Scripture to Read: Luke 7:39
Jesus already knew the heart of the woman who was washing His feet with her tears and anointing His feet with the sweet perfume. But Jesus also knew the true heart of the Pharisee, as God had Luke record the following in Luke 7:39, “Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.’” The Pharisee reveals his judgmental heart very quickly. Remember, as we read in the Devotion on Day 1, that Jesus called them “whitewashed tombs” in Matthew 23:27, referring to the fact that their spirit was dead due to their sins and trespasses. The Pharisee was not compassionate, showed zero kindness for the woman, and even judged our Lord Jesus Christ as being inadequate, uninformed, and definitely not a prophet. Here is where we all must be very careful. First impressions can be incredibly misleading and deceive us into thinking things that are just plain false. If our hearts are not guarded, we can become judgmental, unkind, uncompassionate, and just plain hard-hearted based on our own preconceived ideas. Notice that the Pharisee is quick to call the woman a “sinner,” but he had no clue he was just as much a sinner as she was. The problem with the Pharisee is that he based his goodness and righteousness on his own merits, thinking he was much better than she was in God’s eyes. The Pharisee was dead wrong.
Challenge & Application
Why is it important to never judge people on a first impression, and what are the possible consequences when we do?
What can we do to help discover the true heart of a person and see them as our Lord sees them?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!