“Then his master, after he called him, said to him, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you? And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
Matthew 18:32-35
These strong words are at the end of the parable commonly called the parable of the unforgiving servant. In the broader context Jesus had just told the disciples what to do if your brother sins against you and refused to repent. This is the path of church discipline, generally speaking. Peter then wants to know what to do if the sinning brother repents. How often are we obligated to forgive our brother? Peter likely gives a number that he felt was over the top, seven times. Jesus blows that thinking out of the water by famously saying that we must forgive our repentant brother seventy times seven, meaning there is no limit to our obligation to forgive a repentant brother.
Then Jesus tells the parable as an object lesson on the immense importance God places on forgiveness. The unforgiving servant is in debt to the king by an unpayable amount, millions and millions of dollars, which the king graciously forgives. In contrast the unforgiving servant, now free from debt and the threat of being sold as a slave, goes out and shows no mercy to a fellow servant who owed him just a day’s wage and throws him in prison. When the king finds out, he is enraged and his response is Matthew 18:32-35.
The message is clear, when someone sins against us we are to heed the warning of the parable. We are like the unforgiving servant in the sense that no one can sin against us more than we have sinned against God. Christians have been forgiven a debt that it is not possible to repay, and our attitude should be to have compassion on our fellow brethren just as God has had compassion upon us. Colossians 3:12-13 says, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
This idea is repeated in the Lord’s prayer, “And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.” It is easy to forget that at the end of the Lord’s prayer Jesus reiterates the same sentiment when He says, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Think of how the disciples might have reacted when they heard that the unforgiving servant was sent to the torturers because he would not forgive his brethren!
Forgiveness is not an option. In order to forgive our brethren, we must have a correct understanding of who we are. The parable of the unforgiving servant puts us in the right frame of mind. Keep in mind that Jesus’ answer to Peter is particularly concerning the brethren, the church. These passages reveal just how important unity, fellowship, and love are to God in those whom He has died for.
Glory to the Lord of hosts!
His mercy endures forever!
Pastor Flynn
