Jesus and His disciples had been invited to a dinner with a religious leader (Matthew 26:6-13).  We do not know the Pharisee’s motivation, whether he wanted to patronise the travelling preacher, or to get a more personal insight into Jesus.  After the meal had started, an uninvited woman came in and stood behind Jesus.  The woman was known for her immoral reputation.  So, when she arrived at a smart dinner party, without an invitation, it caused quite a stir.  Jesus and the other guests would have been reclining on low couches with their feet stretched out away from the central table.

Socially respectable religious people would never have come near her in the streets and marketplaces, they would not want to know her.  But she believed that Jesus was different.  Perhaps she had heard about Matthew’s (Levi’s) dinner for Jesus where he welcomed immoral and corrupt people (Luke 5:29-30).   She wanted to know Him but would He accept her?  Standing behind Jesus, this weeping woman's tears splashed onto His feet, which she dried with her un-braided hair before breaking open a vial of expensive perfume and pouring it on Jesus' feet.

The questions everybody was asking were, ‘Why did she come … why was she weeping … why did she get so close to Jesus … why the perfume … and most significantly, why did Jesus not reject her?’ (Luke 5:31-32). The rest of the narrative will unfold over the next few Word@Work messages, but by this stage in the story all we know is that she came because she wanted to come, she wept because she could not help it; and we know that Jesus did not reject her at all (Luke 19:10).

Jesus never rejects anybody who comes honestly grieving over their sin (Psalm 51:1-12).  They come believing that Jesus will be merciful to them: they find His mercy and grace and love in abundance. Yet daring to come to Jesus, honestly admitting our catalogue of sin, is often the most difficult first step; wondering if it will repel the Saviour of the world.   The answer is simple: Jesus welcomes sinners because He came to accept their punishment, clean their conscience and welcome them as children of God.  2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  See www.crosscheck.org.uk to know more.  That is why we can confidently tell our family, friends and colleagues that Jesus is waiting for everybody who knows they cannot escape from their own mess.