“You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?” (Mt.18:32b-33 nlt)
This week in our study of the parables of Jesus we have one on forgiveness. Sometimes the hardest thing for a person to do is to forgive. This is especially true if the one extending forgiveness is extremely hurt. There are times one would finally agree to forgive the offender, but then adds they will never forget. Not much of a comfort for the one seeking forgiveness. Jesus is the perfect teacher to show us the true art of forgiveness and he did it in several ways recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible.
Our parable this week, ‘The Unforgiving Debtor’, has a backstory to it. Peter, the always inquisitive disciple, asked Jesus, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” (Mt.18:21 nlt) Peter thought the number of seven was sufficient since Rabbinic teaching only required three. Jesus’ answer didn’t follow the teaching of three being the acceptable number. He didn’t put a number on it. Jesus told Peter his number seven was insufficient. The correct number was seventy-seven. In others words it was to an uncounted number of times. Jesus takes this opportunity to teach us all a valuable lesson on forgiveness. Christians who have received God’s forgiveness are accountable to forgive others considering the enormous debt we have been forgiven as we will see in this parable.
In Jesus’ earthly story there is a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants who did business for him. These servants could have been governors of the provinces in the kingdom. One servant was in arrears of one million dollars in today’s currency. How did this servant come to owe such a lager debt we don’t know, perhaps it was mismanagement in the taxation process, or a complete mishandling of public funds, which is just as prevalent in our day. The amount was so excessive this governor couldn’t pay it back in a lifetime. The king then ordered that he, his wife and children along with all that he owned be sold to pay the debt. “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’” (Mt.18:26 nlt) The king knew that he had no means in which to pay the debt. There was nothing he could ever do in his lifetime that would be enough to satisfy the debt.
The king of heaven, the Lord Jesus, knew there was nothing we could ever do to pay our debt regarding our sin. We are all doomed to a Christless eternity without our debt being paid in full, and we are not able to pay it. The king in Jesus’ story “was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.” (Mt.18:27 nlt) The king forgave the servants debt completely. It was only by the king’s grace and mercy he was free from the unpayable debt. No need to worry about back payments, the debt was marked paid in full. Jesus Christ paid our sin debt on the cross of Calvary. What we cannot do for ourselves, He did for us. When we accept Christ as our savior, our account is marked paid in full.
Christians should be the most forgiving people on the planet considering the forgiveness granted to us unto salvation. Apparently though this is not always the case. Therefore, the need for more of Jesus’ teaching. Jesus continues His parable, “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.” (Mt.18:28 nlt) This servant who was just set free from a lifetime debt was worried about a few thousand dollars owed to him by a colleague. This debtor also begged for more time, but what was different was his colleague had the ability to pay and only needed a little more time to clear the debt. But the unforgiving debtor refused and had his fellow worker put in prison.
Needless to say, when the king heard of the matter, he was furious. He called for this servant and said to him, “You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?” (Mt.18:32b-33 nlt) Our Lord Jesus, King Jesus, has the same right to question us the same way should we ever forsake the forgiveness He has shown us by not granting it to others. No matter what offenses may have been done to us, it pales in comparison to our sin before the Lord. Our Lord forgives us of our sin as often as we come to Him, yes even seventy-seven times. May we do the same and forgive all those who ask for forgiveness remembering the debt that was forgiven on our behalf by our king, King Jesus!
Read: Matthew 18:21-35 NLT – Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor – Bible Gateway
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