March 05, 2025 | Be God's Family
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35(NIV)
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.
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 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 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.”
Devotional
When Peter asks, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” he may have imagined himself to be very generous. In the Jewish tradition, forgiveness was only to be asked 3 times, as based on the scripture of God’s forgiveness in the book of Amos (see 1:3,6,9,11,13 & 2:1,4 & 6).
Imagine Peter’s astonishment when Jesus answers, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” While the exact number varies from seventy-seven times in the NIV Bible to seventy times seven (490!) in the RSV Bible, the meaning does not. When Peter asks if he should be twice as forgiving as expected, Jesus says Peter should instead be endlessly forgiving. Jesus calls on us to forgive without limit, as God forgives us without limit. No matter how many times we sin against him, God never withholds his offer of absolution.
Jesus continues with the parable of the King who listens to his servant and forgives the servant’s enormous debt. Research estimates that each bag would have been worth 20 years’ work! However, the servant refuses to forgive another man’s debt to him, even though the amount is just a hundred silver coins, about a single day’s wages. The discrepancy is easy to see, and the cruelty of the servant is exposed.
It’s easy to despise the servant for his hypocrisy, or think he deserves to be punished for not showing mercy after being forgiven himself. But where might we see ourselves in this message? Do we forgive both small and large “debts”? Do we grant forgiveness as readily as we ask for it?
My middle daughter amazes me; she is always ready to forgive, sometimes when I don’t think she should. But Jesus says that there is never a time when we shouldn’t forgive—not even when the offense is great, or someone has hurt us many times.
The Lord’s prayer says, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Whoa! We are to be forgiven as we forgive others. God loved us so much that he gave his only son for our sins; are you prepared to forgive others to the same extent, in response to God’s gift? Jesus understood the price he was to pay. He understood the gift God was giving us. If we truly believe that Jesus died for our sins, we must strive to willingly give this gift of forgiveness to others.
Is there someone you need to forgive? Is there something you need to be forgiven for? Pray the Lord’s Prayer and mean it. As you forgive, so will you be forgiven. In Matthew 5:7 we hear, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
Poem
What Is The Cost?
Psalm 32
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.
Psalm 32:1-2
What is the cost?
How much the withdrawal
From Ego’s bank account
To set aside
A great debt owed to one
To balance the bottom line?
A seven-pound note?
A pound of flesh?
A kneeling, begging debtor?
A beating chest?
A tear stained cheek?
Holding the keys to another’s prison cell?
What is the cost?
How much love must be realized
From God’s storehouse
To come in faith
A great confession offered to the One
To balance the weights of justice?
A spirit undeceitful?
A moan deep to the bone?
A nakedness then covered?
A hiding cloak of righteousness?
A reining in, a penance?
Blood-stained hands holding the keys to heaven?
