Let me remind you of something important. There is usually one point, one main point to a parable.
! Jesus tells parables to get one main point across, to do it memorably and vividly.
! And so the parable that we've got this morning has one main point.
One more point that it wants to get across and it's this.
It is, forgiven people will be forgiving people. Forgiving people will be forgiving people.
We can turn it the other way round and we can say, unforgiving people cannot be forgiven people.
Unforgiving people cannot be forgiven.
Now if you don't understand that usually a parable is intended to get across one main point, you'll come to this parable and you'll come to all sorts of wrong conclusions.
On issues that the parable actually was never intended to address.
So for some people who look at this parable and they say, well God just forgives, doesn't he, in this parable.
The king forgives. There's no atonement.
There's no suggestion of it. There's just repentance and then forgiveness.
But that's not the point of the parable.
The point of the parable is to answer a question. Look at verse 21.
And Peter comes to Jesus and says, Lord, how often will my brother or sister, that can be, sin against me and I forgive them.
Many is seven times.
That's the question.
And that's the one question that the parable is meant to answer.
And so let me remind you of the parable briefly.
You've got a servant.
He's a servant of the king.
He's a pretty high-ranking official.
And he's dealing with lots of money.
You've got to think of a kind of governor.
Of a province or something.
And because of his incompetence, because of his mismanagement,
perhaps even deliberate embezzlement or fraud,
he ends up owing the king a large amount of money.
A vast amount of money.
The day of reckoning comes.
It's the end of the financial year.
And he is in the deep.
He owes the king 10,000 talents.
That is an impossibly large figure.
A talent.
One talent was a lot of money in those days.
And 10,000 was really the highest number in the Greek language.
The Greeks couldn't really conceive of a number higher than 10,000.
They had no word in their language for more than 10,000.
It's why when you get to Revelation,
John wants to describe the multitude that no man can number that are in heaven.
And he describes it, doesn't he, as 10,000 times 10,000.
And thousands.
Thousands.
10,000 is kind of the limit of their vocabulary when it came to large numbers.
And so when Jesus says, this guy owed 10,000 talents,
he was really thinking, this man could not have owed any more than he owed.
He's in terrible trouble.
And we're talking billions in our money.
And the whole point is that his debt was immense and completely unpayable.
And there was nothing that this man could have done in order to pay back the money.
He was ruined.
He was finished.
And it was prison that he faced.
And for him and his family in slavery,
they were to be sold.
You couldn't declare yourself bankrupt.
And that way, if they were sold in the slavery,
the king would at least get some money back from that family.
And so that's the situation this man is in.
He goes to the king.
The king calls him in.
The man falls on his knees and begs.
He begs the king.
He says, doesn't he,
Be patient with me.
Did you notice in verse 26,
He says, be patient with me and I will pay you everything.
There's no way on earth he could have paid everything.
He doesn't understand it.
It's just ridiculous.
He can't pay back 10,000 talents.
He's asked for patience.
He's asked for time to redeem the situation by his own efforts.
And instead, what he receives from the king is sheer grace.
It's an unbelievable act.
The king cancels the whole debt and lets him go.
As if he didn't own a thing.
He cancels the whole debt.
10,000 talents wiped off the slate.
It's an act of pity.
It's an act of compassion.
It's an act of mercy.
Incidentally, the king bears the cost, doesn't he?
There is actually atonement here.
The king absorbs the loss.
But you can imagine how that servant felt, didn't he,
when he walked out of that room.
He must have been on cloud nine.
Imagine I come to your house this afternoon.
And I say to you, have you got a mortgage?
Say, yeah, I've got 20 years to go on my mortgage.
18 years to go on the mortgage.
I say, how much is that you?
Tell me the amount.
And I write you a cheque.
Or I transfer the money into your account.
I say to you, have you got university fees?
You say, yeah.
How much are they?
I open a case and I get the money out.
What is it, 9,000 pounds and I give it to you.
A bridging loan.
Imagine I can wipe off your bridging loan.
Credit card bill.
Your overdraft.
Just wiped out this afternoon.
Imagine how you'd feel.
You'd come to church tonight.
You'd be pretty pleased, wouldn't you?
You'd be on cloud nine.
And here's the man, he walks out of there.
The weight, isn't it?
Isn't that what people talk about with death?
The overwhelming weight of it?
The weight is off his shoulders.
The burden is gone.
And as he's walking around his workplace,
he finds another member of staff
that owes a comparatively minor, trivial sum.
It's a hundred denarii.
What's that?
Well, if you work it out,
it's basically three months' salary
on the minimum wage.
That's what a hundred denarii is.
It's not an insignificant sum.
It's three months' salary of the minimum wage.
So it's a few thousand pounds.
It's a substantial amount.
If you owed me,
let's say three thousand pounds,
I'd want to get it back.
And so here's a man who's owed,
let's say three thousand pounds.
It's not a totally insignificant sum of money.
But he goes to his friend,
and what does he do?
He grabs him by the throat,
and he begins to choke him.
Where's my money?
And he demands immediate payment
of his three thousand pounds.
The man falls on his knees,
and he says,
do you hear the echo?
He says,
have patience with me,
and I will pay you.
Haven't we heard that before?
Be patient with me,
and I will pay you.
Everything.
They're the exact words
that the servant used
when he asked the king
to be patient with me.
But on this occasion,
those words fall on deaf ears.
And he refuses to be patient.
He refuses to be merciful.
He takes him to the courtroom,
and he puts the man in prison
until he gets the three thousand pound back.
And word gets around the staff.
And we read that the fellow servants
were greatly distressed.
And you can imagine they were,
but rightly so.
I mean,
there's something incredibly hard-hearted,
isn't there,
about a man who's been forgiven
millions of pounds,
cruelly demanding
the instant payment
of a few thousand pounds.
His name was Albert Tesla.
Albert Tesla won the lottery
a few years ago
in the United States.
The amount he pocketed
was seven million dollars.
That's a lot of money,
isn't it?
Seven million dollars.
But two years later,
after Albert Tesla
won seven million dollars,
he was sent to prison.
And he was sent to prison
because he failed
to pay child support,
which totaled
thirty-five thousand dollars.
He got seven million dollars,
but he couldn't pay
thirty-five thousand dollars.
You think that's bad?
Well,
the servants in this story,
the work colleagues,
they certainly did,
didn't they?
So the fellow servants
report to the king
that the king is absolutely
furious and very disappointed.
Disappointed that such an act
of sheer grace
and forgiveness
and mercy
had made so little difference
to the man's character
or heart.
And so we read in verse 32,
then his master summoned him
and said to him,
you wicked servants,
I forgave you all that debt
because you pleaded with me.
And should you not have
had mercy on your fellow servants,
I had mercy on you.
And in his anger,
his master delivered him
to the jailers,
literally to the torturers,
until he should pay
all his debt.
And so it's not slavery now,
it's torture,
shockingly.
Until he can pay back
all that he owes.
And it's going to take him
a very long time,
an impossibly long time.
And then the punchline
comes in verse 35,
here's the punchline,
and so also my heavenly father
will do to every one of you
if you do not forgive
your brother from your heart.
So there's the parable.
What can we say about it?
Let me remind you,
one big lesson in a parable.
And it's intended to teach us
that those who experience
God's utterly amazing forgiveness
will themselves be forgiving people.
So let's look at that.
First of all,
let's see God's utterly amazing forgiveness.
And when we think of God's forgiveness,
we shouldn't think of him
overlooking minor misdemeanors.
We should think of him
cancelling a huge,
unpayable debt.
God is a great king
and we are his stewards.
We are his servants.
We are answerable to him.
We owe him obedience
and we owe him honour.
We owe him respect.
We owe him love.
We owe him worship.
You owe him your whole life.
And you have not paid him
what you ought.
And you,
whether you're willing to admit it
this morning,
are guilty of serious mismanagement.
When we recognise this,
when we understand this
before God,
that we have a massive
unpaid debt
to a great and glorious Lord,
we get before him
on our knees
and we beg for mercy.
We beg for mercy.
And I wonder,
has that ever happened
in your experience?
Have you ever come to that point
where you've suddenly realised
how vastly in debt
you are towards God?
And how you cannot pay it back
yourself at all.
How you need mercy.
And the amazing thing
is that when we get to that point,
God does forgive us,
doesn't he?
He cancels the debt.
According to the rest of
Matthew's Gospel
and the New Testament,
he cancels the debt
because of the Lord Jesus.
He absorbs the cost.
And only because of Jesus.
The Jews in the Old Testament,
they were familiar with,
they knew that if you were in debt,
there was a close relative,
a kinsman, redeemer,
who if he had the money,
could come and pay the debt off him.
And you would be released.
And so where is the redeemer
who can pay 10,000 talents?
Where is the redeemer
with that kind of money?
Where is the redeemer
who can rescue
from a debt like that?
No earthly redeemer
can pay that.
And that's why God
sent us a redeemer.
There is a redeemer,
Jesus, God's own son.
The Messiah, the Holy One,
no debt of his own.
But he was able to pay
out of his great
and glorious righteousness
all the debt we owe.
And so when we get to the point
of being on our knees
and begging for mercy,
God forgives us.
And God cancels the debt.
Because there is a redeemer.
Jesus, God's own son.
Second thing is
that forgiven sinners
will be forgiving people.
Forgiven sinners
will be forgiving people.
You would have thought,
wouldn't you,
that that servant
would have been willing
to forgive anybody anything.
What was the debt
that he was owed
compared to the debt
that he owes to the king?
On which the king had counseled.
Any wrong,
any injury,
any insult.
Anything that's been done to us,
however considerable,
when you consider that
in comparison
with the insults
and the injury
and the wrong
that we have done to God
and what God has forgiven us,
we have to say,
don't we,
that nobody,
nothing,
anyone can do
to us
compares to what we have done
to God
is of any significant.
God is perfectly right
and holy.
He is holy in the right,
isn't he?
And that is very,
very rarely true.
So when relationships
break down
in human life,
very rarely
is one party
holy in the right.
I usually,
in a situation,
there's somebody
who is more in the right
than the other person.
And maybe there's one party
that's 95%
in the right
or 98%
in the right.
That's usually the case
in earthly relationships.
Rarely,
very rarely,
is one party
holy and completely
100%
in the right.
But God is
completely 100%
in the right.
God is righteous.
God is holy.
God is God.
And he is the one
who forgives us.
He is holy right
and we have been
holy wrong
and yet
he is the one
who forgives us.
I find that amazing.
And so if we refuse
to forgive,
what if
sinners
refuse to forgive
our fellow sinners?
The holy
and righteous
God
can forgive sinners.
How is it
that we can't?
And we're saying,
aren't we,
that we are more
holy than God.
We're saying
that we're greater
than God.
And if we ask
God for forgiveness
but refuse
to forgive others,
we are burning
the bridge
we need to cross.
And that is why
we cannot be forgiven
unless we are
forgiving.
We need to cross
the bridge of forgiveness
ourselves.
And by refusing
to forgive
we are burning
the bridge
that you and I
need to cross
ourselves.
But let's note
the order.
The order is very,
very important.
It's God's forgiveness
which comes first.
God's forgiveness
precedes ours.
Our forgiveness
is the response
to God's forgiveness
of us.
And so that casts light
on the Lord's Prayer,
doesn't it?
What's the only
petition in the
Lord's Prayer
that the Lord Jesus
comments on
after he's
told his disciples?
The one petition
he comments on
is forgive us
our debts
or forgive us
our trespasses
or forgive us
our sins
as we've forgiven
our debtors
or those who
trespass against us
or those who
sin against us.
And he goes on
to say,
he goes on to say
if you do not
forgive those
who sin against you,
your Heavenly
Father will not
forgive you.
He makes a comment
about that petition
and it's important
to understand
that God
does not forgive us
because we
forgive others.
No,
we forgive others
because God
has forgiven us.
no one who
has understood
the grace of God
no one who
understands grace
will be an
unforgiving person.
The third lesson
we must learn
is the terrible
punishment of
being unforgiving.
Look at verse
34.
And in anger
his master
delivered him
to the jailers
until he should
pay all his debt.
And these are
solemn words.
So also my
Heavenly Father
will do to
every one of you
if you do not
forgive your
brother from the
heart.
Now who's he
talking to?
He's talking to
his disciples.
He's talking to
the twelve.
He's talking
specifically to
Peter.
It was Peter
who asked
the question.
And this parable
is a reply
to that question.
And the
punchline of
this parable
makes it
very very clear
absolutely clear
that you can be
outwardly
very closely
associated with
Jesus Christ
and still go
to hell.
You can actually
be one of the
twelve disciples
and go to hell.
One did.
You can be
outwardly a
church member
you can be
a respectable
church member
and not be
a saved person
in the end.
This is the
question that's
asked by Jesus
by his disciples
and by Peter
in particular.
And Jesus
tells this story
and he says
this is how
my Heavenly
Father will
treat each of
you.
No exception.
Unless you
forgive your
brother from
your heart.
Not just
words.
Not just
words.
Not just
pretend.
but heartfelt
forgiveness.
And that is
what happens
when we've
been forgiven.
That's the
kind of
forgivers we
become.
I just want
to spend
five minutes
as we close
just to make
a few further
comments on
forgiveness.
Because this
is a very
hard-hitting
parable.
And it could
worry or
confuse us
unless I think
I make a few
comments on the
nature of
forgiveness.
It won't
help us.
This parable
does not
teach that
forgiveness is
easy or
straightforward.
I think the
Christian church
in this country
and the United
States is
plagued with a
trivial view of
forgiveness.
A sentimental
view of
forgiveness.
Where sin is
not taken
seriously.
And sin is
not dealt
with.
And so
there have
been a
number of
occasions
and a
number of
times where
there has
been a
great tragedy.
And
church
going
Christian
people will
say pretty
much in the
immediate
aftermath what
they feel
they are
expected to
say.
And so
they will
say I
forgive my
daughter's
killers.
I forgive
the person
who has
murdered my
husband or
daughter.
And I
know it's
a very hard
thing to say
but I'm
not convinced
that that is
right.
Because the
context of
Peter's
question is in
relationships in
the local
church.
That's why I
took the time
on it before
the reading
isn't it?
And so he
says what
happens when a
church member
goes astray?
If for instance
he or she
sins against
you what do
you do?
Do you just
ignore it?
Do you write
the person
off?
Do you condemn
the person
you shrug
your shoulders?
And say
well have you?
No Jesus
says you go
and you
seek that
person.
What does
the shepherd
do?
The shepherd
if he loses
just one of
his sheep
he goes out
and he seeks
the sheep
that is lost
and he brings
the sheep
back home.
What do you
do with
church members
that go
astray?
Well we've
all got a
responsibility.
We have to
go and to
seek that
person that's
wandered away
from the
Lord Jesus.
And how do
we seek them?
Well Jesus
says this
in the passage
we looked at
last week
you go
privately
and you
seek to
show them
their fault.
And if they
listen to you
great you've
won them
over.
But what if
he doesn't
listen?
Well you keep
at it.
And you go
with two or
three witnesses
and you want
to show them
their fault so
that they'll
come back and
you deal with
the wrong doing.
and if they do
come back and
they say
yeah I'm
sorry I was
out of
order I
sinned you
forgive them
and the
matter goes
no further.
And what if
he will not
listen to the
two or the
three?
Well in that
event he says
you take him
to the church
the leadership
and if he
refuses to
listen well
you have to
treat him like
somebody who's
not a Christian
like a pagan
or a tax
collector.
And you
don't share
the Lord's
Supper with
them.
You don't
allow them
to think of
themselves as
a Christian.
And if of
course they
listen and
they repent
well you
extend total
100%
forgiveness
and it's
settled.
And Jesus
goes on to
say for a
church to do
this it's
really difficult
and it's a
sensitive thing
and we all
shy away from
it and Jesus
says when you
do this
when you seek
to do this
I am with
you when two
three are
together I
am with
you don't
be afraid.
And what
you decide
on earth will
be ratified
in heaven don't
shy away from
it.
And I
think the
passages in
Matthew 18
really help
us to think
through Christian
forgiveness.
Christian
forgiveness is
not a sentimental
thing.
It's not
pretending that
sin doesn't
matter.
It isn't
letting the
offender off
the hook
without getting
him or her
to face up
to their
wrongdoing.
Christian
forgiveness
seeks to
bring the
wrongdoer to
repentance.
And when the
wrongdoer faces
up to his
wrongdoing and
repents the
individual and
the church must
totally and
completely forgive.
And Peter says
how often should
you do this?
Seven times.
He's being
generous.
Remember the
rabbis, the
local rabbis
said three times
and you're out.
And Peter is
being generous and
Jesus says no
70 times
son.
It doesn't
mean when you
get to 488
sins you say
to them listen
you've got two
more to go.
And then you
get 490
sins.
That's it.
Seven is a
significant number
to Jews isn't it?
It speaks of
completion and
fullness.
And actually
there's a really
interesting cross
reference with
Genesis 4 with
Lamech.
And Jesus is
actually reversing
the language of
Lamech, the
descendant of
Cain.
In Genesis 4
verse 23, Lamech
boasts and
says to his
wife, if Cain
is avenged
seven times,
then Lamech
seventy seven
times.
I'll go after
you.
Don't come
near me.
I'll go after
you.
And so it's
clear that the
opposite of
revenge is
forgiveness.
And Jesus
is saying
here there's
to be no
going after
people.
There's to
be no
revenge.
There's to
be no limits
to our
forgiveness of
one another.
There's no
limit at all
to our
forgiveness.
And when you
consider what
God has
done and
God has
forgiven us,
we will be
able to
forgive those
who ask for
it.
And so
whenever a
person truly
repents,
and in Luke's
version of
this same
incident, it's
more clear.
Luke 17
verse 3,
if your
brother sins
rebuke him
and if he
repents,
forgive him.
And if he
sins against you
seven times in
the day and
turns to you
seven times
saying I
repent, you
must forgive
him.
God forgives
us when we
repent.
And we
forgive people
when they
repent.
That means
that the
forgiveness is
not identical
to reconciliation.
There are
people that
confuse that.
We seek to
offer forgiveness
to someone who
has been
sinned against
or against
the church.
we seek to
offer forgiveness.
We seek
reconciliation.
But that
reconciliation may
be refused.
That forgiveness
may be refused.
It may be
turned down.
And when that
happens, what
does a
forgiving spirit
do?
Well, a
forgiving spirit
shows itself by
not taking
revenge against
the person by
a refusal to
retaliate.
By a
refusal even to
say bad
things to
others or
bitter things to
others about
that person.
And we
pray for
God's
blessing on
that person.
We make it
clear to that
person we
want to offer
them forgiveness
and reconciliation.
But if at the
end of the day
they don't want
it, and they
turn that
reconciliation
when it
cannot be
achieved,
what should we
say to
offenders?
Should we
offer offenders
a blanket
kind of
forgiveness?
Is that what
we should do?
Is that what
we're called
to do?
If somebody
killed one of
my children,
what would I
want to say?
That's what I
think I'd want
to say.
I think I'd
like to meet
with them.
I'd like to
go and see
them in
prison.
I'd like that
person to see
the enormity
of what they've
done.
I would try
and bring that
person to
repentance.
If that
person became
a Christian,
I would
sit down
and I would
share bread
and wine
with them.
But I
can't forgive
them fully
and completely
without some
indication of
confession and
repentance on
the part of
that person.
forgiven people
will be
forgiven people.
Forgiveness is
not easy.
It is
difficult.
But a
forgiven person
will always
seek to
extend that
forgiveness
to everyone
who sins
against them.
Let's pray.