“Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears.”

I wonder, what would you have thought of this woman if you had witnessed her coming into this Pharisee’s home? What if you and I were sitting there dining with Jesus when all of a sudden this woman burst in carrying this expensive perfume and then fell at the feet of Jesus weeping? What kind of thoughts would we have had running through our heads? Remember, the Pharisee questioned that Jesus was even a prophet because he knew what kind of woman she was. I wonder where she got the perfume? Did she steal it or did she buy it with money that she made from her seedy profession? I wonder if she was clean; you know what I mean. I wonder who she had been with and I wonder if she had been with anyone lately? A thousand questions; a thousand unanswerable questions. I wonder… is it possible that this woman was crying not from sadness but from joy? We have heard many sermons concerning this encounter with Jesus and we have learned much from Jesus’ words to both the woman and the Pharisee. But have we even considered that perhaps this woman had met with Jesus prior to coming to Him at the house and maybe it is possible that He had given her the Good News at that time? I’m not preaching dogma here but I would like to show you something.
You see, a person can cry for more than just one reason. Mostly, people cry for sadness but sometimes people cry because they’re angry, frustrated or even relieved. Have you ever cried at Jesus’ feet? What motivated your tears? I am sorry if I sound a little cynical here but I don’t think too many people these days cry at Jesus’ feet like this woman did, or for that matter, for the same reason she did. If she was crying because she was aware of her sinful state, we not only should applaud her but also follow her example. One of the problems with conversions in these last days is that people do not really recognize their sinful state –that in itself is worthy of many tears. Have you ever wept at Jesus’ feet? Have we really considered what our sin cost Jesus? Oh, but wait just one minute! This woman didn’t know that Jesus was going to be crucified for her sins. So, what on earth was she crying for? Now, that is sermon material.