“Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.” (Luke 7.41-43)
In the last blog entry we looked at the significance of this parable that Jesus used to teach Simon the Pharisee about the true nature of sin. On the surface it may appear that one person’s indiscretions are greater than another’s, but under the surface the reality is the same. Sin breaks relationship with God, alienates us from our maker, and results in death.
As we move into the final 3 weeks leading up to Easter, another aspect of this parable is worth reflecting on. “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both.”
The last entry focused on a deeper understanding of sin, but this parable also gives us a deeper understanding of the cost of forgiveness of sin.
If a moneylender decides to forgive the debt, what happens to the debt?
Think of it in modern terms. If you take out a huge loan to buy a house, and then default on the loan, does the debt just disappear? No, the lender has to pay that debt somehow. Perhaps they fire some people because of the debt. Perhaps they raise prices on other customers to pay the debt. Maybe they just pay it out of pocket. But the debt does not just disappear. It still has to be paid for. If the debtor does not pay the debt, then the lender must.
This is the point of Passion Week. God came into human form in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth never sinned, and therefore was in the debt of no one. He owed nothing. Yet he who knew no sin became sin, so that we could be forgiven (2 Corinthians 5.21). In other words, someone had to pay the cost. If it wasn’t the debtor (us), then it would have to be the lender (God)
That is what the lender did in this parable and what Jesus did on the Cross. If you don’t see the extent of your sin then you are not going to be amazed by the grace and love and sacrifice of God. This is what amazes and changes this woman forever.
I am a lifelong Chicagoan, a pastor at River City Community Church, and an author who writes a lot about resisting and confronting white supremacy from a faith lens.
Our church was founded in January of 2003 in the west Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago, and is centered on the core values of worship, reconciliation, and neighborhood development. We long to see increased spiritual renewal as well as social and economic justice in the Humboldt Park neighborhood and entire city, demonstrating compassion and alleviating poverty as tangible expressions of the Kingdom of God. It is also through the gift of this faith community that I have learned to see the profound historical and spiritual impact of the stronghold of white supremacy, and where I have been challenged to broaden and deepen my understanding of discipleship in the hopes of becoming a serious enough Christ follower who is able to meaningfully participate with those who have risen up in defiance of this evil principality.
The lessons learned in this journey have been captured in a pair of books on race. The first, White Awake, explores the barriers that white people tend to face – white Christians specifically – when we attempt to awaken to and understand white supremacy through a faith lens. I spend a lot of time here addressing the internal defenses that are bound to go off when this journey is taken seriously, and I chart out a path for developing a resilient spirit that steadfastly moves towards truth, justice, and equity. The second, White Lies, further builds out the path for the white Christian who longs to actively participate in the resistance and confrontation of white supremacy. I spend a lot of time here exploring why it is so hard to tell the truth about race, as well as expose the lies that sustain it, within white, Christian, Bible-believing environments. I then propose nine practices that position us for engaging in this task.
On the personal front, my career started in the marketplace, as I was part of three dot.com startups in the 90’s. My vocational path shifted when I joined the staff of Willow Creek Community Church in 1998, and I spent five years working there. I started River City Community Church in January 2003 and have been happily serving here ever since. On the education front, my undergrad was in Business (Purdue University), my graduate degree in theology (Moody Bible Institute), and my doctoral degree in community development (Northern Seminary). On the family front, my wife is a Professor of Psychology, and we have two amazing children (Xander and Gabriella).
drdanielhill.com 
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