“If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” —Luke 7:39
Simon’s assessment of the situation is doubly condescending. The weeping woman, clearly, is socially and morally beneath him and the response (or non-response) of his honored guest, a supposed holy man, has him wondering if he’s made a mistake with the party guest list. Prophets don’t hang out with prostitutes, much less, let them touch them!
Or do they?
An important pre-cursor to this story in Luke—the story of Jesus’ anointing by a “sinful” woman, is another more ancient tale—one that was familiar to many in Jesus’ day, and should have been familiar to Simon, a Pharisee, someone who claimed to be a teacher of the Law.
It’s a strange story, especially to contemporary ears, but was probably no less strange to the prophet who received specific instructions from God to get married and, even more surprisingly, to whom. Hosea is commanded to “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her…” (Hosea 1:2) So, Hosea, roughly seven-hundred years before Jesus’ birth, does as he is commanded; he marries Gomer and becomes a father to three children.
The details of the marriage are scant. Perhaps the young family faced financial challenges. Perhaps Hosea was an absent husband and father. But, apparently, there is an act of infidelity, a tangible breach of trust and failure to uphold the vows of marriage. Gomer moves out and moves in with someone else.
But God instructs Hosea to be reconciled to his wife. “The Lord said to me,” Hosea recounts, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress” (Hosea 3:1).
Hosea’s scandalous marriage served as vivid object lesson to God’s people, who collectively, had broken the promises they had made —“We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey,” they had sworn at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 24:7). But things have not worked out has intended; the land is full of idolatry, violence, and injustice. The people have wandered. Yet, God continues to long for them.
So God sends Hosea with a message that very much sounds like one from a wounded lover. There is anger. There are warnings. But most importantly, there are invitations to return and be reconciled. Hosea’s message, from a faithful God to an unfaithful people, is ultimately one of mercy and compassion—“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them…” God promises (Hosea 14:4). Speaking of Israel, God resolves, “I will answer him and care for him” (Hosea 14:8).
Although he is a religious teacher, Simon has a bit of spiritual amnesia when it comes to this story and its message. Or perhaps, due to his many individual acts of piety and professional accomplishments, he just doesn’t connect to the collective foibles and failures of his people. They may have some serious problems, but not him. Simon fails to realize that, as Kierkegaard eventually puts it, “in relation to God we are always in the wrong.”
So when Jesus enters into his home, Simon fails to appreciate that this prophet is doing what many prophets of old have often done—visit those who are weak, unfaithful, and lost with a message of mercy from God.
He doesn’t recognize who Jesus is, but she does.
The tears of the unnamed woman at Jesus’ feet are those of deep gratitude. Despite her personal failures and the long history of unfaithfulness of her people, God hasn’t given up on them. God continues to send prophets. God continues to come after them. And she apparently understands what lies ahead for this man of God, as indicated by her lavish gesture of perfumed footwashing. Jesus, unlike so many others, will be faithful to God and the message and mission of reconciliation entrusted to him to the very end—unto death.
Zane Yi teaches courses in philosophy and theology at Loma Linda University.