And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
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Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? (loves him most, Vulg.) i.e. "in verity," or "ought" to love him most. For a similar Hebraism, see Amos 5:13. The prudent shall keep silence in that time, i.e. they were being silent or it behoved them to be silent.
The meaning Isaiah , As he who has been forgiven much, is accounted to have received forgiveness because of his deserts, so debtors who owe much, are wont to show the utmost deference to their creditors, in order to obtain from them, if not forgiveness of their debt, at least favourable terms of payment. In like manner, Simon, thou shouldest have known that the Magdalene loved me with a greater love than thine. For she showed greater proofs of her love, and therefore her sins, which are many, are forgiven, because she loved much. Wherefore, she is no longer a sinner, nor, as thou thinkest, unworthy to touch my feet; but holier than thou, and more worthy to ...
Which will love him most? as we read in the Protestant version, and in the Greek, agapesei. But Christ, seeming to require love as a previous disposition to the remission of sins, as appears from ver. 47 below, the Catholic Church has adopted the version of St. Augustine, hom. xxiii. in the present tense: quis ergo plus eum diligit? (Jansenius, Comment. in Evang.)
