This week we are looking at Luke 7:36-50.
Yesterday, we examined the situation that took place in verses 36-39. Today, we will see the illustration that Jesus used to make his point in Luke 7:40-43. And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "Say it, Teacher." 41 "A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly."
Jesus shared a parable to illustrate the truth he is trying to convey to Simon. He tells the story of a moneylender who had two individuals who were in debt to him. One owed him 500 denarii. The other owed him 50. A denarius was a day's pay for a laborer. 500 denarii was 20 months pay, while 50 denarii was 2 months pay. Neither of these individuals could pay, so the moneylender canceled their debts. What happened to the debt? Did it just disappear?
Any time somebody forgives a debt, they themselves incur that debt in full. The debt doesn't go away. Someone has to eat the debt. In this case it was the moneylender. The debt didn't disappear. He had to pay it. If I lend you 500 denarii and you can't pay and I say, "I forgive that," then now I've incurred that debt completely. That debt is now mine. The cost is transferred to me. I pay. To understand that is to get an insight into the forgiveness of God. When God forgave your sins, the debt did not just go away. He incurred the debt and He paid it in full in the person of Jesus Christ. So it's not just forgiveness and it's done, it's forgiveness and then the debt is transferred to the forgiver.
Jesus is giving Simon a sneak preview of the New Covenant and of the Gospel! God is perfect and owes no one anything. We are all in debt to him, because we all have a sin debt. It is a debt that we can never ever pay. No matter how moral we are, no matter what we do, no matter how hard we work for God, our debt will never be paid down by us. God cannot just ignore the debt, our sin. To do so would be unjust. It would be dishonest. So, he incurred the sin-debt, and the wages of sin is death. So he died for us. He paid the price for our sin. He incurred our debt. The good news is, he rose from that death after three days and is now alive forevermore. This parable served as an illustration.
Not only did Jesus give a situation and an illustration, but then he gave a straightforward application to Simon. In Luke 7:44-46 we read, 44 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. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Now he has come to the application. He turned to look at the woman and asked Simon, Do you see this woman? Did he? It is an interesting point. Simon could not see that woman as she then was, for looking at her as she had been. It is so hard to get over the past. Often because we get focused on the past, we miss the present.
Simon missed a present opportunity. It would have been expected that the host would have provided water for his guest's feet . Abraham provided water for his guest's feet in Genesis 18:4 which says, "Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree." Jesus had not received this courtesy from Simon, but he had had his feet washed with the woman's tears. Similarly in place of the kiss of welcome that might have been expected from the host, he had received kisses on his feet from this woman. And finally, whereas Simon had omitted to anoint Jesus' head with oil, olive oil which was plentiful and cheap, the woman had anointed his feet with perfume which was rare and expensive. The reception from Simon (the religious Pharissee) had been cold, patronizing and discourteous. The reception from the repentant, broken woman was just the opposite. And why? Because she understood the weight of her sin and the joy of forgiveness.
What a difference it would make in our day to day lives, our day to day worship, our service, our giving, and our going if we could simply catch a glimpse of our sinfulness in the shadow of God's holiness. It is so easy for the "churched crowd" to forget how sinful we truly are. It is so easy to begin taking the forgiveness of God for granted. It is so easy to presume upon the riches of his grace. Oh God, help us to see that our sin debt is greater than we could ever pay, is greater than we have ever recognized, and is greater than we could ever imagine. Help us to see our absolute, total helplessness apart from your grace, mercy, blood, sacrifice, and forgiveness. Oh God, help us to see and to love you. Until next time…
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