A. In Matthew 18:21, Peter came to Jesus with this
question: "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive
him? Up to seven times?"
1.
Peter knew it was
necessary to forgive a brother, but he did not know the limits of forgiveness.
2.
Perhaps Peter
believed that forgiving a brother seven times a day was quite generous.
B. The Lord's answer far exceeded Peter's expectations.
1.
First, Jesus
said, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven"
(Matt. 18:22). The effective meaning of
Christ's words is that there should be no limit to how often one brother should
forgive another.
2.
Then Jesus
powerfully demonstrated the reason behind His answer with a parable. Let us consider that parable now in Matthew
18:23-35.
II. THE PARABLE OF THE UNFORGIVING SLAVE
A. This parable is a story of a king who sought to settle
accounts with his slaves and one slave who could not repay the king (Matt.
18:23-25).
1.
These slaves were
stewards who were entrusted by the king with a portion of his estate for
management (compare to the parable of the talents -- Matt. 25:14, 19).
2.
When the slaves
were called to settle their accounts, it was necessary for them to return at
least as much as the king had given them if not more.
3.
One of the king's
slaves owed 10,000 talents and could not repay.
a. As we learned in the previous lesson, a talent was a
unit of measure for money that varied in different states according to the laws
regulating currency. A talent of silver
in Israel weighed about 100 pounds, and a talent of gold weighed about 200
pounds.
b. Consider the immense debt owed by this slave. If these 10,000 talents were of silver, then
his debt was 1,000,000 pounds of silver.
At today's rates (March, 2013), this would amount to $448 million!
c.
This was a debt
that was impossible for the slave to repay.
For this reason, the king ordered the sale of the slave along with his
wife, children, and property. The
proceeds of their sale would not fully repay the debt, but it was the most the
king could recover.
B. When the slave begged for patience from the king, he
was forgiven of the debt (Matt. 18:26-27).
1.
Prostrate before
the king, the slave begged, "Have patience with me and I will repay you
everything." Notice that the slave was
not asking for forgiveness, but rather he requested patience from the king
while he worked to repay the debt. As
noted before, it was impossible for the slave to repay his tremendous debt.
2.
The king exceeded
the slave's request by having compassion on the slave and forgiving him of the
entire debt. There was no expectation by
the king of any repayment at all, and the slave was completely relieved of his
burden.
C. When this same slave was asked to have patience by his
fellow slave, he refused to have mercy (Matt. 18:28-30).
1.
The forgiven
slave now found himself in the position of a creditor in which he could make
demands of his debtor to be repaid.
2.
His debtor was a
fellow slave who owed him 100 denarii, which amounted to a little more than
three months' wages. This was not an
insurmountable debt.
3.
His fellow slave
made the same request as he had made earlier to the king: "Have patience with
me and I will repay you." It was a
reasonable request, and the slave would likely be able to repay.
4.
Unlike the king,
this slave had no compassion on his debtor but instead threw him in prison.
D. When the king heard of the slaves refusal to show
mercy, he revoked his forgiveness (Matt. 18:31-34).
1.
Other slaves saw
these events, were grieved over them, and reported them to the king.
2.
The king called
his slave to him and said:
"You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because
you pleaded with me. Should you not also
have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?"
3.
The slave's
actions provoked the anger of the king, and the king had him delivered to the
torturers until his debt was repaid.
a. Notice that there was no monetary value for the king
in the torture of the slave.
i.
The repaying of
the debt in this way would not be by money, but rather it was by atonement for
wrongdoing.
ii.
Whereas before the
king had ordered the sale of the slave along with his wife, children, and
property in order to recover part of the lost money, now the king ordered the
slave's torture, which was a personal punishment for his wickedness.
b. How long the slave must have suffered for his great
debt and his lack of compassion.
III. LESSONS FROM THE PARABLE
A. The great lesson of the parable of the unforgiving
slave was given by Jesus in Matthew 18:35 -- "My heavenly Father will also do
the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."
1.
The debt of sin
that we owe to God is immeasurable. It
is represented by the 10,000 talents owed by the slave, which could never be
repaid.
2.
For God to
forgive us of such debt that we could never repay ourselves is an amazing exercise
of mercy, compassion, and grace.
3.
In contrast, any
offenses committed against us by our fellow men are relatively small debts. Nothing that man does to sin against his
fellow man compares to the great offense of sin against God. David recognized this when he said to the
Lord, "Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your
sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge"
(Ps. 51:4).
4.
Even so, we often
hold grudges against our brethren, refusing to forgive the relatively minor
offenses committed against us.
5.
If indeed we have
no compassion and refuse to forgive our brethren, then this parable teaches us
that we cannot expect compassion or forgiveness from our Father in heaven. Our own lack of compassion and mercy will
disqualify us from receiving God's compassion and mercy.
6.
Like the mercy of
God, our mercy must also be abundant. If
this requires us to forgive a brother "seventy times seven" times a day, then
we must do so to receive the same measure of mercy.
B. Consider the abundance of passages that teach this common
theme in the New Testament.
1.
Matthew 5:7 -- "Blessed
are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."
2.
Matthew 6:12 --
"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."
3.
Mark 11:25-26 --
"Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so
that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your
transgressions. But if you do not
forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions."
4.
Luke 17:3-4 -- "Be
on your guard! If your brother sins,
rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven
times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him."
5.
Ephesians 4:32 -- Be
kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in
Christ also has forgiven you.
6.
Colossians
3:12-13 -- So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a
heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one
another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just
as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
C. The Lord's demand for consistency in the matter of
forgiveness applies to other matters as well.
1.
In Matthew 7:1-2,
Jesus said, "Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged;
and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you."
2.
Whether in mercy,
judgment, or any other matter, Christ teaches us to be sympathetic to
others. We are to extend to others that
which we would have them extend to us if we were in their positions. Likewise, we must not hold others to a
standard that we ourselves will not keep.
3.
Essentially, this
is the Lord's "golden rule," which He stated in Luke 6:31, saying, "Treat
others the same way you want them to treat you" (Luke 6:31; see also Matt.
7:12).
D. Consider also what this parable reveals concerning the
idea of "once-saved-always-saved."
1.
The slave was
initially forgiven by the king of his entire debt. However, when the slave was unmerciful to his
fellow slave, he forfeited the king's forgiveness and was punished.
2.
Likewise, God
completely forgives us of our sins at the moment we obey the gospel. However, if we are unforgiving to our
brethren or behave in any other wicked way, then we will also forfeit God's
forgiveness and incur His wrath.
