(Matthew 18:21-35)
21 Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times.
23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 And when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 But since he did not have the means to repay, his master commanded that he be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment be made. 26 So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he was unwilling, and went and threw him in prison until he would pay back what was owed. 31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their master all that had happened. 32 Then summoning him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he would repay all that was owed him. 35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 And when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 But since he did not have the means to repay, his master commanded that he be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment be made. 26 So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he was unwilling, and went and threw him in prison until he would pay back what was owed. 31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their master all that had happened. 32 Then summoning him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he would repay all that was owed him. 35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:
Jesus gives us some mathematical equations, but it doesn't matter if this isn't our strongest subject. Jesus gives us examples of some really big numbers in order to demonstrate what is important. Like: 70x7=490. That's a big number - when we're talking about forgiving just one person. The point is: we are not to keep count.
The coworker's debt to the first slave was a day's wage, while the first slave owed the king a year's wage. And he probably put his coworker out of commission by choking him, which would have been more lost income. In those times, even if the king had sold the slave, his wife and all of his children, the king's loss would still be great. In fact, he would only have recouped one-thousandths of what was owed! And any earthly king, even a benevolent one, would be furious with this slave.
Well, let's liken these debts to sin. Our sins are debts before God. But, because of God's great love, He came in flesh to die on the cross to pay for all sins, of all time, for all people, and rose again so that He could forgive all our debts. Even if we give our own lives to God, this would never even come close to paying back to Him what is owed. But the Lord doesn't ask for anything, except for our humble hearts of repentance! What a deal! We give Him our sins in exchange for His forgiveness, freedom from our slavery to sin, to receive eternal life and enjoy a close relationship with Him forever, guaranteed!
Now, for those who reject the Lord's free gift of salvation, the Lord God will give each person more than adequate opportunity to make their decision for all eternity. The Lord knows who will or will not reject Him, yet still, He will show kindness even to those who hate Him and hate His ways. In life, people will have near-death-experiences, and some of these will even have an idea that it was God who showed them mercy... yet, they will still continue on in their self-serving ways, until the end; and by then, their debts will only have increased.
For those who do become believers, but fall into self-serving lifestyles, refusing to forgive as they have been forgiven... because the Lord loves them, He will discipline them to get their attention, because God desires that we continue returning to Him... over and over again... because He is a God of forgiveness, mercy and grace! Now, God will allow various circumstances in our lives. Some will be very logical... like if and when a believer refuses to forgive those who hurt them, their unforgiving heart will become filled with hate, fear and bitterness! Besides feeling miserable in spirit, their loved ones will notice, and will be affected.
I know from experience! In realizing that God created us, and as the great psychologist who knows us better than we know ourselves, when He gives us directions, it really is for our own good, as well as for the good of those around us! So when I finally asked God to forgive a specific nemesis FOR me, a literal weight lifted up off of me, and instantaneously, I loved and empathized for that person. Eventually, I even developed an amazing relationship with them. That was totally a God-thing! But in that moment, I really realized just how important it is to forgive, and experience God at work!!!
God asks us to forgive everyone who hurts us, no matter how egregious their offences are, whether they apologize or not, every time, all the time. Forgiving others is such a good thing for so many reasons, and here are just a few of them:
- unforgiveness is unhealthy (physically, emotionally and spiritually), like drinking the poison and expecting the other person to suffer
- forgiveness frees our hearts from the chains of hatred and bitterness (that drag us down and cause us to become the very thing/s we hate and fear)
- forgiveness demonstrates God's love, forgiveness and grace to others
- forgiveness can pave the way to reconciliation, and if the offenders are not believers, it can lead to an opportunity to share the gospel message with them
- forgiveness demonstrates our trust in the Lord (allowing Him to take vengeance on others for us, in His justice, righteousness, timing and method)
- forgiveness demonstrates our faith in the Lord (to fill us with His peace, joy, love and contentment)
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