Matthew 18:21-35

Scripture Reading:

Introduction

I’m Going to Ask a Very Easy Question that has Lots of Correct Answers…

And I’d Like All of You to Give Some Answers Out Loud

What is God Like?

What are Some Characteristics/Attributes of God?

Is Forgiving Pretty High on that List?

If I were to Ask that Same Question, But Pertaining to Christians…

(“What are Christians Like?”)…

Would I Get the Same Answers?

Would “Forgiving” Be Very High on Your List?

Would it Be on Your List at All?

You May Totally Disagree with Me…

But When I Think of Who I Know God to Be, I Think of “Forgiving”

But When I Think of Who I Know Many Christians to Be…

“Forgiving” isn’t Super High on My List

But it Should Be Shouldn’t it?

Our Very Purpose for Existing is to Be Image-Bearers of God

To Be Like Him in Characteristics and Attributes

But the Problem is:

We’ve All Dealt with Christians Who are Anything But Forgiving

We’ve Been Around Enough Christian Circles…

To Know the Amount of Gossip, Slander, and Grudge-Holding that Takes Place

That’s Why, for People Like Me…

“Forgiving” Doesn’t Immediately Come to Mind When Asked the Question:

“What are Christians Like?”

Forgiveness is an Area that I’m Sure Many of Us could Use Some Work on

And That’s Exactly What Jesus is Going to Be Teaching About Today

Matthew 18:21-35

We are at the Final Section of His 4th Major Teaching Discourse

This Discourse has Been All About Relationships in the Church (Kingdom Community)

We are to Be Humble Servants Amongst Each Other

We are Not to Cause Each Other to Sin

We are to Value and Love Each Other

We are to Hold Each Other Accountable

This Takes the Form of Church Discipline

If One of Us is Actively Practicing Some Sin…

We Need to Confront Them About it

If They Refuse to Repent…

We’re to Make Their Sin More Public and Keep Trying to Convict Them

This can Eventually Resort to Excommunication of that Sinning Sibling…

From the Community of Believers if They Continue to Refuse to Repent

But, if They Do Repent, Then We’re to Forgive Them and Rejoice

With that as the Immediate Context of Jesus’ Teaching…

Let’s Begin Looking at Our Text:

Matthew 18:21 (NASB95)

21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

Peter, has a Good Questions

Let’s Say I Confront My Sinning Sibling of His Sin…

And He Repents and I Forgive Him…

And Then, Before Long, He Goes Back and Sins Again…

Only to then Repent and Seek Forgiveness Again

Do I Keep Forgiving Him?

How Long Do I Allow this Cycle to Continue?

Peter then Supplies His Own Speculative Answer to His Question

“Up to Seven Times?”

Peter Probably Believed His Answer was a Very Gracious/Generous One

Jewish Rabbis of that Time Taught:

A Brother could Be Forgiven 3 Times of a Certain Sin…

But if He Commits it a Fourth Time, He is Not to Be Forgiven

They Believed this was Proof that this Brother wasn’t Sincere in His Repentance

I can See Peter Thinking:

“Jesus is Going to Be So Impressed with Me!”

“Not Even the Rabbis will Forgive Someone 7 Times!”

Matthew 18:22 (NASB95)

22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Nice Try, Peter, But Not Quite

Many Scholars Seem to Agree that Jesus Actually Said:

“77 Times”, Not “70 Times 7”

But Debating Which Number Jesus Actually Meant…

Completely Missing the Point Jesus was Making

There is No Number to How Many Times You should Forgive Your Brother

You Forgive as Many Times as He Seeks Forgiveness

Before We Continue in the Text…

I Think There’s Something that would Be Useful to Address First

In Luke’s Account, We Read:

Luke 17:3–4 (NASB95)

3 “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 “And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

In Luke’s Account, We See a Few Contrasts to Matthew’s Account

First, Jesus is the One to Mention Forgiving 7 Times

But, Again, the Point His is Making is:

Forgive as Many Times as Possible

7 is the Number of Completeness

But Another Contrast We See is:

In Luke, Jesus Puts a Qualifier for Forgiveness

In Order for You to Forgive the Sinning Brother, He Must Repent

Does Luke’s Jesus Require Forgiveness…

And Matthew’s Jesus Doesn’t?

No, that Absolutely Not What’s Going on Here

Both Matthew and Luke’s Jesus Requires Repentance for Forgiveness

Keep Jesus’ Words in Their Context in Matthew’s Account

Jesus had Just Taught that We’re to Go Through an Entire Process…

To Bring Our Sinning Brother to Repentance

And if He Never Repents, Then He is to Be Excommunicated From the Family

Only When He Repents Does Forgiveness Take Place

Many Christians Struggle with this Principle

Many Feel Like it’s Their Duty to Forgive a Sinning Sibling…

Regardless of if They Repent or Not

It’s Often Presented as, “I Forgive Them for My Sake, Not Theirs”

I Get What People Mean When They Say that

They are Saying, “I Refuse to Hold a Grudge and Harbor Bitterness Against this Person.”

That’s a Wonderful Attitude to Have

But that isn’t Forgiveness

To Forgive is to:

No Longer Hold Someone Accountable for Their Wrong Actions

Release Someone From the Debt They Owe You

Relieve Someone of Their Guilt

Send Away or Cover Someone’s Sins They’ve Committed

To Forgive Someone Who Refuses to Repent…

Is a Direct Violation of Jesus’ Teaching on Church Discipline

To Not Be Bitter/Hold a Grudge Against a Sibling Who Sins Against You is Good

To Forgive Them Even Though They Haven’t Repented is Not Good

There is No Contradiction Between Matthew’s Jesus and Luke’s Jesus

Repentance has Always Been Required for Forgiveness

God Doesn’t Forgive Until We Repent

And He Expects No Less/More From Us

Jesus is Now Going to Tell a Parable…

In Order to Teach the Disciples Some Important Truths Concerning Forgiveness

First, We’re Going to Unpack the Details of the Parable

And Then We’re Going to Unpack the Spiritual Truths Behind Those Details

Matthew 18:23–24 (NASB95)

23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.

“The Reign of God is Like”

This Story Communicates Truths About Jesus’ Kingdom

One of the Kings Servants Owed Him 10,000 Talents

What Jesus is Doing with the Amount of Money the Servant Owed is Interesting

A Talent is the Largest Unit of Currency at that Time

It was a Weight of Around 75 Pounds of Either Copper, Silver, or Gold Coins

A Single Talent was (Depending on the Currency)…

Was Equal to About 15 Years Worth of Wages

This Servant Owed 10,000 Talents!

10,000 was the Highest Number that the Greek Language Actually had a Word for

If this was a Literal Amount of Money…

It would Take the Servant Over 150,000 Years to Earn it

It was More Money than was in Circulation in All of Palestine

Jesus is Trying to Be as Absurd/Ridiculous as Possible

To Modernize the Effect Jesus was Trying to have on His Listeners would Sound Like:

Matthew 18:24 (NASB95)

24 “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him a million gazillion dollars was brought to him.

The Amount is Impossible to Imagine…

And is More Than Anyone could Ever Hope to Pay Back

Matthew 18:25–26 (NASB95)

25 “But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to 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.’

Even with the Servant and His Family Being Sold to Make Up for the Debt…

It wouldn’t have Made the Slightest Dent in the Money He Owed

But the Servant Begged for Mercy and Patience From the King

He Promised to Pay Back Everything He Owed the King

We can Assume that the King Knew this was a Baseless Promise

There’s Absolutely No Way this Servant could Ever Payoff the Debt

He’s Got as Much of a Chance to Pay Off His Debt…

As I Do Paying Off the $31 Trillion National Debt of the US

It’s Impossible and will Always Be Impossible

Matthew 18:27 (NASB95)

27 “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.

The King Felt Compassion for the Servant

The Servant Begged for More Time…

But the King Gave Him Something Infinitely Better:

He Released Him…

And He Forgave Him the Debt

A Million Gazillion Dollars Worth of Debt Gone in a Snap

No Conditions

No Hesitation

Just Pure, Open-Handed Grace

Matthew 18:28–30 (NASB95)

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 should pay back what was owed.

The King was Willing to Forgive 150,000 Years Worth of Debt

But the Servant was Unwilling to Forgive 100 Days Worth

Rather than Imitating the Mercy of the King…

The Servant Grabbed His Fellows Servant By the Throat and Began Choking Him

And He Demanded that Every Last Cent Be Payed Back

When His Fellow Servant Pleaded for Patience and Mercy, Just Like He had Done…

Instead of Showing Mercy, He Through Him in Prison Until the Debt was Payed Off

Matthew 18:31–35 (NASB95)

31 “So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32 “Then summoning him, his lord 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 lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should 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.”

Application

The Spiritual Truths of this Story Pretty Simple to Grasp

Jesus Expects the Citizens of His Kingdom to have an Endless Supply of Forgiveness

If Not, Then We Look as Foolish as the First Servant in His Story

Being Citizens of His Kingdom Means:

We have Been Forgiven an Insurmountable Debt of Sin

We Begged for God’s Mercy Upon Us…

And He Freely Gave More Than We could’ve Ever Expected

Sometimes We are Like the 1st Servant in that We Try to Pay Back Our Debt

If I can Just Do Enough Good, I’ll Pay God Back for All the Wrong I’ve Done

God Graciously Forgives and Removes Our Debt Completely

All He Asks of Us is that We Keep the Forgiveness Flowing

Be Gracious and Merciful Like Him and Grace and Mercy will Abound Toward You

In a nutshell his teaching is this: God eternally and unconditionally forgives those who repent of so immense a debt against him that it is unconscionable for believers to refuse to grant forgiveness to each other for sins that remain trivial in comparison.

The following three themes emerge from the main characters and episodes of the parable: God’s boundless grace, the absurdity of spurning that grace, and the frightful fate awaiting the unforgiving. The law of end-stress highlights the third of these, but all are important. Carson correctly captures the balance of mercy and judgment reflected here: “Jesus sees no incongruity in the actions of a heavenly Father who forgives so bountifully and punishes so ruthlessly, and neither should we. Indeed, it is precisely because he is a God of such compassion and mercy that he cannot possibly accept as his those devoid of compassion and mercy.”

Ephesians 4:32 NASB95

32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Citizens of Jesus’ Kingdom Must Be as Eager to Extend Forgiveness as We are to Receive it