“Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat.
And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.
Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.”
“There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”
Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.”
Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
- Luke 7:36-50 (NKJV)
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This week’s parable is usually called the Parable of the Two Debtors. It is set as a glowing pearl in such a beautiful vignette from our Lord’s ministry, so full of meaning, that we could not help but reproduce it in its entire beauty! We will preface our study by pointing out the backdrop and some points of interest, before moving on to the parable itself.
Christ has been invited to dinner by Simon,a pharisee. In all probability, Jesus was invited to satisfy his curiosity, and to show the people of the town Simon's own beneficence and learning. The gospel account and Christ’s own words to the pharisee in the story, tell us that Christ was not invited as an honored guest - else his reception would have been different from that accorded to Him (feet would have been washed, kissed welcome, anointed with oil etc.). In Simon's own internal musings – he even doubts that this “man”, is a prophet – as he sees Jesus seemingly oblivious to the type of person touching him. This pharisee does not have a high opinion of Jesus or the woman!
The woman is not named in this account, and elsewhere in the gospels we hear of a similar occurrence. That however, occurred in Bethany, just prior to Christs crucifixion, and the person anointing Him was Mary, the sister of Lazarus (not Mary Magdalene) That account is found in Matt. 26:7–13; Mark 14:3–9; John 11:2; 12:3. 5. Mary Magdalene is uniquely distinguished by the fact that Christ had cast 7 demons out of her (Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2, 3). THIS woman is simply called a sinner – and we are not told what her sins were – but that they were many. She does not even speak in this account, but her actions speak much more eloquently than words!
We must call your attention to a parable that is very similar (Luke 18:9-14). A Pharisee and a Tax Collector go up to the temple to pray, and the Pharisee thanks God for his (the Pharisees) works of righteousness, and also that God has not made him like the Tax Collector who is standing far off. The Tax collector does not even cast up his eyes to heaven but beats his breast in silence – praying “God have mercy on me – a sinner!”
Two VERY different attitudes here. One, a self-righteous one that sees others as inferior, and the other – one that casts itself wholly on the mercy of God, making no claims at all for one’s own righteousness – but recognizes our utter poverty and need for Him.
Our Lord demonstrates His Love for both the Pharisee and the Woman! Discerning his thoughts, he gives Simon an easy ball to hit – two debtors whose debts are forgiven… which loves more? The host answers… “Duh… the one that owed more money… “ (we are paraphrasing..).. to which our Lord says, “Well done Simon, you certainly hit that one out of the park!” (again.. paraphrasing).
Now the zinger! Christ contrasts the reception accorded to Him by Simon, with the one given to Him by this woman. All of sudden, the parable jumps into center stage, and is brilliantly lit! --The two debtors are in front of Jesus right now!--
Simon, who probably tried to live a righteous life from his childhood (as he saw it), and this woman, who did not! Simon, who esteemed Christ lightly, and this woman, who saw Him as one who could redeem her! Simon, who permitted Christ to share of his table, and this woman, who threw dignity to the winds and ministered to him with her money and her body in public, not even caring that she was not receiving a response as yet. Who loved Him more?
Well, we are sorry for not being able to award bonus points to you for answering that question, for Christ Himself provides the answer! SHE DID!
Now, the result – both in this story, and the parable of the pharisee and the tax collector – the woman and the tax collector receive forgiveness of sins – and go home JUSTIFIED! We can only pray that Simon and the pharisee in the other parable realized their error and did the same.
We as Christians often view (as the Jews viewed Gentiles) the “unsaved” or even other Christians as not being as righteous as ourselves. In particular, if we have been born into a Christian home, and raised in the church, and subscribed to Christian values all our lives – like Simon - we may look down upon those with a multitude of sins – atheists, backsliders, drug addicts, LGBT, immigrants, other religions, anyone who is different!
God does NOT share that point of view.
In the two great commandments, “Love God”, “Love thy neighbor” , have you ever wondered why you are COMMANDED to love your neighbor? The answer is simple – “For in the image of God, He made man.” THE TWO ARE THE SAME COMMANDMENT!!! Not convinced? How about this quote from Jesus Himself – “Truly I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Mt 25:40).
God (all three Persons) looks at people as valuable individuals. He looks at their need, not at their ability (for who is able?). That is why the parable is about Debtors, not Creditors. That is why Jesus says, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Mark 2:17, Luke 5:32. “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”- Luke 15:7. He is in the business of SAVING people, not looking down upon them!
And He does it through the simple act of faith. NOT WORKS – But Faith! Right here in this parable is the text from Genesis in the flesh…. “He(Abraham) believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Ge 15:6, Gal 3:6). What does Jesus say here? - “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Yes, Her faith was manifested in her actions, but it PRECEDED them. Her actions did not save her, her faith did!
When we TRUST GOD to save us, coming to Him with no offering of merit or works, we can have the peace of knowing that we are accepted – no matter what our sins were.
As we have earlier mentioned, This woman was a sinner, and even Christ acknowledged that her sins were many! Mary Magdalene was possessed of 7 devils – who knows what she was into before she met Jesus? Yet, she was the first one to see him resurrected at the Tomb, because her love for Him took her there early in the morning, when everyone else was sleeping. Actually, two Mary’s were there – Mary the sister of Lazarus, and ANOTHER Mary (mother of James) who were both faithfully present at the cross (check it out! – Mark 16:1).
Just as Christ gently bore with both pharisee and sinner, let us strive to love our neighbors (who or whatever they might be) with the love and mercy God has shown us, being mindful of this – that if we do not forgive them their trespasses, we will have to answer for ours! Having been forgiven much, let us love much!
Let also the peace that comes from trusting in Yahshua to be faithful to His NAME dwell in us – being comforted that even though our sins are as scarlet, they will be as snow – and HE will remember them no more! Even though we may falter and fall, He is faithful to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and will preserve us till the end, not losing one. No one can separate us from the Love of God, not even ourselves and our weaknesses! Our strength is our faith in His strength and not our works!
Hallelujah!