The Two Debtors | Luke 7:41–43

Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ.

! I'm Pastor Patrick Daly, and each week I share sermons that balance the grace and love of Jesus Christ with the truth of the Word of God.

Together, we'll explore Scripture using observation, interpretation, and application.

This helps us discover practical ways to live out our faith every single day.

Let's dive in together into God's Word.

Good morning, everyone.

Today, we are going over a very unusual parable.

We've actually had the opportunity and the blessing to go over the parables of Christ, who spoke in these very simplistic parables.

We recently did the children in the marketplace.

We've done the seeds and the soil.

We've talked about the ten virgins.

We've gone over so many different simplistic messages that are full of such great spiritual and biblical depth.

And here, we find something that is a bit different.

When we focus on this specific parable, you have, well, verses 41 through 43.

But in order to understand this specific parable, you have to understand the scene that is happening.

Which is why I had Sam read the entirety of this about a sinful woman.

You have this scene where Jesus is being invited.

He's being invited by Simon, a Pharisee, into his house for a meal.

And you have this language where he's, well, he goes into the Pharisee's house and he reclines at the table.

And what's interesting is that there is this, as the text says, a woman of the city who was a sinner.

Now, it's kind of interesting you see that kind of language.

A lot of scholars, biblical scholars and commentaries, they seem to be very consistent that this woman was a prostitute.

Now, we don't know with 100% certainty, but that seems to be the typical agreement on that.

That this woman was, you've probably heard, a person of the streets, right?

Very similar language in that.

So someone that wasn't viewed upon very highly back then, or someone that's not very viewed upon highly in culture even today.

And so what happens, she brings this alabaster jar.

Or in the ESV, it's saying an alabaster flask of ointment.

And it says that she weeps.

Now, what's very interesting in this is that typically when there was going to be the washing of feet, you would use water, not tears.

And so this woman is in such grieving, such sorrow of this idea of who Christ is.

That she is weeping towards Christ.

And when we read this language, it seems very strange to us.

Because, of course, there is a cultural difference that exists back then that we may not understand.

Like, example is, if you go, if you can put this on the screen, the verse 46.

If you could put that up there real quick.

I want to show you something here.

Because when you're reading this, and it's talking about the woman, she's weeping.

She wet his feet with her tears, wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet and anointed them with ointment.

You actually see within the text what was more accustomed back then.

I entered your house.

This is what Christ is saying.

I entered your house, and you gave me no water for my feet.

But she has wet my feet with her tears.

So it's important to know what was customary and how this woman is going above and beyond, having this sense of mourning and grieving in front of Christ.

Now, again, when you read this, you're like, I don't understand what is going on because of our own modern context.

You think of someone crying and cleaning someone's fink.

You think, what a weirdo.

But we got to understand back then that this was more of a sense of reverence.

She has wept my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

You, Simon, gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet.

Some of you may have seen, I'll give you an example.

There are a lot of films out there.

I can think of Robin Hood, other films.

Kiss my ring, right?

You've probably seen or heard that expression.

Or if you have kissed the ring of a king, that goes to show the amount of reverence that you have to do in front of an authority figure.

And in other cultures, there's bowing.

There's many different ways that someone shows reverence to someone in authority.

And to kiss someone's feet is, again, not something that we would think of.

But it's this sense of showing regret and sorrow for the Lord.

Now, this is not really common, at least that I know of in America.

Do you greet one another with a kiss?

Now, some cultures do that, but it's not as common nowadays.

I think of Italian families, right?

They give hugs and kisses and whatnot.

And certainly there are some families that do that.

So this is one of those times in Scripture where we read it and we may not understand.

But here we can see what was more common.

You gave me no kiss, which would indicate you didn't greet me with a kiss, perhaps.

But from the time I came, she has not ceased to kiss my feet.

You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

And it's showing for a second, okay, Simon is inviting Christ to this party, but there's no...

Christ being the honored guest.

There's nothing that's happening beyond them.

But yet this woman who is a sinner, someone who is viewed upon as scum of the earth,

the misfit of society, is going above and beyond in reverence to the Lord.

That is what is very important that we can see within this text.

And you could...

It has been debated that while Simon...

Well, we could actually see this in the text that Simon is judging Jesus for allowing a sinner to touch him.

If you go back to the text, it is...

Let's see here.

In verse 39, when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself,

if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him.

She is a sinner.

Talking about cleanliness and uncleanliness, which was very common with the Jewish understanding.

You didn't want someone who was unclean, as it were, to be touching that which was important or that which was clean.

And so, what's very similar...

Before I go into the parable, there's actually a very similar connection with another parable.

If you remember the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector,

you had this scene where the Pharisee felt that he was giving 10% of everything that he owned.

He went to the temple, he lifted his hands, and he went home.

And you had this other person who was the tax collector, more of the misfit of society,

who would not lift his head before the Lord.

And he would bang on his chest saying,

God, forgive me.

Have mercy on me, a sinner, essentially.

Very similar to the language that we find here with the two debtors.

That this woman was showing sorrow and grief for her sin.

And so, we go then into the parable of the two debtors,

where two people owe money.

And I had Sam ask this question.

How many of you have ever had a debt that was paid off before?

Maybe, maybe not.

Maybe you have experienced where someone paid it forward.

Or maybe you've had an experience where someone cut a check,

and whatever it is.

In those moments where, even if it's a small, you know,

your cup of coffee that someone covered for you.

I remember one time, my wife and I, we went into Boise.

We had breakfast.

It was a Saturday.

And someone paid for our entire meal.

And I'm telling you, when you take an entire family of seven out,

that can go, that can be a very expensive check.

And I remember, I thought, I asked the cashier there,

I said, do you know who this person was?

They do not want to tell you.

I'm like, well, excuse me.

I want to know who gave this.

I can thank them.

And the bill was like $60, $70.

I mean, going out for breakfast is expensive.

And I just thought, well, gosh, what am I going to do?

So we ended up paying for someone's meal to continue that.

And that's in those moments,

you appreciate when someone pays off a debt.

Now, this is just an everyday example that you can think of.

And in the text here, you have that there are two people who owe money.

One owes 500 denarii and the other owes 50.

So there's a 10 times difference.

It's important to note that both of them were unable to pay the debt.

And the lender cancels the debts for both of the debtors.

And so Jesus is asking Simon the question.

Jesus is telling Simon this parable.

He asks the question, now, which of them, when they could not pay,

he canceled the debt of both.

Which of them will love him more?

And Simon answered, the one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt.

And Christ said, you have judged rightly.

And so we see that there is this parallel with recognizing the significance of Christ,

but also recognizing the debt that is owed.

And we can think as Christians, how we have a debt that we cannot pay.

Now, at the end of the day, you might owe 50 denarii.

You might owe 500 denarii.

But at the end of the day, both debtors could not pay off the debt.

And when we think of how we are sinners that are in need of a savior,

it is Christ who redeems us, who pays the debt by his death, burial, and resurrection.

By his very life, his ministry.

And so that's remarkable that we can see within the text that this woman,

this sinner, this person you would not expect to show such humility to Christ,

she is showing great humility and gratitude for the Lord

and this sense of, much like the other parable,

recognizing the need for Christ.

And Jesus, later on in verse 50,

your faith has saved you.

Go in peace.

Now, I don't know about you, but to hear that from Christ

would be the most wonderful thing to hear

and to be in Christ's presence.

And so what's interesting about this specific parable,

it's only a few verses.

It's not commonly seen.

And for those of you who maybe have grown up with a lectionary,

it only shows up once out of all three-year cycles,

which that's very interesting.

And so there's a controversy that exists in this text

because it's very,

I guess the word intimate can be used.

But see, unfortunately,

we live in a culture where the word intimate,

we automatically think something else.

And that's not what is happening here.

It was showing,

the woman was showing with intentionality

the amount of sorrow that she had for her sin.

It's nothing sinister in there.

It's showing that she is showing reverence to the Lord.

And so I think that's a big reason why

that scripture is not really preached on

or mentioned a lot of times.

We then go into,

let's go into the symbolism that we can,

that slide.

Oh, is it stuck?

That's okay.

With all of this in mind,

we can now go into,

well, what can we learn then from the text here?

The first thing that we can learn,

you can follow along in your notes,

is that we all owe a spiritual debt to the Lord.

It's a debt that we cannot pay on our own.

And I know we live in a culture where

we like to work and work harder

and work even more, right?

Get a second or third job to pay off a,

you know, a financial debt.

Well, why can't we do that with spirituality?

But that's not how the Lord works.

It's about believing in him.

It's about believing in the risen Christ.

Everyone owes a spiritual debt

that we cannot pay on our own.

And like the debtors,

we depend entirely on God's grace

and his mercy for us.

We can think of so many scriptures, right?

For by grace you have been saved,

not by works.

It goes on in Ephesians,

talking about that we are made

so that we can do good

in the name of Christ.

We're not saved by what we can do.

We are saved by what has been done for us.

And because of this,

we do good

in God's name.

Is that song Sherry, by the way?

It sounded like,

I was like,

that's all right.

No, we could have gone off into song,

but no, that's okay.

That's all right.

That's all right.

With that,

you got to have a little humor, right?

The second thing then is

the woman saw the debt clearly.

And because of the amount of debt

that she owed,

she recognized

having the sense of gratitude

and sorrow for the Lord,

recognizing that she needs Christ.

Well, we can think for us

and how important it is

for us to know Christ

to begin with.

We have the symbolism up here.

The money lender

representing God

and the two debtors,

us all in spiritual debt.

And what is the debt?

It is sin.

And that awareness

is understanding,

well,

how much debt

do you actually have?

Some of us are more

sensitive, as it were,

to the amount of sin

that we have.

But in being aware,

it should point us

to how much we need the Lord

and how much we appreciate

in gratitude

our Lord and our God.

And the forgiven debt,

when you believe in Jesus Christ,

it's showing God's grace

and mercy

to know that you are going

to be saved,

saved by grace through faith

and recognizing that

I am secure

in the arms of the Father.

And so the second thing,

yeah,

is to how the woman

recognized the amount of sin.

And because of this,

there was action.

There was faith

and there was action.

And that's so important, right?

When we believe in Christ,

right,

we're saved.

And that's the foundation.

That is the beginning.

Because of that,

there is continued growing

and action.

In other words,

we can think of how

as we grow,

as we believe in Christ,

and how many of you

have met a brand new Christian

and you see how excited they are

about how Jesus saved them.

And sometimes it makes you wish,

man,

I wish I was on fire

for the Lord like that

when,

like how this Christian

is first began.

But we continue to grow

in the Lord.

we continue

in the words

that we speak,

us being present

with other people

and the actions

that we do

should be a reflection

of Christ's love,

grace,

and mercy.

And so the woman,

her actions

were reflecting

appreciation

and need

for the Lord.

which then leads us

into

the application

and what do we do

about this?

All right,

pastor,

you're talking about

this woman

who is basically

a prostitute

who's coming to the Lord

and she's letting down

her hair

and she's cleaning

his feet.

What does that have

to do with me?

When we think about it,

it's so important

for us.

We have Scripture

as our source,

the divine inspiration

from the Lord.

And when we go

into the interpretation,

that is the lessons

that we can learn

on our spiritual walk,

which leads us

to how we live this out.

The first thing

for us

is to recognize

the debt

that we cannot pay

on our own.

Understand that,

well,

try doing life

on your own.

I know I have.

It didn't turn out

very well.

And it's recognizing

we need God's grace.

We need His forgiveness

and His love.

And it's important

for us to recognize

what God has done

for us.

It's just like

when we take

of communion,

that we are

to examine

our hearts

and we are

to focus

on what Christ

has done

for us.

And remember

that you were

once in debt

and that Christ,

it's just like

that song,

Jesus paid it all.

Right?

It's very important

for us to never

forget that.

The gravity,

the amount

that God

has done for us.

So recognize

the debt

and respond

to Christ

in faith.

Now,

for some of us,

we already know

the Lord.

if you are

not a believer,

recognize

your debt

and respond

to Christ's call

by believing

in Him

and being saved.

For those

who have been

saved,

you continue

to respond

to God

molding you,

to God

leading and

guiding you

on your

spiritual walk

in Him.

Just as I've

mentioned so many

times about how

God is the potter

and we are

the clay,

understand that

when you put on

the new self,

when you are

saved by grace

through faith,

you are setting

aside the former

life and the

former things.

That is the

beginning of your

life,

to continue

to be transformed,

to continue

to be molded,

where God

will change

your mind

and to change

your heart.

I'm sure

for some of us,

you may have

known someone

who had

a hardened

heart,

someone who

was bitter

or angry

and resentful

to the Lord,

the God

working in

them and

changing them

is part of

that transforming

process or

even how

sometimes we

get convicted.

I remember

many years

ago,

my wife

and I,

when we

were first

dating,

if someone

was asking

for a

conversation

or money

on the

street,

I would

walk past

them.

It was just

very common.

I just tuned

it out.

But I remember

one time

that God

convicted me,

you need to

talk to this

person.

Praying with

them,

offering them

a meal.

It was

inconvenient,

absolutely.

But in

those moments,

God will

pull at

your heart.

Consider

the least

in our

society,

consider the

least in

our culture,

much like

how,

isn't it

fascinating

that Christ

is talking

about how

the

prostitute,

this sinner,

this faith

has saved

her.

And she's

the scum

of the

earth,

according to

their

culture.

That's

something that's

powerful.

And us

as Christians,

we are to

focus on

those who

are also

sinners,

expanding the

kingdom of

God and

sharing the

gospel message

with others.

Absolutely,

it can be

inconvenient.

We've got

places to

go and

people to

see.

I

understand

that.

But there

are some

times when

God's like,

stop for a

moment.

Pray for

this person.

Have a

conversation.

Offer them

a bottle of

water or

a meal.

Because you'd

be amazed at

how your

life can have

such a

profound impact

on people,

even when you

don't realize

it.

You'd be

amazed by

that.

And finally,

we have to

live and

love like

Christ,

right?

It's being

grateful.

to live

and love

like Christ,

being an

ambassador for

him.

In the

words that

we speak to

other people,

in the

actions that

we do,

and I

would even

add a third

thing,

your presence

with people

can speak

miles.

Allow your

relationship with

Christ to

let God work

in and through

you, let the

love of Christ

pour out

through you.

Which is why

it's so important

for us to

exhibit the

love of

Christ,

kindness,

generosity,

devotion to

him.

It is living

intentionally,

letting Christ's

example guide

us in what we

say and in

what we do.

And so let us

consider that

Jesus forgives

us large and

small debts.

But what

matters is how

we respond.

What matters

is if we

are ready

to recognize

the debt and

to respond to

Christ in

faith by

believing in

him or

returning to

him or

being wholly

devoted to

him.

Let God

work in your

life,

continuing to

transform your

mind and your

heart and

consider, I

want you to

think about

this before we

close here.

Who do you

identify with?

Do you

identify with

Simon?

And you

think, what a

wicked woman

who's wanting

to be by

Christ.

Or maybe you

identify with

the woman,

someone who

recognizes their

need for

Christ.

Christ.

For some

of us, we

may identify

with one or

the other, but

in any case,

let us choose

to believe in

Christ, to

respond to

him, and be

grateful for

what the Lord

has done for

us.

Let's pray

together.

And Father, we

thank you for

your word.

We thank you

for your son,

Jesus Christ,

the way, the

truth, and the

life.

And we

pray that

we may

have a heart

of devotion

and understand

our need, our

continual need

for the Lord.

May we

recognize that

we are saved

by what the

Lord has done

for us.

May we have

the faith like

this woman who

is a sinner.

May we have

faith and

devotion to the

Lord, showing

hospitality to

others, devotion

to him.

Father, we

recognize that

even though this

parable and

this scene here

may be difficult

for us to

understand, may

it still work

in our mind

and in our

hearts and

transform us,

recognizing our

need to invite

Christ in and

to respond to

him.

May we be

devoted to

you.

We love

you, we

praise you, we

glorify you, and

we honor you.

It is in the

name of Jesus

Christ that we

pray and we all

say together, amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you for

listening for this

week's message from

Ontario Community

Church.

I pray that you

are encouraged and

strengthened in your

walk with Christ.

For more sermons and

resources, visit

OntarioCommunityChurch.org.

May God bless you as

you live out his

grace and truth

every single day.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.