The parable of the two debtors is a short parable placed in a large setting. The two major characters in the parable are Simon the Pharisee and a woman.
The parable, as we shall see, teaches the simple truth that those who are forgiven much will love much. That love for Christ is a mark of someone who has truly been forgiven of his/her sins.
Those who have not been forgiven by God or see no need of forgiveness will see no need to show thanksgiving to God.
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
It was common in Jesus’ day to ask a teacher to your home for a meal following a worship service in the synagogue. So it could be that Jesus had just finished teaching on a Sabbath day when a Pharisee named Simon asked Him to join him and his other guests for a midday Sabbath meal at his house.
Jesus took Simon up on the invitation, but when he entered Simon’s house, he was not extended the courtesy of being greeted by the host with a kiss, nor did the host wash His feet or pour scented oil on his head as was the custom.
While the meal was in progress, a woman arrived who lived in the town, known to have a questionable moral life. She quickly walked up to where Jesus was sitting, intending to give Jesus an alabaster jar filled with perfume as a gift of gratitude.
As the woman approached Jesus she was crying. She knelt down and began wiping Jesus’ feet with her tears. Then she kissed his feet, and took the bottle of perfume and poured it over them.
Simon the Pharisee instead of being overjoyed at what this woman was doing was instead shocked and embarrassed. Gifts from immoral people were considered unclean and unacceptable.
Simon was amazed that Jesus would permit this immoral woman to touch Him and that He didn’t rebuke her and tell her to leave.
In Simon the Pharisee’s eye, no self-respecting teacher of the law would allow himself to be made unclean by an immoral woman; a woman who did not merely touch His feet—she continued to kiss them until finally, she left.
THE PARABLE ITSELF
During Jesus’ earthly ministry it was not uncommon to find Him in the synagogue preaching the gospel message of salvation, calling sinners to repentance and to belief on Him for forgiveness and eternal life.
That Sabbath day an immoral woman heard and received with brokenness and thanksgiving the message of the gospel Jesus was teaching. She no doubt thought that there was no hope for her, an immoral woman, and was overwhelmed with tears of joy that she could be forgiven and have eternal life.
Like so many today, Simon the Pharisee did not understand grace. It never occurred to him that this sinful woman could enjoy the joy of forgiveness of sins and right standing before God.
The omniscient Savior knew Simon’s thoughts and, in a gentle, corrective way, told him that he appreciated what the woman had done to him. She did what he should have done for his guests.
To explain to Simon what he was witnessing, Jesus told the story of a moneylender who had two debtors. One owed him the total sum of five hundred denarii, and the other owed him fifty. A denarius in that day was the daily wage of a farm hand.
Both debtors in Jesus’ story lacked the funds to pay the moneylender back. Then the unusual happened. The creditor canceled the debts of the two men. Jesus asked Simon, “Now which of them will love the moneylender more?” Simon answered Jesus, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”
Jesus asked Simon, “Do you see this woman?” Of course Simon saw the woman: but Jesus wanted Simon to see her in a spiritual dimension.
Simon’s eyes were blinded because while he saw her as a sinner, he failed to see her as a forgiven sinner. His self-righteousness blocked his vision. In his opinion, the woman was a sinner. Jesus, however, did not rebuke Simon, did not scold him, but in a masterful way gave him a spiritual lesson he would never forget.
Jesus saw the woman as a forgiven sinner. He did not name her sins. He only summed them up by saying that they were many. And because her many sins were forgiven, she loved much. She wanted to express to Jesus her gratitude for the forgiveness of her sins.
Like the debtor who was told by his creditor that his debt had been canceled, so the woman experienced the forgiving grace of God. And because of this grace, she wanted to express her thankfulness by giving Jesus a precious gift.
The woman’s actions of love to Jesus did not earn her forgiveness of sins but proved that her sins had already been forgiven.
In contrast to the woman Simon the Pharisee had not expressed any love or thanks to Jesus apart from his invitation to come for dinner. And he had not seen any need to ask for forgiveness.
After Jesus had addressed Simon, he turned to the woman and assured her that her sins were forgiven through faith and that she could go in peace. The woman had already professed this assurance by her actions of love and gratitude. In faith she had come to express her thanks to Jesus. Her love, therefore, was the consequence and not the cause of her salvation.
CONCLUSION AND APPLICATION TO US
Love for Jesus can only be genuine when we acknowledge Him as the Savior in whom we receive forgiveness of sin. Such love will show itself by doing what Jesus says. Forgiveness leads to love and love leads to obedience proving we are truly His forgiven disciples.
Audio of Lesson
