🖌️🎨 The Woman Who Washed Christ's Feet

 🖌️🎨 The Woman Who Washed Christ's Feet

☦️ On Holy Wednesday, the Church remembers the woman, the harlot, who washed Christ's feet, and His disciple, Judas, who betrayed the Teacher.

One of the twelve apostles of Christ, who spent three and a half years with Him, who saw all His miracles, heard all His teachings, who kept the common cashbox and stole money from this cashbox every day, and for the sake of money he betrayed Christ. His name was Judas Iscariot.

He made the decision to betray the Savior precisely today, Wednesday, during a common dinner that a rich man named Simon, sick with leprosy, arranged for Jesus and his disciples.

During the dinner, a woman knocked on the door of the house. They let her in. In her hands was a vessel with precious oil. Its value was estimated at 300 denarii. Today it is difficult to determine this amount in our measurement, but we know that 1 denarius during the earthly life of Jesus Christ was equal to a day's wages for a laborer. That is, that vessel with myrrh cost approximately a year's wages for a worker at a construction site or in the field today. We can say that it is from 15,000 to 30,000 dollars, depending on the country.

The woman did something that is not very clear to us today, but two thousand years ago this ritual was widespread in the East. She poured out precious fragrant myrrh on the head of Jesus Christ. In those days, it was a sign of respect, honor, and God's chosenness.

📜“When His disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying, “Why is this waste? For this myrrh might have been sold for a large price and given to the poor.” But Jesus, when he realized this, said to them, “Why trouble the woman? she has done a good work for me: for you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has prepared me for burial. Verily I say to you, Wherever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, this which she has done shall also be told in memory of her.

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, What will you give me, and I will deliver him up to you? And they offered him thirty pieces of silver; and from that time on he sought an opportunity to betray him” (Matthew 26:8-16).

📜“And one of the Pharisees besought him to eat with him.

And he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.

And behold, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house,

brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and to wipe them with the hairs of her head, and to kiss his feet, and to anoint them with the ointment.

The Pharisee who had called him, when he saw it, said within himself, If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what manner of woman this is which toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

Jesus answered him,

Simon, I have something to say unto thee.

And he said, Master, speak.

There was a certain creditor, who had two debtors: the one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both.

Tell me therefore, which of them will love him more?

Simon answered and said,

I suppose the one to whom he forgave most.

And he said to him,

You have judged rightly.

And he turned to the woman and said to Simon,

Do you see this woman?

When I came into your house, you gave me no water for my feet; but she washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head.

You gave me no kiss; but this woman, from the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet.

You did not anoint my head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment.

Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.

And he said to her,

Your sins are forgiven.

And they who sat at meat with him began to say within themselves,

Who is this, that he also forgives sins?

And he said to the woman,

Your faith has made you well; go in peace." (New Testament, Luke VII, 36-50)

🙏Take care of your soul, to be, and not to seem...

Sources: musee-virtuel-vin.fr; pinterest.