“Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said. Luke 7:41-43 NLT
While sitting with the upper echelons of society, those so squeaky clean, so raucously righteous, that it would intimidate anyone that couldn’t match or surpass their religious reputations – Jesus has a meal with some Pharisees! Have you ever been around folks that “out-classed” you? I have!
I went to a nonprofit meetup with a friend and told a story to a group of folks there. It was about young boy in foster care who had never had a birthday party. I shared that his foster siblings, overhearing his claim, challenged their brother’s memory about not having a birthday party. “Yes, you’ve had one,” one of them said. The boy protested, “nuh uh.” The older sister said, “Remember the time they (foster parents) took us to Jack in the box.” Trying to remember, but unable to do so, his sister said, “Remember they bought you a hamburger.” Still puzzled, the boy shrugged his shoulders, reluctantly agreeing. His then sister said, “that was your birthday party.”
One time, one Jack in the box burger – no wonder at 8 years old he couldn’t remember ever being celebrated for being born.
Now, with a group of people leaning in to hear the rest of the story, I said, “can you believe it, the only thing he received was a crummy burger from Jack in the box.” There was a visible gasp from everyone except for one woman who said, “well, I think a Jack in the box burger is a pretty good gift.” The friend who invited me to the upscale mixer then said, “Glenn I’d like you to meet the wife of the CEO of Jack in the box.” I was mortified… and out-classed.
Was Jesus comfortable being in a room full of highly educated, wealthy and powerful men, He felt more accepted among the poor and needy. But there was no way that Jesus was out-classed! I am amazed at Jesus’ ability to NOT be shocked by someone’s behavior, social status, nor their past. Jesus was Mr. Cool, vibing or grounded around common humanity.
Isn’t it interesting that Jesus told a story about indebtedness? I don’t know how many of the Pharisees experienced debt while they were clawing their way up the religious ladders of success. Debt is a crushing but normal experience among people. No one likes to be in debt! Ah, but there are plenty of money lenders who love debt – especially when money is owed to them. It’s power over desperation – right? I believe the Pharisees around the table knew more about loaning money and collecting debts than they knew about the pressures of paying it back. Or, maybe Jesus knew that some in the room were dealing with debt.
But the story Jesus tells isn’t about sin and forgiveness or status, it was about debt and gratitude. Jesus gets their mind off their judgmental attitude, “Jesus doesn’t know who this woman is,” to thinking about the posture of being forgiven from massive debt. So Jesus could get them thinking about a mixture of social and spiritual awareness, about humility and gratitude. They could see the splinters of sin in the woman’s life, yet could not see the logs of sin in their own eyes.
They did not recognize God in the room and did appropriately act in reverence by washing Jesus feet (cleansing) and anointing his head (holiness). But the woman, so scorned and low in status, both washed and anointed Jesus’ feet, both acts of pure, grateful humility. How could such a woman of the streets read the room and recognize God more than the guys that worked for God? Because, even though religions and the world celebrates pride, the Bible says, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Proverbs 3:34, 1 Peter 5:5 & James 4:6).
The Pharisees did not understand that their own hearts were deeply in debt. The woman, knowing her own heart, did. The woman left the dinner party FREE – “Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” The Pharisees on the other had sunk deeper into debt saying, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?” What will it take for us to understand our own indebtedness and come to Jesus in humble gratitude, instead of comparing to the sins of those around us there by leaving with bitterness instead of forgiveness?
Prayer
Dad,
I see my past and present sins! I am completely aware that I wasn’t just a sinner in the past, I am a sinner still today. Your grace and forgiveness feel more powerful in forgiving my debts now – this absolutely helps me forgive others and see them through mercy rather than judgement. I’m so busy ejecting logs out of my eyes that I rarely have time to examine the specs in other’s eyes. But, you know what really bothers me? Being around others with little spiritual awareness to see their own debt while questioning the sinfulness of others. We’ve got to daily die to our pharisaical observations, and see people through your eyes! Help us in this O Lord.