MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
9/2/2026 8:51 AM
My
Worship Time Focus: “The Sinful Woman”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke
7:37-38
Message of the verses: “And there was a woman in the city who
was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the
Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind
Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept
wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them
with perfume.”
MacArthur begins his commentary on this section by
writing “The Greek text of verse 37 literally reads, ‘and behold’ (kai idou),
emphasizing that a startling, shocking thing was about to happen. What was shocking was that this woman
was well-known in the city as a sinner, a term for the most
despised people of society (cf. Prov. 11:31; Matt. 9:10-13; Luke 19:7).”
(cf. Prov. 11:31; Matt. 9:10-13; Luke
19:7)
“31 ¶ If the righteous is repaid on earth, how much
more the wicked and the sinner!”
“10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house,,
behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and
his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees
saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax
collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he
heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but
those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what
this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners.’’
“7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He
has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’”
“In all
likelihood, she was a prostitute, a professional adulteress; immoral, impure,
and living a flagrantly sinful life at a public level. There is no reason to identify her, as some
do, with Mary Magdalene. Mary is
introduced just a few verses away (8:2) as if for the first time; if she were
this sinful woman, Luke would have named her here, not later.”
(8:2) (Luke)
“2 and also some women who had been healed of
evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons
had gone out,”
“Having learned that Jesus was
reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, and knowing that the doors
could be left open, the woman went there with a specific plan in mind. She brought with her an alabaster
vial of perfume. Not only was perfume
part of the trade of being a prostitute, it was also widely used by women
in general. That the vial in which the perfume
was stored was made from alabaster, an expensive kind of marble
quarried in Egypt, indicates that the perfume was valuable. The woman intended to anoint Jesus’ head with
the perfume, instead of the more common and less expensive olive oil
normally used for such purposes (cf. v. 46; Pss. 23:5; 133:2; 141:5; Ecc. 9:8)
(cf. v. 46; Pss. 23:5; 133:2; 141:5;
Ecc. 9:8)
“46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she
has anointed my feet with ointment.”
“5 You prepare a table before me in the presence
of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
“2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of
his robes!”
“5 ¶ Let a righteous man strike me— it is a
kindness; let him rebuke me— it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.
Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.”
“8 Let your garments be always white. Let not
oil be lacking on your head.”
“Waiting
for her opportunity, she took up a position standing behind Jesus at
His feet. She evidently was not
immediately recognized by the other people there; certainly the Pharisee would
have been outraged that she defiled the purity of his house and would have
ordered her to leave. It may be that the
banquet took place in the evening, and the dim light from the candles and lamps
masked her identity.
“Now as she stood silently wondering
how she was going to get to where she could anoint Jesus’ head, the woman was
suddenly overcome with emotion and began weeping. Because of where she was standing, she
began to wet His feet with her tears. Brecjp
(wet) literally means, ‘to rain’ (Matt. 5:45; Luke 17:29; James
5:17; Rev. 11:6).
(Matt. 5:45; Luke 17:29; James 5:17;
Rev. 11:6)
“45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is
in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends
rain on the just and on the unjust.”
“29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom,
fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—”
“17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and
he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months
it did not rain on the earth.’
“6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no
rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over
the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of
plague, as often as they desire.”
“The
emotional dam had burst, and her tears flooded down on the feet of Jesus in a
gentle rain.
“Bent over as she wept, the woman
noticed that the host had neglected to provide for Jesus’ feet to be washed (v.
44), so she kept wiping them with the hair of her head. In that culture,
washing the feet of another person was considered degrading, something done by
only the lowliest slaves (cf. John 1:27.”
(cf. John 1:27)
27 even he who comes after me, the strap of
whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.’”
“But what
would have shocked the onlookers even more than the woman’s washing of Jesus’
feet was her letting down her hair. For
a Jewish woman to do so in public was considered indecent, even immoral. But overwhelmed with emotion, she was not
concerned with the shame she might face.
“After finishing washing them, the
woman began kissing Jesus’ feet. Katophileo (kissing) is
an intense word. In Luke 5:20 it
describes the father’s kissing of the prodigal son on his return home. Luke used it in Acts 20:37 to describe how
the elders of the church at Ephesus kissed Paul when he took his leave of
them. The woman’s kissing of Jesus’ feet
was a striking expression of affection.
Then, unwilling or unable to wait any longer, she did what she had come
to do and anointed the Lord’s feet with the perfume. This was a staggering display of honor
rendered to Jesus in the midst of those who sought only to dishonor Him.”
Spiritual
Meaning for my life today: What this woman did took a lot of courage,
and this shows that it does take courage to live the Christian life, as doing
things like she did proved her love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: To
have the courage to live for the Lord even when it is most difficult to do so.
9/2/2026
9:43 AM
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