In this passage we find the One who was presenting all the value and preciousness of that work that was yet to be accomplished in His own holy Person down here, and who could attract by His grace a poor, wretched, miserable creature into the one place where she was least likely to be welcome. There was not one spot where this woman could expect to find so little interest and appreciation as in the house of Simon the Pharisee, and there was no person on this earth that was less likely to be tolerated in such a place than this woman of the city.

        Observe the contrast between Simon and the woman. The Pharisee probably thought very highly of his own goodness, and, no doubt, wanted to gain some credit for himself by asking the Lord into his house. At the same time, this poor woman, owning herself as a miserable and brokenhearted creature, had Christ filling her thoughts. What was it, beloved, that first of all drew her in there? She did not know the forgiveness of sins—she did not bring that in, for as yet she did not possess it. But what did she bring in? only a broken heart. And let me assure you of this one thing, a broken heart is the very condition that gets the knowledge of the blessedness of the Person of Christ. It was the misery of man that brought Christ here.

        It is a wonderful thing to think of it, and yet it is true of us all, saints as well as sinners, that in our joys we were far away from Him, but in our miseries He came near to us. You will find it was nearly always a scene of sorrow and misery that was the occasion for His displaying the grace of His Person down here in this world. I have often thought that it was in the Lord that that word found its fullest and most blessed verification, “It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting” (Eccl. 7:2). Was it not to the house of mourning that He came? What is this world but a great scene of misery? It was that which attracted Him, and He made known in it all the grace of His Father and all the love of His heart. It was that which brought this woman in to Him—the grace that shone in His blessed Person. And now see the effect of it. The first thing is that she must get where He is. That is always the effect of grace; the desire to know Christ is not natural to any of us.

        There is a possibility of our attempting to work up feelings of love and affection for Christ in our hearts by our own efforts. I feel increasingly the need of being watchful as to this. That which Christ delights to receive from us is the affection of the new man that is called out and satisfied by His own Person. It is not a matter of working up feelings in our hearts for Christ; instead it is the objective presentation to faith of the Person of Christ which is the spring of the subjective affection of the new man; and therefore you find that you have desires after Christ and long to know Christ just in proportion as He is objectively before your soul. If He is the One before your soul, you will long to be with Him; but it is all formed by Him, and gratified by Him, and therefore Christ Himself becomes the spring and maintainer of the affections of the new man.

        It was grace that drew this poor woman in. What is so beautiful in it is to see how she faced all the difficulties; all that stood in her way in Simon’s house were never once thought of. Oh, the power of having One who is above all the difficulties simply before you! You never then think of difficulties. Mary Magdalene, in John 20, was the same way; she was so intent upon finding Him that nothing deterred her—nothing would keep her away.

        May the Lord, by His grace, grant that we may know what has been called the “expulsive power of a new affection,” even that blessed Person of Christ in the soul. It is that alone which drives all other things out.