(based on a series by Darryl Dash)
SERIES: “DISCOVER FORGIVENESS: Finding Freedom Through Forgiveness”
TEXT: MATTHEW 18:21-35
TITLE: “THE FOUNDATION OF FORGIVENESS: Where Forgiveness Begins”
OPEN: A. Old Joe was dying. For years he’d been at odds with Bill, formerly one of his best friends.
Wanting to straighten things out, he sent word for Bill to come and see him.
When Bill arrived, Joe told him that he was afraid to go into eternity with such bad feelings
between them. Then, very reluctantly and with great effort, Joe apologized for things he had said
and done. He also assured Bill that he forgave him for his offenses. Everything seemed fine until
Bill turned to go. As he walked out of the room, Joe called out after him, “Now, just remember, if I
get better, this doesn’t count.”
B. The preaching theme for this year centers around Discovery
--We did the series: Discover Jesus: The Other 3:16s. We just completed last week our study of
Jonah: Discover Obedience: Jonah – Not Just Another Big Fish Story.
1. I want us to begin today a series called “Discover Forgiveness: Finding Freedom Through
Forgiveness”
2. Forgiveness is an issue that hits home with everyone in this place
a. At some point in the past several weeks, it’s likely that someone has done something to offend
you and you have failed to forgive them
b. Some of us are carrying around resentment and bitterness against people and have been
carrying them like heavy weights for years
C. Why talk about forgiveness?
1. Reason #1: Because our spiritual health depends on it
a. We can never grow spiritually or enjoy God’s blessings in our lives as long as we carry
resentment and refuse to forgive other people
b. Heb. 12:15 – “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up
to cause trouble and defile many.”
1). Bitterness is like a small root that grows into a giant tree
2). Bitterness brings jealousy, dissension, and immorality
c. Scripture says that we are obligated to forgive others, and when we don’t, that the
consequences are severe
--Mt. 6:14-15 – “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive
your sins.”
2. Reason #2: Because we do not naturally know how to forgive
a. It’s more likely that we’ve learned more about the subject of forgiveness from negative role
models than from the Word of God
b. We’re familiar with road rage, disgruntled employee rampages, drive-by shootings, and even
school shootings
c. People all around us are wracked with guilt, anger, and depression
3. Reason #3: Because forgiveness is the clear command of Scripture
a. Eph. 4:31-32 – “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with
every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just
as in Christ God forgave you.”
b. Obedience to that command is not an option
--In fact, we have no option concerning this issue according to Scripture
4. Reason #4: Because forgiveness is tough
a. If we were all honest thins morning, we would admit it is easier to nurse a grudge and refuse
to forgive than to offer the gift of forgiveness
b. Lk. 17:3b-5 – [Jesus says] “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I
repent,’ forgive him.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
--Simply put, the apostles are saying, “But Lord, that’s difficult to do!”
D. This morning we’re going to talk about the foundation of forgiveness
1. I wants us to look at three principles that Jesus gives us that form the basis of forgiveness
2. Mt. 18:21-35 – “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my
brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven
times, but seventy-seven times. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to
settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten
thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he
and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on
his knees before him. Be patient with me, he begged, and I will pay back everything. The
servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. But when that servant went
out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. 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 you back. But he refused. Instead, he
went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other
servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master
everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. You wicked servant, he
said, I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy
on your fellow servant just as I had on you? In anger his master turned him over to the jailers
to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat
each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.’”
I. Principle #1: TRUE FORGIVENESS GOES BEYOND ANY REASONABLE HUMAN LIMITS
A. In our passage, peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him
1. Seven times
a. Perfect number
--Some of the rabbis taught that three times was enough (2x3+1)
b. Probably thought Jesus would commend him
--“Peter, that was a marvelous answer. So much better than the Pharisees!”
2. What did Jesus say?
a. NIV – “seventy-seven times”
b. Literally “70 x 7” times
--10x the perfect x the perfect number
3. To human ears, what Jesus says here seems absurd!
a.. I’ve got hard enough time forgiving someone seven times
b. By then, I’m exasperated with that person and ready to be finished with them altogether
B. Jesus destroys any kind of reasonable human standard
1. The concept Jesus is trying to get across: “Don’t keep score!”
--Keep on forgiving even when their offenses are too numerous to count
2. Jesus is telling us that we cannot place limits on forgiveness
a. On Monday, Dec. 1, 1997, a dozen students gathered to pray – as they did every morning –
outside the administration building of Heath High School in Paducah, KY. As the students finished
praying, a fourteen-year-old freshman boy walked up to the group with a .22 caliber pistol and began
firing into the prayer circle.
When the shooting was over, three students were dead and five others were seriously wounded.
The students in the prayer circle had done nothing to provoke the shooting. In fact, some of the
students in the circle had even befriended the shooter before this event. The secular media was at a
loss to explain what happened.
Melissa Jenkins was in that prayer circle. She was fifteen years old and she lay in a hospital bed a
week after the shootings fully aware that the damage to her spinal cord was so severe that she would
be a paraplegic for the rest of her life. She sent this message to the young man who had deliberately
shot her: “Tell him I forgive him.”
b. Melissa understood and practiced what Jesus taught
--She forgave beyond any reasonable human limits
C. I can understand forgiving others – up to a point
1. But Jesus said, “I’ve called you to a much higher standard of forgiveness.”
2. What standard of forgiveness do you follow?
a. Do you refuse to forgive at all?
b. Are you forgiving according to what you think is reasonable?
c. Or, are you following what Jesus has set for us to do: forgiving lavishly and unselfishly?
D. I know that some of you might be having a problem with what I’ve said so far
--Jesus knew His disciples would struggle with such a high standard. So, He told a parable.
1. It involved a king, a servant who was deeply in debt to this king, and another servant who owed the
first servant a much smaller debt than the first servant owed to the king
2. The decided to collect all the money that was due him one day
a. He called in the servant and said, “Where’s my money?”
b. There was a problem: the servant had lost all of the king’s money
c. There was no way this servant could repay what he owed to the king
3. How much did this servant owe the king?
a. 10,000 talents
1). 1 talent was approximately 6,000 denarii
2). A denarius was a day’s wage
b. 10,000 talents would therefore be the equivalent of 16.5 years’ wages for 10,000 men
c. In today’s terms, it would be billions and billions of dollars
4. That particular fact leads us into principle #2
II. Principle #2: UNDERSTAND HOW LAVISHLY YOU HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN
A. The servant represents you and me
--The king represents God
1. The huge figure of billions and billions of dollars is representative of how much God has forgiven us
2. And when we realize just how completely God has forgiven all of our sins, it ought to produce an
attitude of forgiveness toward other people
3. This servant perfectly symbolizes the lost sinner: saddled with impossible debt, overwhelmed by the
burden of guilt, and needing forgiveness
B. When we fail to forgive others, we’re acting against what Jesus Christ did for us
1. That’s where forgiveness begins
--at the cross!
2. Forgiveness begins when we realize we have been forgiven
a. We are on the receiving end of God’s unlimited mercy
b. It may as well have been billions and billions of dollars that each of us owed because there is no
way we could ever repay the sin debt we did owe
c. We were spiritually dead and enslaved to sin and yet still accountable to a holy God whose justice
must be satisfied
3. Yet, God chose to display His unlimited mercy to us
a. 2 Cor. 5:21 – “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.”
b. Rom. 5:8 – “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.”
C. What did the king do?
1. The king ordered that the servant, his wife, his children, and every belonging they had were to be
sold to pay for the debt
--they were to auction of the servant and his family as slaved and to auction off their belongings to
make some dent in the debt that was owed to the king
2. The servant asked for mercy and received it beyond his wildest dreams
---The servant only asked for more time to repay the debt but the king mercifully forgave the debt
D. This kind of forgiveness doesn’t make any human sense
--yet, that is kind of forgiveness we are offered by our wondrous and gracious God
1. We owed a debt that was far beyond any capability that we could muster
--The reparations were so great that, even if we had more time and resources, we could never even
make a dent in the sin debt that we owed.
2. The key to understanding where forgiveness begins is to understand how much you have been
forgiven
III. Principle #3: FORGIVE OTHERS AS LAVISHLY AND COMPLETELY AS GOD HAS
FORGIVEN YOU
A. After having been so lavishly and so completely forgiven by God, you and I have an obligation to
forgive other people for their debts
--A young child tried to pray along with the congregation as they recited the Lord’s Prayer together.
She messed up some of the words but got the meaning behind it. She prayed: “Please forgive us our
trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.”
B. Let’s go back to Jesus’ parable about forgiveness
--What happened with this forgiven servant?
1. He went and chased down another of the king’s servant who owed the forgiven servant what would
amount to a paltry sum when compared to the debt the king forgave
--Let’s just say maybe $1,000 as compared to billions and billions of dollars
2. When his fellow servant asked for mercy, the servant that had been forgiven by the king had him
thrown in jail
3. However, other servants of the king saw what happened and they immediately went to the king to tell
him about it
4. The king was extremely angry at the first servant and sent him to prison after all
--The king said, “Shouldn’t you treat other people the way that I treated you?”
C. Here’s what Jesus wants us to learn
1. If you want to be forgiven by God, you have to forgive others
2. But, if you want the severest form of discipline that God will administer in your life, fail to forgive in
the same way you have been forgiven
a. James 2:12-13 – “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives
freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.
Mercy triumphs over judgment!”
b. Look at the final verse of our passage this morning
--Mt. 18:35 – “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your
brother from the heart.”
D. Everyone in this auditorium this morning has been wronged by someone at some time
1. Some have been horribly wronged – sexual and physical abuses; mental cruelty; lost a great deal of
money which put you into some terrible circumstances
2. Others may not have experienced anything like that but what you did experience was painful and
demeaning as well
3. Do you remember a passage that I read at the beginning of this message?
1). Mt. 6:14-15 – “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
2). An unforgiving spirit can bring the harshest of God’s punishment.
--eternity in hell
4. In his book. Lee: The Last Years, Charles Bracelen Flood reports that after the Civil War, Robert
E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her house.
There she bitterly cried that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Yankee artillery fire. She
looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss.
After a brief silence, Lee said, “Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it.” It is better to
forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain, let bitterness take root and poison the
rest of our life.
CLOSE: A. God is calling to you today
1. “Lay down that hurt, agony, and pain. Lay it down by forgiving those who have harmed you.”
2. Forgive that person or persons in your heart and move on with the blessing of God’s
forgiveness in your life
B. The year was 1947. It was almost two full years after the liberation of Auschwitz, as Corrie
Ten Boom, a survivor of that terrible concentration camp, stepped forward in a German church
to share her testimony. As she stepped forward, she prayed that God would use her words to
bring about healing, forgiveness, and restoration.
When she finished her message, a man stepped forward, moving his way through the crowd
of people there to talk to Corrie. He looked familiar… like she’d seen him somewhere before.
As she looked into his eyes, it all became crystal clear. She recognized him.. She could see him
in the uniform holding a whip. She remembered her sister dying a slow and painful death at his
hands. The memories came flooding back to here – memories from Auschwitz and this an who
had bee a guard at the camp.
He spoke with his eyes looking sadly into hers. He said, “I’m a Christian now. I know that
God has forgiven me, but will you forgive me?” He stretched his hand to receive hers.
Corrie stood there for what must have seemed like an eternity, although it was probably only
a moment or two. She knew that she needed to make a choice. Would she forgive the man at
whose hand she experienced so much pain, hurt, and humiliation? Would she? Could she?
She silently prayed, “Jesus, I need your help. I can lift my hand, but you need to supply the
feeling.” She slowly raised her hand, reached out to the man and took his hand in hers. As she
reached out, a warm sensation filled her heart. God was indeed faithful. She said, “I forgive
you, brother – with my whole heart.”
That day, former guard and former prisoner were both healed and set free from the bondage
of bitterness and anger.
C. We all need forgiveness
1. Forgiveness from each other and forgiveness from God
2. Where do you stand today?
--In need of forgiveness or in need of forgiving?
