Forgiveness

Opening

Take a moment for the fathers.

Option 2 - Fathers day joke

Car Issue A young boy had just gotten his driving permit. He asked his father, who was a minister, if they could discuss the use of the car. His father took him to his study and said to him, "I'll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study your bible a little and get your hair cut and we'll talk about it." After about a month, the boy came back and again asked his father, if they could discuss use of the car. They again went to the father's study where his father said, "Son, I've been real proud of you. You have brought your grades up, you've studied your bible diligently, but you didn't get your hair cut." The young man waited a moment and replied, "You know Dad, I've been thinking about that. You know, Samson had long hair, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair, and even Jesus had long hair!", to which is father replied, "Yes, you're right, and they also WALKED every where they went!

Why we love Stories

They allow us to open our minds. We can use our imagination.

Stories help us to relate and feel more involved with the characters we are reading about.

Jesus knew these things. He knew that we understand things a certain way. He knew that He could just sit there and preach at the people but instead He put some of His lessons into stories or as we like to call them parables. When the people heard these stories about things that they could relate to they understood His message more.

Today’s passage is one of Jesus’ parables. But this parable was for Peter. Peter was hungry for everything that Jesus could give him. He wanted all of the knowledge he could cram in his head.

He wasn’t being sarcastic.

He wasn’t being facetious.

He even gave Jesus an answer that he thought might impress Jesus.

He wanted the correct answer that only Jesus could give Him so Peter asked his question.

Matthew 18:21–22 ESV

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

In Peter’s mind Seven times is a BIG number. If he forgives seven times doesn’t that make him an amazing person?

Jesus responded with a huge number on purpose. He wanted Peter to see that there should be no limit, Peter must have given Jesus a look that let Jesus know that Peter needed more help so Jesus tells Peter a story.

Jesus knew that He had only a short time on this planet and He also knew that Peter was going to preach and share this message with everyone he could so Peter needed to understand the importance of the answer to Peter’s question.

Every good Story is told in parts.

Plays in school.

Characters and acts to tell the story.

This leads us to the first part of Jesus story.

Act 1 - The Masters Choice

Matthew 18:23–27 ESV

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 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. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

WHAT A DEBT!

The man owed 10,000 talents.

Herod the Great’s annual revenue for his entire kingdom was 900 talents.

Each individual talent is worth 20 years of labor. That means he owed 200,000 years worth of labor!

At 50,000 a year this number would be 10 Billion Dollars

This was a debt that could NEVER be paid.

The man and his family and all that he owned were to be sold so that the Master could recoup at least some of his money.

He begs for mercy that he does not deserve and the master not only gives the man more time, the master forgives the un-payable debt!

Jesus used such a big number to show the great mercy of the master. Peter needed to see just how merciful this was.

Who is the master? Let’s read Micah 7:18-19 which says who the master is far better than I could.

Micah 7:18–19 ESV

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

We can see that Jesus is the Master and we are the slave that owes more that we can ever pay back. However we serve a merciful God that forgives our debts.

Let’s look at the next act of this parable and see how unlike the master we can be.

ACT 2 - The Servants Response

Matthew 18:28–30 ESV

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.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.

We just refinanced our house. Imagine the bank calling and saying we forgive your loan, you don’t owe us anything! What an amazing thought!! Hearing news like this should make you feel....

Happy

Relieved

Thankfull etc....

I think that these two verses in Psalms tells us exactly how we should feel about a gift like forgiveness.

Psalm 130:3–4 ESV

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

Imagine if you had a clicker that kept track every time you sinned.....

This servant should feel just this way if not better. Instead of feeling grateful....

instead look at what happens.

He sees a man who owes him 100 denari.

Each denari is worth 1 days work.

Compared to what he owed it would be like 1000000 to one!

He goes to the man chokes him and demands his money!

The other servant repeats the words that the man JUST SAID to his master.

Instead of showing any grace, any good, or forgiveness AT ALL, instead of giving even a portion of the forgiveness the servant just recieved, he orders him thrown in jail and tortured until this debt was paid!

A story by Gary Inrig - A man was bitten by a dog that was later found out to be rabid. The man was rushed to the hospital where tests reveal that he, in fact, had rabies. At the time, medical science had no solution for this problem, and his doctor faced the difficult task of telling the man that he had no hope and would die. “ Sir, we will do all that we can to make you comfortable. There is nothing that we can really do. My advice is that you put your affairs in order as soon as possible.” The dying man sunk in his bed, but then asked for a pen and some paper. When the doctor returned the man was writing on the paper with some energy. The doctor said “I am glad to see you are working on your will.” To which the man replied, “this ain’t no will doc, this is a list of people I’m going to bite before I die.”

A IMPORTANT OBSERVATION: This servant had a human response. Wrong but human. He saw things through his eyes instead of learning from the master.

Technically this man was not in the wrong. He was owed the money. If we look at it from human standards this guy would have every right to take this guy to Judge Judy.

Just because he was technically right according to the law doesn’t mean he was right according to God’s law. I think that we as Christians today see this all too well but maybe don’t understand it fully.

We are held to a higher standard because unlike humans that don’t have a personal relationship with God we do. We just pick and choose what aspects of Jesus character we want to portray and which ones we would like to ignore.

This leads us to the end of Jesus Story....

ACT 3 - The Masters Response

Matthew 18:31–35 ESV

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. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

The other servants saw what happened and told the master.

The master was so mad that he brought in the servant, and threw him in jail until he could pay off the debt. Essentially giving him a life sentence given the fact that he owed so much he would never be able to pay it back.

The servant didn’t know a key truth. An important truth that Jesus was trying to get Peter to understand. That key truth… real forgiveness has no limits.

Matthew 6:14–15 ESV

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

Why? Does this mean that we would will be sent to hell until we can pay for our sin, a purgatory? No not at all.

Jesus is preparing Peter to teach and give his message of Salvation that hasn’t even happened yet. He need’s peter to understand exactly what it is he is trying to say.

Jesus is trying to get Peter to understand that to be like the master, which is what Peter is trying to do, which is what Peter dedicated his life to when Jesus ascends to heaven, he must understand that a person who has anger, resentment, un-forgiveness in their heart is selling themselves short and putting space in between themselves and God.

I spoke a couple weeks ago about filling your lives with Joy and I showed a jar that was empty until Jesus filled it. For many of us our jar isn’t empty, it is filled with un-forgiveness, and anger. And that means that there is no room for Jesus.

Close

Let me leave you this morning with one final story.

During World War 2 Corrie Ten Boom was confined in the concentration camp at Ravensbruck for her part in sheltering the Jews from their Nazi oppressors. Her father died in another camp, and in the dehumanizing conditions at Ravensbruck she was not only humiliated and degraded, but she watched the life of her sister Betsy ebb away. Yet God’s grace was real in the midst of all the suffering, and after the war she went to Germany to preach God’s forgiveness.

Following one service, a man came forward whom she recognized immediately. One of the worst experiences in camp had been the delousing showers where the women were ogled and taunted by leering guards. This man, one of those S.S. guards, a man who had been one of the cruelest, especially to her sister. Now he stood in front of her, with his hand outstretched. “Ja fraulein, it is wonderful that Jesus forgives all of our sins, just as you say.” Corrie froze as all the memories flooded back, but the man carried on. “ You mentioned Ravensbruck. I was a guard there, but since then I have become a Christian. I know God has forgiven me, but I would like to hear it from you as well. Frauline, will you forgive me?”

Corrie stood there paralyzed. She couldn’t forgive. Betsy had died there; she had been humiliated. At the same time she was ashamed that she could preach about forgiveness but couldn’t or wouldn’t forgive. “Lord forgive me. I can’t forgive,” she cried inwardly. As she prayed, she felt not only forgiven but also set free. The glacier of hate had melted within and her hand unfroze. As she reached out her hand and spoke her forgiveness, she felt another burden of her past melt away.

Corrie Ten Boom understood Jesus parable.

To have her life full of Jesus she needed to let go of the un-forgiveness that she had in her.

Her forgiveness proved freeing not only for the man but maybe more for her.

When we are hurt it feels like we have good reasons to hold that hurt against the other person. Look at what Corrie ten Boom went through and tell me she didn’t have reason to feel hate and anger. We have that and more and justify it to ourselves.

We need to remember the enormous debt that we owed, and God forgave. There is nothing in this world that has or ever can come close.

In order to be the kind of Christian Christ calls us to be we need to examine and free our lives from any un-forgiveness that may be holding the place our Savior deserves.