Lesson 7 – Two Debtors

“There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.” Luke 7:41-43. “The pardon granted by this king represents a divine forgiveness of all sin. Christ is represented by the king, who, moved with compassion, for- gave the debt of his servant. Man was under the condemnation of the broken law. He could not save himself, and for this reason Christ came to this world, clothed His divinity with humanity, and gave His life, the just for the unjust. He gave Himself for our sins, and to every soul He freely offers the blood-bought pardon.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 242.

THE DIVINE VS. THE FALLEN NATURE

1.What two attributes of God’s kingdom are part of His nature? How did the parable of the two debtors depict them?

Exodus 34:6. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.

Luke 13:6-9. He spake also this par- able; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. ⁷Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? ⁸And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: ⁹And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

1 John 4:8. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

“The Lord Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.’ There never was a time when there was greater need for the exercise of mercy than today. The poor are all around us, the distressed, the afflicted, the sorrowing, and those who are ready to perish.” –Welfare Ministry, p. 15.

2.What other parable showed the Lord’s great mercy? Sin is a debt that no human being can pay for, or cleanse. What do people tend to do when they are confronted with this fact?

Matthew 18:23-27. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take ac- count of his servants. ²⁴And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵But foras- much as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶The servant therefore fell down, and wor- shipped him, saying, Lord, have pa- tience with me, and I will pay thee all. ²⁷Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

“He had nothing to pay, and according to the custom, the king ordered him to be sold, with all that he had, that payment might be made. But the terrified man fell at his feet and besought him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.’” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 243.

3.If ten thousand talents today is equivalent to 100 million Euros, and the debtor said that he would pay them back, what questions in the Psalms and the writings of Micah make one tremble at the enormity of such a debt?

Psalm 116:12. What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits to- ward me?

Micah 6:6, 7. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself be- fore the high God? shall I come be- fore him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? ⁷Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

Psalm 49:8. (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever.)

“He [Christ] was to come as one of the human family, and to stand as a man before heaven and earth. He had come to take man’s place, to pledge Himself in man’s behalf, to pay the debt that sinners owed. He was to live a pure life on the earth, and show that Satan had told a falsehood when he claimed that the human family belonged to him forever, and that God could not take men out of his hands.” –Selected Messages, book 3, p. 127.

4.What had to be paid to settle the sinner’s account? What did the divine sacrifice for mankind demonstrate?

1 Peter 1:19, 20. But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: ²⁰Who verily was foreordained be- fore the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.

Romans 6:23. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:8. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

“The pardon granted by this king represents a divine forgiveness of all sin. Christ is represented by the king, who, moved with compassion, forgave the debt of his servant. Man was under the condemnation of the broken law. He could not save himself, and for this reason Christ came to this world, clothed His divinity with humanity, and gave His life, the just for the unjust. He gave Himself for our sins, and to every soul He freely offers the blood-bought pardon. ‘With the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.’ Psalm 130:7.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 244.

CONTRASTING FEELINGS

5.What part of the Lord’s prayer is often forgotten? How do one’s actions demonstrate what is lacking? Make a list, and comment on it.

Matthew 6:12; 18:28-30. And for- give us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. ^18:28But the same servant went out, and found one of his fel- lowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. ²⁹And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. ³⁰And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

“Here is the ground upon which we should exercise compassion toward our fellow sinners. ‘If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.’ 1 John 4:11. ‘Freely ye have received,’ Christ says, ‘freely give.’ Matthew 10:8.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 245.

6.What new thoughts does conversion give the sinner? How did the apostle Paul and the patriarch Abraham express the attitude that pleases God?

2 Corinthians 1:3, 4. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; ⁴Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Genesis 18:25, 32. That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?… ³²And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.

“But the great lesson of the parable lies in the contrast between God’s compassion and man’s hardheartedness, in the fact that God’s forgiving mercy is to be the measure of our own. ‘Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?’” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 251.

PREACHING WITH ACTIONS

7.How does the faithful believer act? What is seen in his actions and witness?

Matthew 5:16; 24:14. Let your li- ght so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glori- fy your Father which is in heaven….^24:14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

1 Peter 2:12. Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

“I must hide our life with Christ in God. We must know Christ personally. Then only can we rightly represent Him to the world. Let the prayer con- stantly ascend, ‘Lord, teach me how to do as Jesus would do, were He in my place.’ Wherever we are, we must let our light shine forth to the glory of God in good works. This is the great, important interest of our life.”–Gospel Workers, p. 373.

For Additional Study

“But the teaching of this parable should not be misapplied. God’s forgiveness toward us lessens in no wise our duty to obey Him. So the spirit of forgiveness toward our fellow men does not lessen the claim of just obligation. In the prayer which Christ taught His disciples He said, ‘Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ Matthew 6:12. By this He did not mean that in order to be forgiven our sins we must not require our just dues from our debtors. If they cannot pay, even though this may be the result of unwise management, they are not to be cast into prison, oppressed, or even treated harshly; but the parable does not teach us to encourage indolence. The word of God declares that if a man will not work, neither shall he eat. 2 Thessalonians 3:10. The Lord does not require the hard-working man to support others in idleness. With many there is a waste of time, a lack of effort, which brings to poverty and want. If these faults are not corrected by those who indulge them, all that might be done in their behalf would be like putting treasure into a bag with holes. Yet there is an unavoidable poverty, and we are to manifest tenderness and compassion toward those who are unfortunate. We should treat others just as we ourselves, in like circumstances, would wish to be treated.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 247.