Divine Dining March 3, 2026 Devotional

LUKE 7:40-43 | ⁴⁰ Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” ⁴¹ “A certain moneylender had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

The logistics of this scene may be confusing unless we understand first century dining practices. Many meals were semi-public with doors left open. Diners reclined on low couches facing inward with their feet behind them. Simon would never come into contact with someone who was a sinner, for it would render him unclean. He thinks that Jesus' acceptance of this woman's gesture means he is essentially disqualified by association as a prophet, let alone a Messiah. But then Jesus tells the mini-parable of the two debtors and as He does it reveals that Jesus does indeed possess prophetic insight. He perceives Simon's judgement about His tolerance of her and He understands her unspoken motivation.

No one can approach God without needing forgiveness. The Old Testament makes clear and vivid that Israelites would be consumed in God's presence as their sinfulness encountered the purity of the divine presence. In Jesus this dynamic is overcome. He came to be touched, be handled, and ultimately to be manhandled and crucified so that He might embody divine mercy for those that knew their need. Simon's sense of superiority and spiritual competence shut him off from God's way of healing our brokenness. He sees the woman's behavior as repugnant and Jesus as unaware, rather than understanding the beauty of a life renewed by God's marvelous grace.

Can you say "O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be"?

Gracious God,

Let me never forget my need for Your grace and the wonder of Your willingness to share it.

Amen.