Matthew 18:21-35

Let me remind you of something important. There is usually one point, one main point to a parable.

! Jesus tells parables to get one main point across, to do it memorably and vividly.

! And so the parable that we've got this morning has one main point.

One more point that it wants to get across and it's this.

It is, forgiven people will be forgiving people. Forgiving people will be forgiving people.

We can turn it the other way round and we can say, unforgiving people cannot be forgiven people.

Unforgiving people cannot be forgiven.

Now if you don't understand that usually a parable is intended to get across one main point, you'll come to this parable and you'll come to all sorts of wrong conclusions.

On issues that the parable actually was never intended to address.

So for some people who look at this parable and they say, well God just forgives, doesn't he, in this parable.

The king forgives. There's no atonement.

There's no suggestion of it. There's just repentance and then forgiveness.

But that's not the point of the parable.

The point of the parable is to answer a question. Look at verse 21.

And Peter comes to Jesus and says, Lord, how often will my brother or sister, that can be, sin against me and I forgive them.

Many is seven times.

That's the question.

And that's the one question that the parable is meant to answer.

And so let me remind you of the parable briefly.

You've got a servant.

He's a servant of the king.

He's a pretty high-ranking official.

And he's dealing with lots of money.

You've got to think of a kind of governor.

Of a province or something.

And because of his incompetence, because of his mismanagement,

perhaps even deliberate embezzlement or fraud,

he ends up owing the king a large amount of money.

A vast amount of money.

The day of reckoning comes.

It's the end of the financial year.

And he is in the deep.

He owes the king 10,000 talents.

That is an impossibly large figure.

A talent.

One talent was a lot of money in those days.

And 10,000 was really the highest number in the Greek language.

The Greeks couldn't really conceive of a number higher than 10,000.

They had no word in their language for more than 10,000.

It's why when you get to Revelation,

John wants to describe the multitude that no man can number that are in heaven.

And he describes it, doesn't he, as 10,000 times 10,000.

And thousands.

Thousands.

10,000 is kind of the limit of their vocabulary when it came to large numbers.

And so when Jesus says, this guy owed 10,000 talents,

he was really thinking, this man could not have owed any more than he owed.

He's in terrible trouble.

And we're talking billions in our money.

And the whole point is that his debt was immense and completely unpayable.

And there was nothing that this man could have done in order to pay back the money.

He was ruined.

He was finished.

And it was prison that he faced.

And for him and his family in slavery,

they were to be sold.

You couldn't declare yourself bankrupt.

And that way, if they were sold in the slavery,

the king would at least get some money back from that family.

And so that's the situation this man is in.

He goes to the king.

The king calls him in.

The man falls on his knees and begs.

He begs the king.

He says, doesn't he,

Be patient with me.

Did you notice in verse 26,

He says, be patient with me and I will pay you everything.

There's no way on earth he could have paid everything.

He doesn't understand it.

It's just ridiculous.

He can't pay back 10,000 talents.

He's asked for patience.

He's asked for time to redeem the situation by his own efforts.

And instead, what he receives from the king is sheer grace.

It's an unbelievable act.

The king cancels the whole debt and lets him go.

As if he didn't own a thing.

He cancels the whole debt.

10,000 talents wiped off the slate.

It's an act of pity.

It's an act of compassion.

It's an act of mercy.

Incidentally, the king bears the cost, doesn't he?

There is actually atonement here.

The king absorbs the loss.

But you can imagine how that servant felt, didn't he,

when he walked out of that room.

He must have been on cloud nine.

Imagine I come to your house this afternoon.

And I say to you, have you got a mortgage?

Say, yeah, I've got 20 years to go on my mortgage.

18 years to go on the mortgage.

I say, how much is that you?

Tell me the amount.

And I write you a cheque.

Or I transfer the money into your account.

I say to you, have you got university fees?

You say, yeah.

How much are they?

I open a case and I get the money out.

What is it, 9,000 pounds and I give it to you.

A bridging loan.

Imagine I can wipe off your bridging loan.

Credit card bill.

Your overdraft.

Just wiped out this afternoon.

Imagine how you'd feel.

You'd come to church tonight.

You'd be pretty pleased, wouldn't you?

You'd be on cloud nine.

And here's the man, he walks out of there.

The weight, isn't it?

Isn't that what people talk about with death?

The overwhelming weight of it?

The weight is off his shoulders.

The burden is gone.

And as he's walking around his workplace,

he finds another member of staff

that owes a comparatively minor, trivial sum.

It's a hundred denarii.

What's that?

Well, if you work it out,

it's basically three months' salary

on the minimum wage.

That's what a hundred denarii is.

It's not an insignificant sum.

It's three months' salary of the minimum wage.

So it's a few thousand pounds.

It's a substantial amount.

If you owed me,

let's say three thousand pounds,

I'd want to get it back.

And so here's a man who's owed,

let's say three thousand pounds.

It's not a totally insignificant sum of money.

But he goes to his friend,

and what does he do?

He grabs him by the throat,

and he begins to choke him.

Where's my money?

And he demands immediate payment

of his three thousand pounds.

The man falls on his knees,

and he says,

do you hear the echo?

He says,

have patience with me,

and I will pay you.

Haven't we heard that before?

Be patient with me,

and I will pay you.

Everything.

They're the exact words

that the servant used

when he asked the king

to be patient with me.

But on this occasion,

those words fall on deaf ears.

And he refuses to be patient.

He refuses to be merciful.

He takes him to the courtroom,

and he puts the man in prison

until he gets the three thousand pound back.

And word gets around the staff.

And we read that the fellow servants

were greatly distressed.

And you can imagine they were,

but rightly so.

I mean,

there's something incredibly hard-hearted,

isn't there,

about a man who's been forgiven

millions of pounds,

cruelly demanding

the instant payment

of a few thousand pounds.

His name was Albert Tesla.

Albert Tesla won the lottery

a few years ago

in the United States.

The amount he pocketed

was seven million dollars.

That's a lot of money,

isn't it?

Seven million dollars.

But two years later,

after Albert Tesla

won seven million dollars,

he was sent to prison.

And he was sent to prison

because he failed

to pay child support,

which totaled

thirty-five thousand dollars.

He got seven million dollars,

but he couldn't pay

thirty-five thousand dollars.

You think that's bad?

Well,

the servants in this story,

the work colleagues,

they certainly did,

didn't they?

So the fellow servants

report to the king

that the king is absolutely

furious and very disappointed.

Disappointed that such an act

of sheer grace

and forgiveness

and mercy

had made so little difference

to the man's character

or heart.

And so we read in verse 32,

then his master summoned him

and said to him,

you wicked servants,

I forgave you all that debt

because you pleaded with me.

And should you not have

had mercy on your fellow servants,

I had mercy on you.

And in his anger,

his master delivered him

to the jailers,

literally to the torturers,

until he should pay

all his debt.

And so it's not slavery now,

it's torture,

shockingly.

Until he can pay back

all that he owes.

And it's going to take him

a very long time,

an impossibly long time.

And then the punchline

comes in verse 35,

here's the punchline,

and so also my heavenly father

will do to every one of you

if you do not forgive

your brother from your heart.

So there's the parable.

What can we say about it?

Let me remind you,

one big lesson in a parable.

And it's intended to teach us

that those who experience

God's utterly amazing forgiveness

will themselves be forgiving people.

So let's look at that.

First of all,

let's see God's utterly amazing forgiveness.

And when we think of God's forgiveness,

we shouldn't think of him

overlooking minor misdemeanors.

We should think of him

cancelling a huge,

unpayable debt.

God is a great king

and we are his stewards.

We are his servants.

We are answerable to him.

We owe him obedience

and we owe him honour.

We owe him respect.

We owe him love.

We owe him worship.

You owe him your whole life.

And you have not paid him

what you ought.

And you,

whether you're willing to admit it

this morning,

are guilty of serious mismanagement.

When we recognise this,

when we understand this

before God,

that we have a massive

unpaid debt

to a great and glorious Lord,

we get before him

on our knees

and we beg for mercy.

We beg for mercy.

And I wonder,

has that ever happened

in your experience?

Have you ever come to that point

where you've suddenly realised

how vastly in debt

you are towards God?

And how you cannot pay it back

yourself at all.

How you need mercy.

And the amazing thing

is that when we get to that point,

God does forgive us,

doesn't he?

He cancels the debt.

He cancels the debt.

According to the rest of

Matthew's Gospel

and the New Testament,

he cancels the debt

because of the Lord Jesus.

He absorbs the cost.

And only because of Jesus.

The Jews in the Old Testament,

they were familiar with,

they knew that if you were in debt,

there was a close relative,

a kinsman, redeemer,

who if he had the money,

could come and pay the debt off him.

And you would be released.

And so where is the redeemer

who can pay 10,000 talents?

Where is the redeemer

with that kind of money?

Where is the redeemer

who can rescue

from a debt like that?

No earthly redeemer

can pay that.

And that's why God

sent us a redeemer.

There is a redeemer,

Jesus, God's own son.

The Messiah, the Holy One,

no debt of his own.

But he was able to pay

out of his great

and glorious righteousness

all the debt we owe.

And so when we get to the point

of being on our knees

and begging for mercy,

God forgives us.

And God cancels the debt.

Because there is a redeemer.

Jesus, God's own son.

Second thing is

that forgiven sinners

will be forgiving people.

Forgiven sinners

will be forgiving people.

You would have thought,

wouldn't you,

that that servant

would have been willing

to forgive anybody anything.

What was the debt

that he was owed

compared to the debt

that he owes to the king?

On which the king had counseled.

Any wrong,

any injury,

any insult.

Anything that's been done to us,

however considerable,

when you consider that

in comparison

with the insults

and the injury

and the wrong

that we have done to God

and what God has forgiven us,

we have to say,

don't we,

that nobody,

nothing,

anyone can do

to us

compares to what we have done

to God

is of any significant.

God is perfectly right

and holy.

He is holy in the right,

isn't he?

And that is very,

very rarely true.

So when relationships

break down

in human life,

very rarely

is one party

holy in the right.

I usually,

in a situation,

there's somebody

who is more in the right

than the other person.

And maybe there's one party

that's 95%

in the right

or 98%

in the right.

That's usually the case

in earthly relationships.

Rarely,

very rarely,

is one party

holy and completely

100%

in the right.

But God is

completely 100%

in the right.

God is righteous.

God is holy.

God is God.

And he is the one

who forgives us.

He is holy right

and we have been

holy wrong

and yet

he is the one

who forgives us.

I find that amazing.

And so if we refuse

to forgive,

what if

sinners

refuse to forgive

our fellow sinners?

The holy

and righteous

God

can forgive sinners.

How is it

that we can't?

And we're saying,

aren't we,

that we are more

holy than God.

We're saying

that we're greater

than God.

And if we ask

God for forgiveness

but refuse

to forgive others,

we are burning

the bridge

we need to cross.

And that is why

we cannot be forgiven

unless we are

forgiving.

We need to cross

the bridge of forgiveness

ourselves.

And by refusing

to forgive

we are burning

the bridge

that you and I

need to cross

ourselves.

But let's note

the order.

The order is very,

very important.

It's God's forgiveness

which comes first.

God's forgiveness

precedes ours.

Our forgiveness

is the response

to God's forgiveness

of us.

And so that casts light

on the Lord's Prayer,

doesn't it?

What's the only

petition in the

Lord's Prayer

that the Lord Jesus

comments on

after he's

told his disciples?

The one petition

he comments on

is forgive us

our debts

or forgive us

our trespasses

or forgive us

our sins

as we've forgiven

our debtors

or those who

trespass against us

or those who

sin against us.

And he goes on

to say,

he goes on to say

if you do not

forgive those

who sin against you,

your Heavenly

Father will not

forgive you.

He makes a comment

about that petition

and it's important

to understand

that God

does not forgive us

because we

forgive others.

No,

we forgive others

because God

has forgiven us.

no one who

has understood

the grace of God

no one who

understands grace

will be an

unforgiving person.

The third lesson

we must learn

is the terrible

punishment of

being unforgiving.

Look at verse

34.

And in anger

his master

delivered him

to the jailers

until he should

pay all his debt.

And these are

solemn words.

So also my

Heavenly Father

will do to

every one of you

if you do not

forgive your

brother from the

heart.

Now who's he

talking to?

He's talking to

his disciples.

He's talking to

the twelve.

He's talking

specifically to

Peter.

It was Peter

who asked

the question.

And this parable

is a reply

to that question.

And the

punchline of

this parable

makes it

very very clear

absolutely clear

that you can be

outwardly

very closely

associated with

Jesus Christ

and still go

to hell.

You can actually

be one of the

twelve disciples

and go to hell.

One did.

You can be

outwardly a

church member

you can be

a respectable

church member

and not be

a saved person

in the end.

This is the

question that's

asked by Jesus

by his disciples

and by Peter

in particular.

And Jesus

tells this story

and he says

this is how

my Heavenly

Father will

treat each of

you.

No exception.

Unless you

forgive your

brother from

your heart.

Not just

words.

Not just

words.

Not just

pretend.

but heartfelt

forgiveness.

And that is

what happens

when we've

been forgiven.

That's the

kind of

forgivers we

become.

I just want

to spend

five minutes

as we close

just to make

a few further

comments on

forgiveness.

Because this

is a very

hard-hitting

parable.

And it could

worry or

confuse us

unless I think

I make a few

comments on the

nature of

forgiveness.

forgiveness.

It won't

help us.

This parable

does not

teach that

forgiveness is

easy or

straightforward.

I think the

Christian church

in this country

and the United

States is

plagued with a

trivial view of

forgiveness.

A sentimental

view of

forgiveness.

Where sin is

not taken

seriously.

And sin is

not dealt

with.

And so

there have

been a

number of

occasions

and a

number of

times where

there has

been a

great tragedy.

And

church

going

Christian

people will

say pretty

much in the

immediate

aftermath what

they feel

they are

expected to

say.

And so

they will

say I

forgive my

daughter's

killers.

I forgive

the person

who has

murdered my

husband or

daughter.

And I

know it's

a very hard

thing to say

but I'm

not convinced

that that is

right.

Because the

context of

Peter's

question is in

relationships in

the local

church.

That's why I

took the time

on it before

the reading

isn't it?

And so he

says what

happens when a

church member

goes astray?

If for instance

he or she

sins against

you what do

you do?

Do you just

ignore it?

Do you write

the person

off?

Do you condemn

the person

you shrug

your shoulders?

And say

well have you?

No Jesus

says you go

and you

seek that

person.

What does

the shepherd

do?

The shepherd

if he loses

just one of

his sheep

he goes out

and he seeks

the sheep

that is lost

and he brings

the sheep

back home.

What do you

do with

church members

that go

astray?

Well we've

all got a

responsibility.

We have to

go and to

seek that

person that's

wandered away

from the

Lord Jesus.

And how do

we seek them?

Well Jesus

says this

in the passage

we looked at

last week

you go

privately

and you

seek to

show them

their fault.

And if they

listen to you

great you've

won them

over.

But what if

he doesn't

listen?

Well you keep

at it.

And you go

with two or

three witnesses

and you want

to show them

their fault so

that they'll

come back and

you deal with

the wrong doing.

and if they do

come back and

they say

yeah I'm

sorry I was

out of

order I

sinned you

forgive them

and the

matter goes

no further.

And what if

he will not

listen to the

two or the

three?

Well in that

event he says

you take him

to the church

the leadership

and if he

refuses to

listen well

you have to

treat him like

somebody who's

not a Christian

like a pagan

or a tax

collector.

And you

don't share

the Lord's

Supper with

them.

You don't

allow them

to think of

themselves as

a Christian.

And if of

course they

listen and

they repent

well you

extend total

100%

forgiveness

and it's

settled.

And Jesus

goes on to

say for a

church to do

this it's

really difficult

and it's a

sensitive thing

and we all

shy away from

it and Jesus

says when you

do this

when you seek

to do this

I am with

you when two

three are

together I

am with

you don't

be afraid.

And what

you decide

on earth will

be ratified

in heaven don't

shy away from

it.

And I

think the

passages in

Matthew 18

really help

us to think

through Christian

forgiveness.

Christian

forgiveness is

not a sentimental

thing.

It's not

pretending that

sin doesn't

matter.

It isn't

letting the

offender off

the hook

without getting

him or her

to face up

to their

wrongdoing.

Christian

forgiveness

seeks to

bring the

wrongdoer to

repentance.

And when the

wrongdoer faces

up to his

wrongdoing and

repents the

individual and

the church must

totally and

completely forgive.

And Peter says

how often should

you do this?

Seven times.

He's being

generous.

Remember the

rabbis, the

local rabbis

said three times

and you're out.

And Peter is

being generous and

Jesus says no

70 times

son.

It doesn't

mean when you

get to 488

sins you say

to them listen

you've got two

more to go.

And then you

get 490

sins.

That's it.

Seven is a

significant number

to Jews isn't it?

It speaks of

completion and

fullness.

And actually

there's a really

interesting cross

reference with

Genesis 4 with

Lamech.

And Jesus is

actually reversing

the language of

Lamech, the

descendant of

Cain.

In Genesis 4

Genesis 4:23

verse 23, Lamech

boasts and

says to his

wife, if Cain

is avenged

seven times,

then Lamech

seventy seven

times.

I'll go after

you.

Don't come

near me.

I'll go after

you.

And so it's

clear that the

opposite of

revenge is

forgiveness.

And Jesus

is saying

here there's

to be no

going after

people.

There's to

be no

revenge.

There's to

be no limits

to our

forgiveness of

one another.

There's no

limit at all

to our

forgiveness.

And when you

consider what

God has

done and

God has

forgiven us,

we will be

able to

forgive those

who ask for

it.

And so

whenever a

person truly

repents,

and in Luke's

version of

this same

incident, it's

more clear.

Luke 17

Luke 17:3

verse 3,

if your

brother sins

rebuke him

and if he

repents,

forgive him.

And if he

sins against you

seven times in

the day and

turns to you

seven times

saying I

repent, you

must forgive

him.

God forgives

us when we

repent.

And we

forgive people

when they

repent.

That means

that the

forgiveness is

not identical

to reconciliation.

There are

people that

confuse that.

We seek to

offer forgiveness

to someone who

has been

sinned against

or against

the church.

we seek to

offer forgiveness.

We seek

reconciliation.

But that

reconciliation may

be refused.

That forgiveness

may be refused.

It may be

turned down.

And when that

happens, what

does a

forgiving spirit

do?

Well, a

forgiving spirit

shows itself by

not taking

revenge against

the person by

a refusal to

retaliate.

By a

refusal even to

say bad

things to

others or

bitter things to

others about

that person.

And we

pray for

God's

blessing on

that person.

We make it

clear to that

person we

want to offer

them forgiveness

and reconciliation.

But if at the

end of the day

they don't want

it, and they

turn that

reconciliation

when it

cannot be

achieved,

what should we

say to

offenders?

Should we

offer offenders

a blanket

kind of

forgiveness?

Is that what

we should do?

Is that what

we're called

to do?

If somebody

killed one of

my children,

what would I

want to say?

That's what I

think I'd want

to say.

I think I'd

like to meet

with them.

I'd like to

go and see

them in

prison.

I'd like that

person to see

the enormity

of what they've

done.

I would try

and bring that

person to

repentance.

repentance.

If that

person became

a Christian,

I would

sit down

and I would

share bread

and wine

with them.

But I

can't forgive

them fully

and completely

without some

indication of

confession and

repentance on

the part of

that person.

forgiven people

will be

forgiven people.

Forgiveness is

not easy.

It is

difficult.

But a

forgiven person

will always

seek to

extend that

forgiveness

to everyone

who sins

against them.

Let's pray.