The "Parable Of The Unforgiving Servant” Series

The Stories That Jesus Told

Sermon # 9

“Parable of The Unforgiving Servant”

or

“The World’s Worst Prison”

Matthew 18:21-35

“One of my favorite stories concerns a man who was bitten by a dog, which was later discovered to be rabid. The man was rushed to the hospital where tests revealed that he had, in fact, contracted rabies. At he time, medical science had no solution for this problem, and his doctor faced the difficult task of informing him that his condition was incurable and terminal. ‘Sir, we will do all we can to make you comfortable. But I cannot give you false hope. There is nothing we can really do. My best advice is that you put your affairs in order as soon as possible.’ The dying man sank back on his bed in shock, but finally rallied enough strength to ask for a pen and some paper. He then set to work with great energy. An hour later, when the doctor returned, the man was stilling writing vigorously. ’I’m glad to see that you’re working on your will.’ ‘This ain’t no will, Doc. This is a list of the people I’m going to bite before I die. Many of us live and die with that kind of list, written in our minds, if not on paper.” [Gary Inrig. The Parables: Understanding What Jesus Meant. (Grand Rapids: Discovery House, 1991) p. 63]

It is easy to proclaim the virtue of forgiveness. But the reality is another matter. C.S. Lewis put it so well, “Forgiveness is a beautiful word until, you have some -thing to forgive.” But why is forgiveness so hard? First, forgiveness is difficult because it is not natural. The natural human impulse is to get even, to exact revenge. Forgiveness goes against the grain of human existence. Secondly, forgiveness is hard because it is not fair. To forgive without just repayment offends our sense of justice. We want to be vindicated.

Today in our series “The Stories Jesus Told” the apostle Peter also struggled with the issue of forgiveness. In Matthew chapter eighteen Jesus has been dealing with the subject of dealing with a brother who has sinned. As Peter listens to the LORD teach he fastens on one aspect, “What does this mean about how much I must forgive someone who has wronged me?” Peter directs his question to the Lord asking in verse twenty-one, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"

Peter makes two mistakes that are apparent to us. First, he assumes that his brother will sin against him and not he against his brother. And secondly, Peter wanted to set some kind of limit on forgiveness. In all fairness to Peter he was generous in his limit. He asked if forgiving seven times would be sufficient. The Rabbi’s of the time taught that one must forgive three times, this is drawn from a misunder-standing of the book of Amos, which says that God would revoke punishment against them for three transgressions but not for four. Thus they taught that God himself never forgave more than three times. To Peter’s credit he is more than doubling what the Rabbi’s taught.

I believe that Jesus dumbfounds Peter with his reply in verse twenty-two. "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” The term “seventy times seven” is literally “seventy seven” and is a little ambiguous it can mean either “seventy plus seven” or “seventy times seven” but the meaning is the same it is a call for unlimited forgiveness. By the time you have forgiven someone that many times, you are in the habit of forgiving and will not need to set limits.

In answering Peter’s question Jesus told a story that has come to be known as the “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.” In this story Jesus deals with man’s two greatest needs with regard to forgiveness; in the first part (vv. 21-27) He deals with those who need forgiveness and in the second half (vv. 18-35) he targets those of us who need to forgive others.

But before we examine the Parable we need to remember three things.

•Forgiveness is not the same as forgetting. We may forget, but your forgiving can be sincere even if you remember. When God forgets our sins, they do not slip out of his memory. He simply does not remember them against us.

•Forgiveness is not justifying, excusing or understanding why the person acted toward you the way he or she did.

•Forgiveness is our emotional response to the offender. Pardon deals with the consequences of the offense. Unless we have the authority we may not be able to pardon the offense, but we can always forgive.

Man’s First Great Need IS Receiving Forgiveness (vv. 23-27)