Do you see the people around you like Jesus does? Or is a certain type of person you might look at with disdain? Who do you see as appalling, or as an annoyance? Is it possible that she looks like a sinner to you, but Jesus calls her forgiven?
Erica Wiggenhorn is with me to discuss the story of Simon and the sinful woman in Luke 7. The woman is letting down her hair, and making a scandalous scene at Jesus’s feet. Simon thought of her as “that sort”, but Jesus saw her as a woman with an eternal soul, who desperately needed forgiveness and saving. I’m going to invite you to live like this story is true.
Guest: Erica Wiggenhorn
Bible Passage: Luke 7:36-50
Freebie: Live Like It’s True Workbook
Mentioned Resources:
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- Unexplainable Jesus: Rediscovering the God You Thought You Knew by Erica Wiggenhorn
- Letting God Be Enough by Erica Wiggenhorn
- Full Interview with Bryan VanHaitsma on Irony in the Bible.
- Comparison Girl: Lessons from Jesus on Me-Free Living in a Measure-Up World
- Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth Bailey
- The Context and Color of the Bible Podcast with Erika VanHaitsma
Music: Cade Popkin Music
Erica Wiggenhorn
Erica is a speaker, Bible teacher, and the award winning author of the Unexplainable Bible study series with Moody Publishers. She lives in Phoenix with her best friend and husband, Jonathan, and their four kids—two of which are human. (The others are furry and adorable.)
Erica loves to bring the truth of God’s Word to anyone who will listen, whether at a large women’s conference, a church women’s retreat, or her own kitchen table.
Find Erica on:
The True Story at Simon’s Table
This true story is found in Luke 7:36-50 in your Bible. It’s an absolutely astonishing story in so many ways.
- It’s astonishing that this woman falls at Jesus’s feet with reckless abandon, and is willing to be utterly humiliated and “make a scene” to honor him.
- It’s astonishing that Jesus doesn’t push her away, but rather uses her as the positive example.
- It’s also astonishing that Jesus turns Simon’s eyes to look at this scandalous scene.
- It’s amazing that Jesus tells her, “Go in peace.”
Since Simon was looking at the woman with condescending disdain, it’s clear that the true story unfolding at Simon’s table is quite different than the one Simon perceived. Could the same be true of a table or a scene in your life?
Irony in the Bible
I talked with Bryan VanHaitsma about humor, satire, and irony in the Bible. Come listen to the whole conversation on my youtube channel. But most of all, come approach this story—and share it—with your “irony glasses” on. Irony (as you heard me say on the podcast), is the key that unlocks the meaning of Jesus’s words in this story.
Bryan is married to Erika Vanhaitsma (not to be confused with Erica Wiggenhorn!) who serves as my ministry assistant. (Stay tuned – I’ll have her as a guest on the show at some point!). Bryan and Erika both studied at the Jerusalem University College and have a passion for helping us understand the culture and context of the Bible. Check out Erika’s podcast, “Context and Color of the Bible“.
LIVE the Story
How can we live like this story is true? Here are several ways:
- Jesus receives sinful women, who cost him a lot. Women like the one in the story; women like me.
- Who will I worry about pleasing today? Whose expectations will I try to meet? Will I concern myself with the eyes of other people? Or—like the woman—will I simply concern myself with the eyes of Jesus?
- After crying her tears and pouring her perfume at Jesus’s feet, the woman heard Jesus say, “Go in peace.” How unfitting it would be for her to go and start obsessing over what others thought of her, right? It would be unfitting for her, and unfitting for me.
- Jesus asked Simon, “Do you see this woman?” Simon saw her as an annoyance. He looked at her with disdain. Living like this story is true is looking at “that sort” and saying, “Jesus loves her and died for her.” It’s seeing her as someone who was created with an eternal soul, and will either spend eternity with Jesus in peace, or eternity apart from him in hell.
