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Jul 14, 2024

On Forgiveness

On Forgiveness

Passage: Matthew 6:9-12

Speaker: Chas Morris

Series: Practice the Presence - Prayer

Keywords: forgiveness

This week, guest speaker Chas Morris (Pastor at Grace Blue Ridge in Hendersonville) will continue in our study of the Lord's Prayer: forgiveness of our debts and forgiving others.

Readings & Scripture

PRE SERVICE TEXT: Matthew 6:12
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

PREPARATION: Ephesians 4:25, 31-32 & Colossians 1:13-14
LEADER: 25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another…31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

ALL :13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

PRAYER:  The Lord’s Prayer

ALL: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

CENTRAL TEXT: Matthew 6:9-12; 18:21-35

Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Matthew 18:21-35
21 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?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 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. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 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.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 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. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

BENEDICTION: Revelation 1:5-6
LEADER: To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

ALL: Amen

POST SERVICE: Matthew 6:12
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

RELATED SCRIPTURES:

  • 2 Samuel 12:1-7
  • Matthew 6:38-47
  • Matthew 9:35-36
  • Luke 17:1-5
  • Ephesians 4:25-32
  • Colossians 1:13-14
  • 1 Peter 3:18

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

(Commentary below provided by Chas Morris)

Read the verses and the commentary below and then discuss as a group. 

21 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?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. Prompted by the previous teaching on forgiveness and reconciliation (15-20) Peter (and I would imagine he was not alone in this sentiment) was startled at such a revolutionary teaching. Peter and the disciples lived in a shame honor culture. Forgiveness was a foreign practice to the society at large, forgiveness meant one would lose their honor and respect. They were to look down upon those who sinned against them. Jewish rabbi’s did teach limited forgiveness, instructing their disciples to forgive up to three times but then no more. At this point, the ethics of the kingdom began to make their way into Peter’s heart and mind, he clearly heard Jesus teach about loving one’s enemies.  So perhaps Peter thought he was doing well when he asked “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”Jesus’ response of seventy seven times was not to be taken as a literal number, but as a number of wholeness. We are not to think of forgiveness as a straight line with an endpoint, but rather a circle. A circle has no ending. For the followers of Christ, our call to forgive is never ending. It has no limits. This of course says nothing about reconciliation, healthy boundaries and repairing of trust. Jesus’ is merely conveying that we as his disciples are always called to forgive. 

 

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. As was often the case in order to illustrate his message, Jesus told a parable. Notice how it begins “the kingdom of heaven”. Jesus is not merely offering a parable to illustrate his teaching, these are the ethics of the kingdom of God coming to earth. Forgiveness is part and parcel with praying “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” The parable tells us of a powerful king of a vast kingdom. Within his kingdom he had many servants. As would be the case, any king would want to conduct an audit of his affairs. Though the word servant is the same word for slave, these servants were likely high ranking officials in the kingdom entrusted with the wealth of the king.

 

 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

Vs 24 offers us an important detail in order for us to truly comprehend the parable. One one of the high ranking officials, perhaps a tax official, could not produce the funds that were to be rendered back to the king. Perhaps he squandered them or simply was not doing his job of collecting taxes as he should have, but either way the money is not there. The money he owed was astronomical. A denari was the equivalent of a day's wage. One talent was the equivalent of half a lifetime of wages. Ten thousand talents would equate to sixty million denari, which would be the same thing as saying that it would take sixty million days of work to repay this debt. Like the detail of seventy times seven, the point is not in the actual number. This is a debt no one could pay. 

 

25 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. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ The severe consequence of having his life upended by having his family and all his possessions confiscated was too much to endure. He fell flat on his face and begged the king to have patience with him while promising that he eventually would pay him back.  It's possible that his position of falling prostrate was also a form of worship, as kings often demanded the worship of their people. 

 

27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 

The king knew it would have been impossible for his servant to pay him back. Seeing his potable condition in which he was helpless to do anything to contribute to his deliverance, the king took pity on him. This is the same word for compassion. Jesus is clearly inviting us to see what he already demonstrated so often to the helpless around him, the beaten and harassed crowds…he had compassion on them. The king completely wrote off this debt. The man received more than patience, he received full pardon. It is important for us to note the king began with forgiveness. This man was forgiven not based on anything he had done. 

 

28 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.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 

In a rather befuddling move, the forgiven man then seemingly waltzes out of the king's chambers only to race to find those underneath him that had failed to pay him. The official’s servant owed him a very small debt.  A hundred denarii could reasonably be paid back in a few months. Yet, a hundred denarii was just 1/600,000 of the amount he had just been totally forgiven for. Obviously, Jesus wants us to feel the absolute absurdity of this action to be so unkind, unforgiving and full of blood lust for revenge after all the grace he had just been given. The absurdity of this move is indicative of our own absurdity to nurse grudges and retaliate against the mere trifles of others misgivings. 

 

31 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. 

The king's official servant was now in prison. The servant who was now in prison had people underneath him. Given how the original official was forgiven of such a vast sum of money, they saw the hypocrisy and incongruence of his actions and felt it necessary to report this all the way up to the King. 


32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” The parable ends with a turn towards poetic justice. The original offer of forgiveness was now withdrawn by the king. Additionally, the king delivered him over to the jailers for him to be beaten by the jailors.  The conclusion of the parable of course raises the question “is our forgiveness of God conditional on our ability to forgive others?” We are told in scripture there is only one unforgivable sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (12:31-32) which is to reject Christ’s offer of forgiveness. The king offered forgiveness before the servant did anything else. The king withdrew his offer of forgiveness after his actions. What this tells us is not that God’s offer of forgiveness to us  is conditional, but rather indicative. It is impossible to receive his forgiveness if an eternal debt we could never repay and they go out into the world nursing grudges and unforgiveness in our hearts.  Of course the battle to forgive is brutal at times, but those who follow the king fight those battles. They revisit their debt in order to forgive the debts of others. The parable is a sobering reminder to evaluate our hearts. A lifestyle of unforgiveness  is indicative of  a heart that has not been transformed by grace.

ILLUSTRATIONS:  

 

QUOTES: 

  • The immortality of the soul is a matter which is of so great consequence to us and which touches us so profoundly that we must have lost all feeling to be indifferent as to knowing what it is...Nothing is so important to man as his own state, nothing is so formidable to him as eternity; and thus it is not natural that there should be men indifferent to the loss of their existence, and to the perils of everlasting suffering. They are quite different with regard to all other things. They are afraid of mere trifles; they foresee them; they feel them. And this same man who spends so many days and nights in rage and despair for the loss of office, or for some imaginary insult to his honor, is the very one who knows without anxiety and without emotion that he will lose all by death. It is a monstrous thing to see in the same heart and at the same time this sensibility to trifles and this strange insensibility to the greatest objects. It is an incomprehensible enchant-ment, and a supernatural slumber, which indicates as its cause an all-powerful force. - Blaise Pascal
  • "I knew forgiveness was something I would need to do, not out of duty but really out of delight. I say that only because I think that you have to get inside the heart of a person before something becomes real. I had to see the situation—remember the courtroom, see the young man handcuffed and on his way to a 15-year sentence, revisit my son’s death.Then I thought about what Jesus went through for me. I know that I was born in sin, shaped in iniquity. I’ve committed infraction after infraction, fallen short of the glory of God.I realized what God had done to forgive me. I lost Tony, but not willfully. God himself preordained the death of Jesus. God did that. Abraham came within a second of killing his son Isaac and God stopped the knife. But God let the knife come down on Good Friday on his own Son. He didn’t stop it.When I think about that—oh my goodness, then it’s an experience. It’s an encounter that touches my heart. And the Spirit gives me the ability to do what I don’t want to do and what I couldn’t do. Then it becomes a delight to participate in what God has already done, which is forgiving the one who committed the infraction against me….Some of my relatives couldn’t understand my love and forgiveness. I was not at all saying that there are no consequences—no, there are consequences to sin and to wrongdoing. But we must forgive. Is it hard? I say to people that forgiveness is not difficult. It isn’t. It’s just impossible—without God. Robert Smith, “How a Seminary Professor Forgave His Son’s Killer “ - (The Gospel Coalition) 
  • “Forgiveness doesn’t come cheaply or easily. It always comes at great expense to the one wronged. In some cases, it comes with permanent cost. The wronged parties must “take it on the chin,” allowing themselves to be physically, emotionally, or spiritually wounded by the offending party instead of seeking an equal measure of revenge. Christians do this in imitation of Jesus, who faced sinful rebels and yet still suffered and died so that we might be forgiven and reconciled to God…Forgiveness is neither easily offered nor easily lived. It requires daily “working out”—a daily willingness to look at the scars of injustice and choose to press deeper into grace instead of turning back toward anger and revenge. Over time, the land of anger and revenge will fade farther and farther from our view.But we don’t get there quickly, especially when the wound is deep. This is why forgiveness is more like a marathon than a sprint. Some stretches are harder than others. At times we go uphill against strong winds. - Vermon Pierre

BOOKS / DOCS