Extravagant Worship
"When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "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."
Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.
"Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little."
Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." (Luke 7:36-50 NIV)
When people hear the phrase "extravagant worship," their mind probably goes to large churches with professional worship teams. They might picture awesome music, professional videos, a worship dance team, etc. While these things are good tools that we utilize in our worship of Jesus, they are just that, tools. Extravagant worship is a heart sold out and humbled before God.
When we look at the above Scripture passage, we see a woman humbled by her sin. In the presence of Jesus, she realizes that He is the only one who can save her and deliver her into new life. We see a heart devoted to Jesus alone.
I think we can all agree that washing someone's feet, can be a very humbling experience. The woman mentioned above not only washed Jesus feet, but washed them with her hair and expensive perfume! Benson's commentary suggests that this woman was aware that Jesus' feet had not been washed and head anointed when entering the house of the Pharisee. Benson believes that she came with the perfume to correct this social oversight. Then, after hearing Jesus' discourse at the meal, could only weep for the forgiveness she had found.
This is what I believe our worship should look like. We should be humbled in heart and mind at the feet of Jesus; We should weep and sing for the forgiveness that we have found; we should daily give ourselves to Jesus as our spiritual sacrifice; and, as the woman gave her priceless jar of perfume to anoint Jesus, we should give what costs us most to Jesus.
One last thought: Is there something in your life that is priceless to you that you have not given over completely to Christ?
Posted 30th June 2021 by Classis de las Naciones, Written by Melody Farrand
