Jerusalam Telegraph AD 29: Another loser becomes a winner

                                        Jerusalem Telegraph: AD 29

        Shock entry: prostitute steals uninvited 
                               into city house
 
  Distinguished city guests appalled  by woman and rabbi’s 
                       behaviour as rabbi allows woman to kiss his feet

Jerusalem was in shock today when a city woman slipped in by the back gate of Simon the Pharisee’s house where he was holding a dinner. The uninvited guest appeared to be seeking an audience with self-appointed rabbi, Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. 
       The women, veiled and dressed in tight black clothes, slipped in, unseen and uninvited. To the embarrassment of many of the guests, she began sobbing loudly as she sat at the rabbi’s feet; she then touched him, wiping the tears from his feet with her hair. To add to her unseemly behaviour, she unashamedly kissed his feet and, in the most unrestrained manner, poured perfume on them. The mess made by the woman’s actions was, according to bystanders, ‘truly dreadful’ and servants attending the dinner said they’d never seen anything like it before and were lost as to how to deal appropriately with the situation. They also said the woman’s actions were a shocking waste and, if Jesus was a respectable rabbi, he would have rejected the women’s actions outright and called on them to remove her without delay. They suspected the woman must have stolen the ointment as it was a very expensive brand.
       Jesus, rather than reproaching her for her inappropriate behaviour and seeking her removal, seemed thoroughly pleased with the proceedings and began to praise her in front of all the shocked guests as though she had done something right… . 
       Our reporters were quick on the scene. Simon declined to comment except to say she was an uninvited guest and he didn’t know her.
       A guest, who wishes to remain anonymous, described it as, “A most embarrassing and vulgar affair.”
       The woman lives in the downtown area of Jerusalem; when interviewed, neighbours told reporters that she is a well known 'woman of the night.’
       The self-styled rabbi was reportedly somewhere outside the city with two more women and their brother but could not be located for comment. 
                                                  *  *  *
Jesus was unperturbed at the woman’s actions which flew in the face of acceptable behaviour towards the opposite sex BIG TIME in the first century. On the contrary, He praised the woman to his host for her lavish expression of love towards Him:

·    “she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her  
       hair”
·    “from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet”
·    “she has anointed my feet with ointment.”
·    “she loved much”

Jesus turned round and told her that her sins, (which He acknowledged were many) were forgiven. He said, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” In other words, she needn’t feel ashamed anymore.  The past was over and He was giving her a new start. What had set her on the road of prostitution no one knows but one thing was for sure: a loser had become a winner. She had been rescued from a guilty past, loved, affirmed and undoubtedly would never be the same again.