The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Tim Keller, told the following story about a man named Hasheem Garrett, who learned the art of forgiveness. Hashim was a 15-year-old, living with his mother and hanging out on the streets of Brooklyn with a gang, when he was shot six times and was left paralyzed from the waist down.

For most of the next year he lay in a New York City hospital, fantasizing about revenge. He later wrote: “Revenge consumes me. All I could think about was, just wait, till I get better; just wait till I see this kid.”

But when he was lying on the sidewalk immediately after his shooting, he had instinctively called out to God for help, and, to his surprise, he had felt this strange tranquility. Now during his rehabilitation, a new thought, struck him, namely, that if he took revenge on this kid, why should God not pay him back for all his sins? He concluded, “I shot a kid for no reason, except that a friend told me to do it, and I wanted to prove how tough I was. Six months later, I am shot by somebody because his friend told him to do it.”

That thought was electrifying … He could not feel superior to the perpetrator. They were both fellow sinners who deserved a punishment—and needed forgiveness.

Hasheem said, “In the end I decided to forgive. I felt God had saved my life for a reason, and then I had better fulfill that purpose … And I knew I could never go back out there and harm someone. I was done with that mindset and the life that goes with it … I came to see that I had to let go and stop hating.”

https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2023/july/gang-member-forgives-rival-who-paralyzed-him.html

Matthew 18:21–35 NIV

21 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?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 “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. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Jewish rabbis taught that you forgive three times, but after that there was no forgiveness.

Peter thought he was being generous by saying seven times, but then Jesus throws him for a loop.

Jesus wants us to keep on forgiving even when their offenses are too many to count.

What standard of forgiveness do you follow? What standard of forgiveness should we follow?

Do you refuse to forgive at all?

Do you get to a point of saying - I’m not forgiving you any more?

Are you forgiving according to what you think is reasonable?

Or, are you following Jesus’ command: to forgive lavishly and unselfishly?

THE BIG IDEA: People who have experienced God’s grace in their lives will walk in love and forgiveness towards all others.

THE FORGIVING KING:

So Jesus told a story! Let’s look at verses 23-27:

WALK THROUGH THE FIRST INTERACTION - The wicked servant owed 10,000 talents. A talent was about a thousand denarii, and one denarii was about one day’s wage. About one billion dollars.

WALK THROUGH PERSPECTIVE OF KING AND OF SERVANT.

The King reveals God’s heart to us. We have sinned and owe God a huge debt. A debt we could never have any chance of repaying.

But, if we confess our sins to Him, He loves us, releases us, and forgives us.

He does for us what we could never do for ourselves!

This amazing act of grace should fill us with gratitude and grace toward others.

THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT

Let’s look at verses 28-30:

WALK THROUGH INTERACTION

In the Kingdom of God, He is the King, and we are His servants.

In this story, the forgiven servant was owed around $10,000. That was nothing compared to his debt that was forgiven by the King. Yet, he still refused to forgive.

WALK THROUGH PERSPECTIVE OF THE TWO SERVANTS.

REVISITING THE KING:

Let’s look at verses 32-35

WALK THROUGH INTERACTION & PERSPECTIVES

Jesus gives a very serious warning to those who refuse to forgive!

I know what it’s like to be hurt by someone! We’ve all been hurt by someone at some time in our lives. As Christians, the measure of our CHARACTER and the EVIDENCE of our life in Christ is not that we got hurt, but what do we do in those moments. Do we fester on the hurt and the wrong committed? Or do we follow the example of Jesus and forgive no matter what. It is not easy!

To forgive doesn’t mean what they did was right, and it doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

It simply means that you are ‘settling accounts’ and releasing them from the debt.

You are saying, “You don’t owe me anything.” No retribution, no revenge, no vengeance. We simply follow the pattern of Jesus to forgive without limit, to show grace without limit, to show love without limit. It will change our lives and will create confusion in others involved as it is so opposite of a natural human interaction. However, it may present an opportunity to share the Gospel - the ultimate gift and example of love.

STORY: REMEMBER THE DUCK:

Desperately he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch that day, Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn't you, Johnny?" And she whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So Johnny did the dishes.

Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing. Grandma said, "I'm sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally smiled and said, "That's all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it." Again she whispered, "Remember the duck." Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing. After several days of doing both his chores and Sally's, finally he couldn't stand it. He confessed to Grandma that he'd killed the duck. "I know, Johnny," she said, giving him a hug. "I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave of you. (Richard Hoefler, Will Daylight Come?).

CLOSING:

Matthew 6:14–15 NIV

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Forgiveness is such an important principle in the Kingdom of Heaven!

Jesus’ example: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34).

The Bible says: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Eph. 4:31-32, NLT).

Why are we to forgive? Because we’ve been forgiven. It’s that simple.

Who do you need to forgive this morning?

Talk to God about it first in prayer. Pray that God would heal your brokenness.

If you feel you need to talk to that person about it, let your goal be reconciliation.

DO NOT talk to someone else about it! That’s gossip and sin.

A Spiritual Grace

Roy L. Smith says that the art of forgiving is a spiritual grace every Christian should develop. Because this is so difficult to put into practice, he offers the following suggestions: 1. Begin by assuring yourself that compared to Christ’s suffering you haven’t been seriously wronged at all. 2. Recall the many kind deeds that have been shown to you, perhaps even by the person who has harmed you. 3. List the benefits you have received from the Lord. 4. Thank Him for blessing you with His love and forgiveness each day. 5. Make an honest effort to pray for the one who has injured you. 6. Go even further by looking for an opportunity to help him. 7. If the offense is especially hard to forget, try to erase the memory by thinking gracious and generous thoughts. 8. Finally, before you fall asleep at night, repeat slowly and thoughtfully that phrase from the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

Some people try to punish themselves for their sins. They do not stand on the promises of forgiveness and Christ’ propitiation.

- Roy L. Smith

https://bible.org/illustration/spiritual-grace

SING GREAT ARE YOU LORD

BENEDICTION:

Luke 6:27-49 | Built on the Solid Foundation

May the Lord our God make us into a community that is built upon love, forgiveness, and obedience.

May Christ’s love for His enemies

be a template for us as we pursue Him,

so that when the world sees us

it would be changed as a result

of having come near to the everlasting love of God.

May our freedom from condemnation

create in us an eagerness to offer forgiveness to others.

In doing this, may the world change as a result

of having encountered the life-altering mercy of God.

May our lives be built upon the solid foundation of God’s Word,

so that with our lives shaped by our obedience to Him,

the world would yearn to be shaped

in the same obedience to our perfect and holy King.

May we be the church as the church is meant to be.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.