FORGIVE ONE ANOTHER (3)

Introduction

A blessed Sunday to all! Praising God for the privilege to gather as His people to worship Him in this place. Thank you church family for being here. Thank you as well to our visitors who came today, and I encourage you to stay and have lunch fellowship with us so we may get to know you better. (Pause)

Let me share a story. A young boy sat on a park bench, clearly in pain. A man passing by noticed and asked what was wrong. The boy replied, “I’m sitting on a bumblebee.” Alarmed, the man asked, “Then why don’t you get up?” The boy answered, “Because I think I’m hurting him more than he’s hurting me.”

Friends, I believe there are times in our lives that we are just like that boy. We cling to our pain, convinced that holding onto it somehow punishes the one who hurt us. But listen, true relief—for both parties—only comes when we choose to rise from the bench of unforgiveness.

The sermon today like our past messages teaches that forgiveness is not merely a suggestion but a command from Christ. This one another command written in the book of Ephesians chapter 4 at the last part of verse 32 (Eph 4:32b) “Forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you,” it highlights the seriousness of harboring unforgiveness and illustrating the consequences of failing to forgive in light of our debt being forgiven by God. To fully understand and practically apply this command we need look at the passage in Matthew 18:21-35. Let us pray!

Big Idea: True forgiveness, rooted in Christ's grace towards us, must be extended to others; failing to forgive others can lead to dire spiritual consequences.

As we listen attentively to God’s message today, may we realize the weight of unforgiveness may inflict on us. And because of this truth, by God’s grace and mercy, may we respond to God by teaching us to accept the call of releasing ourselves from this burden of unforgiveness. In other words, this is a challenge to extend grace to others, reflecting on how our own forgiveness through Christ should inspire a similar attitude toward others in our lives.

You see church, in this parable of the unforgiving servant, Christ reveals God’s immense capacity for forgiveness and contrasts it with human tendencies to withhold forgiveness, pointing to Himself as the ultimate solution for our sins, which enables true forgiveness to flow from us to others.

The first principle that we see is...

I. Boundless Forgiveness Commanded

Matthew 18:21-22

First of all, we need to understand that the context of this passage is about church discipline, particularly confronting an erring brother in the Lord. If he refuses to be confronted and corrected in private, Matthew says to bring two or three witnesses or representatives along. But if he does not listen we are to consider him a Gentile and a tax collecter (vv. 17). Meaning, to excommunicate or remove him from the membership of the church. Now, this led the apostle Peter in verse 21 to asks Jesus a question. He asked “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” (Matt. 18:21). What is Peter expressing here? Where did he get the seven? We sense there’s a bit of pride and boasting on his part. Why? Because at that time, Jewish rabbis held that forgiving someone three times was sufficient, after which there will be no forgiveness. We are basing this interpretation on passages like Amos 1:3 and 2:6, where God is described as forgiving transgressions "three times, but not four." So Peter’s offer to forgive seven times likely felt remarkably generous, even spiritual, and thinking he had a really big heart. After all, the number Seven was seen as a symbol of completeness or perfection in Jewish culture (cf. Lev. 26:21; Deut. 28:25; Ps. 79:12; Prov. 24:16; Luke 17:4).

However, Jesus shattered Peter’s expectations by replying, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matt. 18:22). Where did Jesus get the number? Some suggests that Jesus was deliberately referencing Genesis 4:24 where it says “If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.” In this passage, the wicked Lamech boasted about taking excessive revenge—claiming even greater vengeance for a personal offense than God had shown in punishing Cain for killing his brother Abel. What is Jesus trying to point out here? He is showing to Peter and his disciples to turn Lamech’s bad example around and urges them to practice generous forgiveness when their brothers hurt them.

Listen, I reckon that Peter’s question about forgiveness arose from a sincere desire to understand the expectations of being a disciple of Jesus. And that’s exactly the message we want to comprehend here. Forgiveness is a clear command to all who wants to follow God. In essence, when Jesus gave an unexpected answer to the inquiry of Peter, He wasn't just raising the number -He was redefining the heart behind it. He was teaching that we are to forgive a repentant person without limit. I think it would be absurd to think Jesus intended for us to keep a tally of offenses and withhold forgiveness once someone reaches the 491st transgression.

Brothers and sisters, true disciples forgive freely and continually, just as God extends unending grace to us. For the reason that forgiveness isn’t about keeping score; it’s about reflecting the boundless mercy we ourselves have received from God. While the numerical difference between “seventy-seven times” and “seventy times seven” may seem significant, it’s ultimately not the point. Our Lord was not setting a cap on how many times His disciples should forgive. Nor was He dismissing the importance of lovingly confronting a sinning brother, as He had just outlined in verses 15–20. Instead, His message was clear: Those who follow Him—marked by humility—must not place limits on forgiveness, either in number or in frequency.

Let’s consider the story of Corrie ten Boom, who survived a Nazi concentration camp. After the war, she came face to face with one of her former captors. She felt like she could never forgive him, yet she understood that forgiveness is a decision, not a feeling. With trembling hands, she extended grace, setting herself free from the burden of anger. This illustrates that to forgive without limits is to reflect God's grace, even when it seems impossible.

For this reason, I challenge all of us to release our tally of wrongs against others, starting with our family members. Just to remind us that when we forgive freely and continually, we live out the gospel we claim to believe. (Pause)

Now, the following parable of the unmerciful servant will clarify this point even further. We will see the next truth of forgiving one another in the following verses, and that is...

II. The King's Generous Grace

Matthew 18:23-27

In this part of our text, after our Lord Jesus emphasized that we as His followers must always be prepared to forgive, He would illustrate this using the parable of the unforgiving or unmerciful servant. In this parable, He compared the kingdom of heaven to a king settling accounts  with his servants (18:23). One owed his master ten thousand talents (18:24). At this time, a talent was the largest unit of currency, and one talent is equivalent to 20 years’ worth of wages. So, the servant with 10,000 talents of debt would be equivalent to an unfathomable amount of money today. In US dollar, Bible commentators value it as anywhere between $12 million and $1 Billion.

Church family, I want us to see some essential truths here. With regard as to why we need to forgive one another no matter how great the hurt, shame, and pain we have experienced from people. Just like the servant in this parable, First, we owe a vast debt to a holy God because of our sin—a debt we are completely incapable of repaying on our own. You see it’s very obvious that the servant cannot pay what he owe the king, even if he sold everything including his family. In spiritual sense, this is true to all of us. In Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” What we deserve is death based on the first part of this passage, and the reality is if God did not intervene or made a way for our sin, until now we have no hope.

And this connects me to the second truth. Second, out of sheer compassion for the servant —just like the sin debt we owe to God, He forgave the entire debt for us. In short, In Christ, we’ve been given lavish, undeserved grace. Church family, there’s no price tag we could ever place on our sin before an infinitely holy God. When we compare ourselves to others—thinking we’ve sinned less—we reveal how little we understand our own guilt. Our debt is immeasurable. Yet, praise God because in His compassion, the Father sent His Son to bear the wrath we deserved. Through Christ, that debt is fully paid. We are now free—not just as forgiven servants, but as beloved sons and daughters. (Praise God for that, Amen?)

Moving on, another truth is: Third, the mercy and patience of our God. When the servant cannot repay the king, in verse 26 it says that “he fell on his knees, imploring him, have patience with me and I will pay you everything.” This is a bit annoying and funny, right? Because we have seen that it’s just impossible for this servant to pay his debt, even until the end of his life. Yet, the servant in this parable is making a promise - a promise that has no sense, and a promise he cannot fulfill.

Friends, What do these truths reveal about your position before a holy God? How should God’s mercy and generosity shape the way you respond to fellow believers who wrong you? Remember, we have been granted forgiveness through Christ, which overwhelms any wrongs others commit against us. This is an encouragement to all true believers who have been released from God’s judgment, our motivation to forgive others deeply and genuinely is because we have received forgiveness from our sins that was impossible to pay. In essence, if before we cannot forgive others, now it’s completely possible because Christ’s fully paid our debt.

III. The Servant’s Selfish Stance

Matthew 18:28-33

What happened next to the parable? The servant was released from prison, and somehow we assume that this servant has made some realizations because of the pity, mercy, and compassion of the king toward him. Probably, it could have made him a better person. But what we see next is shocking.

In verses 28–29, we witness a strikingly similar scene. The very same words and pleas that had moved the master to mercy are now echoed by the servant with the smaller debt. Yet this time, they fall on deaf ears. The servant who had been forgiven an enormous debt showed no mercy. Instead of extending the compassion he had received, he seized his fellow servant, choked him, and demanded, “Pay what you owe!”

Friends, it’s especially ironic because after all the pleading and begging he himself had done—that he then threw the man into prison, a place where repayment would be impossible. What a vivid picture of hypocrisy and hardness of heart. Church, let us be warned: Selfishness can twist our attitude and behavior in ways that blind us to grace and destroy our witness.

Church family, truly how unfair it was for the servant who had been forgiven a huge debt to turn around and throw someone in jail over a small amount. That seems outrageous! You see one hundred denarii was about 100 days’ wages. We could say not a small amount, but tiny in comparison to what the first servant had owed his king or master. In fact, it was just 1/600,000 of that massive debt. The point of the matter is this: When a Christian refuses to forgive, they’re doing the same thing. That’s the clear message here. The Bible doesn’t say forgiveness is easy or natural—but it is what Christians are called to do. In fact, we have no other choice. We forgive not out of duty, but because love moves us to.

Imagine a young woman holding a grudge against her father for abandoning her family. Years pass, and she realizes the bitterness stops her from moving forward in life. One day, while walking in a park, she sees a father playing with his children, and a wave of emotions floods her heart. She realizes that forgiveness is not about forgetting the past, but freeing herself to love again. Forgiveness is hard because it often means confronting our pain and choosing to let it go.

In Luke 23:34, Jesus says, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing," while being crucified. This powerful verse reflects the ultimate challenge of forgiveness under the most unimaginable circumstances. Jesus faced immense suffering but exhibited pure grace, teaching us that true forgiveness doesn't always come from understanding but rather from compassion. Understanding this biblical example can encourage us to forgive even when we feel justified in our pain.

People of God, only Jesus can empower the kind of forgiveness this passage demands. Thankfully, He continually reminds us of the extravagant mercy He’s shown to us—the least deserving. And By His grace, we’re able to extend that same mercy to others, even those we consider or label least deserving. This kind of forgiveness should define the church. This is a call to all of us who have been completely forgiven from all our sins.

Truly, what we are hearing is the call and need to forgive others, and this is the proper response. But what if we don’t want to forgive? Well, it says in our story that there are...

IV. Consequences of Unforgiveness

Matthew 18:34-35

Brothers and sisters in the Lord, it’s no brainer that all the commands of God whether individually or corporately are clearly essential for us to live the Christian life. Amen! For this reason we are not only to comprehend it as a whole, but this understanding should lead us to obey it in our lives. Why? For if we disregard it there will be repercussions and consequences just like this particular command that we’ve been dealing in this message. The question in our last point is what are the consequences of unforgiveness? Let me point out that these consequences may seem simple, but they are not as we shall see in a moment.

In the parable, when it was reported to the king what the unforgiving servant did to his fellow servant, first part of verse 34 says that “he (king) was angry.” One consequence of unforgiveness is We are provoking God’s anger. In general, we know from the Bible that any sin we commit is equivalent to punishment or judgment. This is simple to understand right, but sadly many Christians are not serious about obeying God’s laws. Furthermore, the other consequence is that Unforgiveness delivers you to the torturers. This is mentioned in the last part of verse 34 . Now, are these literal torturers that we see in the movies? What is the meaning and the implication of this? By definition, to torture means to cause another person distress, pain, or to coerce. In the case of the second servant, the unforgiving servant put him into prison to put heavy pressure on him and his family, for what purpose? To produce the money.

Listen, we reckon that the Bible acknowledges the existence of torture. For example, our Lord Jesus, Paul, Silas, the prophet Jeremiah, and the unnamed saints in Hebrews 11, but as Christians Scripture tells us we are not to seek revenge or torture anyone. Why? Because vengeance belongs only to the Lord (Rom. 12:19). It’s very clear in verse 34 that the master is the one who handed over the wicked servant to the torturers. So in essence, what Jesus wants to capture in this parable is that God can use any means, he may use people, bad circumstances, or hard situations in your life to draw out our hypocrisy and deceitfulness.

Now, take note this is not to shame or insult us in the sight of people, but to help us forget and overcome the pain that we experienced, but more importantly and this is exactly what Jesus wants us to do. To be released from all bitterness, and the heaviness of heart. Brothers and sisters in the Lord, whoever that person who’ve hurt you so much, remember unwillingness to forgive is not the solution. As true disciples of Christ, let us not become the victim of unforgiveness. If we allow ourselves to continue by denying our unforgiveness, our hearts will become calloused.

May I remind the congregation of the judgment we evade because Christ bore our penalty on the cross, yet we face consequences when we deny grace to those around us. This calls us to reflect on our eternal position and immediate relational harmony through active forgiveness.

Conclusion

Church family, friends, and visitors, this is what true forgiveness is all about. As I conclude God’s message today, some of you may say, “you see Pastor, you don’t know what this person has done to me. You don’t know what I’ve experienced, the pain, and the hurt that this person has caused in my life.”

Yes, I may not understand everything you’ve gone through. Yet, one thing I do know as what God is teaching us today, in verse 35 says, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” The bottomline is this: We are to forgive from our hearts.

My dear family and friends, realize this: we have been forgiven, so let us not remain unforgiving. Don’t just take my word for it—take the words of our Lord Jesus to heart. We owe our Heavenly Father a debt we could never repay, and yet He forgives us freely. How then, can we withhold forgiveness from others? Let’s pray!