She Wet His Feet with Her Tears, Kissing Them
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April 22, 2012 |
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 "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 7:37-38)
If we receive grace from someone, it's a natural duty for us to repay the grace. But some people forget about the duty and the grace, or others repay the grace to some degree but stop doing so saying, "I've done what I have to do." But men of goodness don't forget about the grace they received and never change from having such a grateful heart.
There was a woman who gave thanks for the grace she received and showed such an unchanging heart. It was Mary Magdalene. Then, what should we do in order to have goodness and love like hers?
1. Goodness of Mary Magdalene and blessing given to her
Luke 7:36-38 describes an incident when Jesus entered a Pharisees' house. A woman named Mary Magdalene 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. Then, what kind of woman was Mary Magdalene?
Magdala, the birth place of Mary Magdalene, was located to the south of the land of Gennesaret which was on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee. Most people in Magdala worshipped foreign gods. The whole town was deeply involved in idolatry, so darkness covered the town completely. Mary was born in the town. Luke 8:2 says, "And also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out." Just as said in this verse, Mary Magdalene also suffered from demons.
There are largely two different cases when people suffer from demons: an individual suffers from demons, or a family or a whole town is possessed by demons. When an individual is possessed by demons, they dwell in his body and capture his heart completely. It's different from the case of Mary Magdalene. Mary's suffering from seven demons means that her family was cursed because her ancestors had worshipped idols for generations and her family was afflicted by the curse.
Mary Magdalene suffered from many diseases and poverty in such poor circumstances. She was neglected and despised by others, and had no hope. One day, she heard about Jesus who made the blind come to see and the mute speak, and healed people of their various diseases. Since then on she had longed to meet Jesus thinking, "I will be set free from all my diseases and the forces of darkness when I meet Him."
Finally, she heard that Jesus had entered the house of Simon, a Pharisee, and she brought an alabaster vial of perfume which was the most precious to her. She couldn't dare to come before the precious Jesus so she stood behind Him at His feet. Tears kept flowing down on her face without ceasing and wet His feet. She wiped them with her hair and anointed His feet with the perfume.
Seeing her deeds, Jesus healed her of her diseases and gave her hope for Heaven and true love. Then, her life was totally changed. Joy and happiness overflowed in her life every day. She served Jesus with wholehearted dedication and made up her mind to sacrifice her life for Jesus. Although Jesus' disciples ran away out of fear, she loved Jesus so much that she didn't leave the place of His crucifixion.
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, she went to Jesus' tomb to apply the spices on His body. There, she was blessed to be the first person to see the resurrected Lord. It was no coincidence that Jesus showed up before her for the first time after He was resurrected. We can imagine how much she loved Jesus and she was loved by Him.
2. The spiritual meaning of her breaking the vial and anointing with the perfume
What is spiritually symbolized when Mary Magdalene wet Jesus' feet with her tears, kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and was kissing His feet and then anointed His feet with the perfume? It symbolizes she gave her body, heart, and dedicated devotion to Jesus.
At that time, women didn't reveal themselves before people. But Mary Magdalene didn't think of how she would look in others' sight. Just the way she was moved in her heart, she kissed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. This is because she had an innocent and pure heart like the heart of a child. Hair was very valuable for women. Wiping His feet with such precious hair stands for her earnest heart to serve Jesus with a humble and lowly heart. It was her expression of love.
To break the vial of perfume means that she devoted her body to Jesus. The vial spiritually symbolizes our bodies. No matter how expensive the perfume was, the perfume could only be poured out when the vial was broken. That is, it means that we have to give up ourselves completely and devote ourselves regardless of our authority and the appearance of our acts before others. If we think about the impressions we make on others and have fleshly thoughts, then we cannot show perfect devotion. It's not until we 'break our body', which refers to our hypocrisy and pretenses, that perfect love and devotion come out from the bottom of our hearts.
Her anointing Jesus' feet with the precious perfume means that she gave all her heart and devotion to Him. It shows that true love comes out when we cast off the desire of the flesh and pursue the desire of the Holy Spirit.
3. It is the goodness of God to repay the grace we received
When people received help and grace from others, some of them just feel thankful in their hearts but don't express their gratitude outwardly. It is not goodness in a strict sense. If Mary Magdalene had held her gratitude only in her heart, she couldn't have been the very first to see the resurrected Lord.
Because she boldly expressed her love for Him, the spiritual fragrance of her love has been spread even until this day. We can understand this more clearly from a conversation between Jesus and the Pharisee who thought her deeds strange.
Luke 7:39 says, "Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner." Then, Jesus knew his heart and allowed for him to realize the situation with an analogy. "Simon, … a moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?" Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more."
And He said to him, "You have judged correctly. … Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much."
Dear brothers and sisters, the reason Jesus complimented Mary Magdalene was that she showed a good example in giving true love and dedication to Jesus. I pray in the name of the Lord you will not forget the grace you have received but practice goodness with an unchanging heart and become joy of God.
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