One of the hardest concepts for us to grasp as humans is forgiveness. When we are wronged, we often dwell on the wrongs done and allow them to build up within us. This harboring often leads to bitterness and anger toward the person.
In a parable in Matthew 18, Jesus addresses the topic of forgiveness as he continues talking about the Kingdom of God. Up until this time in Matthew, Jesus has been using parables to explain and describe the Kingdom of God. He uses this parable to also emphasize the importance of forgiveness.
The story begins as Peter asks Jesus a question in Matthew 18:21, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Peter likely thinks he is being generous in forgiving seven times, when Jewish tradition only demanded forgiveness three times.
In verse 22 Jesus replies, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Jesus is not saying that the limit of forgiveness is 490, but he is using this as a picture for unlimited forgiveness that does not keep track of past wrongdoings.
Matthew 18:23 says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.” Jesus transitions into a parable about a servant who owed his master ten thousand bags of gold.
The servant was unable to pay the debt, so in verse 25, “the master ordered that he [the servant] and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.” The servant begged on his knees for the debt to be forgiven and the master took pity on him, forgiving his debt to give the servant time to pay him back.
When the servant left, he found one of his own servants, who owed him a debt of one hundred silver coins. When he approached his servant, he began choking him, demanding his money.
The servant fell to his knees and begged for more time to pay back the debt. The first servant refused to give him more time. Matthew 18:30 says, “Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.”
The original master heard about this encounter and called his servant, who he forgave at the beginning of the story, to come into his presence.
Matthew 18:32a-34 says, “‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.”
The parable closes with a solemn truth about the Kingdom of God and its application to believers. In Matthew 18:35, Jesus says, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Jesus is telling this parable for the purpose of instilling the importance of forgiveness into believers. How could we, sinners forgiven of our eternal damnation, hold grudges and harbor bitterness against those who have wronged us. Our sin hung Jesus on the cross, so who are we to hold much smaller wrongdoings over the heads of those around us.
One comforting truth in this story is the reminder that if Christ could forgive us of our iniquities, he also empowers us by the same Holy Spirit to have the willpower to forgive those around us who have wronged us.
Check Out Our Recent Stories!
Real Talk With Tay: Where Has Our School Spirit Gone?
From the Sidelines by Carlos Chicas: CBC Soccer
Nadiyah’s Notebook: The Perfect Day
Real Talk With Tay: Biblical Figures, But Make it CBC Majors
