Women in the Life of Jesus: The Woman With the Alabastar Jar

Her Story:

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.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

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 7:36-50

My thoughts:

Does sin separate us from God?  As I was reading this passage the other day, I noticed several things.  

First, the woman with the alabaster jar of perfume was a sinner.  She was currently a sinner, not had been, but one living a sinful life.

But she was the one touching Jesus.  She was touching the Son of God, who was God, in the flesh.  That fact that she, a sinner, was touching Jesus demonstrates that our sin does not separate us from God.  Unbelief does.

Second, Jesus told a story.  He told a story, to the Pharisee, the one who was educated in the things of God, a story about forgiveness.  In the story He made a comparison, clearly between  Simon's sin, and the woman with the alabaster jar of perfume.  The thing I noticed, but maybe Simon didn't, that in the story, Simon was forgiven too.  The Lord was telling him his sins were forgiven, but he was so consumed with the sin of another that he missed it.  How often do we do that?  Miss the mercy of God because our eyes are on someone else's behavior.  

And third, the people around them missed it as well.  The Bible says,

"The other guest began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

The other guests that were present could have received exactly what the woman who loved Jesus so much that she wiped his feet with her tears received.  But they missed it.  Their unbelief separated them from what Jesus would have freely given to them as well.

I want to be like this woman in everything.  Jesus said to her, "

Your faith has saved you; go in peace.

You can receive exactly what she did that day. Please notice she did nothing except believe in Jesus and place her faith in His love and acceptance of her. Your faith will result in amazing peace in your life. And just knowing Jesus will increase your love for Him.

To read more posts in this series, go here to Women in the Life of Jesus.