Unique to Luke’s version of the event is the Parable of the Two Debtors, which is contained in Luke 7:41-43. Concerning the uniqueness of Luke's account of the pericope, the Catholic Commentary on Scripture states: “Latin Tradition since the time of St. Gregory the Great has been in favor of identity; the general tradition among the Greeks (except for Origen) is that Luke's incident is altogether different, and most modern Catholic commentators adopt this view.” Furthermore, Fitzmeyer categorically states: “The story in Luke of Jesus' pardon of the sinful woman is derived from 'L.' It is almost certainly a conflated story, since, form-critically judged, it is made up of a pronouncement story and a parable of two debtors. But there is no reason to think that Luke has conflated these elements; they should be regarded as having come to him so in the tradition.” This paper does, in keeping with the aforementioned observation, treat Luke's account as unique and draw special interpretive themes therefrom.
The parable of the debtors, which is unique to Luke's account, tells of two debtors. One owed five hundred days’ wages, and the other owed fifty, to a certain creditor who ultimately forgave both debts, seeing that the debtors were unable to repay. Jesus asked his host, Simon, which of the two debtors would love the creditor more for the favor of forgiving the debt, and Simon correctly replied that it was bound to be the one who owed more to begin with. Luke describes Simon as a Pharisee, and Pharisees were self-righteous. Recall how the Jerome Bible Commentary as quoted above shows that Jesus was seen as a glutton and wine drinker by the Pharisees, and this motif played into their interpersonal relationships with him. Recall in this regard also the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18: 9-14). The occasion for this self-righteousness of the sort the Pharisees had was in this case of Jesus' anointing at Bethany an otherwise sinful woman’s touching of the feet of a prophet in the house of a consequently indignant Pharisee.
Hence, one point it appears Jesus is trying to make here is humility. God the father who forgives our sins wants us to acknowledge what he has done for us. The Jerome Commentary, on the theme of loving gratitude for what God has dome for us, including the forgiveness of our sins, states thus: “This [text] has been a classic text for showing that the forgiveness of sins leads to perfect charity.”1 Again, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), we see the example of charity played out. Setting a background to the foregoing is here apt. John’s Gospel states that Jesus was visiting with Lazarus and his sisters. The Gospel also states that a large crowd was there and they had come to see not only Jesus, but also Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead, and the Pharisees were intent on killing Lazarus because he represented to the people the resurrection power of the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 12:9-11). We are told in all other three gospels other than Luke in any case that the event in question took place in Bethany, the town where Lazarus, Martha and Mary lived; and, even though Luke does not expressly mention Bethany, we can assume that it was because he was more interested in the message than in the location of the important event of Jesus’ being anointed by the woman.
Luke calls the woman sinful, but the other gospels are silent as to her moral repertoire. They simply call her a woman (Matt. 26:7; Mark 14:3). And so, where it seems as if Mark and Matthew are interested in the location and the tradition, Luke is interested in the message, and John draws our attention to the relationship between Jesus and Lazarus, as well as the symbol of the salvific power that Lazarus portrays. One may theorize in this regard, borrowing from the theory that places Mark’s Gospel first, that Matthew borrowed the account from Mark and left it in much the same way with regard to detail. Luke in turn edited the story to highlight points he considered to be important. John took a further step in the editorial process. The subsequent portion of the paper proceeds with providing a background to the didactic events of the pericope, and gradually builds up to its themes and motifs, and the review of a pertinent Greek usage.
The parable of the debtors, which is unique to Luke's account, tells of two debtors. One owed five hundred days’ wages, and the other owed fifty, to a certain creditor who ultimately forgave both debts, seeing that the debtors were unable to repay. Jesus asked his host, Simon, which of the two debtors would love the creditor more for the favor of forgiving the debt, and Simon correctly replied that it was bound to be the one who owed more to begin with. Luke describes Simon as a Pharisee, and Pharisees were self-righteous. Recall how the Jerome Bible Commentary as quoted above shows that Jesus was seen as a glutton and wine drinker by the Pharisees, and this motif played into their interpersonal relationships with him. Recall in this regard also the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (Luke 18: 9-14). The occasion for this self-righteousness of the sort the Pharisees had was in this case of Jesus' anointing at Bethany an otherwise sinful woman’s touching of the feet of a prophet in the house of a consequently indignant Pharisee.
Hence, one point it appears Jesus is trying to make here is humility. God the father who forgives our sins wants us to acknowledge what he has done for us. The Jerome Commentary, on the theme of loving gratitude for what God has dome for us, including the forgiveness of our sins, states thus: “This [text] has been a classic text for showing that the forgiveness of sins leads to perfect charity.”1 Again, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), we see the example of charity played out. Setting a background to the foregoing is here apt. John’s Gospel states that Jesus was visiting with Lazarus and his sisters. The Gospel also states that a large crowd was there and they had come to see not only Jesus, but also Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead, and the Pharisees were intent on killing Lazarus because he represented to the people the resurrection power of the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 12:9-11). We are told in all other three gospels other than Luke in any case that the event in question took place in Bethany, the town where Lazarus, Martha and Mary lived; and, even though Luke does not expressly mention Bethany, we can assume that it was because he was more interested in the message than in the location of the important event of Jesus’ being anointed by the woman.
Luke calls the woman sinful, but the other gospels are silent as to her moral repertoire. They simply call her a woman (Matt. 26:7; Mark 14:3). And so, where it seems as if Mark and Matthew are interested in the location and the tradition, Luke is interested in the message, and John draws our attention to the relationship between Jesus and Lazarus, as well as the symbol of the salvific power that Lazarus portrays. One may theorize in this regard, borrowing from the theory that places Mark’s Gospel first, that Matthew borrowed the account from Mark and left it in much the same way with regard to detail. Luke in turn edited the story to highlight points he considered to be important. John took a further step in the editorial process. The subsequent portion of the paper proceeds with providing a background to the didactic events of the pericope, and gradually builds up to its themes and motifs, and the review of a pertinent Greek usage.
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