Matthew 18:21-33
21 Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ 22Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
23 ‘For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; 25and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. 26So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” 27And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.” 29Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” 30But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. 31When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 32Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?”
BLOG DISCUSSION QUESTION: Realizing that this parable comes after Jesus' statement, "Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them", what do you suppose that Jesus is trying to tell us in this parable? Will God withdraw his forgiveness of us if we do not forgive others?
"See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are."
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About Me
- Pastor Jerry
- Pastor Jerry is the pastor of Willow Creek and Benton Lutheran Churches of rural Dell Rapids, South Dakota.
Benton Lutheran Church
Benton Lutheran Church is 2 miles west of Crooks, S.D. We worship every Sunday at 10:45 with Sunday School for ages 3 yrs. through 7th grade at 9:30.
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The Bungee Cord
"The Bungee Cord" is a weekly e-mail devotional that I write to provide a catylist of God's grace for the days ahead. You can read "The Bungee Cord" at the link provided, and you can also sign up to receive it by contacting me (bentonelca@alliancecom.net)
5 comments:
Your questions get harder all of the time! Ha!
I guess we can't "put God in a box" and be able to predict what He will or won't do. All indications are that we have a big responsibility to be very forgiving. Our "yes, but..." excuses don't seem to "hold much water"! Looking forward to others' responses! Saying that we forgive others and actually forgiving others seems to be two different things, too. ...The old saying, if you're going to hold a grudge, you might as well dig two grave spots!
If God is willing to give the life of his Son in redemption for our sins, then we certainly must be able to forgive the small things, comparison wise, that we have done to each other.
Otherwise, it sounds like forgiveness is withheld.
Ok, this is so hard. A church is where we are to uplift each other and yet due to our human nature, we fall...over and over again in this respect. It hurts when others you trust seem to do things that are hurtful. And yet here we are told, FORGIVE. I do think this is expected of us, God did not say it is easy, just to do it. Due to His grace, I do believe he forgives. As hard as this is on us, when we forgive we grow closer to Him. Sometimes, it involves forgiving ourselves as well.
Thank you, Praise, for bringing up the old saying (which I read for the first time earlier this week) "Enemy destroyers need two graves."...it's a good one. Jesus takes a tough position on sinners who refuse to forgive other sinners throughout scripture (we were just reminded to drop our stones this past Wednesday night at Lenten services). Jesus takes a stronger and more gracious position in forgiving OUR sins. Without Jesus, we would be like the slave in the prison....how could we possibly repay anything! Our ability to give grace comes from the same deep well we receive forgiveness and he encourages us not conserve this resource. "Come often and come thirsty."
This is a difficult parable, one over which many have struggled. Is Jesus saying that God's forgiveness for me will be held back if I do not forgive others? That is not only a frightening thought, but a certain death sentence. Who is as forgiving as God is? No one...at least I know that I am not.
So, does this parable put an end to our hope of being forgiven?
Matthew 18:15-20 contains Jesus' words about what should be done if someone within the community of faith sins against another. It ends with the promise that whatever is loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven, and whatever is bound on earth will be bound in heaven.
it seems to me that this parable is Jesus answer to the question, "What, then, do you want to do ..... forgive or bind?"
So, who in this parable bound the other's "sins"? We are accustomed to seeing the servant who was forgiven as the one who bound another's "sins". But there is another....another group.... "two or more"....the other servants. Notice what they did. They did not forgive this sinning servant, they went back to the king and ratted on him, and the king did just what God promised..."If two or more of you agree on anything, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven."....he bound that servants sin.
It seems to me that Jesus is painting a clear picture on why we might choose forgiveness over binding...someday, the one whose sins are bound just might be one of us.
Will God withdraw forgiveness of me if I do not forgive? Not necessarily...but my forgiveness just might be in danger if my brothers and sisters in Christ do not forgive me.
So, this parable serves as a warning. If you and I might think that someone has done something that is unforgivable, than look out...someday, others might think the same of you or me.
That is why we need to forgive. That is why we need to follow the steps that Jesus gives to reconcile one to another. Forgive your brother 70 times 7 because you would wish your sister to forgive you 70 times 7.
This parable doesn't put an end to our hopes for God's forgiveness, rather it puts an end to our arrogant self-righteousness that forgets our need for forgiveness, too.
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