TEAR STAINED FEET by allie meade

She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful.

If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.

Luke 7:47 (The Message)

Picture this with me:

She pulls her shawl tighter around her body and pushes her long, untamed hair over her shoulders. The dangling, gold jewelry that is hanging from her neck clinks as she bends down to retrieve the jar from the place she had been saving it. She feels the burning in her eyes as she her mind goes over everything she’s done, but she makes herself go find Him anyways.

As she walks outside, she stands out in her crimson toga. Eyes narrow at her as she walks by. People whisper when they see the bracelets that decorate her arms. Mothers pull their children closer as they notice her painted lips and darkened eyes. She keeps her gaze on the ground, counting the steps until she can be in His presence one more time before it all ends. She couldn’t bear to stay home when she heard He was dining nearby.

As she approaches the door, her heart begins to race and her hands begin to shake. She knows she won’t be welcomed and her visit will not be appreciated. She debates whether she should turn away and walk home, but something spurs her to raise her fist to knock on the door. As the servant opens the door, his face is surprised and confused, yet he steps aside to let her in.

The table of guests see her and the entire room goes quiet. Her eyes peek up and she feels the anxiety resurfacing and the tears brimming. She dares to look to the end of the table and she sees His soft eyes looking directly into hers. In a moment of confidence, she doesn’t hesitate to walk over to where He is sitting and kneel down at His feet. She removes her gold necklace and sets it on the ground.

She opens the alabaster jar and the smell of the perfume reminds her how she earned the money to purchase it. The guilt is overpowering and she begins to weep as she pours the perfume on His feet. The fragrance is overwhelming. It engulfs the whole room.

She can’t stop crying and feels a painful sob reverberate out of her mouth. She sees that her tears have mixed with the perfume and the kohl she had painted on her eyes was smudged on her cheeks and had coated his feet.

She quickly looks around and there’s no rag or cloth, so she takes the jewels out of her hair and unbraids it, letting it fall down in front of her face.. She leans down even more, inches away from His tear-stained feet and uses her hair to wipe the oil off.

The closer she gets to Him, the lighter she feels. She takes another section of hair and wipes his feet again, this time leaning down to kiss the feet she has just washed.

The men at the table all talk at once. She keeps her head down and can’t bring herself to stop kissing His feet. She hears one say that she was wasteful. Another says he doesn’t know who she is and if he did, he wouldn’t be so quick to let her come close.

She wanted to run out. Humiliation welled up inside of her. She knew coming here would end up like this. All she wanted was to see Him.

Then she heard Him speak.

“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.” (Mark 14:6 NIV)

She couldn’t breathe. She held his feet tighter. She wasn’t sure if she'd heard Him correctly. Nobody had ever stood on her behalf before, but she was used to that. This man wasn’t like anyone she had ever known.

He kept talking to the one named Simon.

“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.” (Luke 7:44-47 NIV)

Did He say her sins were forgiven? He couldn’t have. That just wasn’t possible. He couldn’t have known what she had done, even just earlier today. If He did, He wouldn’t have said that.

Then she felt a gentle hand on her head. It startled her and caused her to look up. He was already looking at her with gentleness once again.

“Your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 7:48 NIV)

Her heart swelled. Her guilt replaced by gratitude and she smiled for the first time in months. She was calm and she knew it was because she was so close to Him. He continued to speak to her.

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:50 NIV)

She couldn’t believe it. Just hours ago, she felt as though life was ending and now, sitting at His feet, He had given her a second chance. He didn’t even ask for anything in return. She had never loved anyone as deeply as she loved Him.

She noticed that her jar was empty. All of her savings gone.

But for the first time in her life, she didn’t feel empty. She was overflowing and she had never been more glad than she was for making the choice to come to Him this night. This night had changed everything. Being with Him changed everything. She knew that if she had more jars of oil, she would’ve run home to get them to pour out on His feet.

She wiped her eyes on her shawl, the black kohl staining the fabric. She saw the paint from her lips on Jesus’ feet and He seemed fine with it staying there. She didn’t want it back. The light caught the glimmer of her gold necklace and the jewels from her hair. She looked at Him one more time, left the jewels and stood up to leave.

Thoughts to consider:

If you were sitting at Jesus’ feet, what would be your ‘alabaster jar of oil’?

What do you think is unforgiveable in your life? Can you trust Jesus this week to stand up for you, forgive you and lavish you in peace?

Allie
ameade@b4church.org