Our Cancelled Debts
Debt – “something that is owed or due or the state of owing money.” Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “A man in debt is so far a slave.” Christ’s sacrifice was the ultimate cancellation of debts. We were once in debt with sin; a slave to sin, but we know Christ paid a ransom for us (Matt. 20:28). How should one respond to that sacrificial act? We find a good example in Luke 7:36-50.
In this passage, we see three main characters: Jesus, the sinful woman, and the Pharisee. In verses 37-40, the woman enters the home with an alabaster flask of ointment and begins to wash Jesus’s feet with her tears, wipe his feet with her hair, and ceaselessly kiss his feet. The woman’s response is that of humility. She recognizes that she is unworthy to be in God’s presence. That presence, mixed with her humiliation of her past decisions, moves her to tears. Then, we see the Pharisee who says to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” The Pharisee, who is a religious leader, looks at this woman with judgment and disgust, as if he were completely free from sin himself.
Jesus, frustrated with the reaction of the Pharisee, tells a parable of two debtors. In verses 41-42, Jesus says, “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” At this point, both debtors do not owe anything. They should both be thankful, but the Pharisee answers like any of us would saying, in verse 43, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
What happens next is similar to Nathan’s interaction with David in 2 Sam. 12. Just as Nathan tells a parable and tells David, “You are the man who is in this parable,” Jesus addresses the Pharisee saying, “You’re the unthankful servant!” He says, in verses 44-47, ““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. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” It should be noted, that the word “for” is synonymous with “therefore.” In other words, she loved him in response to the forgiveness of sins rather than being forgiven because of her love. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).
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You can see the irritation in Jesus’s words in His response to the Pharisee. It seems as though this man is one who could easily be judged himself, yet he’s judging this woman who is doing everything she can to receive the favor of her Lord. Yet, this man was sitting back, high and mighty, but never even offered a hint of humility. A cancelled debt deserves gratitude. It deserves humility to the one who cancelled the debt, especially a debt that would cost his life.
Our response to Christ’s sacrifice should be one of humility, much like this woman, who knew she was not worthy of His forgiveness, but she served him anyway. Jesus shows mercy and grace, telling her her sins are forgiven. James 4:6 says, “But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” This interaction between Jesus, the sinful woman, and the Pharisee is clear evidence of that teaching.
We learn two lessons from this passage. First, from the woman, we learn humility, faith, and thanksgiving. She was unworthy, but she had faith. The best way to show gratitude to Jesus is to live for Him and we can assume, after having an interaction like this, that the woman spent the rest of her life living for Jesus. Not only did she have faith, she had an active faith. James 2:14-26 shows us that faith without works is dead. “For as the body apart from the Spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.” Second, from Jesus, we learn the act of forgiveness. He forgave one who showed humility, even though she did not deserve it. He now does the same for us, cancelling our debt; a debt that he did not owe, and one that we could never pay. These are the lessons we learn from both the forgiven woman and our forgiving Savior. Let’s reflect their examples.
~ Jared McLeod
