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. Matthew 18: 23-34, NKJV.
Dear God, please teach us how to forgive others that we might also be deserving of Your forgiveness. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Many of us, when we read this parable, become very annoyed with the unforgiving slave. We think within ourselves, and even exclaim at times, “How could he?” We do not understand how anyone could be so unforgiving, especially after receiving such great forgiveness! That is because we are looking at this incident from the outside. But the truth of the matter is, we are all, to a greater or lesser degree, just as wicked as this slave. There are certain people, who we believe have hurt us so badly, that they do not deserve our forgiveness.
I believe that in order for us to really appreciate the message embedded in this parable, we have to put ourselves into these texts: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” . . . “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3: 23, 10b). Dear friends, we are all the wicked servant, whose sin caused heaven to give its all, its best, in order to secure our forgiveness. Yet in a given moment, we find it so hard – at times, impossible, to forgive others.
Now let us put the situation in perspective: The first slave owed his master. The second slave owed a fellow-slave. The debt owed to the master was approximately $10,000,000.00, while the debt owed to the fellow-slave was approximately $17.00. It goes without saying, that the two debts cannot be compared. I believe that the reason the difference is so great, is because they represent two entirely different spheres, and order of things.
First: The Master – slave relationship is symbolic of God’s relationship to humanity.
Second: The slave – slave relationship is a symbol of humanity’s relationship to humanity.
The inconceivable difference between the amount owed to the master and what was owed to the fellow slave represents the difference between the grievousness of our sins against God, in comparison to our sins against each other – it cannot be compared!
Dear friends, a forgiving spirit is an attribute of those who form a part of the kingdom of heaven. We can never deserve the forgiveness of God because our sins caused the death of His only begotten Son. Yet by His grace, He freely forgives us. We should never deny anyone who asks our forgiveness, since we have all sinned, and need to be forgiven.
Whenever you are tempted to be unforgiving, ask yourself: What is $17.00 in comparison to $10,000,000.00? Listen for the Holy Spirit’s answer!