The message of the Gospel is mercy and grace. God forgives us even though we don’t deserve it. Mercy is not getting what we deserve (the punishment for our sins), and grace is getting what we don’t deserve (life in Christ). Forgiveness is at the heart of this message – both God forgiving us, and us forgiving others. Matthew’s Gospel contains several lessons on the topic of forgiveness.
Matthew 18:21-22 – Forgive, and Keep on Forgiving
Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times.” [or “seventy times seven”]
The Extent of Forgiveness
First, we need to understand that Peter was trying to determine the extent of his obligation to forgive. He recognized that he was expected to forgive those who wronged him. His concern was how many times he was supposed to forgive someone who kept wronging him. That resonates with us, doesn’t it? Are we supposed to let people walk all over us and just keep forgiving them? Yes and no. Yes, we keep forgiving them. Peter wanted to know the limit. Jesus wasn’t just setting a higher limit; he was teaching that we keep on forgiving. (That’s why some translations say “seventy times seven” instead of the NASB’s “seventy-seven.”)
But we are also to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Jesus is even more explicit in the next verse (Matthew 10:17): Be on guard against people. There may be times when Jesus calls us to absorb the attacks and not fight back. “Like a lamb led to the slaughter, he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). But that doesn’t mean that we should not avoid putting ourselves in compromised positions. For example, in John 4, Jesus goes to Galilee because he recognized that the Pharisees were taking an interest in his activities, and it wasn’t time for a confrontation (yet). We need to recognized God’s leading, and trust Him.
Jesus has just been teaching about forgiveness within the Church. “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private…” Forgiveness is implicit in this context; in fact, Jesus seems to assume that you have forgiven him before you even go to talk to him! “Go and show him his fault in private…if he listens to you, you have gained your brother” (Matthew 18:15). This teaches us that forgiveness is not contingent on their repentance. Too many times, we want to withhold our forgiveness until the person who has wronged us has apologized. This is not what Jesus teaches us, as he makes clear in the next passage.
Matthew 18:23-35 – Forgive, Because You’ve Been Forgiven
“For this reason the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. And when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. But since he did not have the means to repay, his master commanded that he be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment be made. So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ And the master of the slave felt compassion, and he released him and forgave him the debt.
But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe!’ So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ But he was unwilling, and went and threw him in prison until he would pay back what he owed.
So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their master all that had happened. Then summoning him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he would repay ll that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
Forgiveness Flows from What God Has Done For Us
The cast of characters is simple: we are the servants; God is the Master. Remember, Jesus is teaching us this to explain the scope of forgiveness expected from us. Peter asked, “How many times should I forgive?” The answer is, “As often as you need to.” Forgiveness is not a reflection on whether they “deserve” it. Instead, it flows from the fact that God has forgiven us.
The first slave owed the master ten thousand talents. The NASB footnote for this verse states that this was equivalent to 60 million days’ wages for a laborer. Now, if a person worked every day, it would take him over 164,000 years to pay back this debt! In other words, it would be impossible. It was a debt that the slave simply could not repay – just like the debt of our sin. Yet God forgives us, just as the master forgave the slave.
But how did he react? By going out and refusing to show the same mercy to his fellow servant, who owed him 100 days wages. (A denarius was equal to one day’s wage for a laborer.) Even allowing for living expenses, the second servant could have paid his debt within a year – in other words, it was a debt that he could have repaid. But the man who had been forgiven so much refused to forgive so little. And Christians – who have been forgiven so much, a debt we could never repay on our own – are called to extend that same mercy and grace to others.
Matthew 6:9-14 – Forgive, Because that Prepares Us to Receive Forgiveness
I like to call the Sermon on the Mount the ‘ABSs of Discipleship.’ In Matthew 5-7, Jesus has just begun to proclaim the Kingdom and call disciples. He then sits down to teach those He has called (Matthew 5:1-2). In other words, what we call the Sermon on the Mount is the first thing Jesus teaches His disciples. And right in the middle of this lesson, He instructs the disciples how to pray:
Pray, then, in this way: “Our Father, who is 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. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” For if you forgive other people for their offenses, your heaven Father also will forgive you. But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your offenses.” (Matthew 6:9-14, emphasis added)
Seeking God’s Forgiveness Daily
Notice that Jesus expects us to pray in this manner every day. At least, every day that we need our “daily bread”! And evidently He considers it important for us to address the subject of forgiveness every day. Forgive us our debts. Why would we need to keep asking God to forgive debts He’d already forgiven? Jesus apparently wants us to recognize our daily need for God’s grace.
This is not to say that He expects us to willfully disobey God every day, only that we understand our shortcomings and faults. Our example is Jesus. Every day, we strive to become more like Him. And, as C.S. Lewis noted, the more we become like Jesus, the more we recognize how far we have to go. I ask for God’s forgiveness and grace each day because I need it.
But Jesus also makes it clear that forgiving others is at the heart of becoming more like Him. Forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors…if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your offenses. In other words, we prepare ourselves to come before God by forgiving those who have wronged us. Doing so both reminds us of God’s grace – He has forgiven us – and enables us to receive that grace – He will forgive us.
Matthew’s Lessons on Forgiveness
Forgive:
- and keep on forgiving
- because you’ve been forgiven
- because that prepares us to receive forgiveness
Why do you think Jesus emphasizes the importance of forgiveness? Do you find it hard to forgive others? I’d love to hear your feedback on this article!
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