden in darkness or below the surface of our lives that need to be brought into the light. And as we sit at Your feet like the woman in this passage, may we love and worship You as You minister and receive each one of us. This is a gift and an opportunity to repent and return. Show us, Holy Spirit, what those areas are today so we can receive a deeper understanding of Your unfathomable love, grace, and mercy. In the name of Jesus, amen.
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