' THE WEEPING HARLOT" and JESUS

“THE WEEPING HARLOT” and JESUS

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

          She was one of three harlots of the New Testament who was convicted and saved to by Lord Jesus Christ.

An important related Scripture:

Isaiah 55:11. ‘’ so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

          It achieves conviction which leads to repentance and salvation.

          Or it brings about rejection which leads to condemnation.

THE WEEPING HARLOT:

          So called because she was weeping at the feet of Jesus. (Luke 7: 36-50.)

          As the drama unfolds, the woman, a prostitute, convicted of her sins, seeks out Jesus, Who is in the house of a Pharisee, as his guest.

          Filled with remorse and self loathing, she repents of her past ways and washes the feet of the Lord with her tears, wiping them with her hair. Then she kisses His feet and anoints them with perfumes.

          She gets two different responses: the first from the Pharisee who criticizes Jesus for tolerating her behavior. The second from Jesus, Who in turn rebukes His host telling him that, when He came to his house as a guest, He was neither given water to wash His feet, nor was He greeted with a kiss.

The key issue is: Why was there such a diagonally opposite response from the woman and the Pharisee, since both were sinners?

          The woman was convicted of sin and she came for forgiveness. And she received it when Jesus told her, ‘’ your sins are forgiven.’’ And then, ‘’your faith has saved you; go in peace.’’ She left justified.

          The Pharisee on the other hand, who fasted and tithed on a regular basis, was filled with self righteousness, and based his righteousness on the Law.

          And that very Law would condemn him.

Ratio between forgiveness and love: Even Jesus acknowledges that, it is natural for those who have been forgiven more, to love more.

          But let us keep in mind that our walk with the Lord should make us so sensitive that, when we err even to the smallest extent, our response should be as though we have sinned in a big way, and we should immediately do whatever is necessary to get right with God.

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Dear friend,

          I look forward to getting your feedback. Do write in to me at:

                                        drmervynabreo@gmail.com

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" THE SLEEPING HARLOT" AND JESUS

“THE SLEEPING HARLOT” and JESUS

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

          She was one of the three harlots of the New Testament who was convicted and saved by the Lord Jesus Christ.

An important related Scripture:

Isaiah 55:11. ‘’ so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

It achieves conviction which leads to repentance and salvation.

Or it brings about rejection which leads to condemnation.

THE SLEEPING HARLOT:

           So named because she was caught sleeping (having sex) with a man. (John 8:3-11).

          Caught in adultery and brought to Jesus for His judgment.

          On one hand, as per His own Law as written in the Old Testament, He has to condemn her to be stoned to death! On the other hand, how could any sinner ever expect to find mercy and grace if He had rejected and condemned her? 

        

  If Solomon could have, so beautifully, solved the problem of the two prostitutes, fighting for the same child (1 Kings: 16-28), could we expect anything less from the Creator of Solomon?

          So Jesus bends down and writes with His finger on the ground. Why? The answer is found in the Book of Exodus (31:18): “When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.”

          The Ten Commandments convinces man (conviction/ condemnation) of his sinful state. As Jesus wrote on the ground He challenged them: “ If anyone of you is without sin let him be the first to throw a stone at her” and those who had accused the woman, began to go away one at a time, until only Jesus was left with the woman still standing there. 

          Then Jesus tells her, that since there is no one to condemn her, neither would He. (Because the Law came through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.)

          The Lord knows that, like her accusers, she too is convicted of sin. And so He sends her off but not before a warning: “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

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Dear friend,

          I look forward to getting your feedback. Do write in to me at:

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JESUS AND THE HARLOTS OF THE BIBLE

JESUS AND THE HARLOTS

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

                   The most degraded form of a human being is a fallen or an unfaithful woman who is given the most derogatory names ever known to man : prostitute, harlot, moll, bitch, whore just to name a few.

           And it is these very women that Jesus took, cleansed, sanctified and changed, from the degraded state they were in, into a bride fit for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

          A harlot is a woman who commits adultery. Since some of you may not know what adultery means, let me explain it to you from an example in my own life.

          I was seven years old. The last study class was completed and school was done for the day. As my classmates and I walked into the school playground we came face to face with the mother superior and a phalanx of teachers and parents who had come to pick up their kids.

          The smiling nun asked us, “And what did you’ll just finish studying?’’

          “The Ten Commandments,” we all replied.

          ‘’And can you mention a few?’’

          In a jumble of voices some of the Commandments were quoted – until one youngster said,’’ Thou shall not commit adultery.’’

          To which the nun, highly amused, replied, rather more to herself, ‘’what would you know about adultery?’’

          ‘’I know what is adultery.’’ I answered boldly.

          There was a shocking silence. All eyes turned to me. I wondered what the fuss was all about.

          ‘’And what is adultery?’’ asked the shocked nun.

          ‘’Its adding water to the milk’’, was my reply.

          That’s adulteration. But in a way I was right. When you add anything to a marriage, whether it’s in the form of another guy or gal, you get adultery.

          Now, before we go any further I want you to make a careful note of the following Scripture verse because it had great significance throughout this teaching:

Isaiah 55:11. ‘’ so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

It achieves CONVICTION which leads to repentance and salvation.

Or it achieves rejection which leads to condemnation.

          Let us study the lives of three harlots from the New Testament who were convicted, and who were not only saved, but became the blood line of the Lord. All three are described in subsequent articles     They are the sleeping, weeping and the reaping harlots.

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Dear friend,

          I look forward to getting your feedback. Do write in to me at:

                                        drmervynabreo@gmail.com

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THE ARTIST AND ME

THE ARTIST AND ME

BY DR. MERVYN ABREO

          There was this woman who, after her marriage, had gained so much weight, that she had become obese and totally out of shape. And as a result, her husband, who still loved her very much, had totally lost interest in her physically.

          She remembered the time when she had had an hour glass figure and heads would turn when she had walked down the street or entered a room full of people.

Pic of slim woman & smart man

          But although she tried every trick in the book, she couldn’t change her appearance. She would lose a few pounds, but regain them in next to no time.

          She then got a brain wave!

          She contacted an artist who painted portraits. She asked him to paint her in the nude. But not the way she was. He would have to use his imagination and portray her a little slimmer than what she looked in reality.

          Once the painting was done she took it home and hid it so that only she could gaze upon it in secrecy. She now had an achievable goal. Within three months she achieved her target, knocking off a third of her extra fat.

          Two more sittings and she regained her original figure!

          We too may be obese and ugly in sin, having back-slidden from the beautiful person we had been when we had first come to know the Lord. No problem. We too, like her, can go to the Artist that had originally created and cleansed us.

          And like the female described above, keep a mental picture of what we were through the eyes of the Artist:

           “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with His pleasure and will -- through the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.” (Ephesians 1 : 4 – 6).

          Hold the picture He has of us. And gradually conform to that image.

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Dear friend,

          I look forward to getting your feedback. Do write in to me at:

                                        drmervynabreo@gmail.com

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JESUS AND THE THREE SAMARITANS

JESUS & THE THREE SAMARITANS

BY DR MERVYN ABREO

          The three Samaritans who gave a good example:

The Samaritan who shamed the Jews:

            One day as Jesus was on His way ten lepers called out to Him to have mercy on them. He told them to go and show themselves to the priests, who would certify free from leprosy. They had to act in faith, which they did.

         All ten were healed, but only one returned, fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him. He was a Samaritan and Jesus noticed and mentioned this! (Luke 17: 11-19).

The Samaritan who shamed the Levites and the priests:

          Jesus, knowing the mentality of the Jewish leadership, told this parable about the ‘good Samaritan.’

          Though ignored by both a priest as well as a Levite, the waylaid man was helped by a Samaritan who had obeyed the ultimate command of God, i.e. love the Lord and love your neighbor. (Luke 10: 25-37).

A female Samaritan who shamed the male Samaritans:

          A Samaritan woman living in adultery was ministered to by Jesus. She had visited the well at noon, during the heat of the day to avoid the titter of the other women.

          But after her encounter with the Lord, she was transformed, not only into a righteous person, but also into an evangelist who was able to lead the entire Samaritan village to the Lord.

          None of those who had thought themselves righteous had been chosen. (John 4: 4-42).

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Dear friend,

          I look forward to getting your feedback. Do write in to me at:

                                        drmervynabreo@gmail.com

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