A parable straight from the heart of Jesus.
The Parable of the Two Debtors – Luke 7:35-50
I want to tell you a story about a woman who is nameless to you and me. Her story is one of three occasions when a woman anoints Jesus’ feet with the priceless perfume of worship and repentant tears.
As we explore the parable of the two debtors, there is something about the woman’s story that will draw your spiritual eyes to Jesus.
You see, our testimonies are never really meant to magnify ourselves-but Jesus.
What I hope you will see isn’t the expensive perfume, the beautiful alabaster flask or even the woman’s tears. Look for something that many people often miss, when this story is told.
What you will see, will bring you directly back to the meaning behind the parable.
Jesus had been invited to Simon the Pharisee’s house for dinner. The “…sinful woman…” has entered the home, uninvited.
And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner. When she learned that He (Jesus) was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head and began kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.
Unphased by who she was, Jesus simply accepted the woman’s heartfelt devotion. But Jesus, who knows all of our thoughts, also heard what Simon was thinking.
Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him, saw this, he said to himself, “If this Man were a prophet, He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner!”
Do you believe Simon was surprised when Jesus revealed his own sinful thoughts?
And Jesus responded and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.”
So, Jesus told Simon the parable of the two debtors.
The Parable of the Two Debtors
“A moneylender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred denarii, and the other, fifty. When they were unable to repay, he canceled the debts of both. So, which of them will love him more?”
Simon answered and said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
Now, pay attention to the body language of Jesus in the passage below. What do you see?
And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman?”
Jesus turned His gaze to the woman, holding her eyes with His own.
But while looking at her, Jesus spoke to Simon. While Jesus was looking into her hurting soul, He was exposing the hypocritical Pharisee.
It isn’t that Jesus was writing Simon off as a lost cause. But if we never look at our sin and admit to it, then we can’t be saved. (1 John 1:9)
As Jesus was offering grace and relief to the woman, can you imagine the joy that she must have felt? She deserved condemnation but received grace. Jesus lifted her up.
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
James 4:10
See how Jesus exposed the Pharisee’s sin, and at the same time He affirmed the woman’s expression of faith and love.
- I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet
- She has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
- You gave Me no kiss;
- but she has not stopped kissing My feet…
- You did not anoint My head with oil,
- She anointed My feet with perfume.
For this reason, I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little, loves little.
Do you have the picture in your mind’s eye? With each statement above, Jesus addressed Simon’s sin, but He affirmed the woman’s faith. And the whole time, Jesus never looked away from her.
That is what the parable is all about. When we believe that sin can be described as large or small, then we have missed the truth that Jesus taught.
Simon saw his sins as small by comparison to the woman’s sins. But he totally missed the point. It isn’t the number of sins that condemn us. It is our sin. Just one sin is enough to separate us from God. Sin is the innate condition of the heart of every person.
People who believe they have been forgiven for much, love God wholeheartedly.
People who believe they don’t have much to be forgiven for, have a small view of love and an even smaller view of God. Those people have pride that blinds them to their need for grace.
God has limitless grace for undeserving sinners who know their deepest need is forgiveness. Without the grace of Jesus, they face justice instead of mercy. Believers, like the woman, return their love to their Savior with rich, heartfelt devotion.
Share the Good News in your world!
Isaiah 52:7
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
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Statement of Faith
Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 