Today’s Reading: Matthew 18:21-35
Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!” – Matthew 18:21-22
FORGIVENESS. FREEDOM. MERCY.
When we forgive those who have sinned against us, we experience freedom. We give the situation to the Lord and pray for Him to extend mercy both to us and to those who have hurt us — over and over again. Jesus went on to explain this repetition of forgiveness.
“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold – along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned – to pay the debt.
“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.” – Matthew 18:23-27
How relieved this servant would have felt! He owed so much and had no way to pay his debt to his master. Can you feel the weight of this impossible situation? Have you ever been in trouble financially and wondered how it would impact your family? How relieved he would have felt when the king forgave him his debts!
When we have experienced forgiveness from our Lord and Master, you would think that our first response would be to quickly forgive others. But instead, the man in Jesus’ story left the king’s presence and went straight to a fellow servant who owed him just a few thousand dollars. He physically assaulted the man and demanded he receive what was owed to him. The man who had received forgiveness refused to show mercy to someone else, but instead had the man arrested and thrown into prison.
How messed up is that? How could one who had received such generosity from one person refuse to be generous towards someone else? It’s easy to cast judgment here, but how often do we walk away from our time in God’s presence only to embrace our right to be angry with someone who has wronged us or owes us in some way. Let’s listen to the rest of Jesus’ parable as if we had never heard this story before, asking God to reveal any likeness in our own life.
“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” – Matthew 18:31-35
Jesus lived out this kind of forgiveness. He knew he was going to be betrayed by one of his closest followers, one of the Twelve. He knew he would be handed over to those who were plotting against him. He knew he would be killed, and how significant his death and resurrection would be to the forgiveness of all. Knowing this, he still lived the example of being a good citizen, paying the Temple tax to those who were going to be instrumental in his coming death.
FORGIVENESS. FREEDOM. MERCY.
Father, reveal in me any unforgiveness. Strengthen my faith to believe that you will be with me in any attempt I make to restore a relationship or extend a hand of forgiveness. May the words coming out of my mouth reflect a heart of forgiveness — not bitterness, unforgiveness or gossip. Make me uncomfortable with any relationship or situation in which you want me to seek restoration. Transform my mind, precious Lord. May my life be described as FORGIVEN and FORGIVING.
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” – Matthew 6:15