In Chapter 18 of the book of Matthew, there is a parable that Jesus tells of a great King who is settling debts. He brings in a man that owes him a huge amount of money – the man cannot repay him, so the King threatens to sell the man along with his wife and children into slavery to get his money back. Jesus tells us the man's response:
“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.” (Matthew 18:26-27)
This is a beautiful example of our repentance before God. We also have a great debt that we cannot pay, and it is only through falling down on our knees and begging our King for mercy that we can be saved. And don't miss this: The servant's debt was canceled completely...
So what did the man do when he walked away from this great King who had extended such mercy to him?
“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.” (Matthew 18:28)
Then everything is repeated – the man who was in debt begged for forgiveness. This time, however, the one who was shown forgiveness is not so willing to forgive another:
“He went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.” (Matthew 18:30b)
His gratefulness to the King for sparing him and his family apparently did not extend beyond their meeting. This man, who was forgiven enormous debt by his King, then immediately becomes merciless to one who owed a much smaller debt to him.
This also sounds all too familiar. God forgave me for thousands of sins against Him, and I often struggle to forgive those around me of even one sin (real or perceived) against me. We must forgive – in fact, we are commanded to!
So how does our story above end? Well, the King is told about the wicked servant not being willing to forgive as he was forgiven:
“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.” (Matthew 18:32-24)
And to bring the point home, Jesus then states very clearly:
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Matthew 18:35)
Forgiveness of others (sincere forgiveness - "from the heart") should be our immediate response, because we have been forgiven so much more! As Jesus tells Peter, He tells us all:
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21-22)
#LoveMatters