Forgiving the Unforgivable – Matthew 18:21-35

She worked for me, as did the other fellow in our area of work, and she wanted the position I was abdicating, but I felt the other guy was better equipped to do it so I chose him. She got angry with me, wouldn’t talk to me. She quit and cut off all communication with me. I had hurt her, and I longed for forgiveness for hurting her. I even went to her house and knocked on the door in hopes that she would let me apologize. No answer. Had I offended her before and never known? Had I tapped into her own well of feeling inadequate? I was clueless but repentant. I never heard from or saw her again.

Have you experienced not being forgiven? I’m sure you have. Peter is questioning this whole thing but from the perspective of the one being asked to forgive. Jesus helps him.

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:21-35 ESV)

After Jesus’ teaching about dealing with sin among believers, Peter raises a logical and selfish issue.  What if, he says, I keep being sinned against and I go to my brother in private and show him his fault and he asks me to forgive him, then he does it over and over again.  How many times do I have to put up with this?  We might expect Jesus to answer that this brother who keeps sinning like this and asking for forgiveness is not very sincere and needs to be disciplined in accord with the directions Jesus has just given (verses 15-20) and perhaps that is true, but instead he tells a parable about a servant who was forgiven a huge amount by his master then refused to forgive another servant who owed him much less.

Jesus is teaching us that what the Father has forgiven us is huge, a debt we could have never repaid.  Forgiveness ought to flow out of the heart of the one who has been forgiven so much.  Failure of that exposes that we are “wicked” servants. We should be humbled and grateful and not wicked if indeed we have experienced God’s magnanimous forgiveness.  Peter’s concern is all wrong, and if that is our concern we are all wrong.  As long as someone genuinely seeks our forgiveness, how can we not give it, given what we have been pardoned for?  The church is the gathering of lost souls forgiven for the unforgivable and who love each other with that same unimaginable love.