Parables of Jesus
(27 Parables Explained)
The Tale of Two Debtors
How Much Do You Love?
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The Gospel of Luke is rich with stories that cut right to the heart of the human condition, and few are as poignant as the Parable of the Two Debtors (Luke 7:41–50). This parable isn't just a lesson on finance; it's a profound look at sin, forgiveness, and the measure of true love for God.
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The Setting: A Dinner Party and a Sinner
The story unfolds not on a hillside, but in the house of Simon, a Pharisee who had invited Jesus to dine with him. The atmosphere, however, was tense. An uninvited woman—described only as "a sinner" in the city—burst into the room.
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What followed was an extraordinary display of devotion:
* She wept, washing Jesus’ feet with her tears.
* She wiped them with her hair.
* She kissed them repeatedly.
* She anointed them with expensive fragrant oil.
Simon, the self-righteous host, watched with judgment. He thought to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner" (Luke 7:39).
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The Parable: The Creditor’s Grace
Jesus, knowing Simon’s inner thoughts, responded not with condemnation, but with a story:
“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he generously forgave them both. Which of them, therefore, will love him more?” (Luke 7:41–42, NKJV)
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A denarius was a day’s wage, so the first debt (500 denarii) was nearly two years' wages, a massive, life-ruining amount. The second (50 denarii) was still a substantial debt—perhaps two months' wages—but minor in comparison.
Simon answered correctly: “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus affirmed.
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The Application: Forgiveness Fuels Love
Jesus then turned the parable on Simon, using the two debtors to represent the two people in the room: Simon and the woman.
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1. Simon: The 'Fifty-Denarii' Debtor
Simon saw himself as a relatively small sinner, perhaps even a fifty-denarii debtor. He was a good host, but his heart lacked the fire of gratitude. Jesus pointed out Simon's failure to offer the customary acts of hospitality: no water for his feet, no kiss of greeting, and no oil for his head (Luke 7:44–46).
Because Simon perceived his debt (sin) as small, his love and gratitude were small. He did not feel the urgent, life-saving need for Christ’s presence.
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2. The Woman: The 'Five-Hundred-Denarii' Debtor
This woman, notorious for her many sins, knew the catastrophic weight of her debt. She knew she was utterly bankrupt before God.
Therefore, her spectacular, costly, and emotional outpouring of love was an obvious result of her profound, life-changing forgiveness. As Jesus explained, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little” (Luke 7:47, NKJV).
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The equation is simple:
Great Forgiveness \ Great Love.
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The Takeaway for Us
The Parable of the Two Debtors is a mirror. It forces us to ask: "Which debtor am I?"
* Do we minimize our debt to God? Do we look at others' sins (the 500-denarii sins) and feel good about our own (the 50-denarii sins)? This mindset leads to an attitude of self-sufficiency, a lack of deep gratitude, and a minimal love for the Savior.
* Do we recognize our infinite debt? The truth is, before a Holy God, all sin, whether great or small in human terms, makes us incapable of repayment. We are all 500-denarii debtors—or more! The amount of our sin is immeasurable, and our inability to pay is absolute.
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The Power of Realizing Your Need
When we truly grasp the magnificent grace of the cross—that God forgave a debt we could never repay—we are overwhelmed with love.
Our greatest comfort and assurance come not from comparing our spiritual "debt" to others, but from looking at the Creditor. He graciously forgave us both. He wiped the slate clean.
May we never lose the awe of that forgiveness. May we, like the weeping woman, be so conscious of the debt we’ve been cleared of that our response is a continuous, overflowing, extravagant act of love and devotion for our Savior.
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What is your experience with the mercy of God? What can you do today to express the "great love" that flows from your "great forgiveness"?
The Unexpected Neighbor
Lessons from the Good Samaritan
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In a world often defined by busyness and self-interest, the simple, powerful story Jesus told about a traveler on the road to Jericho continues to challenge our understanding of compassion, duty, and true neighborliness. This is the Parable of the Good Samaritan, found in Luke 10:25-37.
Let's unpack the timeless lessons this parable holds for us today.
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The Question That Started It All
The parable begins not with Jesus, but with a lawyer (an expert in the Jewish Law) who tests Jesus with a profound question: “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25).
Jesus turns the question back to him, and the lawyer correctly summarizes the two greatest commandments:
* Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.
* Love your neighbor as yourself.
Then, seeking to justify himself, the lawyer asks the critical follow-up: “And who is my neighbor?”
The lawyer was likely looking for limits—a boundary defining who he was required to help, and who he could safely ignore. Jesus' response shattered those boundaries.
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The Road to Jericho: A Study in Contrasts
Jesus describes a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho who is attacked, stripped, beaten, and left for dead. Three people pass by:
1. The Priest
A religious leader, highly esteemed and dedicated to Temple service. When he sees the man, he “passed by on the other side.” He likely feared becoming ritually unclean by touching a potentially dead body, which would have prevented him from performing his duties. His religious duty trumped human compassion.
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2. The Levite
Another Temple assistant, also dedicated to ministry. He approached the man, looked at him, but also “passed by on the other side.” Like the priest, his institutional role became a barrier to genuine love.
Both men, representing the religious elite, prioritize rules over relationships and personal sanctity over active service. They saw a problem and walked away.
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3. The Samaritan
Samaritans were despised half-breeds in Jewish eyes—ethnic and religious outcasts. They were the very definition of an enemy. Yet, when the Samaritan saw the wounded man, he was “moved with compassion.”
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The Defining Acts of a True Neighbor
The Samaritan's response is not a mere feeling; it's a series of sacrificial actions:
* He stopped and went to him.
* He treated his wounds with oil and wine (acting as an antiseptic and balm).
* He lifted him onto his own animal.
* He took him to an inn and looked after him.
* The next day, he paid the innkeeper two denarii (roughly two days' wages) and promised: "When I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend."
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The Samaritan didn't ask about the man's identity, religion, or background. He simply saw a need and poured himself out to meet it, at significant personal cost, inconvenience, and risk.
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What This Means for Us
When Jesus finished the story, he didn't ask, "Was the Samaritan his neighbor?" Instead, he asked the lawyer: “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” (Luke 10:36).
The lawyer was forced to admit the truth: “The one who showed him mercy.”
Jesus' powerful conclusion is a direct command to every one of us: “You go, and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).
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The parable completely reframes the question of neighborliness: It’s not about defining who we must love, but about becoming the one who loves.
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* Your neighbor is anyone in need you encounter. This includes the person whose politics you despise, the coworker who annoys you, the refugee, or the social outcast.
* True faith is active. Our piety (like the Priest and Levite) means nothing if it doesn't lead to practical, merciful action (James 2:15-17).
* Compassion requires sacrifice. The Samaritan gave his time, resources, safety, and money. Loving your neighbor is costly.
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The Good Samaritan reminds us that the path to eternal life is walked by those who follow the pattern of Christ—moving across boundaries of prejudice and showing extravagant mercy to those in need.
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The Friend at Midnight
Why Persistence Pays Off in Prayer
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The demands of modern life often leave us feeling too busy, too tired, or simply too unworthy to spend real time in prayer. We might whisper a quick request and, when it's not immediately answered, assume that God is too busy, too distant, or that our need just wasn't important enough.
But Jesus gave us a powerful, perhaps even slightly awkward, parable to completely shatter that notion. Found in Luke 11, right after He teaches the disciples the model prayer (The Lord's Prayer), He immediately gives an instruction on how to pray:
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“Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and the friend inside answers, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s persistence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.” (Luke 11:5-8, NASB)
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What Makes This Parable So Powerful?
Jesus is using a comparison, but it’s a contrast that makes the lesson so profound.
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1. The Audacity of the Request
In the culture of Jesus's time, hospitality was a sacred duty. A host had to provide food for a guest, even a surprise guest arriving late. The man knocking at midnight isn't just selfish; he's upholding a social and moral obligation.
The issue isn't the need, but the timing. It’s midnight. The entire household is asleep. To knock is an immense social transgression. He is asking for an inconvenient, immediate, and utterly essential need to be met, despite every barrier.
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2. The Power of Persistence
The sleeping neighbor first refuses: "Do not bother me! The door is locked. I can't get up." The word Jesus uses for the neighbor's final motivation is often translated as "persistence" or "shamelessness" (Greek: anaideia). The man doesn't get the bread because he is polite or merely friendly; he gets it because he refuses to leave. His desperate need overrides his social anxiety.
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The Crucial Contrast: God vs. the Grumpy Neighbor
This is where we must shift our focus from the grumpy neighbor to the glorious Father. Jesus is making an argument from the lesser to the greater:
* If a selfish, annoyed, half-asleep neighbor will eventually give in to satisfy a desperate man and end his own inconvenience...
* How much more will a loving, compassionate, and fully awake heavenly Father, who loves to give good gifts, respond to the persistent pleas of His children?
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The point is not that God is like the grumpy neighbor who needs to be badgered. The point is that even the worst human example of generosity will eventually yield to persistence.
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The persistence is not meant to change God’s mind, but to change our hearts and confirm the sincerity of our need. It shows that we trust God alone is the source of the answer.
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A Call to "Ask, Seek, Knock"
Jesus immediately follows this parable with the famous call:
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“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10, NASB)
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Notice the verbs: Ask, Seek, Knock. In the original Greek, these are in the continuous present tense, meaning:
* Keep on asking.
* Keep on seeking.
* Keep on knocking.
The Friend at Midnight gives us permission to be audacious. It reminds us that there is no bad timing in prayer. The Father's door is never locked, and He is never annoyed by the sound of His child's voice, even when the request is urgent and comes in the deepest hour of the night.
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Reflection Questions:
* What is the "midnight hour" need in your life that you have hesitated to bring before God?
* Have you given up on a prayer request simply because the answer hasn't come quickly?
* How does the contrast between the grumpy neighbor and the loving Father change your attitude toward persistent prayer?
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The lesson is clear: Don't stop knocking. God is not bothered. He is waiting to bless your persistence.​
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