Matthew 18:21-35

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 18

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

This week we round out chapter 18 and reach the end of Jesus’ teaching about the church. At the beginning of chapter 18 Jesus’ entire discourse was prompted by his disciple’s argument over who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. So he sets out teach them how they must view one another and treat one another within the context of the church.

At first he says that they must humble themselves and become like little children, willing to take upon themselves a humble, or low estate, willing to serve one another to become the greatest in the kingdom, and that unless they do so, that none of them would ever enter the kingdom of heaven. Then he teaches them that they must protect one another from sin, to not cause any of his little ones to stumble, that it would be better for the one who does so to have a millstone hung around his neck and thrown into the sea. Then in verses 10-14 he tells his disciples not to disdain, or to look down upon these little ones, but to love one another, like a shepherd who is unwilling that any of them should perish. Then in verses 15-20, Jesus taught them to be ready to restore one another, to be willing to confront one another about sin, that they might win their brother to repentance and restoration. And finally, these verse today, Jesus teaches them that they must be willing to forgive one another.

The implication to forgive

And this next point follows naturally from the one before it. Peter appears to realize that if he is to carry out church discipline to restore his brother, that the assumption is that he’ll also have to forgive his brother. For if his brother sins is against him, and his brother repents, then for restoration to be fulfilled he must also forgive his brother.

In Luke’s Gospel, which, at this point, is far more condensed, records Jesus like this,

English Standard Version Chapter 17

3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,

How many times must I forgive?

So Peter immediately wonders, how many times must I do this, how many times must I forgive my brother? Is there a point when my brother has gone too far? We read there in verse 21,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

Now, in one sense it’s understandable for Peter to have asked this question, because there’s historical evidence that the rabbinical teaching in his day said that a person was required to forgive his brother as many as three times (Yoma.86b), but not more, so, if this is true, Peter appears quite generous when he says, “As many as seven times?” But what Peter is doing, is putting up an extreme proposal for the sake of argument (R.T. France, Matthew Commentary). He’s concerned about many times he’s going to have to forgive his brother.

Forgiveness not limited by frequency or quantity

But listen to Jesus’ response in verse 22,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

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

What Jesus is saying, is that forgiveness cannot be limited by frequency or quantity (D.A. Carson, Matthew Commentary).

Now, most of us can see Jesus’ point here, but we can sometimes get tripped up by the use of the number seven. Why does Peter choose the number seven as his extreme example? And why does Jesus illustrate his point that forgiveness is not limited by using the number 77. Well, I think we find the answer in Genesis 4:24. If you would, turn with me to Genesis 4 and we’ll read a passage that I think will shed some light on this question.

Lamech’s vengeance, seventy-sevenfold

And while you’re turning their, the context of Genesis 4 is Cain’s murdering of his brother Abel. God accepts Abel’s sacrifice, but rejects Cain’s sacrifice, so Cain becomes exceedingly angry with his brother. Shortly thereafter Cain rises up against Abel and kills him. Then the text goes on to list the descendents of Cain, and the writer eventually lists Lamech, who, we’re told, takes two wives, Adah and Zillah. And by the time we get down to verse 23 we reach a song by Lamech,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:

I have killed a man for wounding me,

a young man for striking me.

24  If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold,

then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”

The idea here is that Lamech is bragging that Cain’s vengeance against his brother will pale in comparison to the vengeance that he will have against his enemies.

The number seven confers the idea of completeness or perfection, hence the use of the word “sevenfold” here and in Matthew 18. Then Lamach, like Jesus, uses the phrase “seventy-sevenfold” to communicate the idea of an incalculable number. And while Lamech uses it to describe his limitless vengeance, Jesus uses the phrase to describes immeasurable forgiveness. And because of the strong parallel here, some commentators wonder if Jesus had this very text in mind when he answered Peter.

So while Lamech asserts that his vengeance will not be limited by frequency or quantity in Genesis 4, Jesus, in Matthew 18, asserts that a disciple’s forgiveness must not be limited by frequency or quantity. Or as commentator R.T. France put it ,“The disciple must be as extravagant in forgiving as Lamech was in take vengeance.” (R.T. France, Matthew Commentary)

Why such extravagant forgiveness?

Then Jesus explains why. Why must his disciple’s forgiveness be without bounds? Why must their forgiveness be incalculable? Well, the answer is, because God’s is! Because God’s forgiveness for you is without bounds, because God’s forgiveness for you is incalculable. Which is precisely what Jesus intends to illustrate for us in his famous parable of the unforgiving servant.

So read with me again, starting there in verse 23,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Verse 33 sits at the heart of the parable,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?

The point is that we’re to model our forgiveness toward our brothers after God’s forgiveness toward ourselves. And we know intuitively (or, at least we should know), that our indebtedness to God, our sin against Him, is infinitely greater than any sin our brother could ever commit against us. And Jesus illustrates this point when he says that the first servant owed the king 10,000 talents.

Talent versus Denarii

Now, a talent was originally a specific weight of metal, usually silver, about 66 lbs. worth, and in their day the talent was the single highest monetary unit in use. And to give you an idea of just how valuable a talent was, the annual revenue of Herod’s entire kingdom was approximately 900 talents. Therefore, this servant owed his master more than 10 times the annual revenue of Herod’s entire kingdom - some 10,000 talents. That’s something like 200,000 years of an average labor’s wages, or somewhere between $1-2 billion dollars by our U.S. monetary system today. We’re talking about 330 tons, or 660,000 lbs. of silver. And in the ancient world it would have been simply impossible to think that any servant of any master could pay back such a sum of money. And that’s exactly the point isn’t it? Our indebtedness to God is such that it’s ludicrous to think that we could ever pay him back, we could never atone for our own sins.

Therefore, when our brother sins against us, it’s chump change in comparison to what we owe God. In fact, it’s not even worthy of comparison. The servant’s slave only owed his master 100 denarii, or approximately 100 days of a common labor’s wages, something like a few thousand dollars. British author, C.S. Lewis, once wrote,

"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." ― C.S. Lewis

Empowering forgiveness

Now, the parable not only explains why we’re instructed to show extravagant forgiveness toward our brother, but it’s also intended to enable us to show such forgiveness toward our brother. When we realize the sheer magnitude of mercy that God has shown us then it should become an easy thing to forgive our brother. God’s love toward us is intended to empower us to forgive our brother with the same limitless capacities that God possesses himself.

Withholding forgiveness

So when we find ourselves withholding forgiveness from one another we’ve forgotten our own infinite indebtedness to God, we’ve forgotten that what our brother owes us is trivial in comparison to what we owe God. When we forget the immeasurable mercy that God has for us, we begin to become merciless toward our brother, we become prone to holding grudges, pursuing vengeance and becoming bitter toward one another.

But we’re not permitted to hold grudges and withhold forgiveness from one another, there’s absolutely no room for grudges and bitterness within the church. Do you remember Leviticus 19:17-18?

English Standard Version Chapter 19

17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Confronting your brother isn’t only about protecting him from sin or restoring him from wandering from the truth, but it’s also intended to safeguard you from harboring hatred toward your brother, or holding a grudge against your brother. The confrontation is not only an opportunity for your brother to repent but for you to forgive. The restoration is intended for the both of you. Sin will not only destroy your brother but it will seek to destroy you too.

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen members within a church leave the church because of an offense from another brother, and rather than confronting their brother they harbor hatred toward their brother, because it feels good and it’s easy. It feels good because they feel justified in their anger, and it’s easy because confronting their brother is hard, but neglecting to confront your brother can make it impossible for you to forgive your brother. In fact, in many instances the offending brother has no idea that they’ve sinned against you.

Forgiveness matter to God

Forgiveness is immensely important for the church and it’s extremely important to God. And we see just how serious it is to Him when the servant who has been forgiven much refuses to have mercy on his own servant for so much less. We read again there in verse 28,

English Standard Version Chapter 18

28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Jesus gives serious warning to those of us who would choose to withhold forgiveness from another brother, because he takes forgiveness seriously. It echoes his own words back in Matt 6:12 and 14-15 when he’s teaching his disciples how to pray. He says, pray like this,

English Standard Version Chapter 6

forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

and then in verse 14,

English Standard Version Chapter 6

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Jesus takes forgiveness seriously, therefore we must take forgiveness seriously. We’re given a zero tolerance policy on the subject, we do not get to withhold forgiveness from one another.

Forgiven people forgive others

And the bottom line is this, forgiven people forgive others, and the magnitude of God’s mercy toward us ought to compel us to show mercy to others. Jesus says in Luke 6:36 to,

English Standard Version Chapter 6

36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

and in Matthew 5:7,

English Standard Version Chapter 5

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Love covers a multitude of sin

Whenever the Scriptures speaks of “covering a multitude of sins” or “love covering offenses” it doesn’t mean we’re to turn a blind eye to sin, or that we should disregard sin, or think lightly of sin, instead it's talking about a person who forgives another’s sin. This is why the Apostle Peter would later write in 1 Peter 4:8 that,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

or like Proverbs 17:9,

English Standard Version Chapter 17

9  Whoever covers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

or Proverbs 10:12,

English Standard Version Chapter 10

12  Hatred stirs up strife,

but love covers all offenses.

or the last verses of James’ letter when he says,

English Standard Version Chapter 5

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Conclusion

If we’re going to successfully restore one another then we must be willing to relentlessly forgive one another, not merely sevenfold, but seventy-sevenfold. We must seek to see and to be reminded of the immense debt that our Lord forgave us, so that we might also joyfully forgive our brother.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we were once dead in our trespasses, yet you made us alive together with Christ, forgiving us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us. Help us to marvel at your mercy, that we might find the strength to forgive one another as you have forgiven us. I pray that you would continue to build and mature this local fellowship of believers, root us in your word. Help us to be the kind of people you’ve described here in Matthew 18.