I've been reading in the New Testament book of Luke recently. I'm rereading many stories that have come to mean so much to me. One particular passage I read struck me on a deeper level than ever before. It is the story of the woman who came unto Christ, broken, ashamed. She had committed a grievous sin.
My new understanding of Jewish law helped me understand the significance of this story a little more than I did as a child. The woman came to Jesus. She came to him while He was in the presence of lawmakers and men of significance. They could have legally killed her. They probably would have too.
Except were it for our Savior, Jesus Christ. We all know the story. She collapsed before Him. Crying, a soul-shaken cry. She bathed His feet with her hair and tears. She kissed His feet. She begged Him to forgive her.
He did. Frankly, in fact.
His love and mercy were pure and obvious.
But what about her?
The day I reread those scriptures, she became a hero to me. I imagine the woman was stooped, withdrawn and defeated; an imperfect, obviously flawed woman. She stood taller than all of her accusers at that moment.
That day I saw her a little more like my Savior would see her as I considered the following:
She most likely entered that building hoping for grace but probably expecting death.
She stood before her accusers knowing perfectly well they hated her. As she stood there, they probably mocked and whispered back and forth, pointing and jeering. What mortification.
She came to the presence of our Lord's love having at least enough faith and courage to face the judges.
She was probably suffering under the crushing weight of her own guilty conscience yet possessed at least a little sense of her own divine worth.
Otherwise she would have given up and let them kill her.
But she didn't.
Her faith, however large or small it may have been, were met with the greatest of all rewards.
Forgiveness
She probably left His presence that day truly understanding repentance/forgiveness, justice/mercy better than many people in her time ever would.
2 comments:
I like that story too. What someone pointed out to me was that she was caught in the act of the sin, which probably means, one of her accusers was most likely the one who was "with" her, so to speak. The nerve. It totally points to the leaders of the day and their own self righteousness.
I appreciate your insight Trishelle.
Thank you!
We may not commit the same grievous sin, but aren't we all in need of the same grace for our own sins of choice? I have to remind myself that I not only believe in Christ, but I need to believe Christ!
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