The Two Debtors
Read the parable
- Luke 7:36-50 Primary account
Context
Jesus was reclining at dinner in the house of Simon the Pharisee when a woman of the city, known as a sinner, wet his feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and anointed them from an alabaster flask. Simon had omitted the ordinary courtesies — water for the feet, a kiss of greeting, oil for the head. Reading his host's silent contempt, Jesus answered it with a parable about a creditor and two debtors, one owing five hundred pence and the other fifty.
Meaning
Both debtors have nothing to pay, and the creditor "frankly forgave them both" — the only question is who will love him more. Simon answers correctly: the one forgiven most. Jesus turns the parable on him: the woman's extravagant love is the evidence of her great forgiveness, while Simon's coldness betrays how little forgiveness he thinks he needs. Love does not purchase pardon — "thy faith hath saved thee" — but pardon received in full awareness of one's debt overflows into love. Those forgiven little, love little.
Go deeper
Two free lessons walk through the parables as a whole: The Parables of Jesus and Interpreting the Parables.