xjwsforChrist

To the Household of God, Israel, and all those who go with, may you all have peace!

I have been trying to share this for three days now and am finally able to do so. Keep in mind, it's lengthy (which is why it's take 3 days), but you might find the information useful. With that said:

Very early Thursday morning, my dear Lord came to me and said I was to share the following with "the children of Israel." On several occasions you may have seen/heard me mention my Lord's directive regarding washing one another's feet. His words to that end are recorded at John 13:14-16:

"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him."

He said I was to share it the following because there are those who still don't understand what it is those who belong to HIM are to DO. For some reason, the PURPOSE of the directive is still being missed and so, to help those who may still need to SEE, I am to share the following, from Luke 7:36-50:

"When one of the Pharisees invited [Jesus] to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that [Jesus] was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

[Jesus] answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” [Jesus] said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven— as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

Then [Jesus] said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

[Jesus] said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”


The reason he has me share this particular account is due to the two (2) lessons contained therein:

1. The first lesson is with regard to WHY the woman HAD faith, and so had her MANY sins forgiven: her love. In the parable that our dear Lord shared with the Pharisee he illustrated how it is that those who consider themselves "better"... or, with "less" sin... than others... may not receive the same forgiveness. In the account, the one who was forgiven MORE... LOVED the one who forgave them MORE. Hence, the greater the debt forgiven, the greater the love. And the greater the love... the greater the (amount of) debt forgiven.

[In this case, the woman had MUCH greater debt to BE forgiven than the man. She was a woman "of the city" and he was a Pharisee. Her being "of the city" did not mean she LIVED in/was FROM the city (Jerusalem, about 2-3 miles away). She lived in the same house as Simon... because she was his sister. As I've shared with you before, the Pharisee was our dear Lord's disciple and Apostle, Lazarus... aka Simon, the Leper... aka Simon the Kanean (or "Zealot" and NOT Canaean, as if from Cana). His house was in Bethany, which was 2-3 miles from Jerusalem. The woman was Mary, from Magdela... or the "Magdalene", the sister of Simon Lazarus and Martha. Hence, she lived in Bethany (2-3 miles from Jerusalem) as well. She WORKED in the city as a woman "of the city." Or, as we might call it today, "lady/woman 'of the night'."

How do we know she lived in the house? We know because:

(a) She was allowed to be IN the house at the same time our dear Lord was visiting. Had she been some random woman from the city, Simon, a self-righteous Pharisee (based on what was IN him, which we can see by his thoughts as to the woman, etc.) who most probably believed himself as one who "kept the Law" wouldn't have allowed her IN his house, let alone near his table. where they were reclining. Indeed, given who his guest was (NOT that he had faith in Christ at the time, but because he was among those initially trying to find fault), he would have pulled out ALL stops to APPEAR to be keeping the Law, including not allowing "such a woman" into his home, let alone near his table.

(b) We have no indication that Simon asked her to leave, which he would have done, either personally or through a servant; and

(c) If she wasn't there as a member of his household, she was there as a guest... and if that's true, WHO'S guest would she, a woman "of the city", BEEN? Surely, the man Simon, a Pharisee would NOT have had such a woman in his house... UNLESS she was HIS guest (and I mean that in the Biblical sense)! He obviously knew "what kind" of woman she was. So, had HE had relations with her? Given the Pharisees position as to such women (sinners, deserving of stoning), it would be illogical to believe she was there "for" him.

But she was there... and she was not asked to leave. Hence, she was there because she COULD be there (and no one could ASK her to leave).

Do you SEE?

Some will say, wait, the account "says" that the woman learned Christ was eating at the Pharisee's house and as a result CAME there. But that's actually a mistransliteration of the account. First, the word "learned" is a mistransliteration of the Greek word epiginōskō. That word has several transliterations:



Unfortunately, those who transliterate(d) the word as "recognize, hearing of, perceive, find out, ascertain, understand," etc., were/are in error. They overlook(ed) the the first (and in this case, accurate) transliterations, "thoroughly acquainted with, know thoroughly, know accurately, know well." In this case, then, the woman didn't come to know or learn that our dear Lord was in Simon's house; she KNEW he was all along. Knew WELL... knew THOROUGHLY. Because... he was in HER house.

They also erroneously add the word "when" in order to further substantiate the error (i.e., "when she came to know/learn"). So that it will appear that she DIDN'T know, before someone told her. Why did they do this? Because if they can sell the mistransliteration ("WHEN the woman came to know") they can explain her presence: she found out Christ was in Simon's home and came there... because he was there. That's the only think that makes sense... to their way of thinking: such a "woman" would not have LIVED there. Oh, no, no way. Being of the Pharisaical... and thus, highly judgmental... ilk themselves, they cannot fathom any other possibly! Such a woman would NOT have LIVED with Simon, HE being a Pharisee! But remember, Simon was one of those called to be one of Christ's apostles! One of the twelve. A Pharisee among them! WHY?

Because of his love... which is WHY HE WAS CALLED! Simon Lazarus turned out to be the apostle our dear Lord had the MOST affection/love for. Why? Because of HIS (Simon's) love! For our dear Lord, yes, but also for his sister, Mary, a "woman of the city." Under the Law, Simon SHOULD have stoned her. But there are a couple of things to consider:

(a) Love covers a multitude of sins; and, as I've shared before

(b) This sister, Mary, is the one who took care of HIM (Simon, the Leper). For which he was hugely grateful. As a leper, no one (who observed the Law written on stone, at least) could get anywhere near HIM. He certainly couldn't enter into the Temple (area) and most likely his fellow Pharisees were shunning him. Yet, our dear Lord went to visit him. In his HOME. As he did the extortioner, Zacchaeus. And as he touched the woman with the flow of blood. And the dead. And did many other things that appeared to be violations of the Law. But our dear Lord SURPASSED the Law with his LOVE. And this Simon... the Leper and Zealot (Kanean), ddid, too: he showed the Law written on his HEART... by NOT shunning his sister, a woman of the city, who also showed her love and had not shunned HIM, a leper! She, though, went further with her love. And so...

2. The second lesson related to the underlying gist of this sharing and is as to WHY her sins WERE forgiven... in contrast to Simon being chastised. Read again, our dear Lord's words to Simon:

"I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet."

There are two (2) things to note HERE:

(a) Our dear Lord said to Simon, "I came into YOUR house." Simon, though, did not even give him water to wash (his own) feet, let alone wash them FOR our dear Lord. The woman, however, DID wash his feet, albeit with her tears. If Simon was chastised for NOT doing so IN HIS HOME, we can also KNOW that the reason this woman DID do so... because SHE WAS IN HER (own) HOME. She SHOWED HOSPITALITY to our dear Lord... when he was IN HER HOME! Which was a requirement under the Law. Again, she went above and beyond, but she DID it.

And she did so... because of her FAITH, which ALLOWED her to love our dear Lord! But how did our dear Lord KNOW she had faith? Because... she WASHED HIS FEET. He was in HER house... and so she did what she was supposed to do. Her brother, Simon, on the other hand, was so preoccupied (and marveled) with our dear Lord NOT judging and condemning her... that he forgot hospitality. FORGOT hospitality... the SON OF GOD, the HOLY One of Israel and Holy Spirit, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One of JAH (MischaJAH)!

So, what does this all mean for US? This:

"To the extent you did it to the least ones of these my BROTHERS... YOU DID IT TO ME."

If we persecute one of Christ's brothers, we persecute him. If we receive one of Christ's brothers, we receive him. WHATEVER we do... or NOT do... to one of Christ's brothers... we do... OR NOT DO... to HIM.

What, though, if we have reasons for not wanting our feet washed? What, say, if we have an infirmity... or are just not comfortable with others touching, let alone washing, our feet? Dear ones, read again, the command:

"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him."

Where, please tell us, does it mention HAVING one's feet WASHED? Where, please tell us, does the command say, "You must have YOUR feet washed [by one another]?"

Now, some will argue, of course, that WASHING feet assumed HAVING one's feet washed. But does it? Let's review the account:

"The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. [Jesus] knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

"He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

[Jesus] replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

[Jesus] answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

[Jesus] answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."

Notice what our dear Lord did... and didn't do... after HE washed PETER's feet: did he sit down and offer HIS feet to Peter? Did he say, "Okay, I've washed YOUR feet; now you must wash MINE!"? That's not what the account tells us, is it? What DOES it tell us? I share with you:

"When HE had finished washing THEiR feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place."

What is the point here, dear ones? The point is do we LISTEN to what our dear Lord SAYS. Specifically:

"There is MORE happiness... in GIVING... than... in RECEIVING."

DO YOU BELIEVE HIM? Do you BELIEVE him when he says there is MORE happiness... in GIVING? Or... do you believe, in relation to our dear Lord's word as to washing one another's feet... that you must ALSO be on the RECEIVING end?

Wait, though. I have something "wrong" with MY feet. So I don't WANT MY feet washed. But the command, dear ones, is not to HAVE our feet washed. The command... the PATTERN... is to wash ONE ANOTHER'S feet. And so, so what if you have a reason not to want/have your feet washed? We are not under obligation to HAVE our feet washed. We are under obligation... to wash one another's feet.

And so, whether I have a reason to not want to have MY feet washed... that does not preclude MY obligation to wash ANOTHER's. Does it?

The command is not to have our feet washed, dear ones. The command is to wash those of others. Regardless of whether they... or we... (want to) wash ours.

The happiness... is in the GIVING. NOT the receiving. Or, better stated, the BLESSING... is in... the GIVING. OR... the one iwho GIVES... RECEIVES THE BETTER BLESSING. And in this case, as with the woman, that blessing was a great gift from JAH, THROUGH Christ. FOR her GIVING, which she did due to her FAITH and the love that came out of that faith.

In the case of washing feet, there is no blessing in the RECEIVING. Christ did not have his feet washed. He did not get up, then sit so the others could wash HIS feet. He did not have his feet "prepared" so that they could do for him what he had done for them. He TOOK THE LOWLY SEAT and gave to THEM. And he told them to do the same TO ONE ANOTHER.

One may let another wash one's feet, and this is fine; such one may now have a "sharing" with such person. But... the command was from Christ and it was to waash the feet of others, not have others wash one's feet. And so, while there may be sharing with the person who has washed one's feet... there is no sharing with Christ... unless one obeys HIS command... and WASH the feet of others, particularly those of the his Body.

[Still] can't hear his voice? Try choosing HIS "seat", beloved ones... which seat is in the LOWEST place at his table and in HIS "house," not the greatest/highest place.

I, SA, have shared these things just as I received them from my dear, dear Lord, Master, Savior, and King, the HOLY One of Israel and Holy Spirit, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One of JAH (MischaJAH), JAH Who is the MOST HOLY One of Israel. May those who have ears hear and get the sense of these truths and may those who don't (yet) have them be GIVEN such, if they TRULY wish them, so as to get the sense as well as to hear Christ, the Holy Spirit... and his Bride... when they call to such one:

"COME! Take (my) Life's (Christ's) water... the holy spirit (and so life, breath, blood, and seed) of the MOST HOLY One of Israel, JAH... who breathes armies of spirit into existence... which water is poured out from the innermost of His Son and Christ, the HOLY One of Israel and Holy Spirit, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One of JAH (MischaJAH)... FREE!"

Peace to you all, as Christ gives it!

Servant to the Household of God, Israel, and all those who go with, and a slave of Christ,

Shel

I ALWAYS wondered why she was there and why they did not throw her out. Makes sense now. Thank you for sharing and peace to you.

Yes... TO... one another. Giving. Nothing to say other than Amen, here, Shelby.


I also remember the first time you explained about Simon Lazarus and Mary above, and I was... "Oh, of COURSE."


Peace to you and also Ataloa,
your servant, and sister and fellow slave of Christ,
tammy

May you all have Peace,

I am reminded of what our Lord stated at Luke 6:46 to 49, the end of the chapter. It is in reference to our "obedience" or lack thereof. It reads:

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.3 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

How have we built OUR houses thus far?

Come! Take Life's Water Free.

--Armand

"Yes, Lord, I HEAR you... I mean, I can read your WORDS... but wash... shoot, even TOUCH... someone else's FEET!? I mean... EWWwwwwwwwWAH! AND... and... I'd have to bend/bow/get down on the floor before them!? Why, that's utterly dehumanizing! No, no... I would rather have MY feet (and my head!) washed. Even if it's by you! But wash YOUR feet?! I dunno. Well, okay, maybe if it was YOU. But wash someone ELSE'S feet?? Ummmm... no. Sorry, but no... I'm not doing that. I CAN'T do that. I'm not ready for THAT!"

Are we SURE we want to be among those who "can't" do that?

Matthew 23:11; John 13:13-17

Peace... to you all!

A slave of Christ,

Shellamar

Hey, just be glad He didn't say butts.

@ataloa, glad I wasn't sipping coffee when I read that. LOL!

Ok, serious question here:

When we offer to wash someone's feet and THEY refuse, what then? Does the offer itself still count? I know Peter initially refused, but then the Lord told him that unless he let him, he'd have no part with him. How would that apply to us individually? Say I offered to wash someone's feet, and they refused, even after explaining why I'm doing it?

Then simply respect their answer. The offer shows you are at least willing and wanting to obey our Lord, and by asking and explaining why you asked another if you could wash their feet, you also at least gave witness to the person you asked.


Peace to you Leaving!
your servant and sister, and a fellow slave of Christ,
tammy

LQ, I agree with Tammy; it shows that you are willing and ready. And the command is to do good to all, but especially those related in the faith. So those brothers and sisters would probably be willing to consent to that, when explained to them. As for others not of the faith, we cannot transgress their will anyway.

This made me think of when Shelby said the Lord no longer knocks at her door (I think I have that right?) because He already KNOWS what she will do, since she's already demonstrated that.

Good morning LQ. Peace to you and peace to you ALL today...

Yes to what dear Tammy shared ( peace to you ).
I am reminded by our Lord as to this as well. When we offer to wash feet or to say a greeting of peace upon a household whether or not it is received or reciprocated, the blessing still returns upon us.

" When you are entering into the house, greet the household; and if the house is deserving, let the peace you wish it come upon it, but if it is not deserving, let the peace from you return upon YOU."


And yes funny but sad but true my sister Shel, peace to you. Some may say well... I would wash Christs feet of course if he was here but not others necessarily. But then what about the saying, " He that DOES to the least of Christs brothers has DONE it to Him." ( faithful in least will be faithful in much) So... If we are not willing at least to do this towards his brothers, we are not doing it for CHRIST either regardless of what we say.

Enjoy your day everyone, love your sister and fellow servant of Jaheshua MischaJah, Kim

Bears repeating!


Peace to you Justmom, and all of you,
your sister and servant and fellow slave of Christ,
tammy

Absolutely nothing to add... except... YES!! to dear At's, Tams, and 'Mom's responses (peace to you dear sister and to your households!).

And peace to you and your household, as well, dear, dear LQ!

YSSFS of Christ,

Shel

hey Shelby
thanks
that was a very touching insight
brother and sister both by Law had to be shunned
but she didn't
and he grumbled but reciprocated her kindness

i see Jesus shedding tears when he first saw these two
and realized what he was seeing

_________________
"For whenever people of the nations that do not have law do by nature the things of the law . . . They are the very ones who demonstrate the matter of the law to be written in their hearts" (Romans 2:14-15)

THAT, dear Wheels (peace to you, dear one!) is WHY Simon Lazarus, his sister Mary (the Magdalene), and sister Martha, were my dear Lord's CLOSEST friends - ones he considered his brother/sisters more than even those of his own flesh. As Martha said, her brother was the one our dear Lord had "affection" for. HE, and NOT "John", was the one to whom my Lord entrusted the care of his own mother, Mary. Certainly, a man who could love his sister, in spite of the Law... would take care of Christ's fleshly mother aand supported her leprous brother and their sister, Martha, on her earnings).fter his death... even though she would most probably be a target for persecution. Lazarus didn't leave (like Peter and the others did), but was there when my Lord was impales.

We KNOW the importance Mary put on him, washing his feet with her tears, drying them with her hair, pouring expensive oil on his head, considering his words more important than mundane things like preparing a fancy spread for him, and ALSO not leaving his side except to observe the Law as to the Sabbath. Once that requirement was fulfilled, though, she was right back there, with his mother, to prepare his body.

He stayed with these three, in Bethany, when he was in the area. Folks tend to think of him in relation to Jerusalem, but he never LIVED there. He was born in Bethlehem-Ephratha, grew up in Capernaum, then went to live as a Nazir, or separated one, in Nazareth. Bethany was only 2-3 miles FROM Jerusalem, though, so he was able to visit the temple and market places there often when he was in the area. But he didn't STAY in Jerusalem; he stayed at Lazarus' house... which was actually Mary's house (it was known as his because he was the MAN - these were JEWS, who had very little regard for women! SHE had the money, though, due to her profession - she was a TEMPLE prostitute... and, for awhile, believed her "service" was sacred! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_pr ... brew_Bible. This is because she (and many others... MOST of Israel, actually)... had been LIED to by the corrupt PRIESTS! Ezekiel Chapters 8-11, 22 Which we can see from the corrupt priests of TODAY - Watchtower GB, Catholic Popes, LDS, heck, all of 'em! She KNEW, though... IN HER SPIRIT... that what she was doing was "wrong." The false christ/prophets told her differently, but she KNEW! Hence, she was GRATEFUL for my Lord... who FORGAVE her! And so her love... for HIM... was GREAT!

They were run OUT of Magdala (hence, her being called "the Magdalene") DUE to her profession: she is the woman having seven "demons" AND "caught in the act of adultery" that my Lord RELEASED. That is WHY she loved him SO much! He didn't just forgive her ONCE... but MORE than once! Matthew 18:21, 22

Which is the gist of his "lesson" to Simon Lazarus as to who would LOVE more: the one FORGIVEN... MORE.

As a foremost sinner, I totally understand this love, dear Wheels. I have lived it... and live it still.

Thank you for your comments. They really "enlivened" MY spirit!

Peace to you!

Your servant and a slave of Christ,

Shel

Yes, for me as well, Wheels... the 'enlivening my spirit'... because of the love between them both. I didn't realize at first who you were talking about, even though the thread is about them, lol.


Peace to you both, and to you all,
your servant and sister and fellow slave of Christ,
tammy