By Bob and Rose Weiner
3/90
As she walked along the dusty road to the market place, her eyes were fixed at the powdery soil which clung to her sandaled feet.
She scarcely noticed those bustling around her as they hurried to their respective duties. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she recalled his words. Could it really be true? Her heart burned within her. Dare she hope? Perhaps she wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes.
She was visiting in a neighboring city, when she noticed
a crowd of people gathered near the temple. Drawing
near to see what was happening, she saw him standing
there in the center of a group of men who appeared
by their dress to be religious leaders. A woman was
standing in the middle of the circle with downcast
face, staring at the ground.
With an air of self-righteousness that betrayed their
sincerity, even to an unlearned bystander, they questioned
him. "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very
act of adultery. Moses' law says to kill her. What
do you say we should do?"
Kneeling down, he began writing in the sand with his
finger, acting as though he did not hear their question.
The men around him were persistent. They demanded that
he answer.
As she continued to watch what was transpiring, the
teacher stood up. It was then that she got the first
glimpse of his face. There was a holiness about his
countenance that she had never seen in any other man.
As he fastened his gaze upon those questioning him,
his eyes seemed to penetrate right through their soul.
What was he going to say? What would he do?
"Let the man who is without sin among you be the
first one to throw the stone at her," he responded
and knelt down again to write in the sand.
Suddenly the crowd grew silent as his words seemed to
resound through the air. The men stood motionless for
a moment. A strain appeared on some faces while others
turned pale as they grappled with their conscience.
Slowly one by one, beginning with the eldest man present,
the men dropped their stones and quietly walked away.
When the teacher stood up, he saw that the woman remained
alone standing before him. In a gentle and tender voice
he said, "Woman, where are your accusers? - Has
no man condemned you?"
Apprehensively the woman answered, still not knowing
what his verdict would be, "No one, Lord."
Unhesitantly, the teacher replied, "I do not condemn
you either. Go on your way, and from now on, do not
sin."
Then he turned to the crowd and said, "I am the
Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be
walking in the dark, but will have the light of life."
Watching the scene in utter amazement she had asked
the woman standing next to her who this man was. "Why,
haven't you heard? This man is Jesus. Some say he is
a prophet. Others think he is the Messiah, the one
whom all the prophets spoke about who would be the
Savior of the world!"
All that had all happened a few months ago, and since
she had returned home she had not been able to get
this man Jesus out of her mind. Never had she seen
such a one in whom absolute mercy and absolute truth
so resided. She did not know then that she had encountered
a love that was destined to break her heart.
After learning that Jesus had come to Bethany and was
teaching the people she had made her way through the
crowds to get one more glimpse of him. She had stayed
and listened to his teaching throughout the morning.
Her heart had been greatly stirred.
The crowds broke up and she had begun walking home.
It was then that she became possessed by a thought
that she could not shake. Perhaps he would extend
the same mercy to her as he had to the woman she had
seen in Jerusalem months earlier.
Hadn't she heard that when John the Baptist first saw
him, he prophesied, "Behold, the Lamb of God who
takes away the sins of the world!" A Psalm of
David she had learned as a child began to flood her
memory. As she recalled it, a new understanding broke
upon her soul:
"My eyes are ever looking to the Lord for help,
for he alone can rescue me. Come, Lord, and show me
your mercy, for I am helpless, overwhelmed, in deep
distress; my problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save
me from them all! See my sorrow; feel my pain; forgive
my sins."1
If only he would say the word, she knew her sins would
be forgiven. But where was he now? She must find him
and seek for this forgiveness.
Overhearing that he was eating lunch at the home of
Simon the Pharisee, one of the religious leaders, her
burning heart devised a plan. Gathering together her
harlot wages, she headed toward the market place.
Quietly she entered the shop selling the most exotic
oils and perfumes. Counting out her last cent, she
chose the most expensive perfume in the shop. The money
she used she had sold her body to earn - money that,
through His grace, she never intended to obtain in
such a manner again. She was ashamed to use it, but
it was all that she had.
She left the shop, took a deep breath and began to walk
quickly toward Simon's house. Were not these the same
kind of men that wanted to kill women like her? What
would they do when they saw her? What would be her
fate? How could she go in uninvited?
Pushing all her fears aside, she felt she must see Jesus,
even if it was the last thing she ever did. She knew
she was unworthy to speak to him face to face. Agonizing
over just how to approach him, she somewhere in that
long walk from the market place decided what she must
do. She would enter quickly before anyone realized
she was there and throw herself at Jesus' feet and
beg for mercy.
Her walk broke into an uncontrollable run as she burst
into Simon's house. Quickly surveying the crowd she
suddenly saw him sitting at the table next to Simon.
At that moment he looked up. Their eyes met and for
a moment time stood still.
Everything around her began to fade as those eyes pierced
her soul. Oh the agony and the ecstasy! Tears began
to well up in her eyes and roll down her cheeks as
she saw herself in the light of One who was so altogether
Holy. She longed for his forgiveness. And at the same
time it seemed that waves of love and power began to
roll across her soul. "Surely this is the Messiah!"
she thought.
In total abandonment, she ran and flung herself at Jesus
feet. As she knelt behind him weeping, she began to
wet His feet with her tears. Wiping His feet with her
hair, she began kissing His feet and anointing them
with the costly vial of perfume.
When the Pharisee, Simon, who had invited Him saw this
he said to himself, "Now I know that Jesus is
not a prophet because if he were, he would know what
kind of woman this is who is touching him. He would
know that she is immoral."
But Jesus read his thoughts and he answered him: "Simon,
a man lent money to two people - $5,000 to one and
$500 to the other. But neither of them could pay him
back, so he kindly forgave them both, letting them
keep the money. Which one of them do you suppose loved
him the most?"
"I suppose the one who owed him the most,"
Simon answered.
"You are correct," Jesus agreed.
"Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,
"Look! See this woman kneeling here! When I entered
your home, you didn't bother to offer me water to wash
the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with
her tears and wiped them with her hair.
"You refused me the customary kiss of greeting,
but she has kissed my feet again and again from the
time I first came in. You neglected the usual courtesy
of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has covered
my feet with rare perfume. Therefore her sins - and
they are many - are forgiven, for she loved me much;
but one who is forgiven little, shows little love."
Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
The men at the table said to themselves, "Who does
this man think he is going around forgiving sins?"
Looking again upon her with that penetrating gaze, Jesus
said to her,"Your faith has saved you; go in peace."2
The God of Israel whom Simon claimed to worship and
serve was seated right next to him at the table and
he did not know it! He and his other religious friends
sat in judgment of Jesus. Why was it that this immoral
woman was able to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and
Simon and the other Pharisees, men well versed in the
Holy Scriptures who had served God faithfully for years
were unable to recognize Him?
Jesus undoubtedly believed that Simon's problem stemmed
from a lack of repentance. Simon was in just as much
need of repentance as the woman. But he trusted in
himself - that he was righteous - and viewed others
with contempt. He relied on his works for justification
rather than God's mercy. Therefore, Simon had repented
of very little. He sought no mercy - being blind to
his own sin - he therefore had no mercy to give.
But the woman saw her desperate need. She had no works
to offer. Nothing to present as a reason why God should
forgive her except a deep sorrow over wrong doing and
an overwhelming desire for God's mercy. She therefore
repented of much. She was forgiven of much. She loved
much.
Much repentance - much forgiveness. A little repentance
- a little forgiveness. Much repentance - a soft heart
which is responsive to His presence. A little repentance
- a hard and calloused heart which is unresponsive
and unmoved by His presence.
Luke, one of Jesus' disciples, explains why the Pharisees
were totally insensitive to Jesus and wound up fighting
against God: "The Pharisees and the lawyers rejected
God's purpose for themselves, not having been baptized
by John."3
Did God have a purpose for the Pharisees? From this
passage we have to conclude that He did. What was it
about John's baptism that was so important that the
Pharisees missed God's purposes because they had refused
to receive it?
The Bible teaches that John was sent to prepare the
way for the Messiah, to make ready a people who were
prepared to receive the Lord. Luke states that John
came preparing the way, "preaching a baptism of
repentance for forgiveness of sins."4
To receive John's baptism, these teachers of the Word
of God and the Law of Moses were required to humble
themselves, admit that they were sinners in need of
forgiveness, and receive water baptism, just as the
common Israelite and the Roman soldiers were doing.
John taught that this change of heart, this repentance,
would be seen in changes of behavior such as sharing,
thankfulness, and honesty.
Since the Pharisees claimed to keep the law of Moses
faithfully, as well as adhere to the tradition of the
elders, they saw and felt no need for this repentance
that John preached. After all - they were teachers
of the law, instructors of the Israelite people. To
accept any religious instruction from this wild eyed
prophet who had grown up in the wilderness and had
not sat under the elders teaching was a humiliation
they were not ready to undergo.
Deliverance from a Pharisaical spirit
Ultimately, the Pharisees refused John's baptism, rejected
Jesus and the new move of God that was sent among them
and thought that they were doing God a service. John's
baptism seemed to be an insignificant act of being
doused in the dirty waters of the Jordan - but the
rejection of that act of repentance was tragic beyond
the telling.
Later, Jesus expressed God's grief over the whole stiff-necked
attitude. Weeping over Jerusalem he lamented: "O,
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones
those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather
your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings, and you were unwilling."5
A prepared heart is as imperative today for those who
would receive Jesus' baptism in the fires of revival
and awakening as it was for the Israelites of long
ago. Repentance was - at the time of Jesus - and still
is today - the key to being sensitive to God's Spirit
and His presence.
Repentance according to Webster's original definition
means: "Sorrow for anything done or said, the
pain or grief which a person experiences in consequence
of the injury produced by his own conduct, sorrow or
deep contrition for sin as an offence or dishonor to
God, a violation of his holy law, and the most base
ingratitude towards a Being of infinite benevolence.
This is called evangelical repentance and is accompanied
and followed by amendment of life."
Just as there is no state of soil more satisfying to
the gardener than soil which crumbles at his touch,
likewise there is no state of the heart more satisfying
to God than one which will break and crumble at His
touch. As the scriptures teach, "The sacrifice
acceptable to God is a broken spirit, a broken and
contrite heart; O God, thou wilt not despise."
No other substitute will do.
There are burdens that God wants to share with us; there
are secrets He would whisper, but these He only gives
to hearts that are tender and responsive.
The prophet Hosea reminds us to break up the fallow
ground of our heart: "It is time to seek the
Lord until he reign righteousness upon us." As
God said, "He will revive the spirit of the humble,
and revive the heart of the contrite."
Contrite, according to Webster, means bruised and broken
to pieces. When the words that God speaks affect us
in such a way that it breaks us to pieces, then we
are contrite.
Then we will have revival.
What is revival?
According to James Burns, in Revival, Their Laws and
Leaders, written in l909: "To the church, a revival
means humiliation, a bitter knowledge of unworthiness
and an open humiliating confession of sin on the part
of her ministers and people. It is not the easy and
glorious thing many think it to be, who imagine it
filled the pews and reinstated the church in power
and authority. It comes to scorch before it heals;
it comes to condemn ministers and people for their
unfaithful witness, for their selfish living, for their
neglect of the cross, and to call them to daily renunciation,
to an evangelical poverty and to a deep and daily consecration.
That is why a revival has ever been unpopular with
large numbers within the church. Because it says nothing
to them of power such as they have learned to love,
or of ease, or of success; it accuses them of sin;
it tells them they are dead; it calls them to awake
to renounce the world and to follow Christ."6
Frangipane writes in Holiness, Truth and the Presence
of God: "The Holy Spirit reveals our sinfulness,
not to condemn us, but to establish humility and deepen
the knowledge of our personal need for grace. It is
at this crossroad that both holy men and hypocrites
are bred. Those who become holy see their need and
fall prostrate before God for deliverance. Those who
become hypocrites are they who, in seeing their sin
excuse it and thus remain intact. Though all men must
eventually stand at this junction, few are they who
embrace the voice of truth; few are they indeed who
will walk humbly toward true holiness. Sanctification
starts not with rules, but with the forsaking of pride.
Purity begins with our determined refusal to hide form
the condition of our hearts. Out of self discovery
comes forth humility."7
To the casual observer, the Pharisees seemed to be the
most likely candidates in all of Israel to recognize
the new move of the Spirit of God and the Messiah who
was among them. They were the most well versed in the
Holy Scriptures, the Law and the Prophets. They fasted
twice a week and gave tithes of all. Jesus called them
white-washed sepulchres full of dead men's bones and
all uncleanness.
What was it they needed to repent of? If we can understand
what caused them to persecute the God whom they claimed
to serve when He walked among them, then perhaps we
can avoid the same mistakes they made. For it is possible
to have a broad grasp of the scriptures, to pray and
fast regularly, even cry out for revival, and still
be removed from God's purposes and persecute the move
of God's Spirit when it comes.
Hindrances to Revival
- Heart Attitudes
* The first major hindrances to revival are wrong and sinful heart attitudes. R. A. Torrey points out that among these are a selfish purpose in our prayers, sin in our heart and life, idols in the heart, an unforgiving spirit, and stinginess in giving.8
Our supreme motive in our prayers must be that God may
be glorified, not that our selfish desires may be gratified.
It is possible to be praying for a true revival and
at the same time pray that prayer from an entirely
selfish motive. For example, it is possible to be praying
for revival so that you might become the largest church
in your community and have enough money to finance
your projects.
Why should we pray for revival? - Because we can no
longer bear the thought that God should be so dishonored
in His Church by its low level of Christian living
- Because we can no longer bear the wickedness and
perversion of a sin-sick world nor bear to see His
Holy name blasphemed.
- Sin
* The second stumbling block that will desensitize you
to the Presence of God and disengage your discernment
of the move of God's spirit is sin in the heart and
life. As Isaiah said, "Behold, the Lord's hand
is not shortened, that it cannot save: neither his
ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities
have separated between you and your God, and your sins
have hid His face from you."9
What must be done? I must judge my sin. I must ask God
to search my heart and show me anything that displeases
Him. Wait silently for Him to show you and to search
you with His all seeing eyes. Then confess the sin
and ask God to cleanse, forgive and deliver you.
- Idolatry
* Another barrier to God's presence, one that snares
many Christians and ministers alike, is "idols
of the heart". Because we do not outwardly worship
idols today made of wood and stone and bow down before
images, this sin is not as easy to detect. Ezekiel
writes: "Then came certain of the elders of Israel
unto me, and sat before me. And the word of the Lord
came unto me, saying, 'Son of man, these men have set
up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling
block of their iniquity before their face: should I
be inquired of at all by them ... they are estranged
from Me through all their idols.'"10
What is an idol? Torrey writes, "An idol is anything
that a man puts before God." We can make an idol
of our wife, husband, or children. Many make idols
of social position. Torrey explains, "The temptation
to make an idol of our reputation is peculiarly real
with ministers of the Gospel. Many a man in the pulpit
today has sacrificed his real power for God by cultivating
an elaborate and highly polished rhetoric and oratorical
methods of delivery that awaken the admiration and
applause of shallow men and women, but rob him of real
power for God. Such men have made an idol of their
reputation."11 We must ask God to bring out that
idolatrous attitude, cast it down from its throne,
repent of it, and worship God alone.
- Unforgiveness
* Enmity in the heart towards another person makes it
impossible for God to hear our prayers. Power in prayer
can be hindered for not only days or months, but also
for years simply because of some bitterness toward
someone. Pray for God to cast out the bitterness. And
when you pray - forgive.
Proverbs teaches, "Whoso stoppeth his ears at the
cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall
not be heard."12 Simply said, if we stop our ears
from the cry of the poor when we are asked for help
then God will stop His ears when we cry to Him for
help.
- Religiosity
* Religious flesh may be most wiling and diligent in
God's service. It may devise all kinds of observances
for making worshiping God pleasing to the senses. Yet
all can be encased in man's will and man's efforts.
We must never forget that religion was flourishing
at the time when Jesus was on earth.
"This power of religious flesh," says Andrew
Murray, "is one of the great marks of the Old
Covenant religion; it misses the deep humility and
spirituality of the true worship of God - a heart and
life entirely dependent on Him."13
It is most especially seen in the religion of Cain.
Abel offered to God the prescribed sacrifice - the
sacrificial lamb. It was what God had asked for. Cain,
on the other hand, brought God the works of his hands
the fruit of his labor to offer unto God. God accepted
Abel's offering. But when God refused to accept Cain's
offering because it was not given from a heart of obedience
to God, but rather out of Cain's own work for God.
Cain was so enraged at God's preference of Abel's sacrifice
that he killed Abel.
It is impossible to obey God if sin in the heart and wrong motives are prohibiting us from hearing the voice of God and hiding his face from us. So it has ever been with the Pharisees. The flesh always persecutes the Spirit. Those who are in the flesh have a form of godliness but deny the very power thereof. Why? Because until the heart is repentant and cleansed of all the inward sin, the ways of God's spirit cannot be known.
As the Psalmist reminds us, only those who have clean
hands and a pure heart, who have not lifted up their
soul to vanity nor sworn deceitfully can ascend the
hill of the Lord or know God in His holy place. We
can rend our garments all day long, but until we rend
our hearts they will remain inflexible, hard, calloused
and unresponsive to the touch of the Gardener. If we
refuse the baptism of repentance, can we expect to
be anything else but a Pharisee?
In times past, the old move of God has always persecuted
the new move of God. It is possible to make the creed
of the old move of God our jailer, to venerate the
prophets of bygone eras in our hearts and instead of
moving on with God's spirit to light up the martyr
fires 'round the prophets of today.
For humanity sweeps onward:
Where today the martyr stands,
On the morrow crouches Judas with
the silver in his hands;
Far in front the cross stands ready
and the crackling fires burn,
While the hooting mob of yesterday
in silent awe return
To glean up the scattered ashes
into History's golden urn.
'Tis as easy to be heroes as to
sit the idle slaves
Of a legendary virtue carved upon
our father's graves,
Worshippers of light ancestral make
the present light a crime;
Was the Mayflower launched by cowards,
steered by men behind their time?
Turn those tracks toward Past or Future,
that make Plymouth Rock sublime?
New occasions teach new duties;
Time makes ancient good uncouth;
They must upward still, and onward,
who would keep abreast of Truth
Lo! Before us gleam her camp-fires!
We ourselves must Pilgrims be,
Launch our Mayflower, and steer boldly
through the desperate winter sea,
Nor attempt the Future's portal
with the Past's blood-rusted key.
The Present Crisis,
- James Russell Lowell
1. Psalms 25:15-18, Living Bible
2. Luke 7:24-30, Living Bible
3. Luke 9: 30 4. Luke 3:3 5. Matthew 23:37
6. Winkie Pratney, Revival, p. 22
7. Francis Frangipane, Holiness, Truth and the Presence
of God, P.O. Box 46, Marion Iowa , pp. 4-5
8. R. A. Torrey, "Prayer Barriers", Spirit
of Revival, Life Action Ministries, Buchanan MI, Jan.1990
9. Isa. 59:1,2 10. Ezk.14:1-5 11.Torrey, p.16 12. Prov.
21:13
13. Andrew Murray, The Two Covenants, Christian Literature
Crusade, p.40-41
