By this parable Christ would teach His disciples not to judge or value men by their wealth or by the honors which they received of others. Such was the course pursued by the Pharisees, who, while possessing both riches and worldly honor, were valueless in the sight of God and, more than this, were despised and rejected of Him, cast out from His sight as disgusting to Him because there was no moral worth or soundness in them. They were corrupt, sinful, and abominable in His sight. The poor man, despised by his fellow mortals and disgusting to their sight, was valuable in the sight of God because he possessed moral soundness and worth, thus qualifying him to be introduced into the society of refined, holy angels and to be an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. {1T 540.1}

Ved denne lignelse vil Kristus lære sine disciple at de ikke skal bedømme eller værdsætte mennesker efter deres rigdomme eller efter den ære de får fra andre. Dette var den måde farisæerne dømte efter. Selv om de både havde rigdomme og verdslig ære var de værdiløse i Guds øjne og mere end det: de blev foragtet og forkastet af ham fordi der ikke var nogen moralsk værdi eller sundhed i dem. De var fordærvede, syndige og afskyelige i hans øjne. Det ringeagtede menneske, foragtet af sine medmennesker og modbydelige i deres øjne, er dyrebare i Guds øjne, fordi han har moralsk sundhed og værdi og på denne måde gør sig egnet til at blive indlemmet i de rene og hellige engles fællesskab og blive en Guds arving og en medarving sammen med Kristus.