While some of Jesus’ parables are given because Jesus knew the crowds needed to hear a specific truth, other parables are shared in response to specific questions. Some parables are given in the context of the broader crowds, while other parables are given to just Jesus’ close group of disciples.
The parable we will be focusing in on for this episode happens to be a parable shared in response to a specific question, and this parable was likely shared while only the disciples were present. However, just because this parable didn’t have a broad audience when Jesus shared it doesn’t mean that it is less relevant or less challenging. This parable may be one of the most challenging parables Jesus shared.
However, leading up to this parable, one of Jesus’ disciples asks Him a question. Let’s read the question and Jesus’ response that includes this parable. Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 18, and we will be reading from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 21, Matthew tells us:
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven.
Before jumping into the parable, two things stand out about the question Peter asks Jesus. These two things hinge on the phrase “fellow believer”. Other translations might use the word brother, but however the translators bring the idea into our language, the idea is that this is someone who is closer to us.
I’m not sure what prompted Peter to ask Jesus the question in this way, but it is fascinating that Peter would ask specifically about those closest to us, and/or specifically about those who believe similarly as we do.
In the first portion of Jesus’ response, we discover that Jesus challenges Peter that counting the number of times is worthless. Jesus multiplied the number Peter suggested by ten, then told Peter that the number is more like Jesus’ number multiplied by Peter’s number. In this case, this sounds like 70 times 7.
I don’t believe Jesus is giving us a number to use, but telling us that the actual number is well beyond whatever reasonable number we might suggest.
However, is this only a guideline for our fellow believers? I don’t think so, because while the context of the question is framed this way, the parable Jesus shares in His response suggests otherwise.
After challenging the number of times Peter’s suggested we should forgive, Jesus continues in verse 23 by sharing a parable:
23 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. 24 When the king began to collect his money, a servant who owed him several million dollars was brought to him. 25 But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant’s wife and children. Then the money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.
26 “But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’ 27 The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free.
28 “Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed him around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’
29 “The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’
30 “But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.
32 “Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant! Because you begged me to forget what you owed, I told you that you did not have to pay anything.33 You should have showed mercy to that other servant, just as I showed mercy to you.’34 The master was very angry and put the servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed.
35 “This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
When I read this parable, I am immediately challenged by two big ideas. The first idea is that the debt we are forgiven is a debt that we cannot even come close to paying on our own. While the NCV translation puts the significance of the debt as several million dollars, the original language describes this as 10,000 talents. When we discover that one talent equals over 15 years of wages for a common laborer, we get a huge number. Doing the math, we come up with 150,000 years of wages. This is a little longer than our current life spans as humans living in sin.
However, what happens if you earn more than minimum wage, then let’s cut the number of years back. For our episode illustration, let’s assume you make four times what minimum wage is and see how the math works out. Working for a rate of four times what minimum wage is, you would still need to work and earn for over 37,000 years.
I’m sure you could get there faster with appropriate savings and compound interest, but the best case scenario says you would not have enough time on earth to earn enough to repay this debt. The debt we are forgiven because we have sinned against God is a debt that is bigger than we can pay on our own. This is a debt we must come humbly before God and ask to be forgiven.
However, more challenging than the debt that we have been forgiven is the realization that our staying forgiven is conditional. If we choose to not forgive others, then God will withdraw our forgiveness. The unimaginable gift that Jesus gives to us called forgiveness from a debt we could never pay will be withdrawn if we don’t forgive others of the lesser debts they owe us.
This isn’t pleasant to think about, and it doesn’t sound like good news on the surface, but this is actually amazing news. The reason this is amazing news in my mind is when we think about the alternate.
What would happen if you were stuck in heaven with someone who was unwilling to forgive if something went wrong? While heaven is perfect, I think it is naïve to think that everything in heaven will go our way. What would you think if a disagreement arose between you and a neighbor and they chose not to forgive you?
Without forgiveness, heaven would cease to be perfect, and because of this, every one of God’s people who are invited and accepted into heaven have a grateful attitude of forgiveness, because when we think about forgiveness, God forgave us first. God also forgave us of a greater debt than we could ever dream of repaying. Because of this, we forgive others as a small way of saying thank you to God for forgiving us of our sin-debt.
If you are struggling with forgiveness in your life, take this challenge to God and ask Him to remind you just how much He has forgiven you. When we frame our forgiveness issues in light of what God went through to forgive us, our issues don’t seem nearly as challenging. If you are still struggling with forgiveness, why not ask God for help. God is the best Forgiver in the universe, and He is more than willing to help us forgive one another.
As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:
Continue to seek God first in your life and remember just how much God gave to us when He chose to forgive us of our sins. Choose today to live a life of gratitude and forgiveness, thanking God for what He has given to us by being forgiving to those around us. Remember that God forgave us first, and we show our gratitude towards Him and His gift by forgiving those around us.
Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each day. Don’t let me, or anyone else, get between you and God. God wants a personal relationship with you that isn’t dependant on anyone else.
And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!