Last week we talked about sin. We talked about the seriousness of sin; we talked about God’s heart and His pursuit of the one caught up in sin and His desire to bring them back. We also talked about dealing with each other if one of us gets caught up in sin. Sin is terrible, in so many ways, and a lot of times our sin doesn’t just affect us, it can affect everyone around us. Sin will never lead to good places, we saw that so clearly through scripture last week and because we know that and because we care about one another, sometimes we have to get involved to help a brother or sister turn back from it. But we have to do that with God’s heart of care and restoration and not from a place of judgement or hurting someone.
The conversation that Jesus was having about sin last week with the disciples wasn’t over yet, there was still more to talk about, and lessons to learn. So today we’re picking up with the rest of their discussion.
Read Matthew 18:21-35
This passage again is part of this whole lesson that Jesus had been teaching His disciples. This lesson has really been about life in the community of the church or the community of the Kingdom of God. The whole chapter has really been dealing with different aspects of this. We’ve seen Jesus talk about humility, He warned about causing other people to stumble, He talked about the need at times for discipline in the community and how to approach those situations. These are all important character lessons for living with each other in this Kingdom community. But there’s another very important part of this lesson for us today.
Today’s lesson from Jesus is about forgiveness.
This isn’t the first time that we have talked about forgiveness, we touched on it briefly last week, but all throughout Matthew’s Gospel there have been examples of mercy, compassion, and forgiveness, with the call for us to live out those characteristics in our own lives.
And so, we come to this moment today in Matthew 18, Peter asks Jesus a question.
Read Matthew 18:21
Peter is like, Jesus, how many times do I need to forgive someone that is sinning against me? And the interesting thing here is that Peter even throws out a number. Peter says, should I forgive them seven times? And maybe you’re wondering … why seven times? Where did Peter get that number from? Or maybe we’re like, I wouldn’t even give them seven times, they’ve only got one shot with me. But regardless, what’s up with Peter throwing out a number?
In those times the Jewish Rabbi’s would get together to answer cultural questions, like how many times should I forgive someone? So, these guys got together and they had a little think tank, and they decided that you shouldn’t forgive someone more than three times. I guess three strikes and you’re out with forgiveness in their eyes. So, Peter would have known that, and his answer here was raising that bar. The Jewish leaders had told us three times, but I hear your heart to save people Jesus, and so should we perhaps be willing to forgive someone up to seven times?
Peter more than doubled the previous guidelines with his question for Jesus, but Jesus’ answer completely reshapes the outlook on how we deal with other people.
The Rabbi’s said 3 times, Peter said 7 times, but look at what Jesus says in verse 22:
Read Matthew 18:22
Not even seven times Peter, but SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN. Or some translations say seventy-seven. But either way that you look at it, Jesus is making a very clear point.
That we need to take these limitations off of forgiveness.
70 x 7 = 490
Jesus isn’t saying count the offenses until 490 and then you are done with that person on the 491st time. Again, Jesus is using a dramatic figure of speech to just make the point. And the point is, get rid of the limitations. I don’t think that this is an especially popular way of thinking, because we obviously don’t like it when people wrong us, and naturally we like to hold on to things. It isn’t generally our natural reaction to forgive, it’s probably more so our natural reaction to get bitter and get angry. But that’s not how Jesus wants us to live as members of His house and community. That’s not how He wants us to treat each other.
When Peter said seven and Jesus threw out 490, I think Peter got the point. Jesus was putting a whole new way of thinking and people relations on the table, that hadn’t been a thing up to that point. Before Jesus made this statement, it was three strikes and you’re out, but now forgiveness needed to be the default response.
And Jesus is going to illustrate why with this story, or this parable that He shares.
Read Matthew 18:23-27
This is the example side of the story. This is a picture of God’s forgiveness of us. We see here a king settling things with His servants, like God will settle and judge every single person. But in this process, one was brought before the King that owed a massive debt. And this probably would have been pretty funny for the disciples. There are a lot of different opinions on the value of the talents back then, but from all of those estimates, even with their massive differences, the ten thousand talents in this passage, in today’s money, is estimated to be anywhere from twelve million to one billion dollars in debt.
And today sure there are individuals with this kind of wealth, but that probably wasn’t the case in those days outside of royalty and governments. The number that Jesus puts on this debt, again was probably kind of funny, because it was a ridiculous amount of money that didn’t have any hope of ever being paid off. The guy is like, just be patient with me! But with those numbers, patience isn’t going to suddenly bring a billion dollars into the situation in the ancient world.
This guy had an impossible debt. There is no way that He could pay it. He fell down before his Master and asked for grace, asked for time … even though time wouldn’t help this. His Master heard his plea and because of His compassion He forgave the debt completely and released him from it.
An impossible debt, a massive amount of money, completely forgiven and done with. That’s an incredible story.
But then what happens?
Read Matthew 18:28-30
This servant, the same one that was just forgiven, actually went looking for someone that owed him money, and we need a little perspective here. This new guy owes one hundred denarii, which is still a significant amount of money. One denarii was equal to one day’s pay, and so this guy owed a hundred days pay. A hundred day’s pay is a lot of money, that would pay a lot of bills and buy a lot of food.
But the perspective comes when we find out that these one hundred denarii is apparently about 1/600,000th the amount of money that the other guy owed. That’s when we need to stop and be like, what in the world was this guy’s problem? You were just forgiven for like a billion dollars and you’re really choking this guy out over 1/600,000th of that amount. Verse 28 said that he laid hands on him and took him by the throat. And when he does that, as he is choking out the guy, what does the other guy say?
He says in verse 29 “Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.”
WELL DOESN’T THAT SOUND FAMILIAR. He, word for word, asked the same thing that this guy had asked the King for. The King had shown him compassion when he asked this, but this guy wasn’t having any of it, and had the other man thrown in prison.
The same exact statement after everything that had been done for him and yet he showed absolutely no compassion.
This makes it back to the King and let’s read what happens:
Read Matthew 18:31-35
The King didn’t deal kindly with this man after this went down. But there is a very important statement that is made here that is the main point that we need to walk away with today.
In verse 31 the king says “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me”
And then in verse 32 “Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?”
This parable is a picture and example of God’s forgiveness of us, but it also carries with it an expectation, that we will take that example and live it out as well.
When we consider the incredible, unpayable debt, of our sin, and know that God has freely forgiven all of it. Then how in the world are we going to turn around and hold the things of this life against other people. People will wrong us, people have wronged me, and I have wronged other people too. But the lesson that this parable teaches us, is don’t forget the debt that was forgiven us when things happen with other people.
This is an active mindset that we need to have when dealing with other people.
I want to go look at passage in Colossians together:
Read Colossians 3:12-17
This passage talks about the new character traits, or the new changed and transformed person that I am supposed to be in Jesus. It makes a lot of the same points that Jesus has been making in the last few weeks, but if you notice there in verse 13, one of those key characteristics, is FORGIVENESS. And why is that the case? Well, it says there, since Christ has forgiven us, then we MUST forgive others as well. That’s the whole picture of the parable that Jesus was sharing. The King forgave the man, but the man wasn’t changed and willing to forgive his brother, and that’s ridiculous.
With how much Christ has forgiven us of, we don’t have any business not forgiving other people.
Ephesians 4:32 says the same thing:
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
This needs to be a default mindset for a follower of Jesus. Forgiveness is absolutely necessary, and God takes it very seriously in our lives. Look at these verses:
Matthew 6:14-15 says:
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Mark 11:25-26 says:
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
There were consequences for the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18 and God clearly lets us know that there will be consequences for us as well. He says that if we don’t forgive then He isn’t going to forgive us either and that should stop us in our tracks. Do we really want to be in that position with God?
So, if we are choosing unforgiveness, please know that God has a problem with that, and I wouldn’t be running around in this life with the expectation that God is just going to overlook it. God can and will bring discipline or correction to our lives when we choose to not listen to how He wants us to live, and He is very clear about forgiveness.
We need to follow His example, we can share His heart, and we must forgive those that wrong us.
But maybe you’re thinking, you don’t know, and you don’t understand what this person has done to me! They’re still doing these things to me right now! This person has never even come to me to ask for forgiveness! So why would I forgive them!?
The simple answer is: BECAUSE GOD FORGIVES YOU
Think about the literal mountain of sin from the time I was born until now, all of the people I have wronged, all of the stupid things that I have done, the sinful thoughts that I have had, the things that I have said, even the times I knew that I was supposed to do something good and just ignored doing it. All of the problems of my entire life and God says that He will freely forgive every last bit of it.
We forgive because we have been forgiven. And I want us to recognize something. Forgiveness doesn’t require the other person coming to ask for forgiveness, it doesn’t require them even acknowledging what they have done. Forgiveness is us choosing to forgive in any and all situations because an awesome, loving, and merciful God set that example and called us to do the same. Forgiveness can be a one-way street. It’s a choice that we make.
And as we close today, I would encourage you to make that choice. Maybe you’re holding onto something. Maybe you have been holding onto something for years and years and years. Maybe you have just been holding onto something from earlier this week. Whenever it was, whoever it was, whatever it was, choose to forgive. I have seen people forgive abusers, forgive rapists, forgive a cheating spouse, forgive family after years of wrong. I know without any doubt that by God’s power and His transformation in our lives that it is possible.
If there is unforgiveness in us, it is time to lay it all down. The baggage, the bitterness, the grudges, or whatever else that we are holding onto. Just lay it all down. Be done with it.
If we let it stay there, it will cause bitterness, anger, maybe even hate. It will weigh on us, it will hold us back, it will probably hurt our own lives more than that other person. As we read God’s word, we need to be in pursuit of this growth and transformation. Let’s not just be satisfied with the way that we have always done things. Today, let’s be quick to forgive, and grow healthy, as we follow Jesus’ example.