Forgiveness Lessons Taught by Jesus

Matthew 18:21-35

Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  

• In this parable, Jesus will turn you away from any blame shifting.
• Let Him teach you how to forget about the one who has sinned against you. Let Him teach you how to orient yourself vertically – in relationship to the King. 

Are you willing to bow before the King of kings?  

Matthew 18:23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  

• All the King’s servants have debts to settle, not just one (the word is plural). All of us need to see our own personal sin first.  When you’re focusing on how much someone else is sinning, Jesus wants to catch your attention, and refocus you. 
• God is the one who grants repentance – this is not something you can do. But you can pray and ask God for it.   Godly sorrow begins with choosing to see your personal sin as it is - the scornful despising of God (Psalm 51:1-3).

 As you bow before the King, what do you recognize about yourself?  (Isaiah 6:1-7)

Matthew 18:24-25 "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.”

• Let this story bring you to a heightened awareness of your own debt.
• God’s Word points to inner intentions/desires (Hebrews 4:12).
• Remember, unless we are poor in spirit, we will not be saved (Matthew 5:3).
• Have you understood the bad news of the gospel - your sin leaves you in debt and deserving of the wrath of God? If you haven’t, you won’t appreciate the good news of God’s mercy, nor will you be able to extend that mercy to your debtors.  

 Do you have a heightened awareness of your own debt?  In what areas of your life do you yet need to come to brokenness?  

Matthew 18:26-27 "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.”  

• The servant thinks he can repay it, but he can’t. Ten thousand talents is equivalent to millions of dollars, not something that could normally be earned in a lifetime.
• Jesus uses this amount to promote a true sense of the seriousness of our sin, for which the only cancellation or repayment is the blood of Jesus Christ.

Grasping a sense of the reality of our sin leads to the reality of being forgiven. Do you have godly sorrow before God about your own sin?  If you have godly sorrow about your own sin and are forgiven for your own sin, what do these passages say we will do?  (Colossians 3:13, Ephesians 4:32) 

Matthew 18:28 "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.  

• We are outraged at the heinous response of the victimizing the one who owed the smaller amount.
• Maybe he hasn’t believed that the King forgave him for his debt of 10,000 denarii.
• 100 denarii = several thousand dollars, a real debt, nothing to be ignored.
• He had two options. He could make them pay or show them the mercy he’d been shown.  
• People who have been sinned against have suffered, it is not a debt to be ignored.
• Even so, we have two options. Make them pay or show them the mercy we’ve been shown.

 Who owes you a debt?  How have you been sinned against?  Name the sin committed against you, and decide whether you will make them pay or show them mercy.  Mercy is forgiveness because of Christ’s blood. When you forgive, the one you have forgiven no longer owes you a debt and you will not dwell on it or talk about it again.  

Matthew 18:31 "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.  

• Hear the word  The fellow-servant treated another fellow-servant as if he were a master.
• Who is your fellow servant who has sinned against you? You must assume the right role – as a fellow sinners with the person who has sinned against you.
• In refusing to forgive, you assume the role of master in the person’s life – you are playing god.

 How does looking with compassion on your fellow sinners change the way you think about the one who has sinned against you?

Matthew 18:32-34 "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.  

• Forgive as you have been forgiven.
• The flow of mercy is not dependent on confession or repayment.
• The source of mercy is God’s clemency – the blood of Jesus Christ. Nothing else.
• Don’t try to force the one who has sinned against you into some kind of perfection. They are your fellow sinners, giving you the opportunity to show the mercy you have been shown.

 Are you requiring a perfect confession from the one who has sinned against you?  (Such as demanding proof that they have changed?)  

Matthew 18:35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."  

• God is watching, and He knows whether you forgive or not, at the heart level.

Do you have a deep inner disposition of forgiveness?