Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
"But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!' So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had 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 18:21–35 (NKJV)
In our path through the parables, we had to work to see what was hiding in plain sight, under our very noses. This week is the exact opposite. The message is so clear and unambiguous that it is like gazing into a pool of crystal. It seems that our Lord, and the Spirit REALLY want us to grasp what is being said here.
We are doubly guided - first - Context: The parable is couched as a response to Peters query on forgiveness. Yashua has been talking to the disciples after the events on the mount of Transfiguration ( read all about it from Matt 17:1...), and has just gotten done telling them how to handle conflict with another brother( first 1 to 1, then in the presence of 2/3 witnesses, then the whole church ) .... conflict creates situations, and feelings get hurt as a result - which could be the reason for Peters question.Right from the beginning, it is clear that we are discussing forgiveness here!
Second: The key message of the parable."So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses." After reading the parable, could it possibly be any clearer? At this point, this is a third confirmation that we have interpreted the parable correctly.
The King is our Father in Heaven. Our sin debt is unpayable by us. We are shown astronomical compassion and our debt is forgiven. If however, we in turn, do not extend that same attitude of forgiveness for what are (by comparison) pittances- RIGHTFULLY OWED- to us by our brethren, we are in BIG trouble!
Forgiveness is not owed for imaginary acts, but REAL acts of transgression. Our brother/sister has indeed wronged us. That is not in question here! The question is, how many times do we forgive them? Ans: essentially, always! We would stop counting at 30 before ever reaching 490 ( seventy times seven )!
This is the problematic bit. The parable is crystalline in context,content,and explanations both before and after the parable proper. Peters question is answered, and the parable itself explained. But HOW on earth do we put this into practice? It doesn't seem practical at all!
The Bible never considers foolishness to be a virtue. Even common sense wisdom - " once bitten, twice-shy" - urges us to be careful with our trust. We should not wait till we are in the 400s in forgiveness-count to get that something is wrong here! It DOES however mean, that if necessary, we DO have to truly forgive/move beyond those 400 times we were wronged!
If that seems difficult, consider how FREEING that is. No brooding or obsessing - so your mood has improved. No plotting to get even - freeing your mind to think about better things. No layers of fake-ness to create / deal with ( just say - ' that hurt, but I have already forgiven you, let's start from scratch just one more time') , earning the approval of your Lord, AND ensuring your own forgiveness ( from them and Him ) when YOU mess up!
We need to forgive others with the ease with which we forgive ourselves for our own little mistakes and weaknesses...(that extra helping of dessert) or our besetting sins...vices,addictions, pride....
Sometimes our sins can also make us NOT forgive ourselves - to the point where we are harder on ourselves than on other people! For those struggling/guilted with besetting sin ( we all have our weaknesses ), think about this for comfort...
Matthew 15:10–11 (NKJV): "Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." God is less interested in what goes into your body and more interested in what you do with your life. Addictions -will- impact your mortal body, but He is interested in your SOUL! Once that is right, the transformation begins from the inside!Your accuser will taunt you with your frailty and failures. Point him to the One who is your Substitute and tell him to get out of your life!! If you have made Christ your refuge - He can cleanse you of ALL sin. In turn, He asks that you bear witness of His Grace by showing the same courtesy to your neighbor. If you do that, He will work to help you deal with your other issues over time! And by the way, they are already forgiven!
The parable is -explicit- that your most horrendous sins - have been forgiven! What seems big and unforgivable to you is less than little to Him NO MATTER WHAT IT IS! Barring explicitly,intentionally, and with full understanding speaking untrue things against and about the Holy Spirit with your mouth, and never accepting Yashua as your Savior - everything else can be forgiven.
It is truly difficult for us to imagine just how much we are loved. The enemy says " you are worthless", God says you are -Priceless-, and pays your debt with His own Sons' blood. Knowing He has forgiven us, helps us forgive ourselves - pick up the pieces and humbly start afresh when we fall, knowing He will ever be there for us. And then we can begin to extend that same Spirit toward our brother/sister, for whom Christ died as well.
And that is what "from his/your heart" means. If God has forgiven us all sin forever, we in turn must similarly forgive all wrongs forever if we are to be His children ! He gave us Forgiveness and compassion FROM HIS HEART. No more sin- ever! Forgive in like example - from the heart as shown to us here.
Our God never goes back on His Word, so can you imagine Him ever reneging on that which flows out of His very Heart? He will discipline us for bad behavior but that only means He considers us His children, and is jealous for our eternal well-being with fierce intensity!
Hallelujah!