36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Read Luke 7:36-50 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Way too frequently, we are tempted to skip over some parts of scripture in favor of focusing on other parts. This is also a temptation in the gospels – and even in the teaching portion of our passage in this journal entry, but if we skip to Jesus’ explanation, we may miss out on a subtle truth that Jesus included, but that He doesn’t emphasize in His concluding remarks.
The teaching we are referring to is the short parable and question that concludes it. Jesus says, “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” (v. 41-42)
We are tempted to see this illustration as a setup to teach Simon a lesson about forgiveness and about God’s character – and Jesus shared it for this very reason. But also in this illustration is an important truth: Both people in debt in this parable were forgiven.
This parable doesn’t have Jesus forgiving one and not forgiving another, or Jesus forgiving each one up to a point. Instead, this parable demonstrates how God forgave each one at the same percentage level – 100%.
In this passage, we can conclude that Simon was the one who was forgiven for less sin/debt because that was all he owed, but it would be a mistake for us to skip over the detail that he was still forgiven.
God’s forgiveness is not a comparison game of who can be forgiven more. God forgives at 100% and He calls us to leave that sinful life to enter a new life with Him.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
Subscribe to this blog and never miss an insight.