Luke 7:40-43
What is written? (ESV)
And Jesus answering said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. And he answered, Say it, Teacher. A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more? Simon answered, The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt. And he said to him, You have judged rightly.
What does it say?
In an exchange between Jesus and Simon, Jesus asked him a hypothetical question about two debtors who owed five hundred and fifty denarii. Neither could pay, and the creditor canceled both debts. He asked which would love the creditor more. When Simon answers that it would be the one whose larger debt was canceled, Jesus tells him he has “judged rightly.”
What is its immediate context?
Jesus has been invited by Simon (a Pharisee) to eat at his house (vs 36). Also, there is a prostitute “of the city” – “a sinner” (vs 37). Simon has just wondered to himself why Jesus would be with this sinner (vs 39). It is this thought by Simon that Jesus is “answering”.
How Luke 7:40-43 is applied across Bible answers
Should we be judging others (Matthew 7:1-2)?
Jesus is asking someone to make a judgment.
