Redeemer Lutheran Church

Theme – The need for forgiveness

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, the goal of this text is nothing less than the transformation of the heart. Jesus is not merely giving Peter a new rule about forgiveness; He is giving the Church a new life. The goal is that the hearer – each of us – would live in the freedom of Christ’s mercy, and from that freedom extend mercy to others. Jesus wants His disciples to be shaped by the forgiveness they have received, so that forgiveness becomes like the very air that they breathe, so that it becomes the reflex of their hearts, a pattern for all of their relationships.

Peter asks a question of Jesus that sounds very generous: “Lord, how often shall me brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Seven times?” Now. Seven times is more than the rabbis required. It’s possible that Peter thinks he’s offering a very magnanimous standard. But Jesus blows up his math: “Not seven times, but seventy times seven.” In other words: Stop counting! Forgiveness isn’t a mark in a ledger. It’s not a quota to be reached, or a contract to be fulfilled. It is the very character of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus then goes on to tell a parable that shows the true goal of teaching: that those who have been forgiven an immeasurable debt by God would become people who forgive the small debts of others. The king forgives a servant who owes ten thousand talents – an impossible sum, literally an amount that would take lifetimes to earn. And yet, after being forgiven this horrendous debt, the servant goes and finds another servant who owes a hundred denarii. This is only a few months wages, and yet he not only refuses to forgive him, but has him jailed.

The goal of Christ’s teaching is that we be able to see ourselves in this story. We need to be able to recognize the immeasurable mercy that God the Father has shown us. That we would be so overwhelmed by grace that we cannot help but extend grace. That we would live as forgiven people – free, joyful, merciful, patient, slow to anger, and quick to reconcile.

The goal is that forgiveness would not be seen as a burden but truly a gift; not a duty but a delight; not some sort of grudging obligation but the natural fruit of hearts that have been set free by God’s own forgiveness.

But this is not where we naturally live. And that brings us to the
Malady.

Sadly, the Malady of this text is painfully clear: we are the unforgiving servant.

Many times, we really don’t want to admit it. We prefer to see ourselves as being like Peter – willing to forgive, at least a little. The problem with doing this is that Peter was not actually being merciful! He was simply looking to be patient. This is obvious because mercy and patience are two different things. True mercy is unending because it is a gift from God, but patience always comes to an end because of our sinfulness and human frailty. We may also see ourselves as being like the king – generous, patient, compassionate. But Jesus forces us to see the truth: we are the ones who have been forgiven an impossible debt, and yet we often refuse to forgive the small debts of others.

We keep score
Peter’s question reveals the human heart: How many times do I have to forgive? When can I stop? When can I say enough is enough? We often keep mental notes of who has done us wrong. We remember who has hurt us, and we track offenses against us. We may even replay conversations in our minds or rehearse grievances that we have against others. We justify our anger, and we nurse our wounds.

We demand justice for others but mercy for ourselves
The unforgiving servant begs for mercy from the king – “Have patience with me!” – but refuses to show the same patience to his fellow servant. This is truly the human condition. We want God to overlook our sins, but we want others to pay for theirs. We want grace for ourselves, but we want others to see justice.

We say, “Lord, forgive me,” but then we say to ourselves, “I will never forgive him.”

We pray, “Forgive us our trespasses,” but then we seem to forget the part that says, “as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We want God to erase our debt, but we insist that others repay theirs.

We forget the size of our own debt
The servant owed ten thousand talents – an absolutely overwhelming amount, and there’s a reason that Jesus chose such an incredible amount. To make the point that our debt of sin before God is so immeasurable that we cannot even comprehend it. It isn’t a small miscalculation. It’s a mountain! It cannot be repaid! We cannot fix it, or make it go away. We can do nothing to make it right. If unforgiven, our sin over time builds up and up until such time as it becomes so daunting an amount that we are overcome by it. Imagine this! Some of the Apostles were fishermen. Think about if we were the fishermen and out on the sea in our fishing boat. Now, every sin that we commit is a fish that we catch. We keep catching fish after fish, sin after sin, and finally we reach the point where the boat gets swamped. Our sin has now drowned us, just like it does in real life. Sin equals death, whether it be by drowning or any other way.

But we forget this, and so we minimize our sin in our own minds. We compare ourselves to others, and we imagine that our debt is manageable, while theirs is completely intolerable.

We must needs remind ourselves that every breath we take is a gift by the mercy of God. Every moment of our lives is sustained by His grace. Every sin forgiven is a miracle of the divine compassion that He shows us.

We imprison others and ourselves
When the servant refused to forgive, he threw his fellow servant into prison, but in the end, he was the one who got locked up.

Unforgiveness is a prison. Bitterness is a chain. Resentment is a cell. Grudges are shackles. When we refuse to forgive, we become captives of our own anger. We lose peace. We lose joy. We lose freedom, and the very mercy that we have received.

We forget the King
The servants’ greatest sin is not merely refusing to forgive; it is forgetting the mercy of the king. When we forget the mercy that we have been shown, we are forgetting the Gospel.

We forget the Cross. We forget the blood shed upon that Cross for us. We forget the mercy of God poured out upon us. We forget the King who forgave us everything, and when we forget the King, we cannot forgive others.

The means of healing in this text is the Gospel itself: the King forgives the immeasurable debt. The cure for our unforgiveness is not willpower or some great moral effort. Trying harder just doesn’t do it. The cure is Jesus Christ. The cure is the Cross. The cure is the mercy of God poured out upon us sinners.

Christ paid the immeasurable debt
In this parable, the king doesn’t offer a payment plan. He doesn’t look to negotiate on our behalf. He doesn’t reduce the debt. He cancels it! He wipes it out! He erases it completely. It is gone as far as the East is from the West.

This is what Christ has done for you.

Your sin – every sin, every failure, every rebellion, every selfish act, every cruel word, every hidden thought – has been forgiven. Not reduced. Not postponed. Not partially paid for. Forgiven!

The debt is gone. The record is wiped clean. The Cross has paid it all. You are free!!

And this forgiveness is not conditional. The king forgives before the servant can repay. Jesus Christ forgives before we can fix ourselves or make ourselves to be worthy. His forgiveness isn’t based on our worthiness, but on His mercy. You are forgiven not because of being worthy, but because Christ is merciful.

Forgiveness creates a new heart
The Gospel doesn’t merely cancel a debt; it transforms the person who owed the debt. When Jesus forgives us, He creates a new heart within us – a heart that knows mercy, a heart that breathes out grace, a heart that forgives because it has been forgiven. Forgiveness is not something we generate on our own; it is a thing that Christ produces in us. And that forgiveness frees us to forgive others.

Forgiveness restores community
Matthew 18 is known as “The Community Discourse.” Through this Scripture, Jesus is forming a people shaped by mercy. The Church is not a gathering of perfect people; it is a community of forgiven sinners who forgive one another. What this means is that when we forgive, relationships are restored. When we forgive, fellowship among us is healed. When we forgive, the Church becomes exactly what Christ intends it to be: a place of true mercy.

Forgiveness is the final word
The parable ends with judgement on the unforgiving servant – a warning that forgiveness is not optional. But the final word of the Gospel is not judgement; it is mercy. Jesus Christ bore the judgement for you. He has paid the immeasurable debt and set you free. Forgiveness is not natural. It is supernatural, because it is the work of Christ in you. It is the fruit of the Spirit. It is the life of the Kingdom.

Your debt is forgiven. Your sins are erased. Your chains are broken. Your prison is opened. Your King has had mercy on you. You are forgiven!

Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.