“Jesus said, ‘Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?’ Simon replied, ‘I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.’ ‘You have judged correctly,’ Jesus said.” Luke 7:41-43
The parable that Jesus told Simon the Pharisee in Luke chapter seven is quite simple. There were two men who owed a debt. One man’s debt was ten times the other man’s debt. Regardless of the amount they owed, however, neither man could pay back their debt. What Jesus was saying to Simon is the same thing He is saying to us today.
We all have a sin debt. So often we try to compare our debt to the debt of others. We may think we are ten times better or ten times worse than those around us. The truth is not only are we all sinners; we are all spiritually bankrupt without Jesus. Romans 3:10-12 puts it this way: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” We all owe a sin debt that we cannot repay. Whether a pastor or a prostitute, a pope or a pedophile, when it comes to sin we are all equally broken and helpless. The only difference between Simon, the religious leader, and the woman who was a prostitute in Luke 7 is that she could see her sin and Simon could not.
Randy Alcorn said this: “The worst thing we can do is teach people they are good without Jesus. The fact is God doesn’t offer grace to good people any more than doctors offer life-saving surgery to healthy people…Never believe anything about yourself or God that makes His grace to you seem anything less than amazing, because that is exactly what it is.”
Simon and the prostitute could not have been more different. He was a respected church leader. She was a scorned streetwalker. He made a living teaching the law. She made a living breaking it. Yet they were both equally sinners in need of grace. She understood this truth. He did not. It is only when you see your goodness as worthless that you will see God’s grace as priceless.
You will never understand how great a Savior Jesus is until you see how great a sinner you are. This is what Jesus was trying to tell Simon through the parable. Who loves the Master more? The one who understands the grace he has received…grace that he doesn’t deserve and could never pay back.
Dear God, I know that I owe a sin debt I could never repay. Thank You for sending Your Son to pay the penalty for my sin. Now I am debt free because of Your grace. Help me never take this truth for granted. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Topics: Repentance
