The Parable of the Two Debtors
This week we’re uncovering the Parable of the Parable of the Two Debtors found in Luke 7:40-43. Check out this video as we learn about this week’s Bible study (also available as a podcast!).
Welcome to our parable this week. We’ll be discussing the Parable of the Two Debtors found in Luke 7:40-42.
The Parable of the Two Debtors comes to life when we compare the behavior of two very different people at a dinner party Jesus attended: the host, a Pharisee named Simon, and an uninvited and unnamed woman known only as a sinner. Jesus used their reactions during the party to share an important parable about two debtors that invites us to consider what true repentance and forgiveness should look like in our lives. For the woman, forgiveness changed everything.
DAY 1 - READ AND REFLECT
Let’s start by reading the full parable, which is only a few verses (Luke 7:40-42), as well as the surrounding CONTEXT found in Luke 7:36-50. Re-read the passage, preferably in a different translation to get a clearer perspective on what the passage is communicating.
Keep in mind a parable is a story that parallels a message Jesus was trying to communicate, which would've been more easily understood by the original audience. Without a deep connection to Jewish culture, Jesus’ point is often lost on us. To understand the heart of Jesus’ parables, ask the following questions, and watch as the parables of Jesus come to life!
Who is the audience and how would the original hearer have heard this?
What cultural reference points would the original hearer have known that I miss?
Does the parable have characters and how are they described?
Does the parable have an unexpected ending that highlights the point Jesus was trying to make?
If Jesus were to make this point today, what parable might He tell?
As we jump into our parable, think critically over what is being communicated and the parallel meaning behind the debts. We’ll look at the CONTEXT and HISTORY a lot this week as we unpack the Parable of the Two Debtors.
DAY 2 - TWO DEBTORS
We don’t know what motivated Simon to invite Jesus to eat with him. In the HISTORICAL setting of Israel during the time of Jesus, having someone over for dinner was a great honor. The guests reclining (vs. 36) could signify that it was a banquet. It was customary for the host to greet the guest of honor with a kiss and offer oil to anoint his head, as well as to provide water for foot washing. As a Pharisee, Simon held a position of religious authority in the Jewish community. The Pharisees placed a lot of importance on observing both the letter and the spirit of the law. Simon was a man esteemed highly in the Jewish culture because he spent his life dedicated to earning his spiritual standing.
Word spread that Jesus was at Simon’s house and an uninvited woman, known only as a sinner, came and stood at His feet. Based on HISTORY, it was shameful for women to let down their hair in public. However, we see this woman disregard cultural shame to lavish love on whom she valued—Jesus. What actions does she take in showing Jesus her love in verses 37 and 38? How does this contrast the expressions of honor Simon neglected to bestow upon Jesus?
Pharisees separated themselves from sinners and Jewish rabbis didn’t speak to women in public, let alone touch them. And here this woman was in Simon’s home and washing Jesus’ feet with her tears! Read Luke 7:39. What was Simon’s reaction to what happened?
We may think of Simon’s behavior as self-righteous and judgemental, but how often have we done the same? How often do our judgemental hearts go unchecked and unnoticed? It may be painful, but it’s an act of kindness when God reveals to us what’s lurking in our hearts and keeping us from an intimate relationship with Him. This is what Jesus was about to do for Simon by telling him one short parable. Read Psalm 139. Consider how intimately the Lord knows you and what good can come from God revealing the depths of your own heart to you? Have you ever dared to ask God what David prayed in verses 23-24?
Further Reflection: READ Matthew 23. The author, Matthew, records Jesus offering strong warnings and criticism for the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. How can this passage teach us about the futility of being attracted to religion instead of a real relationship with God, through Jesus?
DAY 3 - TWO DEBTS
“Simon, I have something to say to you” (Luke 7:40). Can you even begin to imagine if that were your name in place of Simon’s, and Jesus said this to you! Would Jesus not have your full attention… along with your pounding heart and sweaty palms?
Notice verse 40 says Jesus answered Simon, but take a closer look at Luke 7:39. Who did Simon talk to?
Whether Simon muttered to himself or simply thought it, he didn’t speak out loud to Jesus. Isn’t it ironic that Jesus, who, in Simon’s mind couldn’t possibly be a prophet, knew his thoughts! Now having Simon’s attention and permission, Jesus told him a parable about two debtors.
Two debtors owe a creditor two sums of money. Read Luke 7:41. What are they? Now turn to Matthew 20:2, and read it. What is a denarius equivalent to?
The HISTORICAL context tells us a denarius is a day’s wage. So, one person owed 50 day’s wages, while the other owed 500 day’s wages. APPLY this to your own life. What does a day’s wage look like for you? We’ll discuss forgiveness later in the week, but think through the implications of being pardoned of a debt that you could not payback. What would it feel like for someone to forgive about 2 months’ worth (50 days) of your day’s wages? What about 2 years (500 workdays) worth of wages?
Jesus told parables to make a point, often using illustrations the listener was familiar with and relating it to a spiritual truth they couldn’t yet see or understand. Although we still may be unclear where Jesus was going with this parable, we can rest assured He spoke a language Simon understood. And, as we’ll discover over the next couple of days, Jesus was just about to drive His message home. Why do you think Jesus often spoke in parables?
DAY 4 - FORGIVENESS OF ALL DEBTS
The AUTHOR, Luke, goes into great detail to capture the scene of this woman washing Jesus’ feet with her tears, kissing them and anointing them with perfume (vs. 37-38). Luke was a Gentile doctor who’s writing beautifully captures Jesus’ heart for the outcast and marginalized – the sinner, the sick, the poor, and the hurting. Read Luke 7:42 in several Bible translations. How is the creditor’s forgiveness in this parable described? How does this reflect who Jesus’ gift of forgiveness is offered to?
What an amazing gift! Consider Simon and the woman, the saint, and the sinner, and how they relate to the two debts. The money is an allegory to sin. Both were sinners, but one knew it and one did not. Sometimes we forget that we’re all sinners, especially when we compare ourselves to others as Simon did. But this parable really isn’t about how much one has sinned, it’s about recognizing that you are the sinner, the one who owes a debt you can’t repay. To the degree that you realize, that is the degree you’ll grasp and appreciate Jesus’ gift of forgiveness. How do Simon and the woman help you see the importance of recognizing that you are in fact a sinner in need of forgiveness?
It’s amazing that there is no sin too great that is beyond the forgiveness of God (1 John 1:9). Exploring further the CONTEXT within the New Testament, check out these examples of God’s forgiveness and consider how they communicate the great love of God for you:
Romans 5:6-8
Ephesians 1:7
Colossians 1:13-14
How does it make you feel to know that Jesus willingly and voluntarily chose to die on the cross; to take on our sins so that we may have the opportunity to be adopted into His family if we chose to trust Him and Him alone? Reflect on this amazing gift!
DAY 5 - ACCEPTING THE GIFT AS HEIR
When Jesus told Simon the parable and asked him, “Which of them will love him more?” (vs. 42), then compared all the ways the woman lavished Him in love where Simon did not, Jesus invited Simon to ask himself the same question, which of you loved me more? And just in case Simon missed it, Jesus drove His point home in verse 47. Read Luke 7:43-47. How do you think Simon would have responded to what Jesus said in verse 47? What is your response?
If you’ve spent your life truly trying to faithfully obey God and avoid sin, Jesus’ statement may seem a bit… unfair. Is Jesus saying the more you sin the more you're capable of love? No. How do we know this? Because this teaching would contradict what Jesus taught elsewhere and we know that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) and the Bible does not contradict itself. So what did Jesus mean? Remember, yesterday, we learned it’s not about how much you’ve sinned, it’s about realizing your need to be forgiven! Read verse 47 again. What do you think Jesus meant by this statement?
The woman’s actions showed true repentance and an outpouring of love and gratitude because she had been forgiven of her many sins. As moving as her actions were, Jesus made it clear they weren’t what saved her. Read Luke 7:50. What saved this woman?
It is faith in Jesus and accepting the free, full payment of our sin by Jesus’ bloodshed on the cross that brings a brand new identity and adoption into God’s family! Read the following verses and think through the amazing things that happen when you become a child of God!:
2 Corinthians 5:17
Colossians 3:12-17
Romans 8:15-17
Have you made a decision in your own life to have your debt forgiven and place your trust in Jesus? After reading the last passage in Romans 8, how can you APPLY the identity that you have as God’s heir to your own life?
Contributed by Guest Writer: Ashley Readenour
List of Parables
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