The Parable of the Two Debtors is a parable of Jesus. It appears in , where Jesus uses the parable to explain that the woman who has anointed him loves him more than his host, because she has been forgiven of greater sins.
A similar anointing in and may not refer to the same event, and this parable is not to be confused with the parable of the unforgiving servant, where a king forgives his servant, and the servant in turn is unable to have mercy on someone with a lesser debt.
Narrative The parable is told in response to an unspoken reaction by Jesus' host, who is named Simon (and is sometimes identified with Simon the Leper):
According to Luke, Jesus responds as follows:
The denarius in this parable is a coin worth a labourer's daily wage.Craig A. Evans, The Bible Knowledge Background Commentary: Matthew-Luke, David C. Cook, 2003, , p. 232. See also Matthew 20:2. In Catholic tradition, the woman is identified with Mary Magdalene, although Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches generally disagree.Catholic Encyclopedia: Mary Magdalene. By the standards of the time, Simon the Pharisee has indeed been a poor host: at the very least he should have provided water so that Jesus could wash his dusty feet, and a kiss would have been the normal greeting.Klyne Snodgrass, Stories with Intent: A comprehensive guide to the parables of Jesus, Eerdmans, 2008, , pp. 80-82.
Interpretation
The parable does not seem to be an attack on Pharisees, but rather an attempt to teach Simon to see the woman as Jesus sees her.Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke, Eerdmans, 1997, , pp. 305-315.Ben Witherington, Women in the Ministry of Jesus: A study of Jesus' attitudes to women and their roles as reflected in his earthly life, Cambridge University Press, 1987, , pp. 53-56. The description of the woman suggests that she is a known prostitute,Carol Ann Newsom and Sharon H. Ringe, Women's Bible Commentary, Westminster John Knox Press, 1998, , p. 374. although this inference is disputed. If she is a prostitute, her presence defiles the Pharisee's ritual purity. Joel B. Green notes that it "was and is easy enough to dismiss such a person as immoral as well as unclean and deviant, without grappling with the social realities faced" by the woman, who may have been forced into this life by economic circumstances, or have been sold into sexual slavery.
By affirming the woman's forgiveness, presumably given to her by Jesus on a previous encounter, Jesus invites Simon to realise her new identity and "embrace her in the community of God's people." Barbara Reid writes:
The question that the story poses is: can Simon see differently? Can he see what Jesus sees: a forgiven woman who shows great love? If he can see her this way, then he may perceive Jesus aright: not only as prophet, but also as the agent of God's forgiving love.Barbara E. Reid, Choosing the Better Part?: Women in the Gospel of Luke, Liturgical Press, 1996, , pp. 110-116.
By responding to Simon's unspoken thought, Jesus is demonstrating the prophetic abilities which the Pharisee is doubting, while the parable invites him "to reconsider the meaning of this woman's actions — not the repayment of a debt, as though she were a slave girl or prostitute, but an expression of love that flows from the freedom of having all debts canceled." John Calvin writes regarding Jesus' words ("Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much"):
By these words it is plain he does not make love the cause of forgiveness, but the proof of it. The similitude is borrowed from the case of a debtor, to whom a debt of five hundred pence had been forgiven. It is not said that the debt is forgiven because he loved much, but that he loved much because it was forgiven. The similitude ought to be applied in this way: You think this woman is a sinner; but you ought to have acknowledged her as not a sinner, in respect that her sins have been forgiven her. Her love ought to have been to you a proof of her having obtained forgiveness, that love being an expression of gratitude for the benefit received. It is an argument a posteriori, by which something is demonstrated by the results produced by it. Our Lord plainly attests the ground on which she had obtained forgiveness, when he says, "Thy faith has saved thee." By faith, therefore, we obtain forgiveness: by love we give thanks, and bear testimony to the loving-kindness of the Lord.John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, Chapter 4 at CCEL.org.
Ambrose, however, makes the woman's love the condition for her forgiveness:
If, then, any one, having committed hidden sins, shall nevertheless diligently do penance, how shall he receive those rewards if not restored to the communion of the Church? I am willing, indeed, that the guilty man should hope for pardon, should seek it with tears and groans, should seek it with the aid of the tears of all the people, should implore forgiveness; and if communion be postponed two or three times, that he should believe that his entreaties have not been urgent enough, that he must increase his tears, must come again even in greater trouble, clasp the feet of the faithful with his arms, kiss them, wash them with tears, and not let them go, so that the Lord Jesus may say of him too: "His sins which are many are forgiven, for he loved much."Ambrose, Concerning Repentance (Book I), Chapter 16 at NewAdvent.org.
Calvin's interpretation is perhaps better supported by the nature of the parable and by the Greek text,I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A commentary on the Greek text, Eerdmans, 1978, , p. 313.Charles Francis Digby Moule, Essays in New Testament Interpretation, Cambridge University Press, 1982, , p. 283. in which "for she loved much" can be read as the result, rather than the cause, of "her many sins have been forgiven." Many modern translations, both Protestant and Catholic, reword verse 47 for clarity, e.g.:
"So I tell you that all her sins are forgiven, and that is why she has shown great love. But anyone who has been forgiven for only a little will show only a little love." (Contemporary English Version)Luke 7:47, CEV.
"So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." (New American Bible)Luke 7:47, NAB.
C.S. Lewis makes the following point, "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you."
Cornelius a Lapide comments on verse 42 of the parable, writing, "The meaning is, As he who has been forgiven much, is accounted to have received forgiveness because of his deserts, so debtors who owe much, are wont to show the utmost deference to their creditors, in order to obtain from them, if not forgiveness of their debt, at least favourable terms of payment. In like manner, Simon, thou shouldest have known that the Magdalene loved me with a greater love than thine. For she showed greater proofs of her love, and therefore her sins, which are many, are forgiven, because she loved much. Wherefore, she is no longer a sinner, nor, as thou thinkest, unworthy to touch my feet; but holier than thou, and more worthy to be touched by me. The parable, therefore, plainly teaches us, that the more we love, the more we shall be forgiven."
Art and popular culture While the parable itself is seldom depicted in art, there are numerous depictions of the anointing, by Sandro Botticelli, Antonio Campi, Dirk Bouts, Onofrio Avellino, Cigoli, Nicolas Poussin, Bernardo Strozzi, and Peter Paul Rubens, among others. In some paintings, yellow clothing denotes the woman's former occupation as a prostitute.Marjorie O'Rourke Boyle, Senses of Touch: Human dignity and deformity from Michelangelo to Calvin, BRILL, 1998, , p. 138. In Armenian religious art, this episode of anointing is depicted as distinct from those in other gospels.Thomas F. Mathews and Avedis Krikor Sanjian, Armenian Gospel Iconography: The tradition of the Glajor Gospel, Dumbarton Oaks, 1991, , p. 141. The 1891 painting by Jean Béraud brought the episode into the 19th century, with the repentant prostitute represented by the well-known courtesan Liane de Pougy,Anthony Powell, Some Poets, Artists and 'A reference for Mellors', Timewell Press, 2005, , p. 210. who eventually became a Dominican tertiary.Dominique D. Fisher and Lawrence R. Schehr, Articulations of Difference: Gender studies and writing in French, Stanford University Press, 1997, , p. 137.
The parable is included in medievalLynette R. Muir, The Biblical Drama of Medieval Europe, Cambridge University Press, 2003, , p. 119. and later mystery plays about Mary Magdalene, such as Lewis Wager's play of 1550–1566.Jane Milling, Peter Thomson, and Joseph W. Donohue, The Cambridge History of British Theatre: Origins to 1660, Cambridge University Press, 2004, , pp. 97-98.Darryll Grantley, English Dramatic Interludes, 1300-1580: A reference guide, Cambridge University Press, 2004, , pp. 192-194.
See also Life of Jesus in the New Testament Ministry of Jesus
References
External links Biblical Art on the WWW: The Sinful Woman