Repent and Believe

• Real characters: Simon (the Pharisee), Jesus, the crowd, the woman
• Nhân vật giả tưởng: Chủ, 2 người đầy tớ

• Simon’s house (the Pharisee), in the region of Galilee

• Early stage of Jesus' ministry (in Galilee)

• Jesus was invited by a Pharisee to dine at his house.
• During the meal, a sinful woman brought an alabaster jar of perfume, wept, wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with perfume.
• The Pharisee thought to himself about Jesus. Then, Jesus told him a parable about a creditor and two debtors and began to teach him.
• Jesus forgave the woman’s sins.

• Jesus ate (v.36) — Demonstrating His humanity.
• Jesus is a prophet; He knew what the Pharisee and others were thinking in their hearts (vv. 39-40, 49).
• Jesus is a teacher (Rabbi) (v.40).
• In the parable, the creditor represents God. God is the only one who has the authority to forgive sins. He is merciful and just, forgiving the debts of both debtors (vv. 41-42).
• Jesus has the authority to forgive sins (v.48).

• The woman recognized her sin and her need for forgiveness (REPENTANCE) regarding her sins. (37-38)
• The woman honored the Lord Jesus (37-38, 44-47) by bringing Him an alabaster jar of fragrant oil and through her actions—wiping His feet with her hair, kissing His feet, and anointing them with the perfume.
• Both individuals sought the Lord (36-37), yet their actions and attitudes reflected different levels of earnestness in their pursuit.
  • • The Pharisee merely stopped at inviting Jesus to a banquet.
    • The sinful woman, however, expressed her deep yearning for forgiveness through her every action.
• In the parable, the two debtors (41) symbolize sinful humanity. However, mankind lacks the ability to absolve themselves of their own debt (42). Humanity is the one in need of forgiveness.

• Interpretation of the Parable:

Chúa Jesus đã kể ẩn dụ này cho người Pha-ri-si sau khi ông có suy nghĩ trong lòng. Chúng ta có thể hiểu, cả 2 người đàn bà và người Pha-ri-si đều là 2 con nợ, không kể ít nhiều và cả 2 đều được tha nợ bởi chủ của mình. Người được tha nợ nhiều hơn sẽ yêu chủ mình hơn.

We often assume that the greater debtor was the sinful woman. However, Jesus did not specify who had more sin. Instead, He contrasted the actions of the Pharisee and the woman, demonstrating the woman’s desperate pursuit of forgiveness — otherwise known as repentanceThe woman herself recognized her great sin, so she brought all she had (the alabaster jar of perfume) to the feet of Jesus, expressing her repentance through her actions to receive forgiveness. In contrast to the sinful woman, the text does not record any a response from the Pharisee after witnessing the woman’s actions, hearing Jesus' parable, or listening to His comparison or he seems to fade from the narrative.. This suggests that the Pharisee never recognized his own sin nor sought forgiveness. In fact, he was worse off than the debtor who owed less in the parable.

However, nếu chúng ta tìm kiếm sự tha tội mà lại chẳng biết và believing that Jesus is the One who can cleanse us from sin, all our efforts are in vainand without hope. But the sinful woman came to Jesus to receive forgiveness. She believed that Jesus had the authority to forgive her sins, and He affirmed that her sins were forgiven (48-50) because her faith had saved her (50).

• Lesson: We must recognize the depth of our own sin so that we can be conscious of it and seek forgiveness through true repentance. True repentance is of the heart, and faith is expressed through action.