Insightful Musings on theScriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Greetings, dear ones—on this Monday MEMORIAL DAY.
Thano and I just returned from a 3-hour tree job—removing a good size maple tree from a back yard of a residence—over a steep hill. I think we put on a pretty good show. One of the most difficult parts of the job was navigating the boom truck into position via a very tight access. After some lunch that Becki is fabricating, I’ll take him to another job—one of his own—processing firewood for a customer with his Super Splitter. His truck is still out of commission.
Becki approved sending this 2010 devotional. Hope you do too.
May the rest of your day go well.
Love, Dad/Ray.
The Bible constantly reveals the tension and contrast between two basic kinds of people. They are the enlightened and the unenlightened. We could also call them the spiritual and the natural. That contrast is shown here as well. The woman is spiritually enlightened in ways we are not clearly told and follows her urge to express her love, gratitude, and surrender by tears and sacrifice. The Pharisee, on the other hand, although he is a supposed “spiritual leader,” is really a natural man and “does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1Cor. 2:14). (See also Rom. 8:5-8.) He is, therefore, quite irritated with this whole display of this woman coming and carrying on the way she was. It seemed to him to be not only a foolish waste but also wrong. Nor do unregenerate people today understand or appreciate sincere believers getting so carried away with their faith, thanksgiving, and worship that they WEEP. They are very inclined to judge it all as so much emotional nonsense. A profound lesson is revealed in the fact that Jesus approves of the repentant weeping woman and reprimands the smug self-righteous Pharisee.
I observe that this woman is giving a kind of practical demonstration of Jesus’ teaching in the previous chapter—6:20-23. Check it out. There is indication there that WEEPING is a very proper and legitimate expression of worship, repentance, and love on the part of the spiritually enlightened. (See also Ps. 126:5-6; Jer. 9:1;14:17; 31:15-16; Acts 20:19,31; 2 Cor. 2:4.)
If this angle is valid, perhaps we would do well to ask ourselves a question something like this: “When is the last time I found myself WEEPING in the presence of Jesus?” Think about it.