Tears

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture that reject fear in any form. Fear is a spiritual force used by Satan to keep people down. Instead, faith in God is championed as an allegiance, belief, trust, and loyalty to Him. By accepting the evidence of His word and getting close to His perfect love, fear is cast out. The story of a woman who showed extreme devotion and respect to Jesus is examined as an example of faith. She was broken before Him, and because of her faith, she received peace. We are reminded to be humble, patient, and to die to ourselves daily. The importance of staying pure on the inside and feeding on the Word of God is emphasized. We are encouraged to recognize and affirm God's love for us and to love because He first loved us. Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief and trust and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of his word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to his perfect love through the word, and perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org Luke 7.50 He said to the woman, Your faith has saved you. Go in peace. When the Son of God tells you to go in peace, that's about as no fear as you can get. It is the Greek word, eirene, or eirene, I'm not sure which one it is, meaning harmony, concord, security, safety, prosperity, and felicity. It is closely related to the Hebrew word, shalom, which can be boiled down to wholeness or completeness, nothing missing and nothing broken. If Jesus is telling you this is what you can walk in, then fear will definitely not be beside you. Naturally, we should be interested in how this woman got this blessing of peace. Jesus tells us her faith saved her. She got peace by faith in Jesus, in the Lord God Almighty. Seems pretty easy. I mean, how many of us are believers but still have fear in our lives? We disseminate it into many different aspects, but at the core it is thoughts motivated by fear and acceptance of the curse of the law. Now, this woman believed. We believe. What's the difference? Well, this woman, who was she? Here in Luke 7, 36-50, she is unnamed but known in her community. She's known as a sinner. Now, many people over the years have assumed that it was some kind of sexual sin, perhaps prostitution, but if you look at the text, there is no proof or implication of this, only that she was known to be a sinner, perhaps infamously. Now, there are a lot of things that that could cover, especially in Israel. Jewish life revolved around the Torah and keeping its statutes. So, was she rebellious toward her parents, a drunk, a liar, a cheat? Did she kill someone? Was she refusing to conform to the patterns of life by having a terrible home, unruly children, being disrespectful to her elders or to her husband? We don't know, but any of those could get you a reputation. She might have violated the Sabbath or been cast out of the synagogue. The fear of being cast out was huge. Now, we don't know, so don't make any assumptions. She was a sinner. We too were once. We're on even footing. Of course, some think that this woman was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Now, that is because there is an account in John 12, 1-11 that seems to mirror this account in Luke. Jesus is at a dinner in the same town. Mary anoints his feet with an expensive ointment. She wipes his feet with her hair. But at this dinner, Lazarus is there as a guest, and Martha serves. And Luke, Jesus, is invited to the home of a Pharisee and is not treated well. He isn't greeted with politeness. He isn't treated with care. It doesn't seem the kind of treatment he would receive at a home in which Martha was serving. Now, personally, I agree with the commentators who believe that it was two separate occasions. One of the big things I hinge that on is John 12, 10, where it says that the chief priests conspired to kill Lazarus as well as Jesus. The Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection, and having a man who was raised from the dead walking around is kind of hard to dispute. Now, since Lazarus was at the dinner with Jesus in John, and a Pharisee was at the dinner in Luke, I think it's unlikely that they're the same event, not saying that they can't be. I just don't think so. Now, also, Mary was hardly a well-known sinner in the community. You'd think we would have heard about it before this dinner. But regardless of who she is, it is the behavior of the woman in Luke that we are concerned with. Now, she starts out standing behind Jesus. This was not unusual. Spectators often came to these dinners to hear the conversation and teaching of the rabbis. They weren't invited to eat. They just stood around watching and listening. It's how Pharisees got to so many of the places where Jesus was relaxing with his friends. So, there she was, hanging out. Jesus was at the table, reclined with his feet behind him. This was also common. First, they reclined at all their meals, as chairs were not in use at mealtimes. Second, putting your feet behind you keeps them well away from the food. It was a culture of walking, not riding or driving. They wore open-toed sandals. The roads were made of dirt. Your feet were often dirty and smelly. If you had a bad host, your feet wouldn't be washed by a servant when you arrived, as is the case here. So, keeping them away from the faces and places of your friends was being polite. As the invited guests sat around the table, they talked. The woman and the rest of the spectators listened. We have no idea what was said. But in verse 38, it says that she began weeping. She was weeping so hard, she wet his feet with her tears. Now, I've never tested it, but I imagine you'd need more than a few drops to wet someone's feet. It also says that she wiped them with the hair of her head, implying drying off of the feet, which were now cleaner than when he had arrived at the table. In fact, she kissed them afterward. Now, this isn't sensual kissing. This is respect. This is honest. I am not worthy kisses. Kisses were common in the culture. Greetings included kissing. They also could serve as a respectful symbol to one of higher status. Disciples and pupils commonly kissed teachers, often on the head, but it could be an affectionate mouth smooch. Again, non-sexual. But if someone really wanted to show extreme honor to a teacher, they kissed his feet. So here this woman is, cleaning Jesus' feet, and then kissing his feet. Our woman has a deep respect for Jesus. She shows him extreme devotion. She extends to him courtesy and respect, and then she anoints him. She rubs the ointment on his feet. Anointing someone was often a sign of hospitality. It could be part of routine grooming. It was often used as medicine, anointing the sick and injured. Bodies were anointed before burial. It had a place in religious rituals. It was not something done lightly, especially not with expensive stuff. We don't know how much this oil cost. The stuff Mary used in John was very expensive, and it doesn't mention alabaster jars there either. This perfume in Luke was in an alabaster jar. Now these jars were one-time use vessels. They usually contained expensive ointment or perfume. You got at it by breaking the seal at the top. Young girls were given a box of perfume when they reached the marriage age. It was a type of dowry. When she married, she would give it to her husband as a sign of devotion. Since it was a burial anointing oil, it was a way of saying that she was committed to him until death parted them, when the surviving partner would anoint the other. Now whether this woman was married or not, this gift was a significant thing. With all her actions, she was declaring her utmost respect for Jesus. And it all started with tears. She was broken before him. She humbled herself to him. She didn't let where she was, or who was looking on, stop her. She responded to what was in her heart and held back nothing. She gave her whole self, dedicating to Jesus her life right up until death. Symbolically anointing him with her burial flask, she is giving her all. It is that broken commitment that Jesus responds to, that heartfelt expression of faith. This is why she got a blessing and walked out of that room in total peace. This is salvation. Why aren't we all walking in peace? Why haven't we all received this blessing from Jesus? Because we are not broken before him. Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart and saves those who have a crushed spirit. Psalm 34 18 For the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy, says, I will dwell in the high and holy place with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 57 15 For you don't delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. O God, you will not despise a broken and contrite heart. Psalm 51 16-17 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, the spirit who lives in us yearns jealousy, but he gives more grace? Therefore it says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. James 4 5-6 The proud and the haughty don't get very far in the kingdom of God. We're called to be servants, not to shove forward to the front of the pack, but willing to wait on the Lord and see where he is putting us, not to be a lover of opinion, but always ready to do what is right, quietly, with conviction. It is the crucifying of ourselves daily in all circumstances. It takes practice. It takes practice from the Holy Spirit. It is the journey of sanctification that we are all on together. Have patience for one another. Don't judge them for where they are. You may have mastered driving under the speed limit, but struggle with chastisement. The Lord is gracious and merciful to us. 1 John 1 9 But we need to be aware that it is not us doing anything, but Christ in us. Dying to self, we're resurrected into Jesus. It is Jesus who accomplishes everything, not us. Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, my servant will also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. John 14 24-26 Lord, may we all be like this woman, unafraid of what people say about us, broken before you. May we worship you and give you all we have. Use us and renew us, Lord, through your Word. We thank you for what you did for us, what you've made available to us. Thank you that in you, we have everything we could ever need or want. That we can be producers of your fruit, by you, through you, in you, and for you. Amen. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Numbers 19 15. Have you ever tried to tuck in a child who doesn't want to be tucked? It's the dead of winter, and they've chosen their thinnest, breeziest, lightest jammies. You're trying to get a blanket on them, so that they won't feel freezing in the middle of the night, and they're squirming, kicking, and refusing the help. All you want is the best for them, and all they want is what they feel in the moment. The Lord tells us we are vessels. He wants to fill us, but we need a secure cover. He doesn't want just anything dropping in. We need to stay pure on the inside, by making sure that we are not diluting the Word of God, that we are taking in clear teaching, that we are meditating on His truth, that we are guarding our eyes, ears, and mouths, so that we aren't being filled with anything that comes along. Let the Spirit fasten you, batten you down, secure the lid of your heart, so only things of intent get in there. And then make sure you're feeding on the Word, and not the junk that passes by. Don't keep an open mind. Keep a guarded mind. Test everything, hold fast the good, and toss the rest. 1 Thessalonians 5.21 Stay pure where it counts. As we close, remember that you have birth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I... Now you fill in the blank. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? There's no wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love, and no end to the things about you that He loves each and every day. Pick one. And remember, the Lord loves you, just because you're you. 1 John 4.9-10 tells us, By this, God's love was revealed in us, that God has sent His only-born Son into the world, that we might live through Him. And this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin, and it casts out our fear too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because He first loved us. He just loves us. Can't get enough of us. And that is wonderful. See you next time.