Matthew_18
Scripture
Matthew 18:21- 35
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.[g]
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[h] 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.[i] 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.”
Observation
How many times should we forgive someone, Jesus said seventy times seven.
The king showed mercy on the man who owed him 10 thousand bags of gold and let him go.
But the man who was forgiven went to a man that owed him 100 silver coins, significantly less, and demanded payment from him, even though he begged the man refused and had him thrown in jail.
When the king heard what he had done, he had him tortured until he paid off the debt.
Understanding
Forgiveness sounds excruciating doesn’t it. Well, maybe not all the time. Like when someone forgot to tell you they were not going to show up to dinner and you did all this hard work or I said something I shouldn’t have because I was stressed out, but you forgave me pretty quickly and we never spoke of it again. We were good.
But how about when someone wrongs you so deeply! Like betrayal or theft. Why should you forgive the debt against them? They should know what they did and know it for a long time.
Every time you see them you bring it up to them so they don't forget. “It’s gonna take a long time to pay back the debt you owe to me, to repay me for the sin you did against me.”
I never realized that unforgiveness is like putting someone in jail and then torturing them. We incarcerate the other person with our hurts and anger, our frustrations and disappointments. We torture them with our shrewd comments and bad behavior, our cold relationship and broken communication.
We do this as sinners.
We do this as Christians.
We do this to ourselves.
Application
James 22:12 - 13
“12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,
because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.
Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
I think it's time for a lot of US to walk out of the prison cell we have been holding ourselves captive.
It’s time for a lot of US to set people free from our wounds.
It’s time for a lot of US to be FREE from unforgiveness.
He has extended mercy to us time and time again. We cannot possibly think that we can receive mercy from Him for our daily failures and not extend forgiveness and mercy to our brother and sister.
Oh I know…! It sucks! They don't deserve it… just like we don't deserve it.
It’s time to run to Him for healing.
And while true repentance from the offender is a huge factor in reconciling any failed relationship and trust must be rebuilt, extending forgiveness is always the first step toward freedom and following in the example of our Father in heaven, our savior Jesus Christ, and our wonderful counselor Holy Spirit.