GET OVER IT!
MATTHEW 18: 21 ¡V 35
JULY 21, 2002
INTRODUCTION: Rev. Dr. David E. Leininger of First Presbyterian Church Warren, Pennsylvania tells the story of a man who loved dogs. He served as a speaker in various civic clubs to benefit the SPCA: Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He was known far and wide as a dog lover. One day his neighbor observed as he poured a new sidewalk form his house out to the street. About the time he smoothed out the last square foot of cement a large dog strayed across his sidewalk leaving footprints in his wake. The man muttered something under his breath and smoothed out the footprints. He went inside to get some twine to string up around the sidewalk only to discover dog tracks in two directions on his new sidewalk. He smoothed those out and put up the twine. About five minutes later he looked out and the footprints indicated that the dog had cleared the fence, landed on his sidewalk and proceeded as he desired. The man was mad now. He toweled the wet concrete smooth again. As he got back to the porch he saw the dog come over and sit right in the middle of his sidewalk. He went inside got his gun and came out and shot the dog dead. The neighbor rushed over, ¡§Why did you do that?¡¨ he inquired, ¡§I thought you loved dogs.¡¨ The man responded as he cradled his gun in the crook of his arm. ¡§I do like dogs. But that¡¦s in the abstract. I hate dogs in the concrete.¡¨
I wonder if it might not be the same for forgiveness. We love it in the abstract, but when we really have something to forgive, we hate it in the concrete.
Rev. Dr. Leininger goes on to quote Louis Untermeyer in his biography of poet Heinrich Heine as he describe the spirit of the world: ¡§Forgive was not Hein¡¦e business nor his specialty. ¡§My nature is the most peaceful in the world,¡¨ he wrote with deceptive mildness. ¡§All I ask is a simple cottage, a decent bed, good food, some flowers in front of my window, and a few trees beside my door. Then, if God wanted to make me completely happy, he would let me enjoy the spectacle of six or seven of my enemies dangling from those trees. I would forgive them all the wrongs they have done me ¡V forgive them from the bottom of my heart, for we must forgive our enemies. But not until they are hanged!?
TRANSITION THOUGHT: Today our text is one of those we don¡¦t like in the concrete. Yes, in the abstract we like to talk about love and forgiveness, but when it comes right down to it, if you make me mad, hurt my feelings, don¡¦t think like I do, disagree with my opinion, argue with me, don¡¦t see things my way, and the list goes on, I WON¡¦T FORGIVE YOU!! Then we read what Jesus says on the matter and we think, yes that¡¦s right, we must forgive. BUT, do we practice what we preach? Do we live it? Would our spouse say so? Would our kids say so? Would those we go to church with say so? WOULD JESUS SAY SO?
Today, we are going to look at this truth again, hear afresh what our Lord says on the matter of forgiveness and learn to GET OVER IT!
THESIS SENTENCE: IF WE ARE CHRISTIANS WE MUST FORGIVE OTHERS WHEN THEY SIN AGAINST US!
SO WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO FORGIVE OTHERS AND TO GET OVER IT??
I. THE QUANTITY OF FORGIVENESS (VV. 21¡X34)
A. Quantity as measured in frequency (VERSES 21 ¡V 22)
1. Our text begins with a question and a noble one at that!
2. Peter knew what the Jewish religious leader followed and that was three strikes and you¡¦re out (Jewish law stated that your brother should be forgiven up to three times)!!
3. Peter wanted to go way beyond the religious command of the day and thus look good to Jesus (Peter asked Jesus, ¡§Is seven times enough to when forgiving a brother who sins against you?).
4. Jesus reply is unheard of: ¡§Seventy¡XSeven times¡¨ or ¡§Seven times seventy,¡¨ each could be accurate from the Greek.
5. What was Jesus saying? DON¡¦T KEEP SCORE! GET OVER IT!
AN ASIDE: Jesus is giving advice concerning one brother to another, one sister to another, one husband to his wife, and one wife to her husband. He is talking about parents and children, children and parents. He is including bosses and employees and employees and bosses. I would dare to say that even church folk and pastors and pastors and church folk. I would even go so far as to say church folk to church folk! The issue is human relationships!! How do we deal with each other, whom ever the each other might be!
AN ASIDE: HOW MIGHT THIS CHANGE YOUR MARRIAGE? HOW MIGHT THIS CHANGE THE CHURCH?
B. Quantity as measured in magnitude (vv. 23¡X34)
1. Jesus loves to tell stories: PREACHER GET IT NATURALLY!
2. What is the Story about? Canceling Debt!
ILLUSTRATION: William Willimon writes: ¡§One reason Jesus tells these stories is because, in stories, we quite naturally apply them to ourselves. Jesus never says, ¡¥I¡¦m going to tell you a story about a man who had a couple of sons, but it¡¦s really about you.¡¦ He doesn¡¦t have to. We hear the story and we recognize our face. Dan Via says that these parables of Jesus are like looking through the glass of a window. We look through the window, looking at the world outside. The window is clear, therefore we see through the window. But then there comes that moment when, looking through the window, we catch a reflection of our selves in the glass. The parable becomes a mirror. We see ourselves!
3. The terms of debt: first servant owes TEN THOUSAND TALENTS! This represents about 150,000 years of debt. Jesus is talking in extremes here!! 4. The other servant owed this servant one hundred denarii. This is the equivalent to about three months wages.
5. There is a marked contrast here. According to the footnote in my bible, the ten thousand talents represent ¡§millions of dollars¡¨ and the one hundred denarii represents ¡§a few dollars.¡¨
6. What does this teach us about debt? Some owe a whole lot and some owe a little, but all owe something! I owe I owe, so off to work I go!
7. Jesus has set the stage and so now we may be asking, LORD, what does this have to do with how many times I forgive my brother who sins against me?
Now with all the pieces of the puzzle together, Jesus explains the¡K
II. THE QUALITY OF FORGIVENESS
A. The quality of forgiven debt
1. What a great story Jesus tells. One man owes millions of dollars He can¡¦t repay and though he is called to repay the debt, mercy is offered!
2. Reality check here: Could the man have paid off the debt? The reality of such a tremendous debt being repaid is very unlikely, no one has 150,000 years to work!
3. Could the master have sold off the whole family to recoup some of the loss, ABSOLUTELY! The culture of the day allowed it!
AN ASIDE: HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED THE MAGNATUDE OF THE DEBT YOU OWE? I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT YOUR CREDIT CARD DEBT HERE, BUT HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED THAT ONE AS WELL? HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDED THE DEBT YOU OWE TO THE ONE WHO IS THE MASTER OF YOUR SOUL?
B. THE JOY OF FORGIVEN DEBT
1. WHAT IS THE KEY TO THE JOY OF FORGIVEN DEBT?
2. What was asked for? This servant, who was in debt over his head, asked for Justice (¡§I will repay.¡¨)
3. Who wouldn¡¦t beg for his own family? ¡§I don¡¦t know how I will do it, but please, I will repay everything (v. 26). The text already told us in verse 24 HE COULDN¡¦T REPAY THE DEBT. But this man was desperate!!
4. Have you ever been desperate before the LORD?
5. Did the man get Justice? NO!! He got mercy!!
6. Justice would have been the opportunity to repay the debt.
7. Mercy was Great and Grace was Free At Calvary!!
8. Verse 27 reads, ¡§The servant¡¦s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.¡¨ MERCY WAS GIVEN
C. The quality of unforgiven debt
1. How did this forgiven servant respond to the world around him?
2. Jesus loves to tell stories and this one isn¡¦t done yet.
3. This servant finds someone who owes him just a little bit.
4. He has just been forgiven!! He owes nothing to the master now! He has a clean slate!! How should he now treat another who has shared his lot?
5. ¡§YOU MUST REPAY!¡¨
6. The story has a sad twist to it. It has been all good up to now.
7. This forgiven servant doesn¡¦t show forgiveness. This one who begged on his knees (verse 26), now demands justice from another.
8. Again we see a man on his knees begging for pardon, BUT THIS TIME NONE IS OFFERED!!
D. THE PAIN OF UNCANCELLED DEBT
1. THIS MAN WAS THROWN IN PRISON.
2. HE NOW SUFFERED FOR HIS MISTAKE!
3. This man could not enjoy mercy!
4. This man only knew pain!
E. THE PAIN OF UNCANCELLED DEBT CONTINUED
1. Totally shifting gears here!
2. Who else suffers when debt is not forgiven?
3. People know when you don¡¦t forgive (vv. 31-35).
4. People will tell on you!!
5. I believe this text is really talking about prayer!
6. If you don¡¦t forgive, THOUGH YOU ARE FORGIVEN, you will not be forgiven any longer and you will receive JUSTICE!
7. You do remember the amount this first servant owed? The text said it was more than he could repay!!
8. What is the end of Justice for this first servant: THE PAIN OF UNCANCELLED DEBT!!
F. THE CONTRAST OF UNCANCELLED DEBT
1. The first servant will never be able to repay the debt he owes thus his pain is eternal!!!
2. The second servant, who only owed a little, about three months worth of debt, will eventually be able to pay it back!
3. One is in pain forever and the other only a short while.
LIFE APPLICATION: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
„« WE ARE TO FORGIVE EACH OTHER WITHOUT KEEPING COUNT
„« WE ARE TO REALIZE THIS IS A REFLECTION OF GOD: HE DOESN¡¦T KEEP COUNT!
„« WE HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN [not only many times] MUCH, MUCH MORE THAN WE CAN REPAY! HALLELUAH!!
„« WE MUST FORGIVE EACH OTHER WITHOUT CONSIDERING THE MAGNATUDE OF THE DEBT OWED TO US BY OTHERS [it may appear like a great debt is owed, but in comparison to what we once owed, it is a trivial amount!!]
„« WE ARE TO REALIZE THIS IS A REFLECTION OF GOD: HE DOESN¡¦T CONSIDER THE MAGNATUDE OF OUR SIN! HE JUST FORGIVES!
„« THE KEY IS THE PLEA!
„« IF WE BEG FOR JUSTICE, GOD WILL SHOW US MERCY!
„« IF OTHERS BEG FOR JUSTICE, WE MUST SHOW MERCY!
„« IF WE DON¡¦T FORGIVE OTHERS GOD WILL NOT FORGIVE US!
„« WE CAN LOSE OUR SALVATION (VERSE 35) UNLESS WE FORGIVE OUR BROTHERS FROM OUR HEARTS [Matthew 6:14-15 ¡§But 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]!!
„« FORGIVE IS MORE THAN WORDS, IT IS A MATTER OF THE HEART!
CONCLUSION: So what are you going to do? Will you forgive, from your heart, or will you throw your salvation away?? Who have you not yet forgiven? Is it your spouse: husband or wife? Is it one of your children? Is it one of your parents? Is it your boss or one of your employees? Is it your pastor? Is it one of your fellow worshippers, you know, someone in this room right now? Who is it you have not forgiven?
AS THE PRAISE TEAM COMES TO SING: OBEY GOD! IF YOU NEED TO COME AND PRAY AND ASK FOR GOD¡¦S HELP TO FORGIVE, COME NOW! IF YOU HAVE NEVER ASKED GOD TO FORGIVE YOU, COME NOW! IF YOU DESIRE ANY HELP FROM GOD, NOW IS THE TIME TO COME AND PRAY!
THE LORD¡¦S PRAYER AS FOUND IN THE NIV MATTHEW 6:9FF ¡§Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, you will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. AMEN
