02. Why Did Outsiders Want to Be Near Him?
Someone may have made you feel unwanted in God’s presence. But have you seen how Jesus treated the woman everyone else knew by her reputation?
In Luke 7:36-50, Jesus was eating in the home of a Pharisee named Simon.
A woman in that town learned He was there. Luke describes her as someone who had lived a sinful life. He does not give her name or explain her past.
She brought an alabaster jar of perfume.
Standing behind Jesus at His feet, she began to weep. Her tears wet His feet. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them.
Simon watched.
In his thoughts, he questioned whether Jesus could be a prophet. Surely, he reasoned, a prophet would know what kind of woman was touching Him.
That thought reveals something painful.
To Simon, her reputation was reason enough to question her presence near Jesus.
Perhaps you know what it feels like when people see your past before they see you.
They remember the addiction. The divorce. The failure. The years you wish you could undo.
You begin to wonder whether God sees you the same way.
Watch what Jesus does.
He does not pull away from her. He speaks to Simon.
Jesus tells a short story about two people who owe money. One owes a great deal; the other owes much less. Neither can repay the debt. Their creditor forgives them both.
Which one, Jesus asks, will love the creditor more?
Simon answers that it would be the one forgiven more.
Then Jesus directs Simon’s attention to the woman.
Simon had offered Him no water for His feet. She had wet His feet with tears and wiped them with her hair.
Simon had given Him no greeting kiss. She had continued kissing His feet.
Simon had not anointed His head with oil. She had poured perfume on His feet.
The woman Simon looked down upon had shown extraordinary love.
Jesus saw what Simon had overlooked.
He knew her sins were many. He also recognized her love and spoke forgiveness to her.
Her past was real. So was His mercy.
Then Jesus told her that her faith had saved her and sent her away in peace.
Think about that ending.
She came weeping.
She heard Jesus speak forgiveness.
She left with His words of peace.
What might happen if you let those words shape your understanding of Him?
Perhaps someone used religion to humiliate you. Perhaps your questions were unwelcome. Perhaps you admitted a struggle and discovered that people preferred keeping their distance.
That treatment matters. It can leave wounds that last for years.
But Luke’s account gives you an opportunity to encounter Jesus Himself.
Look at whom He allows near Him.
Look at how honestly He addresses sin.
Look at the mercy He extends to a woman whose reputation could have silenced every other conversation about her.
With Jesus, she could bring her whole, broken life into the open and receive forgiveness.
That helps explain why outsiders wanted to be near Him.
And it raises a question for you.
Have you stayed away because you expect rejection? Have you decided what Jesus thinks of you based on what someone else said or did?
You can begin discovering Him for yourself.
Read Luke 7:36-50 slowly. Notice what Simon thinks, what the woman does, and what Jesus says.
Then ask:
“Has someone else’s treatment of me shaped what I believe about Jesus?”
Your next step is simple: write down three things this story reveals about Jesus Himself.
You might begin with His willingness to receive this woman, His knowledge of her life, and His authority to forgive.
Then speak honestly to Him:
“Jesus, I have questions, and I have things I regret. Help me see who You really are. Help me trust You enough to come near.”
You do not have to hide your need from the One who can forgive you.
Want to go further?
All ten Zúme discipleship lessons are on my site, free, with the video and the same teaching notes I use when I train leaders in person. Take them on your own, take them with a few friends, or join me live on Zoom and I will teach them to you face to face. When you finish, tell me and I will coach you personally.
Terry Ruff
DMM Catalyst & Zúme Trainer | Missionary at Northside Christian Church
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