The Parables of Jesus - The Two Debtors

Introduction

This morning, we are going to look at the first message in the series of the parables of Jesus, on how to live in the Kingdom of God, but more particularly how the entry of souls into this heavenly Kingdom takes place.

The parable of the two debtors is a perfect example, for believers as well as for unbelievers, that it is not by a deep knowledge of the Word of God, nor by the way we are involved in religious things, but by the understanding of the heart of how God has loved us.

At the heart of this parable, we see a comparison between two people who both have a debt, but for whom the debt forgiven is not the same. That is to say that the love produced by this forgiveness will not be the same love for Jesus. Our salvation cannot be earned or gained by our own strength, because it depends on faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Salvation is granted to us not because we are good, intelligent, or religious, but only because God has chosen us, in His holy and sovereign grace.

This love begins with the understanding of what God has done to bring us back to Him, we who were separated from Him for eternity because of our sin. God redeemed us from our sin by sending His Son Jesus Christ, who died to take the death that we deserved, and who rose again so that whoever believes in Him may be justified before the Heavenly Father. And by this faith, we become children of God, and we can cry, “Abba, Father.”

It must also be mentioned that in this passage, Jesus shows us how a sinful person turns back from their sinful ways, in deep repentance, to fall in tears at the feet of Jesus, her Master and Savior, for whom she will give all her faith and all her strength in order to love Him.

Teaching

Reading of the context of the passage: “One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.“ Luke 7:36-40 (ESV)

The Pharisee invited Jesus to eat at his house, but for what reason? If we look at the context earlier in the chapter, Jesus was teaching in Galilee, especially in Capernaum, during the first part of His ministry. He performed miracles, He confronted the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, and He taught the crowds about the baptism of John the Baptist and the message he preached. So Simon the Pharisee certainly invited Him in order to understand what His teaching was and what authority He had.

However, an unexpected situation happened: a sinful woman, certainly a woman of bad reputation, entered this house when she learned that Jesus was in the city, and more particularly in Simon the Pharisee’s house.

The way she entered this house shows that nothing mattered more to her than to see Jesus, but even more to bring Him something valuable while humbling herself before Him. Alabaster was considered extremely valuable, and it was a flask of perfume. 

What is also striking is that the woman stood behind Jesus at His feet. What could be more humble than that? To stand at the feet of Jesus and give Him the first place before ourselves, in order to submit to His majesty.

The fact that the woman was weeping shows the evidence of a deep and true repentance. She wept because she saw her condition as a sinner, and she wet the feet of Jesus with her tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed His feet, and anointed them with perfume. She completely humbled herself before Him.

What is surprising to see is that Jesus knew the thoughts of Simon the Pharisee. He saw that Simon had no compassion toward this woman, and that what he thought was only about the position Jesus should have among the religious: a teacher. Simon thought that Jesus was only a teacher and initiated to doubt about Jesus being a prophet. His religiosity blinded him. He put the Law above the love of God manifested in Jesus Christ.

Here we clearly see that both are sinners in the eyes of Jesus. However, the one who appears the most righteous in the eyes of men, because of his knowledge of the Law, does not repent. And this sinful woman, known by everyone in the city, throws herself at the feet of Jesus to love Him, in sincere and true repentance.

When Jesus says to His disciples, and by extension to every human being, in Matthew 18:3, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven,” He wants to make His disciples understand that to enter the Kingdom of God, it is an attitude of the heart: humility, openness to learn, simplicity in faith, dependence, and trust in God.

As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes in his book Preaching and Preachers:

“All men have to be converted and become little children. All they know, and all they are, and all they have, and all they have done, is utterly useless in this realm. There is no hope for them until they become aware of their utter bankruptcy and become as little children.”

And this is exactly the situation of this sinful woman. She knew that she was spiritually bankrupt, and she had nothing to offer to Jesus except her repentance and her faith.

We will now see how Jesus speaks to Simon the Pharisee about this heavenly reality, in the middle of the religious world: that it is not by religion that we are saved, but by the grace of God, received through faith in Jesus Christ, with a repentant heart. Here is the parable.

Reading of today’s parable: “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”“ Luke 7:41-43 (ESV)

Are we all debtors before God? Yes, this question is essential, because without this we consider ourselves righteous before Him. If we do not believe in God, then we cannot consider ourselves sinners before Him, and if we do not consider ourselves sinners, then we think that we do not need forgiveness.

When these two people had their debts cancelled, both of them had a debt they could not pay. This is the problem of man before God: we all have a debt, but we cannot repay it by our own will, nor even by our own spiritual ability.

What did God come to do on this earth? God sent His only and beloved Son to restore the relationship that man had broken through sin. He came to redeem man from his sins that separated him from his Creator, by a perfect and holy love for His creation.

Yes, it is about grace, this divine and undeserved gift that comes from God. The heart of the Gospel is here: it is by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by knowledge or by works, that we are saved. The Word of God also tells us that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

So, do we need a Savior and Lord? Or are we our own god?

Reading the explanation of today’s parable: “Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.“ Luke 7:44-47 (ESV)

Jesus now explains this parable to Simon the Pharisee, using this woman to make him understand that the attitude of this woman is the one that God accepts, the one that He loves above all: the humility of recognizing one’s sin and repenting with a sincere heart.

There are two attitudes here: the religious attitude of Simon the Pharisee, who did not give water to wash Jesus’ feet, did not give Him a kiss, and did not pour oil on His head, which means that he did not welcome Him with honor.

And then there is the attitude of this woman, who welcomed Him like a king, worthy of being honored, from His feet to His head, with love and adoration.

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:5–8: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”

Which means that if we rely on ourselves, on our own understanding, it will not be beneficial for us, because it creates limited, distorted, and wrong ways, and not straight paths. If turning away from evil, which is repentance, produces healing in our hearts and in our lives, then why do we trust in ourselves? Is not our heart deceitful?

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

That is why we cannot trust in ourselves, in our own understanding, or in our own righteousness. We have to trust in the Lord, we have to humble ourselves, we have to repent, and we have to come to Jesus, because He is the only one who can forgive sins, save our souls, and give us peace with God.

To come to the feet of Jesus is to turn away from our ways that are opposed to the ways of God, to recognize that we were far from Him, rebellious, and in the darkness of this world, doing our own will with personal purposes, without considering what God wants for us, so that He may be glorified in our lives.

Without this true and sincere repentance, we cannot enter the Kingdom of God, because who can claim to be righteous or good enough to be accepted by God without turning away from their sinful ways?

Why does Jesus say, “But he who is forgiven little, loves little”? Because if we consider ourselves righteous, there is very little place for Jesus Christ to reign in our lives. The Word of God clearly tells us that there is only One who is Just and Good, and that those who believe in Him are saved and justified before the Father.

So what attitude do we want to have toward our sin? Will we recognize it and humble ourselves before God so that we may be saved and justified by Jesus Christ, or are we our own righteousness, asking God to bless our lives without belonging to Him?

Reading of the manifestation of today’s parable: “And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.“ Luke 7:48-50 (ESV)

Jesus now comes to the final part of the revelation of the plan of redemption, more particularly salvation by faith in Him and by the grace of God, showing who He is and what He came to accomplish as the Messiah, the King of the Jews, and the Savior of the nations.

What Jesus says to this woman in the house of Simon the Pharisee was considered blasphemy by the religious people, and worthy of death, because they could not understand that Jesus was the Savior of the world, sent by the Father to forgive sins, so that the Law of God would be written on the hearts through forgiveness and grace, for whoever believes in Jesus Christ.

Sin was forgiven during the ceremonies at the temple through sacrifices and through the high priest, but this was temporary, and these sacrifices had to be repeated continually, because they could not completely remove sin, but only cover it.

“But Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’” This is the main verse of the passage, because this is where the whole Gospel of salvation takes its meaning. It is about believing in Jesus Christ. He alone gives the peace that the world cannot give, this peace that does not come from what we have or understand in this world, but from the grace of God when we are reconciled with Him.

Faith in Jesus Christ saves and gives peace with God and reconciles us with our Creator, so that we no longer live under the power and condemnation of sin, but that we may live for the One who gave us life, for eternity.

Conclusion

To conclude, Jesus shows us in this parable how two people can respond differently to Jesus and to His testimony through the Word of God, and this has been the case for centuries.

Generations have passed, and religious people had a system in place, a way of approaching the knowledge of the Scriptures, speaking about the Messiah, but not understanding when He was right in front of them. And this is still the image of today: the Word is present, but it is not always understood in its fullness, in its simplicity, and in His love for us.

This Word, who is Christ, was manifested to save us from this world of perdition, to give us eternal life, and to reconcile us to the Heavenly Father. However, we sometimes ignore Him, or we make Him into what we want, forgetting His power to save, and turning Him into a word without effect on the heart of man.

Yes, Christ, by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us to guide us and to convince us of the truth of His Word, is present today. It is for us to open our hearts to Him, to let ourselves be convinced that we have sinned against God, and to come to Him in humility, with deep and sincere repentance, and with faith in Jesus Christ.

And to the one who comes to Him by faith, Jesus still says today: “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Let us take this woman’s example: She came as a sinner, and she left forgiven. She came broken, and she left in peace. She came with tears, and she left with salvation. This is the Gospel in one story.