Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-17; John 4:46-54;
Matthew 11:2-19; Luke 7:18-50
Today we see some tremendous contrasts in attitudes toward Jesus. First we have the Roman centurion who asks Jesus to heal his servant but who says, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof…” (Mt. 8.8) At the end of our reading we have Simon the Pharisee and his uninvited guest, the woman who anoints Jesus’ feet. Simon invites Jesus in for dinner, fully confident that he is indeed worthy to have Jesus come under his roof — so confident that he fails to perform the customary acts of welcoming. (Luke 7:44-46) Further, Simon believes himself to be far more worthy of Jesus’ attention than the “woman of ill-repute”, who (in his opinion) should not be there at all. The woman, in an audacious act of abject humility washes Jesus’ feet with her own tears.
The centurion counts it a privilege to have Jesus in the neighborhood. Simon believes himself to be granting Jesus the privilege of eating with him. The woman grabs hold of the privilege of approaching Jesus and overflows with love and gratitude.
So how do we approach Jesus? Are we like the centurion or the woman, acknowledging our own unworthiness but coming to Jesus anyway, knowing He is our only hope? Or are we like Simon, granting Jesus a little time in our busy schedules, thinking we’re doing Him a favor? Do we think we have it all together, with no need of Jesus at all? Or do we perhaps think we have it mostly together, acknowledging that a little boost from Jesus could be helpful now and then, but that’s all we need?
I’m guessing that most of us think of ourselves more like the centurion or the woman than like Simon. But are we? Really?
See also:
From my own standpoint, this is an area of my journey that I can always do better. There is always room for growth. The hard part is recognizing where I’m at and that I do need to do better! Thanks for asking that hard question, John.
Had I been living back then, would I have invited Jesus into my home? Probably not. I’ve already stated (in past year posts and comments) that I tend to be somewhat conservative, mostly traditional in my church denominational leanings. I’d have probably been a Pharisee or a Scribe back then – fairly suspicious of this new guy teaching strange philosophies. I’d have probably been somewhere in the crowds – a listener, but not a follower.
On the woman-centurion-Simon scale, I’d probably have been somewhere between the centurion and Simon – not really willing to commit.
If He had invited me, “Come, follow me”, I’d have probably thanked Him and moved on. Would He have eventually won me? I hope so. I can certainly say that in this life, He did! And I am forever grateful!!