Two Sinners, Two Approaches

Read this morning, in my quiet time, the account of the “immoral woman” who was
daring enough to show up at a Pharisees’ house for a banquet to which she was not
invited (Luke 7:36-50).

We can only assume what was going on inside her heart, but she had heard, by word of
mouth, that Jesus was in town and was invited to a banquet at the home of a prominent
Pharisee, named Simon.

Something about that news, and perhaps what she had heard about Him, must have
drawn a deep sense of conviction out of her. Whatever it was that stirred in her that day,
it was powerful enough that she threw all caution to the wind and decided to crash the
party.

I am just guessing here but, based on some of my own experiences of deep conviction
of sin and a hunger for righteousness, that can only be attributed to the Holy Spirit, it
wouldn’t surprise me if she started crying the moment she decided she was going to
Simon’s house.

We can be certain she went with worship in mind, because she stopped at her place, on
the way, to pick up her most expensive perfume…even though she wasn’t quite sure
what she’d do with it when she got to the banquet. 

I’m surprised the servants didn’t prevent her from getting inside the house. Maybe she
was known by them to be a frequent visitor, typically using the back door to get in.
When she got into the dining hall, she “knelt behind Jesus’ at His feet, weeping. Her
tears fell on His feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing His
feet and putting perfume on them,” (Luke 7:38 NLT).

To this point, Jesus has said nothing. 

The woman couldn’t get any words out, through her wrenching sobs of repentance and
the worship of her perfume lovingly lavished on Jesus’ feet.
And her sins, which Jesus said were many, were forgiven by Jesus. He told her, “Your
faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Quite a contrast to the equally sinful woman Jesus met at the well of Sychar, in
Samaria.

In the presence of the same Jesus, she was, at first, standoffish. 

John 4:4 seems to indicate that Jesus took the highly unusual route from Judaea to
Galilee through Samaria just for her, but you couldn’t tell it by her response.
“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
(John 4:9).

Then she actually got argumentative with Jesus about what true worship looked like and
where it was supposed to happen.

For reasons unknown to the reader, in the presence of the same Jesus as the woman at
Simon’s house, a totally different approach would be needed to bring this Samaritan
woman to repentance…all of which points out our complete dependence on the Holy
Spirit in being used by God to bring the lost to repentance.

It is not one size fits all.

“Go get your husband,” Jesus instructed the Samaritan woman.

He knew exactly what He was doing and where her answer would lead.

“I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

This sinner was going to require a between-the-eyes word of knowledge to crack the
hard shell of resistance, shame and denial.

“You are right. You’ve had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man
you’re living with now,” (John 4:18).

And that did it.

That hard word broke through the hard veneer and opened this woman up for eventual
repentance and an instant transformation, from a serial adulterer to an evangelist.

“Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did,” (John 4:29).

What a lesson for us… to be dependent on the Holy Spirit every day of our lives, in all of
our dealings with the people around us who need Jesus.

Some will only require an encounter with His presence and they will fall, repentant, at
His feet in worship.

Others will require a between-the-eyes word of knowledge to expose their hypocrisy
and to open their hearts to repentance.

And we will only know which is which through the leading of the Holy Spirit within.