The Unpayable Debt: A Call to Christlike Forgiveness

Reading of the Word

Matthew 18:21–35 NASB 2020

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?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times. “For this reason the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. And when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 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. So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and forgave him the debt. 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!’ So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ But he was unwilling, and went and threw him in prison until he would pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their master all that had happened. Then summoning him, his master said to him, ‘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?’ And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he would repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

Introduction

As we quickly review last week, it shows us that Lent is about more than giving something up and going back to it at Easter. It is about God convicting you of your sin, our mourning and repentance of sin, grieving as God shows us His grace, mercy and love, and living transformed because of nothing that we have done but because of what He has done for us to make this possible.

Mercy is something that we are going to focus on further today. We need to be changed by God’s mercy. It needs to allow us to be changed so that it can change others. As we speak this year about reaching others, God working in us is what it takes for us to reach others for Jesus.

The Two Sides of Mercy

1) That we might be aware of how it should shape our relationship with him

Our relationship with God is critical but it doesn’t end with just us and God.

It cannot begin until God’s mercy is extended to us.

Without His mercy, we are still in debt to sin and its punishment.

The debt of sin is so great that we are not able to pay it.

The debt that this servant owed was massive. 10,000 is the largest amount of money that exists in Greek. Talent is the largest denomination of money. $10 million dollars!!!!

The greatness of sin magnifies the riches of God’s mercy.

We cannot receive God’s mercy until we do as the slave did and get on our knees in submission and repentance to God.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible Chapter 18

The humbled sinner relies only on free, abounding mercy, through the ransom of the death of Christ. Let us seek more and more for the renewing grace of God, to teach us to forgive others as we hope for forgiveness from him.

v. He was going to sell the servant and his family but the slave begged for mercy.

He did this knowing that he would never be able to pay back this debt. He had nothing else to turn to.

vi. Without thinking, the king forgave him.

He didn’t put him on a payment plan. He forgave the whole debt so he didn’t owe him a penny!

Mercy rejoices against judgement! - The Pulpit Commentary

God never even thinks twice about forgiving us!

When we go in front of God someday, the ones who begged Jesus for mercy will hear those same words that the debt has been paid in full!

Humility, confession, prayer

Jesus calls us to the same. He just didn’t give us a larger number of times to forgive so that we get to a point where enough is enough. His idea here was to abolish limiting forgiveness.

2) That we might be aware of how it should shape our relationships with others.

In the parable, Jesus does not limit the topic of forgiveness to the interaction between the master and his servant with a great debt. He immediately extends it to the relationship between the two servants and ties that back into how the relationship between the first servant and the master is impacted as a result of the first servant’s subsequent dealings with others.

Jesus teaches though that our relationship with God is not just about the two of us.

It is so typical of the Western Christian to turn inward and measure his or her relationship with God purely by the standard of their notion of how they are feeling about it in the moment. Yet, what is true from the Scripture is how we relate to others is the true measure of our relationship with God. Jesus did not say to his followers that they would be known for how they loved God; they were to be known by how they loved each other.

Our relationship with God is not just extended to us but to the whole world.

After the slave is forgiven of his debt, he turns around and finds someone who owes him money.

The slave didn’t extend that same mercy he just received.

Only owed him $20.

He throws him in jail until the debt can be paid back.

As a professing Christian, do we refuse to forgive a fellow Christian of a petty debt that can destroy our soul?

A passing remark?

An impatient word?

Something taken the wrong way?

To reach our community for Christ, we must be forgiving and extend mercy to others when they need it the most.

The Mercy We Get From God Depends on the Mercy We Give to Others

What happens if forgiveness is not extended?

The Downwards Spiral to Bitterness

Dwell upon it…resentment lingers…anger builds…bitterness grabs hold of our heart…bitterness threatens our salvation.

The slave who is forgiven shows the direct opposite to the slave that owes him money.

The master finds out and calls him back to see him.

He reminds him of the mercy that was available but not shown to others.

He reverses his decision and treats him as he treated the one who owed him a small amount.

What do we learn from this? Without forgiving others, we cannot:

Call our self a follower of God

Cannot experience God’s mercy in our lives

Can be held in the grip of sin

Enter into the Experience of Forgiveness

We have to forgive as God forgives us.

Matthew 6:14-15

Matthew 6:14–15 NASB 2020

“For if you forgive other people for their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your offenses.

Without counting

The goal of Jesus in what he said to Peter was to abolish the law with grace.

Without holding grudges and bitterness in our hearts

It’s our choice. Holding these feelings makes one miserable.

Without going back on our commitment of forgiveness.

God wasn’t punishing the past sin that he had forgiven the slave of; he was punishing a new sin that had come forth after he was forgiven.

God doesn’t go back on His promises!

Not just with our words but with our hearts.

1 John 2:3-6

1 John 2:3–6 (NASB 2020)

By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.

The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:

the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked.

1 John 2:9-11

1 John 2:9–11 NASB 2020

The one who says that he is in the Light and yet hates his brother or sister is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother and sister remains in the Light, and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling. But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

One does not really forgive until he also forgets.

When God extends His mercy to us, He forgets what He has forgiven.

Don’t remind people time after time what they have done.

5. We have to be willing to forgive ourselves too!

We will forgive others but not what we have done to others, even when they have forgiven us. Receive God’s mercy and press on towards God’s will for you.

Philippians 3:13-14

Philippians 3:13–14 NASB 2020

Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

The Wesleyan Bible Commentary, Volume 4: Matthew–Acts d. Law of Forgiveness (18:21–35)

one should forgive an infinite number of times. He who counts the times knows nothing of the true spirit of forgiveness

To Sum it Up:

God’s mercy ought to be a point of change for us; if we experience the grace of God and remain unchanged, we have missed the point entirely.

Conclusion

"The Unseen Hand"

Imagine a tightrope walker preparing to cross a deep chasm. As he steps onto the thin wire, the crowd watches nervously. With every step, the tension rises. Suddenly, he stumbles and begins to fall. In that moment of panic, a spectator rushes forward and catches him, preventing a disastrous fall.

In our lives, we often walk the tightrope of daily challenges, and occasionally, we stumble and fall into mistakes and regrets. The unseen hand that catches us in those moments is the mercy of God. His mercy is like the vigilant spectator, ready to intervene and lift us up when we're on the verge of a spiritual fall.

Just as the tightrope walker didn't deserve to fall, we don't deserve God's mercy. It's freely given, not because of our perfection but because of God's compassionate and merciful nature. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:4-5, "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved."

Let us appreciate the mercy that catches us when we stumble, and may we, in turn, extend that same mercy to others in their moments of need. Just as God's unseen hand rescues us, may our lives reflect the beauty of His mercy in action.

Commission & Benediction

(based on Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Mark 8:31-38, Romans 4:13-25)

Go now, and live before God in openness and integrity. Set your minds on the ways of God, not clinging to your own life, but taking up your cross and following Jesus. And may God give you a share in the eternal covenant; May Christ Jesus be proud of you when he comes in glory; And may the Holy Spirit make you grow strong in faith and lead you in the ways of righteousness. We go in peace to love and serve the Lord, In the name of Christ. Amen.