"When I saw [the Son of Man], I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, 'Fear not, I am the first and the last, [18] and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.'" -Revelation 1:17–18
How fascinating that everyone who encounters God in Scripture has the same reaction- to fall. This isn't just a physical state, however, but a deeper and more profound one. Their reaction to the Lord reveals the state of their heart. As A.W. Tozer put it,"What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."
That reaction is important, because it tells us about who they were as compared to Who God is. To say it again, it reveals the state of their heart.
We see an example of this in chapter seven of Luke, where we see two vastly different people with two vastly different postures towards Jesus.
And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “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 from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:37–50
In this short passage, the heart of two people is revealed to us- Simon's, and the woman's.
Simon
In the time of Jesus, it was a kind and humble gesture to wash the feet of your guest. But it was necessary to greet them with a kiss, and not doing so was a deliberate snub. Think of someone inviting you into their home, and instead of saying hello, they hold open the door and stare at you instead of saying anything.
Thats not only kinda awkward, but also rude.
Simon may have invited Jesus over to dine, but we see very clearly the state of his cold heart by reading how he never once positioned himself in a stance of humility. No warm greeting, no feet washing. I absolutely love how Jesus responds to him. As we see Him do multiple times in the gospels, Jesus responds to his innermost thoughts, no doubt leaving onlookers confused, but retaining an intimate conversation with Simon.
Simon arrogantly thinks about how if Jesus were a prophet, He would have nothing to do with this woman.
Jesus replies to this,"Simon, I have something to say to you."
Jesus goes on to share a parable, and then goes on to compare Simon and the woman. He explains the obvious differences between the two (how they greeted Jesus, etc), but then He reaches the core of their differences- love. He is comparing the love of Simon (who loves little), to the woman (who loves much, out of her gratitude for being forgiven, by grace and through her faith).
To return to my original point and expand on it- how we react to, and our posture towards, Christ tells us everything that matters about us. How we react to Him outwardly shows us the content of our core, it reveals what our hearts are full of. It shows us if we're full of ourselves, or full of Him. The difference between a heart of oneself and a heart of God is a matter of posture. Hands clenched or open, knees on the earth or a chin raised too high, perfume poured at the feet of Him or coated on our own wrists.
The Sinful (But Forgiven) Woman
This woman's identity is actually revealed in John.
"It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill."-John 11:2
I'd rather focus on how this specific passage in Luke 7 portrays her, as merely a woman, because it has proven difficult to research her without getting her confused with the many other Marys Jesus knew, but I wanted to mention that we do, actually, know her identity. Who knows why Luke decided to leave out her name, but, as all Scripture is breathed out by God, I believe he did it for a reason. I'll respect that.
Now let's get into the important stuff.
This woman's heart isn't hidden from view, but poured out like the perfume from her jar, and falling on the feet of Jesus like the tears from her eyes. She was at the very bottom of society, but she had the courage to go into the house of her condemner, a Pharisee, who saw her as nothing but an unclean sinner, who scorned her and cast her off as worthless.
This woman appears to have no fear at interrupting a dinner party among many respected teachers of the day, but instead we see her soft heart on display, revealed to us by her humble stance before Jesus.
She didn't even appear to notice those around her except for Him. Those who love deeply live like that, where they taste and see Him in such a way they can't look away, where they catch a glimpse of His glory in such a way their knees fall to the earth. Fear and anxiety can't take hold when you're busy pouring out oil on the feet of Him who created you and who sustains you.
We don't know if Jesus said something as she was doing this. If He whispered to her, or if she whispered to Him. Jesus has a way of conversing intimately even in the most of chaotic settings, like how He responded to Simon's innermost thoughts later in the passage. Or perhaps Jesus said nothing as she wept at His feet, because He knew her heart, her posture towards Him, and she already felt His love in a way too profound for words. She was completely vulnerable (even her hair was exposed, which was highly looked down upon, as in this era only a woman's husband was allowed to see her hair), but all she cared about was the Man she knew, Who saw all of her and loved her like nobody else despite it.
This intimate moment is only briefly mentioned as Jesus moves on to converse with Simon, but I doubt this moment was brief. To this woman, it felt like eternity.
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