There is a story in the gospels which caught my attention recently. It’s the story of the woman who poured oil on Jesus' feet, found in Luke 7:36-50. Sometimes people confuse this story with the anointing of oil done by Mary, sister of Lazarus, shortly before Jesus' crucifixion, but most Bible scholars now believe these were two separate events.
The gospels tell us that a "sinful woman" comes into the house where Jesus had been invited to dine. Weeping, she falls at his feet. Using an expensive bottle of oil or perfume, she begins to pour it on His feet to cleanse Him, wiping His feet with her hair. The host of the dinner was a Pharisee, and he was appalled, stating to himself, If Jesus knew who she was, He would never allow her to take such liberties in touching Him! To the religious, she was unclean. Untouchable. Unwanted. Yet Jesus not only allowed her to draw near, He told her she was forgiven of her sins and could go in peace.
Clearly, given the reaction of the others at the dinner table, this was a woman of poor reputation. While we do not know what made her "sinful", it was obviously public enough people knew not only who she was but what she had done. Most interpreters assume she was a prostitute.
The fact the text notes she used an expensive bottle of oil is important. After all, where would a woman who worked as a prostitute get an expensive bottle of oil?
It is worth pausing to note that throughout history, rarely do women choose prostitution as a career. Rare is the person who as a child thinks, When I grow up, I'm going to work in the sex trade. Prostitution is extremely harsh - physically and emotionally - on those stuck in it. Prostitutes are continually at risk for not only sexually transmitted diseases, but also domestic violence, assault, rape, and psychological trauma. Homicide rates among prostitutes are also significantly higher than any other profession.
Research shows the grand majority of people involved in prostitution - both men and women - either went into prostitution through force or coercion, through being trafficked, or due to a childhood history of abuse. Oftentimes those working the streets are paying someone behind the curtain, a "john" or "employer", and do not even get to keep much of what they earn. Yet once a person starts down that path, or is pulled or dragged down it, it is incredibly difficult to leave*.
In a video training we offer at work, a woman who was sold for sex at the tender age of 16, notes that at that point she felt "no longer human". She was merely a commodity.
Prostitution is referred to as "the oldest profession in the world." It was certainly around in Jesus' time. Some were temple prostitutes in the temples of the Greek gods. It was believed you could draw closer to Zeus or Hermes or whoever if you had sex with one of the prostitutes in the temple. There were also prostitutes, mostly women, who were divorced or widowed or orphaned and had no other means of supporting themselves, and therefore ended up as prostitutes. It was perhaps for this reason, at least in part, that God stressed so many times in the Old Testament that the community was to care for orphans and widows - because these things made people, women and children especially, vulnerable to such abuses.
Back to the woman at Jesus' feet. I wonder if perhaps the oil she used was a tool of her trade. Something she would dab behind her ear or between her breasts as she waited her next client. Perhaps it was given to her by her "john" or by a client, or perhaps she had earned enough to purchase it on her own. I wonder if she didn't use it to draw in more clients and make more money. Maybe it was her “thing”. The thing that made her special or popular with those seeking that type of contact.
If that is the case, then the spilling of the oil onto Jesus’s skin is highly symbolic. One, because the act of prostitution is the act of offering one's body up as a sacrifice to the lusts of another. Similar to how Jesus would offer His body up for the sins of others.
The other significance, though, to consider, is this was her livelihood. This was the tool that made her successful at what she did. By pouring out the oil, and it sounds as though she used the whole jar, she was giving up her tool of the trade. It was more than merely an anointing. It was a surrendering. A giving up of her way of life and a commitment to do better.
What an amazing sacrifice! No man would marry a former prostitute, at least no good Jewish man (Hosea aside). There weren’t a lot of options for women to earn money lawfully. Hopefully she had some family to go to but if not, she was going to be on the street. But she was willing to give it all up, for Jesus.
Do you have things you need to give up for Jesus?
Are there tools of the trade for the sin you’ve been holding onto that you need to let go of? That you need to pour out on His feet?
God is faithful to forgive, but that does not mean we should stay in our sin.
I remember one time observing a little boy who was about four years old, and very, very jealous of his two-year-old sibling. Whenever he felt as though the two-year-old was getting more intention than he was, he’d go over and bonk his little brother on the head. Then his mother would make him sit in timeout, and he would sit his butt in the timeout chair for less than a minute, say "sorry", and then jump up and run back over. Apparently saying sorry was the magic word to get off the timeout chair. However, he clearly was not sorry because the next time he got jealous again he would once more bonk his brother on the head and the cycle would continue.
We do the same thing to God. We think if we say the magic words then we’re no longer in timeout and everything is okay. Even if we just keep doing the same thing, committing the same sin, over and over again.
We know it displeases God. We know it’s sin. We know it’s wrong. But we just can’t seem to help ourselves. And we think that by saying "sorry" or "forgive me" it's covered and we can keep on doing what we want to do.
Consider the words of Paul in Romans 6:1-2, 12, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ... Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires."
It’s time to let those things go. Anything that interferes with our relationship to God… We need to let it go. We need to pour it out on His feet.
Then, and only then, might we hear the words, “Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace.”
*Efforts to criminalize prostitution are equally as wrong as efforts to legalize prostitution. Those stuck in the sex trade need help to escape it – not prison time. Those responsible – the johns, the traffickers, and people making billions upon billions of dollars a year profiting off vulnerable people – they are the ones who should be prosecuted and locked behind bars.
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