"Your faith has saved you..."

I have something to share about God's character.....take a moment to read this passage... :)

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and lay down at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town heard that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and 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 men owed money to a certain money-lender. One owed him 500 denarii, and the other 50. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt cancelled." "You have judged correctly", Jesus said. Then he turned towards 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 - for she loved much. But he who 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)

So many things impress me about this situation that Luke describes...just want to share a few of my thoughts.. :) The situation itself is outrageous. The "woman who had lead a sinful life" was probably a prostitute or something similarly rejected...It is amazing to me how Jesus treats her. To Jesus, it matters whether we love him or not...and what he says to Simon is that the love and affection he has received from this woman is much much greater than all the rest...

I try to picture how the woman was feeling, what she was thinking when she came in. I'm sure she must have felt extremely desperate to see Jesus, to touch him, that she was willing to enter a pharisee's house - a place she was sure to be judged even more than she'd usually be, where she'd be eyed with contempt because she wasn't invited and surely wasn't welcome....So I imagine this meal, a big group of men at the table, having a splendid time with this famous, impressive teacher, and suddenly this filthy girl comes in, unwanted....and he lets her touch him.....it was an absolute break of all cultural or religious rules..
I think it must have taken a totally shattered life for the woman to be willing to do what she was..because she was aware that what she was doing was totally unaccepted, and that even the expensive oil wasn't enough for Jesus, and wouldn't wash her guilt and past away...but SHE saw who Jesus was, so much more than the others at the table..to her, he was worth all her pride, her tears and her kisses..in front of a staring audience.....Then I wonder what Jesus' face was like while he was watching her...what on earth was he thinking and feeling?....all I can see is that he not only let her touch him physically, but on the inside..he was moved by her, her despair, and by her willingness to get on her knees.. He saw that she wanted to run away from the life she had been living..but had no hope to ever be accepted...And Jesus :) he forgives her....he just.forgives.her...I don't know what the woman had done in her life, but she was known as a woman "who had lead a sinful life", apparently years of slapping God in the face......and Jesus knew exactly what she had done, every detail... But God's heart is weak for humans...he sees her, and takes all her imperfection and wrongness away in just one moment. "Your sins are forgiven"....It means You and I are together again :)) I won't remember your mistakes anymore....

I'm afraid that often we take it for granted that Jesus is not a judging God.. We've heard it so often, seen that he treats people so compassionately.......But reading this I realized that Jesus was amazingly strong to be able to forgive like that, although he was hurt by what the woman had done. She was not just a victim in his eyes, but a committer of crimes and foolishness...and still he forgave her :) - that entire life of ignoring him - in just one moment.... I wonder how strong his wish must be to say these words to every single soul who'll let him..."Your faith has saved you...go in peace.."

That is Jesus, he is incomparable.....