In this message we shall cover more aspects of Christ’s person in the parables of the New Testament.
While the Lord Jesus was reclining at the table as a guest in the house of a Pharisee, a woman came, wet His feet with her tears, wiped His feet with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them (Luke 7:36-38). Seeing this, the Pharisee said within himself, “This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, because she is a sinner” (v. 39). By His divine attribute of omniscience the Lord knew what His host was saying in his heart (v. 40) and said, “A certain moneylender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. But having nothing to repay, he graciously forgave them both” (vv. 41-42a). The Lord’s word reveals that He is the moneylender and that both the Pharisee and the woman were sinners, debtors to Him. In the parable the debtors had nothing to repay the moneylender, but he graciously forgave them both. This indicates that all sinners have nothing with which to repay their debt to God, their Savior. The Lord’s word also indicates that the Savior had already forgiven both the Pharisee and the woman.
In verse 48 the Lord Jesus showed His tender care for the sinful one when He said, “Your sins have been forgiven.” The others present said among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” (v. 49). They did not realize that Christ, as the moneylender in the parable, is the incarnation of the forgiving God, that He is the very God, the One who has authority to forgive sins. At the conclusion of this incident, the Lord Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (v. 50). Christ’s divine attributes are also shown in His giving peace to the forgiven sinner. Only God can forgive sins and give peace. In Luke 7 these divine attributes are expressed through the Savior’s human virtues, portraying Christ as the One with the highest standard of morality. As such a One He is the moneylender who forgives His debtors.
In the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) Christ is portrayed as a compassionate Samaritan saving the wounded. Wanting to justify himself, a certain lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” (v. 29). The Lord Jesus answered by telling of a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and who fell among robbers, was stripped and beaten, and was left half dead (v. 30). The man signifies the lawyer, the robbers signify the legalistic teachers of the law, the stripping signifies the stripping by the law misused by the Judaizers, the beating signifies the killing of the law, and being left half dead signifies the Judaizers’ leaving the lawkeeper in a dead condition. After a priest and a Levite passed by, a “certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came down to him, and observing him, was moved with compassion” (v. 33). The Samaritan signifies the Lord Jesus, who was apparently a layman of low estate, despised and slandered as a low and mean Samaritan (John 8:48; 4:9) by the self-exalted and self-justified Pharisees. This indicates that Christ in His lost-one-seeking and sinner-saving ministry journey (Luke 19:10), came down to the place where the wounded victim of the Judaizing robbers was in his miserable and dying condition. When He saw him, He was moved with compassion in His humanity with His divinity and rendered him tender healing and saving care.
As the compassionate Samaritan, the Lord Jesus fully met the urgent need of the wounded one (vv. 34-35). He bound up his wounds—healing him; He poured on his wounds oil and wine—giving him the Holy Spirit and the divine life (Matt. 9:17; John 2:9); He placed him on His own beast—carrying him by lowly means in a lowly way (Zech. 9:9); He brought him to an inn—bringing him to the church; He took care of him—taking care of him through the church; He paid the inn for him—blessing the church for him; and, at His coming back, He will repay what is spent by the inn to take care of the wounded one. In all this we see Christ’s divine attributes and human virtues. Concerning the divine attributes, we see the Spirit, the eternal life, the blessing, and the repayment. The Lord’s human virtues revealed here include His compassion, love, sympathy, and care. Once again Christ’s human virtues are mingled with His divine attributes to produce the highest standard of morality shown in His merciful, tender, and bountiful care for a sinner condemned under the law.