A sermon based on Matthew 18:21-35, Rev. J. Orlando Flahn
INTRO: “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.” – Lewis B. Smedes
Forgiveness is challenging because it asks us to let go of hurt, anger, and the desire for justice. If we refuse to practice forgiveness, we can remain trapped in a cycle of bitterness, resentment, and hostility.
Forgiveness is not easy, and I am not pretending otherwise…… Mahatma Gandhi was right when he said, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” This is a true biblical perspective. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, forgiving and offering mercy to those who have hurt us can be a real struggle.
As Alexander Pope said, “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” This means that we all make mistakes and God forgives us, so when we forgive others, we are acting in a godlike way.
Forgiveness is a great virtue for community living. When we, as God’s kingdom people, value and practice it biblically, it creates a healthy faith community. Blessing comes to those who are merciful—Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7).
When we recognize God’s love and the profound mercy He has shown us by freely forgiving all our sins, we are empowered to let go of bitterness and resentment and to forgive those who have hurt us.
How Often Should We Forgive?
In today’s gospel lesson, Peter asks Jesus,“Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” (v. 21). The Jewish teachers had taught that it was sufficient to forgive someone only three times. So Peter believed that forgiving someone seven times was gracious and generous.
But Peter was shocked when Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy times seven!” We are called to forgive not just seven times, but seventy-seven times (or 490 times). What does Jesus mean? Are we supposed to keep counting every time someone wrongs us? Of course not. Jesus is teaching us to stop keeping score of wrongs done to us. Forgiveness isn’t about counting—it’s about mercy.
APP: Is anyone familiar with this? “You did it two years ago, you did it again last year, you did it last week, you did it again today.” Are you familiar with that, especially in the marriage relationship?
Forgiveness is not about keeping score—it’s about doing for others what God has done for us and continues to do for us. There is no end to how many times we should forgive, because there is no end to how many times God forgives us.
The Psalmist cries out, “If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.” (Psalm 130:3-4 NIV)
That’s the first lesson Jesus teaches us from this passage: true forgiveness has no limits. God’s abundant mercy does not keep score, and neither should we.
As a great storyteller, Jesus reinforces this kingdom idea with a powerful illustration—a challenging parable.
He tells of a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. Among them was one servant who owed the king ten thousand talents. A talent was the largest unit of currency, typically it takes about 15 years of labor to earn just one talent. So, one talent was an enormous sum—like a million dollars today. This servant owed ten thousand talents. We don’t know how he accumulated such a massive debt—perhaps he was the king’s business manager or oversaw an investment portfolio.
In other words, ten thousand talents was an impossibly large debt. Today, it would be like saying the servant owed the king a trillion dollars—an amount so huge that no one could ever repay it.
This servant is in serious trouble—his situation is hopeless. In that culture, he is about to lose everything he owns, including his family. He knows he owes more than he could ever repay, and his master has ordered that he and his family be sold to recover at least part of the debt.
All the servant can do now is fall on his knees and plead for mercy, which he does. His fate rests entirely in the king’s hands, for either wrath or mercy. Shockingly, to his utter surprise, the king decides to forgive the servant’s entire debt. It must have felt like a dream… He can return to his family and, for the first time in a long while, sleep peacefully.
This is the second lesson Jesus teaches us about forgiveness: the king in this parable represents God, and the servant represents us. Jesus is telling us that we all owe God a debt we cannot pay. What we owe God is beyond anything we could ever hope to settle. Our sinful nature puts us in a hopeless situation—“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Each of us, in our sin, owes God ten thousand talents and more; not one of us can repay this debt.
Just like the king in this parable, God in His love chooses to have compassion on us and forgive us. God forgives all our sins and wipes away our debt. No matter what we have done, how much, or how often we have sinned, God chooses to forgive it all. He cancels our debt; the slate is wiped clean. We are forgiven!
The Forgiven Slave That Refused to Forgive
But what happens next in this story is shocking. What does the forgiven servant do, now that his master has had mercy on him and forgiven all the debt he could never repay? He has his family back, his freedom restored, and his life completely changed by being forgiven of ten thousand talents. So, what does this forgiven servant choose to do? He refuses to forgive!
As he leaves the king’s presence, he comes across one of his fellow servants who owes him a much smaller amount—100 denarii. A denarius was a Roman silver coin representing a day’s wages, so 100 denarii was worth perhaps a few hundred dollars—a small amount compared to ten thousand talents. Yet, he refuses to show mercy.
The text says, “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.” (vv 28-30 NIV)
Why would the slave not forgive that small amount after the king has just forgiven him this huge amount? Does he realize how much he has been forgiven? Why would he not forgive his fellow servant of this tiny debt compared to what has been forgiven of him?
Well, Jesus says his master eventually finds out what he did to his fellow slave…In fact, it says in verse 31, “When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.”
The king was furious over his attitude….You can’t blame the king…..How could someone who has been forgiven all this enormous debt not forgive his fellow slave who owed him a hundred denarii? (a couple of hundred dollars?)…….The master hands him over to be tortured until he repays the entire debt.
Probably the question on your mind is, what about justice in all of this? Does justice matter too in forgiveness? Oh, yes! Our God is a God of justice….There is and needs to be accountability for harmful actions and abuses of power…..But in God’s kingdom, we do not forgive on the basis of justice or not…..
Dr. Charlie McCall, “The forgiveness that God has offered to us is offered freely through faith in Jesus Christ. If it is not received on that basis, it will not be experienced. The forgiveness I extend to another is also offered freely on the basis of what Christ has done.”
Conclusion:
The message is clear: we are called to show mercy to our brothers and sisters, just as God has shown mercy to us. When we truly grasp what God has done for us—by forgiving each and every one of us this “trillion dollar” debt of sin—we can’t help but extend that same forgiveness to others.
ILL: The Encounter in Munich
In 1947, Corrie was speaking in a church in Munich, Germany, about God’s forgiveness… A former guard who had been particularly cruel to the prisoners—including Corrie and her dying sister, Betsie—approached her with his hand stretched out. He explained that he had become a Christian, believed his sins were washed away, and asked Corrie, “Will you forgive me?”
Corrie stood frozen, remembering the horrific conditions, the humiliation, and Betsie’s death. Hatred and vengeful thoughts surged through her.
Realizing she could not generate any warmth or love in her own strength, she prayed silently: “Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.”
She reached out and grasped the man’s hand……The moment her hand touched his, a healing warmth seemed to flood through her arm, carrying God’s love from her heart to him.
APPLICATION: Corrie realized that forgiveness is not an emotion we must manufacture ourselves, but an act of the will and a gift supplied by God’s love through the Holy Spirit.
Listen! No matter what you have done—or failed to do—that is contrary to God’s will, He has already forgiven you and canceled all your debt of sin. When you truly reflect on how much God forgives you, and how deeply He loves you, there is no wrong, no injustice, and no sin against you that can keep you from walking in freedom by forgiving others. My friend, forgiving that person is simply a small way to pay it forward. Remember: God’s forgiveness is endless and infinite!
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