An Atheistic Bible Study Of The Gospel Parable Of The Two Debtors

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Luke 7:36-50 Jesus takes up a dinner invitation at the house of an important Pharisee called Simon. During the meal and discussion, an un-named woman, who appears to be a prostitute arrives, knowing Jesus is present. She stands weeping and her tears splash onto the feet of Jesus. She starts drying his feet with her own hair, kisses his feet and anoints his feet by rubbing them with expensive ointment from a jar she has brought along. Though she is not named here, some commentators assume she is Mary Magdalene. Simon is understandably appalled and clearly did not invite this spectacle. He tells Jesus that if he was a prophet he would know the woman was a sinner and refuse to allow her to conduct herself in front of him in such a way. Jesus replies with a parable. He describes a money lender who has two debtors. One owes him 50 Denari. The other one owes him 500 Denari. Neither can afford to repay their debts. The debt collector forgives both men and writes off their debts. Jesus asks which man will owe the debt collector the most love. Simon, as expected, replies that the man forgiven the bigger debt will have more reason to be grateful. Jesus now explains why he is so accepting and forgiving of the prostitute. Simon never offered to wash Jesus’s feet or kissed him, or wept with joy to see him, so Jesus is more willing to forgive her sins than those of Simon. If I was Simon, I would throw Jesus out of my house here. He is discrediting Simon’s hospitality by bringing in someone else to show him how it should be done. It’s like saying to a party host, I brought along this incontinent gibbon now running round smashing up your furniture because it has a better record collection than you have. The idea seems to be that the more you sin, the more forgiveness you deserve as long as you show the right degree of piety. The reality of the parable might be that the guy owing the most money might well feel lucky, but only show he is sorry to get a better chance of forgiveness. The Guy who owes less is likely to feel only regret that he didn’t borrow more money seeing as the lender is such a chump. Arthur Chappell