The Forgiven Forgive
Sermon
Preaching the Parables
In 1988 former Texas governor, John Connally, auctioned off his personal belongings ranging from saddles to paintings for $2.75 million. This was only a fraction of the almost 50 million he owed because of failure in real estate and oil holdings.
Suppose Connally's creditor had forgiven him the huge debt. Suppose he then found a man who owed him only $1,000, he demanded to be paid at once, and because the man was unable to pay Connally, he was taken to court and sentenced to jail. This is the situation in the parable of the unforgiving servant. A man with a huge debt was forgiven the debt, but he then had a fellow-debtor thrown into jail because he could not pay his little debt.
We owe an enormous debt to God. God has forgiven us. How then shall we treat fellow-sinners? The parable has a reverse action: the forgiven debt was cancelled and the debtor was thrown into prison. Suppose Connally's cancelled debt had been re-instated because he had failed to forgive someone who owed him only a pittance?
Context
Context of Matthew 18
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant is given within the context of Jesus' prior teaching concerning greatness in the Kingdom. As an example of true greatness he uses a child. This causes him to warn against causing a child to sin. He teaches that the heavenly Father does not will even a little child to perish. This brings up the problem of our sinning against each other. (vv. 15-20) Jesus gives the procedure for settling offenses. Out of this discourse comes Peter's question, "How often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?"
Context of the Lectionary
The First Lesson. (Exodus 20:1-20) This pericope is the eleventh in a series of fifteen on the life and work of Moses. Here on behalf of the people Moses receives from Yahweh the Decalogue. Moses explains to the people that the Commandments were given to them "that you may not sin." (v. 20) A connection with the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant can be seen: the law of God makes us aware of our sin and the need of forgiveness.
The Second Lesson. (Romans 14:5-12) The last of sixteen readings from Romans. For a Christian all of life is under the lordship of Christ whether we eat, observe days, love, or die. Why then should we judge others, for God judges each?
Gospel. (Matthew 18:21-35) The parable of the unforgiving servant.
Psalm. (Psalm 19:7-14) In keeping with the Decalogue in Lesson 1, we praise God for his Law.
Prayer of the Day. The prayer echoes the parable's message of extending mercy to sinners by saying "you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity."
Hymn of the Day. "Forgive our Sins as We Forgive" The hymn asks:
"How can your pardon reach and bless
The unforgiving heart
That broods on wrongs and will not let
Old bitterness depart?"
Context of Related Scriptures
Psalm 103:6-12 - "The Lord is merciful and gracious."
Isaiah 55:6-7 - "He will abundantly pardon."
Matthew 5:7 - "Blessed are the merciful."
Matthew 5:21-24 - "Leave your gift before the altar."
Matthew 6:14-15 - "If you do not forgive ..."
Matthew 9:1-8 - Authority to forgive sin.
Matthew 12:31-32 - The unpardonable sin.
Luke 7:40-49 - The parable of the two debtors.
Luke 17:3-4 - "If he repents, forgive."
Luke 23:32-34 - "Father, forgive."
Colossians 3:13 - Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you.
Content
Characteristics of the Parable
1. Solitary. The parable of the unforgiving servant is found only in Matthew. A twin parable can be found in Luke 7:40-49, the parable of the two debtors. Both parables deal with forgiveness. In the latter parable Jesus teaches that love depends on having been forgiven. In the former parable God's forgiveness calls for human forgiveness.
2. Quantity and quality. "Therefore" (v. 23) is a transition word introducing the parable and refers to the preceding verses. In these foregoing verses, Jesus tells Peter that one should forgive seventy times seven. There should be no limit to the number of times we should forgive. However, the parable does not deal with the frequency of forgiveness, but rather with the need of the forgiven to forgive others. Some scholars, therefore, conclude that Jesus did not give the parable at this time, but Matthew or the church made the connection with the foregoing question of Peter. Verses 21-22 deal with the quantity and the following parable is concerned with the quality of forgiveness.
3. Purgatory. Verse 34 ("And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt") is used by the Roman church as a proof-text for the doctrine of Purgatory. This is a Roman teaching that sinners go to Purgatory to satisfy the penalties prescribed by the church for sins committed. This is similar to the unmerciful servant's staying in jail until his debt was paid. Protestants do not accept this teaching because it is not only nonbiblical but also because on the cross Christ paid in full the enormous debt we owe to God.
4. Eschatological dimension. Verse 35 can be understood in an eschatological dimension. This view understands the verse as saying that at the end of the age God's forgiveness will be cancelled for all who in their lifetimes did not forgive their fellowmen/women. On the other hand, it can be applied existentially. The sin forgiven today is of no effect if mercy is not extended to a fellow-human.
5. Three scenes. The parable is a drama with three scenes or acts:
Scene 1 - A king forgives a servant's enormous debt - (vv. 23-27).
Scene 2 - The forgiven servant refuses to forgive a fellow-servant - (vv. 28-30).
Scene 3 - The king withdraws his forgiveness - (vv. 31-35).
Precis of the Parable
Jesus had been talking about "if your brother sins against you." In response Peter asked if forgiving seven times was sufficient. Jesus went beyond seven to seventy times seven.
Jesus told a parable to explain the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven. A king decided to settle accounts with his servants. One of them owed him millions of dollars. Because he could not pay, the king ordered the man along with his wife and children to be sold into slavery as well as selling all his property. The man fell on his knees and begged for the king's patience until he paid the debt. The king had pity on him and cancelled the debt.
Then the forgiven man met another servant who owed him only a few dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded that he pay the debt. The fellow-servant fell down on his knees and similarly begged, "Be patient with me and I will pay you back." He refused and had him put in jail until he paid the debt ... When friends heard about it, they were so upset that they told the king. So the king called in the forgiven servant and said, "You wicked man! I forgave you your enormous debt because you begged me to do so. Don't you think you should have had mercy on your fellow-servant as I had on you?" The king was so angry that he sent the man to jail until the debt was paid. Jesus then commented that the same will happen to everyone who does not forgive his brother from the heart.
Thesis:
Divine and human forgiveness are interrelated.
Theme:
To be forgiven, forgive!
Key Words in the Parable
1. "Seven." (v. 21) In Jesus' day Jewish law required a person to forgive three times. When Peter suggested seven, he was going more than the second mile and could expect Jesus' commendation of his generosity. However, Jesus said that it should not be seven but seventy times seven. Of course, he did not mean one should forgive up to 490 times! He was teaching that there is no end to forgiving. As often as a person sins, as often as a person repents, there is need for us to forgive.
2. "King." (v. 23) The king in the parable was probably a Gentile. A Jewish king would not have been allowed to sell the debtor and his family into slavery. Moreover, he could not have sent the man to his "torturers," the Greek word for "jailers," (v. 34) because torture was forbidden by Jewish law. If the creditor was a king, then the servant was probably a courtier who owed the king a fabulous amount.
3. "Talents." (v. 24) In the popular mind a talent is a personal ability - a talant to paint, sing, or run a computer. In Jesus' day a talent was a weight of money. Today a talent would be worth approximately $1000. Since the courtier owed 10,000 talents, his debt would be $10,000,000. In contrast, the fellow-servant owed 100 denarii. A denarius was the equivalent of a laborer's day wage or approximately $5. The contrast of debts applies to the enormous debt owed to God and the debts we owe each other.
4. "Pity." (v. 27) The king in the parable felt sorry for the man with the huge debt. He was sorry enough to call off the debt even if it were $10 million. It is the motive that prompts a person to be kind and helpful. The Good Samaritan had pity on the wounded man. Jesus had compassion on the hungry crowd and on the widow whose only son died. Because the king had so much mercy, he expected the servant to have pity on one who owed so little. Like should beget like. This gives us an insight into the mercy of God who forgives a debt no human can pay. Instead he pays the debt himself in the sacrifice of his only Son.
5. "Heart." (v. 35) True forgiveness comes from the heart. The heart involves the whole person, mind, will, and emotions. Forgiveness is to be real and sincere. It is more than an intellectual assent. To forgive with the heart is to really, truly, and fully forgive.
Contemplation
Insights
1. Impossible debt payment. Some debts are so large that they cannot be paid. Consequently, individuals and/or corporations file bankruptcy. The current national debt is over two trillion dollars, and politicians can find no way of wiping out, let alone reducing the national debt which is so large that America has become the world's largest debtor nation. Third World countries are failing to pay their debts to American banks to avoid economic collapse and/or political revolution. In the case of the unmerciful servant, his debt was impossible to repay even if his family and possessions were sold. Our debt of righteousness is so huge that we cannot pay the debt. Our debt increases as we sin by thought, word, and deed, by sins of omission and commission. Our only hope is for someone to pay our debt for us or to forgive the debt. Like the unforgiving servant in the parable, we need a merciful king.
2. Universality of debt. In the parable both servants were in debt. Who is not in debt? Is there one American who does not owe somebody? Are all bills paid? Is the property free and clear? No mortgage? Even if we owed nothing, we would still be in debt morally and spiritually. All of us sin and come short of the glory of God. Who can say he/she has no sin? Who can claim moral perfection? As sinners every person is in debt to God. Paul urges us to owe no man anything except to love. (Romans 13:8)
3. The stink of sin. Debt is a dreadful condition. As long as we are in debt, we are slaves. We are in debt to God because of sin. Because the unforgiving servant was in debt, he was in danger of losing his family and all his property. The other servant's debt caused him to be thrown in jail. Sin is more than a cosmetic blemish. It is more than a picture hanging crooked or a television picture off color. Sin stinks because it is a sickness unto death. It gets into the bone marrow and becomes a terminal illness. By all means we must get out of debt caused by sin.
4. Proportionate forgiveness. Forgiveness is not one-sided. To be forgiven, one must also forgive. The parable teaches that our forgiveness depends on our forgiving. This is portrayed in the parable: the man forgiven a fortune lost his forgiveness because he refused to forgive a fellow-servant. To the extent we forgive, we are forgiven. In the Lord's Prayer we admit this: "Forgive us ... as we forgive ..." Before we offer a gift to God, we are to leave the gift at the altar until we are first reconciled to a person. (Matthew 5:21-24) It is not that God is arbitrary or contrary, but psychologically, with a mind closed by hatred, we are unable to receive love and mercy. The tragedy of the parable is that so much mercy was extended but none of it was shared.
5. Justifiable protest. Because good people say nothing, evil triumphs and spreads. There is a time when good people have a duty to cry out against injustice. There is a case of justifiable protest in today's parable. The friends of the man who was thrown in jail because he could not pay the debt owed to the unmerciful servant protested against the unmerciful and unjust action to the king. They went out of their way, left their jobs and homes, and took the time to inform the king of what his servant did to a fellow-servant. As a result of their protest, the king cancelled his forgiveness of the debt. We learn here the value and necessity of appropriate protest against the evils in our society when people are victims of injustice and cruelty.
Homily Hints
1. The Dreadfulness of Debt. (18:23-35) Debt, financial or spiritual, is dreadful leading to eventual death. Debt enslaves and obligates us to the creditor. Interest paid on the debt keeps us in debt. One of America's most pressing problems is the national debt. Third World countries are on the verge of revolution because of mountainous debts. Sinners are in debt to God - hopelessly in debt. Consider the condition we are in -
A. Unpayable debt - 10,000 talents - vv. 24-25.
B. Universality of debt - both servants in debt - vv. 25, 28.
C. Consequences of debt - slavery, prison - vv. 25, 30.
2. How to Handle Your Debt. (18:23-35) Some people are wise when deeply in debt and seek help from financial advisors. What can we do about our debt to God?
A. Pay it back - impossible - v. 25.
B. Have someone pay it for you - Jesus did it on the cross.
C. Have the debt forgiven or cancelled - v. 27.
3. One Thing God Will Not Do. (18:35) In this parable as well as in other teachings, Jesus says God will not forgive us unless we forgive our enemies. It is therefore imperative that we learn how to forgive. Consider reasons for forgiving -
A. Contrast your debt with debt owed you - vv. 24, 28.
B. Have mercy on the debtor - vv. 27, 32, 33.
C. Realize your forgiveness depends on forgiving - v. 35.
D. Obey God's will to forgive - vv. 32, 33.
4. A Drama of Mercy in Three Acts. (18:23-35) Whether we are forgiven or forgive depends ultimately upon mercy, God's and ours. Our forgiveness is due to God's mercy. When we have compassion on those who offended us, we will be moved to forgive. The parable is a drama of mercy in three acts -
A. Act I - mercy extended - vv. 23-27.
B. Act II - mercy denied - vv. 28-30.
C. Act III - mercy withdrawn - vv. 31-35.
5. The Problem of Forgiving. (18:21-35) It is generally agreed that those who have been forgiven should forgive others. In the Lord's Prayer we agree to it when we say, "as we forgive those who trespass against us." Like Peter in the text, various questions come to mind when the time comes to forgive -
A. Am I to forgive after the offender apologizes?
B. Does forgiveness depend upon the other person's repentance?
C. Do I offer forgiveness even if the offender does not request it?
D. Can I forgive in my heart without saying it to the offender?
Contact
Points of Contact
1. A common problem. The subject of forgiving others applies to every person. Because everyone is a sinner, each one sins against another person. This calls for the offender to forgive. Offenses can occur daily and many times each day. It is impossible not to hurt another person in one way or another. It is human to err. Our problem then is to practice forgiving each other. But, many find it very difficult or impossible to forgive. As a result there are separations, hatred, a desire to get even, revenge, and retaliation. There is no end to it, but it feeds on itself until death occurs. Have the Jews forgiven the Germans for the holocaust? Will the half million Palestinian refugees forgive the Jews for taking their homes and lands in Palestine? Forgiveness is not only a personal but a racial and national problem. When we preach on today's parable we are dealing with every person's need and problem.
2. Consequences. If we fail to forgive, there are serious consequences. Human relationships are broken between friends, in the home, or in the nation. A person who does not forgive harbors bitterness, hatred, and resentment in the heart. This keeps God's forgiveness out and the person is too full of negative feelings to receive the love and peace of God's forgiveness. Moreover, there are physical and psychological ill effects. There are psychosomatic results: high blood pressure, hypertension, heart attacks, headaches, skin rashes, stomach ulcers, etc. A person who does not forgive is usually an unhappy and lonely person being fed on hatred for another person. In the average congregation there are many people living in a state of misery caused by the refusal to forgive.
3. Unpardonable. A question many ask is, "What is the unpardonable sin?" Some are concerned because they fear they may have committed it. Since we are considering in the parable the king's (God's) most generous forgiveness, and the need for people to forgive each other, we want to be sure we have not excluded ourselves from God's forgiveness. Of course, anyone who asks the question has by that very question revealed that the unpardonable sin was not committed. The unpardonable sin is to be unconcerned about sin and not to desire forgiveness. It is the sin against the Holy Spirit whose function is to convict us of sin and to lead us to Christ for forgiveness. The unpardonable sin is the refusal to be pardoned by God.
Points to Ponder
1. When to forgive. Am I to forgive a person when that person thinks he/she has done nothing wrong? The person who hurt me does not say he/she is sorry, does not apologize, gives no sign of repentance, and asks for no forgiveness. Am I to go to that person and say, "I forgive you"? Would that be a sign of weakness on my part or a throwing of pearls to swine? Would he/she only laugh at me and do it again? Is it enough for me just to forgive in my heart so that I do not get eaten up with my own hatred and resentment, and be ready to forgive when the offender asks for it? If I do forgive, must I take the person back to the same intimate relationship as though nothing happened? Am I Christian if I am wary of that person in the future?
2. Is God an Indian-giver? The parable gives us a theological question. In the concluding verse Jesus says that as the king cancelled the forgiven debt and the servant was thrown in jail unforgiven so God will do the same to one who does not forgive others. This causes some of us concern. Is God really like that? Does he take back his mercy? Are we forgiven and then we forgive, or do we first forgive and then come for God's forgiveness? Or, does this 35th verse mean that God will always forgive, but to receive it we must be open to forgiveness by forgiving others? Is the following sentence in a liturgical service correct: "We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven"?
3. Forgiveness earn forgiveness? The parable of the unmerciful servant seems to be saying that our forgiveness by God depends upon our forgiving others. If we do not forgive, God will not forgive us. Does this mean then that by forgiving we deserve and earn God's forgiveness? Is forgiving a good work that merits forgiveness? If this is so, then do we need Christ and the sacrifice on the cross? Can we be forgiven as long as we are forgiving? Where is the Gospel in this parable? While it is true that God can forgive only those with forgiving hearts, it is necessary for Christ and his atoning death to cause God to forgive us. He is willing to forgive us because Christ paid the penalty of our sins and reconciled God to us and us to God.
Illustrative Materials
1. Failure to Forgive. A study for the California Children of Divorce Project showed that many divorced couples are even more unhappy after their separation and stay angry and feel rejected for a decade after the breakup. Though they marry again, they stay angry and bitter. Forty-one percent of tha remarried woman were still furious at their first husbands a decade later. Thirty-one percent of the men felt the same.
Twenty-one states take away the voting rights of a felon. Though a person has completed a prison term, for the rest of his/her life the person cannot vote. In 1982 the voters of Virginia considered a constitutional amendment giving felons the right to vote. It was defeated 643,470 to 384,066. Yet, every Sunday forty percent of the population prays, "as we forgive ..."
Simon Wiesenthal, a prisoner in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Poland, was assigned to cleaning out a barn the Germans improvised into a hospital for wounded soldiers. A nurse took Wiesanthal to a twenty-one-year-old SS trouper, his face bandaged with puss-soaked rags, eyes tucked behind the gauze. He grabbed Wiesenthal's hand and said he had to talk to a Jew and wanted to be forgiven before he died. He confessed that he sinned against helpless Jews. He told how his battalion gunned down Jews, parents and children, who were fleeing from their burning homes. Wiesenthal listened and then jerked his hand away and walked out of the barn. No word was spoken, no forgiveness given.
2. Forgiveness of Enemies. When Fanny Crosby, author of "Blessed Assurance" and "Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross," was a baby, she was made blind by a doctor's giving her the wrong medication.
In World War I Edith Cavell, an English nurse shot by the Germans as a spy, said, "I see that patriotism is not enough. I must die without hatred or bitterness toward anyone."
One day in December 1983 Pope John Paul II walked into the dark cell of Rebibba prison outside Rome to meet Ali Ayca, the man who fired a bullet into his heart, and to forgive him.
3. Cost of No Forgiveness. In 1988 Gene Simmons, forty-seven, of Russelville, Arkansas, a retired Air Force master sargeant, killed sixteen people: children, spouses, and grandchildren. Minutes before surrendering to the police, he told a hostage, "Don't worry. I've gotten everybody who hurt me." When Christians get hurt, they don't kill, they forgive.
4. Removal of Guilt. Albert Speer was a German technological expert who kept Hitler's factories working during World War II. He was the only one of twenty-four Nuremburg criminals to admit guilt. He spent twenty years in Spandau prison. Upon his release he was interviewed by David Hartman on Good Morning America. Hartman asked him, "You said the guilt can never be forgiven, or shouldn't be. Do you still feel that way?" Speer replied, "I served a sentence of twenty years and I could say that I am a free man and that my conscience has been cleared by serving the whole time as punishment. But, I can't do that. I still carry the burden of what happened to millions of people during Hitler's lifetime, and I can't get rid of it."
5. Difficulty of Forgiveness. Corrie Ten Boom spent years in a German concentration camp and felt humiliated and degraded especially in the delousing shower where women were ogled by the guards. Upon release she preached forgiveness. One Sunday after she preached in Munich, a man came up to her and said, "Ya, Fraulein, it is wonderful that Jesus forgives us all our sins, just as you said." She remembered his face as one of the guards. Her hand froze at her side. She could not forgive the guard standing in solid flesh in front of her. Ashamed of herself, she prayed, "Lord, forgive me but I cannot forgive." As she prayed, she felt forgiven in spite of her shabby performance. Her hand unfroze. The ice melted. Her hand went out. She forgave as she felt forgiven.
6. Forgiveness as Acceptance. A couple in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, lost their only son when on his way to work he was hit by a drunken driver. For two years they nursed their hatred of the twenty-four-year-old man who had killed their son. Then they realized that their desire for revenge was consuming them. Drawing on their Christian faith, they forgave him. They visited him in prison, asked more time for his probation, picked him up Sundays to take him to church, and had him for Sunday dinner. Together they gave public speeches against driving and drinking. Through forgiveness the youth was accepted as a member of their family.
Suppose Connally's creditor had forgiven him the huge debt. Suppose he then found a man who owed him only $1,000, he demanded to be paid at once, and because the man was unable to pay Connally, he was taken to court and sentenced to jail. This is the situation in the parable of the unforgiving servant. A man with a huge debt was forgiven the debt, but he then had a fellow-debtor thrown into jail because he could not pay his little debt.
We owe an enormous debt to God. God has forgiven us. How then shall we treat fellow-sinners? The parable has a reverse action: the forgiven debt was cancelled and the debtor was thrown into prison. Suppose Connally's cancelled debt had been re-instated because he had failed to forgive someone who owed him only a pittance?
Context
Context of Matthew 18
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant is given within the context of Jesus' prior teaching concerning greatness in the Kingdom. As an example of true greatness he uses a child. This causes him to warn against causing a child to sin. He teaches that the heavenly Father does not will even a little child to perish. This brings up the problem of our sinning against each other. (vv. 15-20) Jesus gives the procedure for settling offenses. Out of this discourse comes Peter's question, "How often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?"
Context of the Lectionary
The First Lesson. (Exodus 20:1-20) This pericope is the eleventh in a series of fifteen on the life and work of Moses. Here on behalf of the people Moses receives from Yahweh the Decalogue. Moses explains to the people that the Commandments were given to them "that you may not sin." (v. 20) A connection with the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant can be seen: the law of God makes us aware of our sin and the need of forgiveness.
The Second Lesson. (Romans 14:5-12) The last of sixteen readings from Romans. For a Christian all of life is under the lordship of Christ whether we eat, observe days, love, or die. Why then should we judge others, for God judges each?
Gospel. (Matthew 18:21-35) The parable of the unforgiving servant.
Psalm. (Psalm 19:7-14) In keeping with the Decalogue in Lesson 1, we praise God for his Law.
Prayer of the Day. The prayer echoes the parable's message of extending mercy to sinners by saying "you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity."
Hymn of the Day. "Forgive our Sins as We Forgive" The hymn asks:
"How can your pardon reach and bless
The unforgiving heart
That broods on wrongs and will not let
Old bitterness depart?"
Context of Related Scriptures
Psalm 103:6-12 - "The Lord is merciful and gracious."
Isaiah 55:6-7 - "He will abundantly pardon."
Matthew 5:7 - "Blessed are the merciful."
Matthew 5:21-24 - "Leave your gift before the altar."
Matthew 6:14-15 - "If you do not forgive ..."
Matthew 9:1-8 - Authority to forgive sin.
Matthew 12:31-32 - The unpardonable sin.
Luke 7:40-49 - The parable of the two debtors.
Luke 17:3-4 - "If he repents, forgive."
Luke 23:32-34 - "Father, forgive."
Colossians 3:13 - Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you.
Content
Characteristics of the Parable
1. Solitary. The parable of the unforgiving servant is found only in Matthew. A twin parable can be found in Luke 7:40-49, the parable of the two debtors. Both parables deal with forgiveness. In the latter parable Jesus teaches that love depends on having been forgiven. In the former parable God's forgiveness calls for human forgiveness.
2. Quantity and quality. "Therefore" (v. 23) is a transition word introducing the parable and refers to the preceding verses. In these foregoing verses, Jesus tells Peter that one should forgive seventy times seven. There should be no limit to the number of times we should forgive. However, the parable does not deal with the frequency of forgiveness, but rather with the need of the forgiven to forgive others. Some scholars, therefore, conclude that Jesus did not give the parable at this time, but Matthew or the church made the connection with the foregoing question of Peter. Verses 21-22 deal with the quantity and the following parable is concerned with the quality of forgiveness.
3. Purgatory. Verse 34 ("And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt") is used by the Roman church as a proof-text for the doctrine of Purgatory. This is a Roman teaching that sinners go to Purgatory to satisfy the penalties prescribed by the church for sins committed. This is similar to the unmerciful servant's staying in jail until his debt was paid. Protestants do not accept this teaching because it is not only nonbiblical but also because on the cross Christ paid in full the enormous debt we owe to God.
4. Eschatological dimension. Verse 35 can be understood in an eschatological dimension. This view understands the verse as saying that at the end of the age God's forgiveness will be cancelled for all who in their lifetimes did not forgive their fellowmen/women. On the other hand, it can be applied existentially. The sin forgiven today is of no effect if mercy is not extended to a fellow-human.
5. Three scenes. The parable is a drama with three scenes or acts:
Scene 1 - A king forgives a servant's enormous debt - (vv. 23-27).
Scene 2 - The forgiven servant refuses to forgive a fellow-servant - (vv. 28-30).
Scene 3 - The king withdraws his forgiveness - (vv. 31-35).
Precis of the Parable
Jesus had been talking about "if your brother sins against you." In response Peter asked if forgiving seven times was sufficient. Jesus went beyond seven to seventy times seven.
Jesus told a parable to explain the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven. A king decided to settle accounts with his servants. One of them owed him millions of dollars. Because he could not pay, the king ordered the man along with his wife and children to be sold into slavery as well as selling all his property. The man fell on his knees and begged for the king's patience until he paid the debt. The king had pity on him and cancelled the debt.
Then the forgiven man met another servant who owed him only a few dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded that he pay the debt. The fellow-servant fell down on his knees and similarly begged, "Be patient with me and I will pay you back." He refused and had him put in jail until he paid the debt ... When friends heard about it, they were so upset that they told the king. So the king called in the forgiven servant and said, "You wicked man! I forgave you your enormous debt because you begged me to do so. Don't you think you should have had mercy on your fellow-servant as I had on you?" The king was so angry that he sent the man to jail until the debt was paid. Jesus then commented that the same will happen to everyone who does not forgive his brother from the heart.
Thesis:
Divine and human forgiveness are interrelated.
Theme:
To be forgiven, forgive!
Key Words in the Parable
1. "Seven." (v. 21) In Jesus' day Jewish law required a person to forgive three times. When Peter suggested seven, he was going more than the second mile and could expect Jesus' commendation of his generosity. However, Jesus said that it should not be seven but seventy times seven. Of course, he did not mean one should forgive up to 490 times! He was teaching that there is no end to forgiving. As often as a person sins, as often as a person repents, there is need for us to forgive.
2. "King." (v. 23) The king in the parable was probably a Gentile. A Jewish king would not have been allowed to sell the debtor and his family into slavery. Moreover, he could not have sent the man to his "torturers," the Greek word for "jailers," (v. 34) because torture was forbidden by Jewish law. If the creditor was a king, then the servant was probably a courtier who owed the king a fabulous amount.
3. "Talents." (v. 24) In the popular mind a talent is a personal ability - a talant to paint, sing, or run a computer. In Jesus' day a talent was a weight of money. Today a talent would be worth approximately $1000. Since the courtier owed 10,000 talents, his debt would be $10,000,000. In contrast, the fellow-servant owed 100 denarii. A denarius was the equivalent of a laborer's day wage or approximately $5. The contrast of debts applies to the enormous debt owed to God and the debts we owe each other.
4. "Pity." (v. 27) The king in the parable felt sorry for the man with the huge debt. He was sorry enough to call off the debt even if it were $10 million. It is the motive that prompts a person to be kind and helpful. The Good Samaritan had pity on the wounded man. Jesus had compassion on the hungry crowd and on the widow whose only son died. Because the king had so much mercy, he expected the servant to have pity on one who owed so little. Like should beget like. This gives us an insight into the mercy of God who forgives a debt no human can pay. Instead he pays the debt himself in the sacrifice of his only Son.
5. "Heart." (v. 35) True forgiveness comes from the heart. The heart involves the whole person, mind, will, and emotions. Forgiveness is to be real and sincere. It is more than an intellectual assent. To forgive with the heart is to really, truly, and fully forgive.
Contemplation
Insights
1. Impossible debt payment. Some debts are so large that they cannot be paid. Consequently, individuals and/or corporations file bankruptcy. The current national debt is over two trillion dollars, and politicians can find no way of wiping out, let alone reducing the national debt which is so large that America has become the world's largest debtor nation. Third World countries are failing to pay their debts to American banks to avoid economic collapse and/or political revolution. In the case of the unmerciful servant, his debt was impossible to repay even if his family and possessions were sold. Our debt of righteousness is so huge that we cannot pay the debt. Our debt increases as we sin by thought, word, and deed, by sins of omission and commission. Our only hope is for someone to pay our debt for us or to forgive the debt. Like the unforgiving servant in the parable, we need a merciful king.
2. Universality of debt. In the parable both servants were in debt. Who is not in debt? Is there one American who does not owe somebody? Are all bills paid? Is the property free and clear? No mortgage? Even if we owed nothing, we would still be in debt morally and spiritually. All of us sin and come short of the glory of God. Who can say he/she has no sin? Who can claim moral perfection? As sinners every person is in debt to God. Paul urges us to owe no man anything except to love. (Romans 13:8)
3. The stink of sin. Debt is a dreadful condition. As long as we are in debt, we are slaves. We are in debt to God because of sin. Because the unforgiving servant was in debt, he was in danger of losing his family and all his property. The other servant's debt caused him to be thrown in jail. Sin is more than a cosmetic blemish. It is more than a picture hanging crooked or a television picture off color. Sin stinks because it is a sickness unto death. It gets into the bone marrow and becomes a terminal illness. By all means we must get out of debt caused by sin.
4. Proportionate forgiveness. Forgiveness is not one-sided. To be forgiven, one must also forgive. The parable teaches that our forgiveness depends on our forgiving. This is portrayed in the parable: the man forgiven a fortune lost his forgiveness because he refused to forgive a fellow-servant. To the extent we forgive, we are forgiven. In the Lord's Prayer we admit this: "Forgive us ... as we forgive ..." Before we offer a gift to God, we are to leave the gift at the altar until we are first reconciled to a person. (Matthew 5:21-24) It is not that God is arbitrary or contrary, but psychologically, with a mind closed by hatred, we are unable to receive love and mercy. The tragedy of the parable is that so much mercy was extended but none of it was shared.
5. Justifiable protest. Because good people say nothing, evil triumphs and spreads. There is a time when good people have a duty to cry out against injustice. There is a case of justifiable protest in today's parable. The friends of the man who was thrown in jail because he could not pay the debt owed to the unmerciful servant protested against the unmerciful and unjust action to the king. They went out of their way, left their jobs and homes, and took the time to inform the king of what his servant did to a fellow-servant. As a result of their protest, the king cancelled his forgiveness of the debt. We learn here the value and necessity of appropriate protest against the evils in our society when people are victims of injustice and cruelty.
Homily Hints
1. The Dreadfulness of Debt. (18:23-35) Debt, financial or spiritual, is dreadful leading to eventual death. Debt enslaves and obligates us to the creditor. Interest paid on the debt keeps us in debt. One of America's most pressing problems is the national debt. Third World countries are on the verge of revolution because of mountainous debts. Sinners are in debt to God - hopelessly in debt. Consider the condition we are in -
A. Unpayable debt - 10,000 talents - vv. 24-25.
B. Universality of debt - both servants in debt - vv. 25, 28.
C. Consequences of debt - slavery, prison - vv. 25, 30.
2. How to Handle Your Debt. (18:23-35) Some people are wise when deeply in debt and seek help from financial advisors. What can we do about our debt to God?
A. Pay it back - impossible - v. 25.
B. Have someone pay it for you - Jesus did it on the cross.
C. Have the debt forgiven or cancelled - v. 27.
3. One Thing God Will Not Do. (18:35) In this parable as well as in other teachings, Jesus says God will not forgive us unless we forgive our enemies. It is therefore imperative that we learn how to forgive. Consider reasons for forgiving -
A. Contrast your debt with debt owed you - vv. 24, 28.
B. Have mercy on the debtor - vv. 27, 32, 33.
C. Realize your forgiveness depends on forgiving - v. 35.
D. Obey God's will to forgive - vv. 32, 33.
4. A Drama of Mercy in Three Acts. (18:23-35) Whether we are forgiven or forgive depends ultimately upon mercy, God's and ours. Our forgiveness is due to God's mercy. When we have compassion on those who offended us, we will be moved to forgive. The parable is a drama of mercy in three acts -
A. Act I - mercy extended - vv. 23-27.
B. Act II - mercy denied - vv. 28-30.
C. Act III - mercy withdrawn - vv. 31-35.
5. The Problem of Forgiving. (18:21-35) It is generally agreed that those who have been forgiven should forgive others. In the Lord's Prayer we agree to it when we say, "as we forgive those who trespass against us." Like Peter in the text, various questions come to mind when the time comes to forgive -
A. Am I to forgive after the offender apologizes?
B. Does forgiveness depend upon the other person's repentance?
C. Do I offer forgiveness even if the offender does not request it?
D. Can I forgive in my heart without saying it to the offender?
Contact
Points of Contact
1. A common problem. The subject of forgiving others applies to every person. Because everyone is a sinner, each one sins against another person. This calls for the offender to forgive. Offenses can occur daily and many times each day. It is impossible not to hurt another person in one way or another. It is human to err. Our problem then is to practice forgiving each other. But, many find it very difficult or impossible to forgive. As a result there are separations, hatred, a desire to get even, revenge, and retaliation. There is no end to it, but it feeds on itself until death occurs. Have the Jews forgiven the Germans for the holocaust? Will the half million Palestinian refugees forgive the Jews for taking their homes and lands in Palestine? Forgiveness is not only a personal but a racial and national problem. When we preach on today's parable we are dealing with every person's need and problem.
2. Consequences. If we fail to forgive, there are serious consequences. Human relationships are broken between friends, in the home, or in the nation. A person who does not forgive harbors bitterness, hatred, and resentment in the heart. This keeps God's forgiveness out and the person is too full of negative feelings to receive the love and peace of God's forgiveness. Moreover, there are physical and psychological ill effects. There are psychosomatic results: high blood pressure, hypertension, heart attacks, headaches, skin rashes, stomach ulcers, etc. A person who does not forgive is usually an unhappy and lonely person being fed on hatred for another person. In the average congregation there are many people living in a state of misery caused by the refusal to forgive.
3. Unpardonable. A question many ask is, "What is the unpardonable sin?" Some are concerned because they fear they may have committed it. Since we are considering in the parable the king's (God's) most generous forgiveness, and the need for people to forgive each other, we want to be sure we have not excluded ourselves from God's forgiveness. Of course, anyone who asks the question has by that very question revealed that the unpardonable sin was not committed. The unpardonable sin is to be unconcerned about sin and not to desire forgiveness. It is the sin against the Holy Spirit whose function is to convict us of sin and to lead us to Christ for forgiveness. The unpardonable sin is the refusal to be pardoned by God.
Points to Ponder
1. When to forgive. Am I to forgive a person when that person thinks he/she has done nothing wrong? The person who hurt me does not say he/she is sorry, does not apologize, gives no sign of repentance, and asks for no forgiveness. Am I to go to that person and say, "I forgive you"? Would that be a sign of weakness on my part or a throwing of pearls to swine? Would he/she only laugh at me and do it again? Is it enough for me just to forgive in my heart so that I do not get eaten up with my own hatred and resentment, and be ready to forgive when the offender asks for it? If I do forgive, must I take the person back to the same intimate relationship as though nothing happened? Am I Christian if I am wary of that person in the future?
2. Is God an Indian-giver? The parable gives us a theological question. In the concluding verse Jesus says that as the king cancelled the forgiven debt and the servant was thrown in jail unforgiven so God will do the same to one who does not forgive others. This causes some of us concern. Is God really like that? Does he take back his mercy? Are we forgiven and then we forgive, or do we first forgive and then come for God's forgiveness? Or, does this 35th verse mean that God will always forgive, but to receive it we must be open to forgiveness by forgiving others? Is the following sentence in a liturgical service correct: "We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven"?
3. Forgiveness earn forgiveness? The parable of the unmerciful servant seems to be saying that our forgiveness by God depends upon our forgiving others. If we do not forgive, God will not forgive us. Does this mean then that by forgiving we deserve and earn God's forgiveness? Is forgiving a good work that merits forgiveness? If this is so, then do we need Christ and the sacrifice on the cross? Can we be forgiven as long as we are forgiving? Where is the Gospel in this parable? While it is true that God can forgive only those with forgiving hearts, it is necessary for Christ and his atoning death to cause God to forgive us. He is willing to forgive us because Christ paid the penalty of our sins and reconciled God to us and us to God.
Illustrative Materials
1. Failure to Forgive. A study for the California Children of Divorce Project showed that many divorced couples are even more unhappy after their separation and stay angry and feel rejected for a decade after the breakup. Though they marry again, they stay angry and bitter. Forty-one percent of tha remarried woman were still furious at their first husbands a decade later. Thirty-one percent of the men felt the same.
Twenty-one states take away the voting rights of a felon. Though a person has completed a prison term, for the rest of his/her life the person cannot vote. In 1982 the voters of Virginia considered a constitutional amendment giving felons the right to vote. It was defeated 643,470 to 384,066. Yet, every Sunday forty percent of the population prays, "as we forgive ..."
Simon Wiesenthal, a prisoner in the Mauthausen concentration camp in Poland, was assigned to cleaning out a barn the Germans improvised into a hospital for wounded soldiers. A nurse took Wiesanthal to a twenty-one-year-old SS trouper, his face bandaged with puss-soaked rags, eyes tucked behind the gauze. He grabbed Wiesenthal's hand and said he had to talk to a Jew and wanted to be forgiven before he died. He confessed that he sinned against helpless Jews. He told how his battalion gunned down Jews, parents and children, who were fleeing from their burning homes. Wiesenthal listened and then jerked his hand away and walked out of the barn. No word was spoken, no forgiveness given.
2. Forgiveness of Enemies. When Fanny Crosby, author of "Blessed Assurance" and "Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross," was a baby, she was made blind by a doctor's giving her the wrong medication.
In World War I Edith Cavell, an English nurse shot by the Germans as a spy, said, "I see that patriotism is not enough. I must die without hatred or bitterness toward anyone."
One day in December 1983 Pope John Paul II walked into the dark cell of Rebibba prison outside Rome to meet Ali Ayca, the man who fired a bullet into his heart, and to forgive him.
3. Cost of No Forgiveness. In 1988 Gene Simmons, forty-seven, of Russelville, Arkansas, a retired Air Force master sargeant, killed sixteen people: children, spouses, and grandchildren. Minutes before surrendering to the police, he told a hostage, "Don't worry. I've gotten everybody who hurt me." When Christians get hurt, they don't kill, they forgive.
4. Removal of Guilt. Albert Speer was a German technological expert who kept Hitler's factories working during World War II. He was the only one of twenty-four Nuremburg criminals to admit guilt. He spent twenty years in Spandau prison. Upon his release he was interviewed by David Hartman on Good Morning America. Hartman asked him, "You said the guilt can never be forgiven, or shouldn't be. Do you still feel that way?" Speer replied, "I served a sentence of twenty years and I could say that I am a free man and that my conscience has been cleared by serving the whole time as punishment. But, I can't do that. I still carry the burden of what happened to millions of people during Hitler's lifetime, and I can't get rid of it."
5. Difficulty of Forgiveness. Corrie Ten Boom spent years in a German concentration camp and felt humiliated and degraded especially in the delousing shower where women were ogled by the guards. Upon release she preached forgiveness. One Sunday after she preached in Munich, a man came up to her and said, "Ya, Fraulein, it is wonderful that Jesus forgives us all our sins, just as you said." She remembered his face as one of the guards. Her hand froze at her side. She could not forgive the guard standing in solid flesh in front of her. Ashamed of herself, she prayed, "Lord, forgive me but I cannot forgive." As she prayed, she felt forgiven in spite of her shabby performance. Her hand unfroze. The ice melted. Her hand went out. She forgave as she felt forgiven.
6. Forgiveness as Acceptance. A couple in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, lost their only son when on his way to work he was hit by a drunken driver. For two years they nursed their hatred of the twenty-four-year-old man who had killed their son. Then they realized that their desire for revenge was consuming them. Drawing on their Christian faith, they forgave him. They visited him in prison, asked more time for his probation, picked him up Sundays to take him to church, and had him for Sunday dinner. Together they gave public speeches against driving and drinking. Through forgiveness the youth was accepted as a member of their family.
