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Matthew 18:21-35
Stephen Caswell © 2005
Korean Kite Ceremony
Pastor Lewis Llewellyn says that the Koreans have a curious New Year’s custom.
Desiring to forget unpleasant things and make a fresh start, each person determines what bad habits he would like to eliminate and what past deeds he wants forgiven.
Then he writes the names of these evils on a kite and flies it high into the air.
When it is almost out of sight, he cuts the string.
As the kite disappears from sight, he thinks that all his faults and previous transgressions are forever removed.
In the Bible, the word */forgive,/* *ajfihmi* means */to dismiss/*/, *to* *let go, to set loose like a horse, to cancel a debt, to pardon.
*What a beautiful description of forgiveness; letting go of an offense.
/
A famous quote says, */To sin is human, to forgive is divine./*
In *Matthew 18:15-20,* Jesus lays down some guidelines for reconciliation and Church discipline.
/If we condemn a brother, we bring out the worst in him.
But if we create an atmosphere of love and forgiveness, we can help God bring out the best in him.
/Peter thought about this matter of sin and forgiveness and approached the Lord.
He asked the question, */How many times should I forgive my brother’s sin against me?/* */Up to 7 times./*
Peter thought that he was being generous.
After all the Rabbis taught that you only needed to forgive 3 times.
Jesus response of 490 times must have knocked Peter for six.
*/Who could keep count for that many offenses?/*
But that was exactly the point Jesus was making/: Love keeps no record of wrongs./
*1 Corinthians 13:5* Jesus openly challenged Peter’s legalistic attitude.
*/Peter had made some serious mistakes./*
/To begin with, he lacked humility himself.
He was sure his brother would sin against him, but not he against his brother!/ */Peter’s second mistake was in asking for limits and measures./*
God’s love doesn’t set limits on forgiveness.
When Jesus said 70 times 7 He meant that no limits should be set.
Then to complete the idea, He told a parable.
We will see four things unfold in this parable that Jesus told; */Guilt, Grace, Grudge, Judgment./*
1.
Guilt
*Matthew 18:23-24:* /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.
/
/a.
Sinner /
The servants called before the King would have been like governors or provincial rulers.
They served the king and gathered tribute from the people.
These rulers could take something for themselves but were expected to gather every penny the King asked for.
One servant was brought before the king who owed 10,000 talents.
Josephus reports the annual tribute from Galilee and Perea under wealthy Herod to be only 200 talents; it was thus inconceivable that one official could get so far in debt.
*/This was about/* */50 years of tribute./*
For average workers in Palestine this debt equates to 60,000,000 days wages.
This servant must have been very corrupt to incur such a huge debt.
He must have been involved in a lifetime of theft from the King.
Naturally the servant was unable to pay.
/b.
Slave/
*Matthew 18:25:* /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 King reviewed the situation./
*/He saw the size of the debt, the wickedness of the servant and the loss that he had incurred./*
/Then, the King commanded the servant and his entire family be sold as slaves to regain some of his loss./
/Tragically, the servant’s sin affected his whole family./
Our sin always hurts others.
Of course their sale would only bring in a pittance compared to what was owed.
*/The King’s decision was just./*
This unfaithful servant had wronged Him and deserved much worse.
/He had sold himself into slavery through sin./
He had shamed his master.
*/The King couldn’t ignore his guilt./*
Application
Ancient Judaism often viewed sins as debts before God.
The same Aramaic word is used for both.
*/All of us owe God a huge debt./*
Our sin has brought God’s good name into disgrace.
/We have spent the righteousness that God gave us on sin./
We are bankrupt in God’s sight and there is not a thing we can do about it.
We have no way to redeem ourselves.
*/God has every right to condemn us on the day that he settles the accounts./*
Praise God that this is not the end of the story.
2.
Grace
*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./
/a.
The Plea/
The servant was sorry for the consequences of his sin.
He didn’t want to be enslaved along with his family.
So he begged for patience from the King and promised to repay all.
/The servant still hadn’t comprehended the greatness of his debt, of his sin.
He could never repay it.
*Yet he did something that was wise; the servant sought the King’s mercy and grace.*/
The words */fell down/* actually translate 2 Greek words.
The first, *πίπτω**,* means */to fall down/*, the second, *προσκυνέω**,* means */to worship and adore/*.
The wicked servant sought the benevolence of the king.
The servant humbled himself and fell down before the king.
/He pleaded for mercy and the King heard him./
The servant didn’t deserve it.
But that’s what grace is, undeserved favor.
/b.
The Pardon/
The King heard the servant’s plea and was moved with compassion.
The word’s */moved with compassion,/* *σπλαγχνίζομαι**, *means* /to feel deeply, have pity, feel sympathy./*
The King was concerned for his wicked servant.
So much so that He pardoned the servant.
The King released him from slavery and forgave the servant the entire debt.
That’s grace.
That’s mercy or as the O. T. puts it */loving kindness/*.
*Psalm 103:10-12:* /God has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
\\ /This wicked servant received the undeserved favor of God.
He got it for the asking.
Yet it cost the King a fortune.
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