Monday, November 2

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. – Matthew 18:21-27

Jesus told this parable in order to help Peter (and us) understand the power of God’s forgiving grace. We really cannot begin to grasp the impact of this story unless we understand the magnitude of the debt that the servant owed the King. Jesus says that he owed his master 10,000 talents. Well, how much is that exactly? It is difficult to be precise when calculating ancient monetary sums, but here is the rough calculation:

1 talent = 60 minas

1 mina = 3 month's wages

1 talent = 60 x (3 months' wages) = 180 months' wages

1 talent = 180 months' wages / 12 months in a year = 15 years' wages

1 talent = 15 years' wages

10,000 talents = 150,000 years' wages.

So if a yearly wage is $15,000 (about 40hrs/week at CA min wage -$8/hr)

150,000 year's wages = $2,250,000,000

Two Billion, Two Hundred Fifty Million dollars US!

The point is that this is a massive amount of money, an astoundingly large debt, and the King could not forgive this debt without great cost and risk to himself. There are many people in our culture that simply cannot understand this kind of forgiveness. Some would even say that forgiveness of such great a debt is not possible and/or should not be given. But the gospel of Jesus Christ shows us that it is both possible and necessary.

Martin and Gracie Burnham were missionaries serving in the Philippines when they were kidnapped by Islamic terrorists in May of 2001. A rescue attempt in June 2002 resulted in the death of Martin while Gracie was eventually freed. When Gracie Burnham was asked how she could possibly forgive her kidnappers whose actions resulted in the death of her husband Martin, she replied, "God has forgiven me much, so I think it's my responsibility to forgive others."

Jesus gives us a brief, but profound description of how this kind of forgiveness is possible in verse 27 (in bold above). He says that the servant’s master “took pity on him, cancelled the debt, and let him go.” Let’s look at each of these statements to see how they can help us learn how to forgive.

“Took on him” – Pity is kind of a wimpy English word, the actual translation is something more like “to be moved with great compassion”. What this means in practical terms is that we must stop defining the person who wronged us solely in terms of their sin. Lou Smedes writes that “when you truly forgive someone, you actually rediscover their humanity.” Forgiveness requires that we see the person as more than just what they did. To take pity on them means that we begin to see the person as an individual in need of God’s grace (just like us).

“Canceled the debt” – Simply put, this means that a forgiving person is not looking for a way to make the other person pay. When someone hurts us, or sins against us in some way, there is a very real debt created. At the very least there is a debt of emotional pain. Most people want the other person (the one who wronged them) to pay for their wrong. There are many ways that we try to make them pay; the cold shoulder, the silent treatment, talking bad about them to others, etc. The message of the Gospel is that it is not the offender who pays, it is the one who is offended! 

“Let him go” – This may be the hardest part of forgiving someone. To truly forgive means to release your hold on the person. It means to let go of your right to get even. It means to release your desire for retribution and revenge. The Bible tells us that the moment we trust in Christ, God wipes our sins away and removes them completely!  I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. (Isaiah 43:25) For most of us, this letting go takes a little more time, it is a process, sometimes a rather long and difficult one. 

When you reflect on these three actions: took pity on him, canceled the debt, and let him go, in light of your own debt of sin, you see that this is precisely what Jesus (your gracious King) has done for you!

Jeff Frazier