And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
At Simon's feast Jesus answered his secret doubt about letting a sinful woman touch him with a story of a creditor who freely cancelled the unpayable debts of five hundred pence and fifty pence. The two debtors picture Simon and the woman, and Simon's guilt was the greater because he had led her into sin and had himself been cleansed from leprosy as from living death. When Simon rightly answered that the one forgiven most would love most, he judged his own case without yet discerning its application to himself. Though both were forgiven, Simon showed little love because he counted himself more righteous than Mary, while she valued the mercy given her and responded with gratitude, love, and devotion. Love for Christ is measured by the sense of sin forgiven, for the more humbly people see their own guilt and the fullness of pardon, the more deeply they recognize His spotless character and melt with tenderness and contrition.
Parable Setting and Story
The parable was spoken at Simon's feast after Judas had left the house, to answer Simon's unspoken doubt whether Jesus could be a prophet while allowing a sinful woman to touch Him. The certain creditor's two debtors, owing five hundred pence and fifty pence, pictured Simon and the woman. Simon's guilt was the greater, for he had led her into sin, and he himself had been a great sinner and a loathsome leper whom Jesus had cleansed from sin and from living death.
When neither debtor had anything to pay, the creditor frankly and freely forgave them both. That free forgiveness pictures a debt of gratitude to God that neither sinner can repay. The closing question, which of them will love him most, drew from Simon the correct answer that the one forgiven most will love most. By that answer Simon judged his own case, even though he did not yet discern its application to himself.
The different amounts do not teach different kinds or measures of obligation owed, since neither debtor could repay. The parable was spoken over a meal of the kind Jesus accepted with Pharisees and publicans. While ministering to the poor, He also sought the wealthy and cultured, making Himself familiar with the Pharisee, the Jewish nobleman, and the Roman ruler, accepting their invitations and attending their feasts to gain access to their hearts and reveal imperishable riches. He used such feasts to teach lessons suited to His hearers, and His generous conduct and precious teaching at that supper gave those present opportunity to know His character in contrast to self-righteous and narrow ideas of salvation.
Forgiveness Awakens Greater Love
When neither could pay, the creditor freely and frankly forgave them both, and the one forgiven the greater debt loves the forgiver more, so that forgiveness gives rise to love. Those forgiven much through Christ have reason to love deeply, for His sacrifice is sufficient and its merits are presented to the Father on their behalf, and those who receive such great forgiveness praise His love and sacrifice. Simon acknowledged this law of the heart when he answered that Christ must be loved most by the one He forgave most.
Though Christ had forgiven Simon's great sins, Simon felt little obligation and showed little love because he considered himself more righteous than Mary. Mary valued the mercy given to her and responded with gratitude, love, and devotion, and her greater awareness of need made her deeply grateful where Simon showed little gratitude. Neither could repay the debt owed, so the parable does not compare measures of obligation owed but exposes Simon's failure to recognize how much he had been forgiven.
Simon's own correct answer condemned him, because he did not realize he himself had been a greater sinner than Mary and had been forgiven as well as she. In pride and self-sufficiency he exalted himself as superior, counted entertaining Jesus as marked respect, lowered Jesus for receiving Mary's devotion, overlooked his own miracle of mercy, and was ready to doubt his Master's divine character for supposed want of discernment. The debt pictured Simon's obligation to Jesus, and recognizing its magnitude humbled him, while Jesus' patient kindness helped him see his guilt and turn toward repentance.
Jesus convinced Simon's mind by a true statement of his case and subdued his heart by pitying kindness, without openly exhibiting his guilt and lack of gratitude before the guests. Patient admonition opens the eyes to neglect and unbelief and convinces of error, where stern denunciation would close the heart against repentance. When received, it makes the debtor see the magnitude of the debt owed to the Lord and leads to repentance, humility, and a self-sacrificing life.
Recognizing the depth of sin and the fullness of forgiveness melts the heart with love, tenderness, and contrition. The more fully people grasp God's love and Christ's sacrifice for them, the more deeply they recognize sin's seriousness. Love for Christ is measured by conviction of sin and sense of forgiveness, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Not to see our own deformity is not to see the beauty of His character, and true love can never dwell in a self-righteous heart.
The more humble our views of ourselves, the more clearly we see the spotless character of Jesus, and the more we see the perils to which sin has exposed us, the more grateful we are for deliverance. When fully awake to our own sinfulness we appreciate Christ, and the degree of love for God depends on the clearness and fullness of conviction of sin. This pardon is seen in Jesus forgiving Mary Magdalene and treating her with compassion and honor.
Living Forgiving Love Daily
When neither debtor could pay anything, the creditor freely and frankly forgave them both, and the one forgiven the greater debt loves him more, so that all who are forgiven have reason to love deeply. That forgiveness pictures how Christ shows mercy to erring, weak, and needy people. His followers therefore must not shun those whose faults have tested their patience, but must show them pitying, forgiving love and help them.
Love for Christ is measured by conviction of sin and the sense of forgiveness, and Simon the Pharisee thought he loved Jesus until Jesus honored a poor, sorrowful, repentant woman above him, which proved his love was self-righteous, for true love can never dwell in a self-righteous heart. Not to see our own deformity is not to see the beauty of Christ's character, but when fully awake to our own sinfulness we appreciate Christ, and the more humble our views of ourselves the more clearly we see the spotless character of Jesus. The degree of love for God depends on the clearness and fullness of conviction of sin, for by the law is the knowledge of sin, and the more we see the perils to which sin has exposed us the more grateful we are for deliverance, so that to be redeemed means to cease from sin, with no union with Christ while in rebellion against the law of God.
At Simon's feast Jesus answered his secret doubt about letting a sinful woman touch him with a story of a creditor who freely cancelled the unpayable debts of five hundred pence and fifty pence. The two debtors picture Simon and the woman, and Simon's guilt was the greater because he had led her into sin and had himself been cleansed from leprosy as from living death. When Simon rightly answered that the one forgiven most would love most, he judged his own case without yet discerning its application to himself. Though both were forgiven, Simon showed little love because he counted himself more righteous than Mary, while she valued the mercy given her and responded with gratitude, love, and devotion. Love for Christ is measured by the sense of sin forgiven, for the more humbly people see their own guilt and the fullness of pardon, the more deeply they recognize His spotless character and melt with tenderness and contrition.
Parable Setting and Story
The parable was spoken at Simon's feast after Judas had left the house, to answer Simon's unspoken doubt whether Jesus could be a prophet while allowing a sinful woman to touch Him. The certain creditor's two debtors, owing five hundred pence and fifty pence, pictured Simon and the woman. Simon's guilt was the greater, for he had led her into sin, and he himself had been a great sinner and a loathsome leper whom Jesus had cleansed from sin and from living death.
When neither debtor had anything to pay, the creditor frankly and freely forgave them both. That free forgiveness pictures a debt of gratitude to God that neither sinner can repay. The closing question, which of them will love him most, drew from Simon the correct answer that the one forgiven most will love most. By that answer Simon judged his own case, even though he did not yet discern its application to himself.
The different amounts do not teach different kinds or measures of obligation owed, since neither debtor could repay. The parable was spoken over a meal of the kind Jesus accepted with Pharisees and publicans. While ministering to the poor, He also sought the wealthy and cultured, making Himself familiar with the Pharisee, the Jewish nobleman, and the Roman ruler, accepting their invitations and attending their feasts to gain access to their hearts and reveal imperishable riches. He used such feasts to teach lessons suited to His hearers, and His generous conduct and precious teaching at that supper gave those present opportunity to know His character in contrast to self-righteous and narrow ideas of salvation.
Forgiveness Awakens Greater Love
When neither could pay, the creditor freely and frankly forgave them both, and the one forgiven the greater debt loves the forgiver more, so that forgiveness gives rise to love. Those forgiven much through Christ have reason to love deeply, for His sacrifice is sufficient and its merits are presented to the Father on their behalf, and those who receive such great forgiveness praise His love and sacrifice. Simon acknowledged this law of the heart when he answered that Christ must be loved most by the one He forgave most.
Though Christ had forgiven Simon's great sins, Simon felt little obligation and showed little love because he considered himself more righteous than Mary. Mary valued the mercy given to her and responded with gratitude, love, and devotion, and her greater awareness of need made her deeply grateful where Simon showed little gratitude. Neither could repay the debt owed, so the parable does not compare measures of obligation owed but exposes Simon's failure to recognize how much he had been forgiven.
Simon's own correct answer condemned him, because he did not realize he himself had been a greater sinner than Mary and had been forgiven as well as she. In pride and self-sufficiency he exalted himself as superior, counted entertaining Jesus as marked respect, lowered Jesus for receiving Mary's devotion, overlooked his own miracle of mercy, and was ready to doubt his Master's divine character for supposed want of discernment. The debt pictured Simon's obligation to Jesus, and recognizing its magnitude humbled him, while Jesus' patient kindness helped him see his guilt and turn toward repentance.
Jesus convinced Simon's mind by a true statement of his case and subdued his heart by pitying kindness, without openly exhibiting his guilt and lack of gratitude before the guests. Patient admonition opens the eyes to neglect and unbelief and convinces of error, where stern denunciation would close the heart against repentance. When received, it makes the debtor see the magnitude of the debt owed to the Lord and leads to repentance, humility, and a self-sacrificing life.
Recognizing the depth of sin and the fullness of forgiveness melts the heart with love, tenderness, and contrition. The more fully people grasp God's love and Christ's sacrifice for them, the more deeply they recognize sin's seriousness. Love for Christ is measured by conviction of sin and sense of forgiveness, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Not to see our own deformity is not to see the beauty of His character, and true love can never dwell in a self-righteous heart.
The more humble our views of ourselves, the more clearly we see the spotless character of Jesus, and the more we see the perils to which sin has exposed us, the more grateful we are for deliverance. When fully awake to our own sinfulness we appreciate Christ, and the degree of love for God depends on the clearness and fullness of conviction of sin. This pardon is seen in Jesus forgiving Mary Magdalene and treating her with compassion and honor.
Living Forgiving Love Daily
When neither debtor could pay anything, the creditor freely and frankly forgave them both, and the one forgiven the greater debt loves him more, so that all who are forgiven have reason to love deeply. That forgiveness pictures how Christ shows mercy to erring, weak, and needy people. His followers therefore must not shun those whose faults have tested their patience, but must show them pitying, forgiving love and help them.
Love for Christ is measured by conviction of sin and the sense of forgiveness, and Simon the Pharisee thought he loved Jesus until Jesus honored a poor, sorrowful, repentant woman above him, which proved his love was self-righteous, for true love can never dwell in a self-righteous heart. Not to see our own deformity is not to see the beauty of Christ's character, but when fully awake to our own sinfulness we appreciate Christ, and the more humble our views of ourselves the more clearly we see the spotless character of Jesus. The degree of love for God depends on the clearness and fullness of conviction of sin, for by the law is the knowledge of sin, and the more we see the perils to which sin has exposed us the more grateful we are for deliverance, so that to be redeemed means to cease from sin, with no union with Christ while in rebellion against the law of God.