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(Matthew 18:21-23 KJV) Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? [22] Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. [23] Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

Introduction

Last Wednesday we examined a parable that Jesus spoke to Simon the Pharisee. Tonight we’re looking at another parable spoken to a Simon. This time it’s Simon Peter, one of Jesus’ hand picked Apostles.

Jesus had just finished binding the effectiveness of prayer to the necessity of unity with one another in the Kingdom of God.

The Church represents the Kingdom of God on the earth. The Bible says that the Christian is one who is …

Colossians 1:13 (AP) DELIVERED from the power of darkness, and is TRANSLATED INTO THE KINGDOM of GOD’S DEAR SON

When a person is saved by faith in Christ, God moves them into His Kingdom. The Holy Spirit comes to live inside you. Jesus said:

(Luke 17:20-21 LSB) … The kingdom of God is not coming with [signs to be] observed, [21] nor will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘There!’ For BEHOLD, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS IN YOUR MIDST.

When God’s people come together as the Church, worshiping and glorifying the Lord Who saved us, we are most like the Kingdom of God. Jesus came to save us by His Blood, so that we could, by faith, be adopted and born again into His Kingdom. We are told in:

(Hebrews 12:28-29 LSB) Therefore, since WE ARE RECEIVING A KINGDOM which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; [29] for OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE.

It is God’s intent that His Church, the Church of Jesus Christ, come together in one accord with God and in one accord with one another. We are told in Romans 14:17, “The Kingdom of God is NOT MEAT AND DRINK, but RIGHTEOUSNESS, and PEACE, and JOY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT”. There is nothing that can shake or destroy a Church that is unified in love with God and in love with one another. A Church that is united and following Jesus has power. This is why Jesus said:

(Matthew 18:18-20 KJV) Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. [19] Again I say unto you, That if TWO OF YOU SHALL AGREE on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. [20] For where TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY NAME, there am I in the midst of them.

Where there is unity, Biblical unity, there is power. God supports the Church that is unified. BUT when we allow that which is unbiblical and inconsequential to come between us, our prayers are hindered. There is only Jesus in our midst if we are united in our midst. This is why Jesus gave us definitive steps to follow when disagreements arise. These words are very clear, so I have little need to go in depth. Let’s start:

(Matthew 18:15 KJV) Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault BETWEEN THEE AND HIM ALONE: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

If there is a disagreement between Christians, the first thing you do is to “go and tell him his fault BETWEEN THEE AND HIM ALONE”. You don’t tell others. You tell him. You don’t attack him, for it is just possible that you are at fault. But until you both get together in a quiet place and discuss the matter, no resolution comes. What if your brother in Christ will not hear you?

(Matthew 18:16 KJV) But IF HE WILL NOT HEAR THEE [thee, then] TAKE WITH THEE ONE OR TWO MORE, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

If he won’t discuss it, take another person or two with you, and once more try and find resolution. Those you take with you are not your supporters. You’re not ganging up on your brother. The ones accompanying you are witnesses. By taking these witnesses, you are letting your brother know that you want this breech sealed as soon as possible. Why? Because unattended unforgiveness can spread through the congregation, hindering the growth of the entire Church. If peace cannot be found, then:

(Matthew 18:17 KJV) And if he shall NEGLECT TO HEAR THEM, TELL IT UNTO THE CHURCH: but if he NEGLECT TO HEAR THE CHURCH, let him BE UNTO THEE AS A HEATHEN man and a publican.

If one party refuses to forgive, the matter goes to the Church itself. And if the Church rules against the one who refuses to forgive, then that person is regarded as a “heathen” or an unbeliever. They are no longer recognized as a believer in Christ. Beloved,

A Forgiving Nature Is The Mark Of A True Christian

While we walk through the world in fallen bodies, we will err and cause offenses. No one is perfect but Jesus, and even Jesus offended people. Jesus offended Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, Politicians, Priests, and even people. Jesus’ offenses were Biblical, and thus needed no forgiveness. But we as humans often stumble as we walk with the Lord. We need to be ready to forgive, and to admit fault when we are at fault.

After hearing this teaching, Simon Peter came to Jesus with the question:

(Matthew 18:21 KJV) Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall MY BROTHER SIN AGAINST ME, and I forgive him? till seven times?

Peter was the natural leader of the Apostles. Jesus told Peter, “When YOU ARE CONVERTED, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). When someone spoke up in the midst of the Apostles, it was usually Peter. It was Peter who preached on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14). When the Jewish authorities told the Apostles not to preach about Jesus anymore, it was Peter who led the Apostles in saying “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). When God wanted the Church to begin to preach the Gospel among the Gentiles, the Holy Spirit spoke to Peter in a dream, saying “What I have cleansed, do not call it unclean” (Acts 10:34-35). And when Gentiles began to be saved and enter the Church, it was Peter who stood up for them (Acts 15:7).

So the leader of the Apostles asks the question, in effect, “Is there a limit on how many times I should forgive my brother in Christ?”. Our Lord Jesus responded immediately:

(Matthew 18:22 KJV) Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN.

To understand this phrase, we need to
understand Jewish Sabbaths.

The phrase “SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN” would mean little to a Gentile, but to a Jew who knew Jewish history it means a lot. Under the Old Covenant, God gave Israel Sabbaths. Most of us understand the weekly Sabbath, where one day a week is given to God and His worship (Exodus 20:8; 20:10). The Jews practiced this Sabbath on the last day of the week.

Besides WEEKLY Sabbaths, there were ANNUAL Sabbaths. These Sabbaths were not tied to a day of the week, but to a commemorative Feast or Celebration that God wanted Israel to observe. We can liken this to our Federal Holidays in America, with the distinction that our holidays did not focus on honoring God as the Jewish holidays did. There were Sabbaths during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (First and Seventh day, Leviticus 23:7-8), Feast of Weeks (Pentecost – Leviticus 23:21), Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24-25), Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27-32), and Feast of Tabernacles (First and Eighth Day, Leviticus 23:35-36, 39). These were called “High Days”. The day following Jesus’ crucifixion was a “High Day” (see John 19:31).

But the there was something called a Sabbatical Year. God told Israel:

(Leviticus 25:3-7 LSB) ‘Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its produce, [4] but during THE SEVENTH YEAR THE LAND SHALL HAVE A SABBATH REST, a SABBATH TO YAHWEH; you shall NOT SOW your field NOR PRUNE your vineyard. [5] ‘What grows of its own accord from your harvest you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year. [6] ‘And the sabbath [produce] of the land shall be for food; for you and your male and female slaves and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who sojourn with you. [7] ‘Even your cattle and the beasts that are in your land shall have all its produce to eat.

The purpose of the Sabbatical Year was to allow the ground to rest. You could eat fruit off of that ground that naturally produced, but were forbidden to till the soil or work the vines that year. When God established the Sabbatical Year, Israel ignored this Sabbath. Not for one year. Not for ten years. But for 490 years Israel refused to honor God by keeping the Sabbatical Year. Do you know what God did? God forgave Israel for 490 years – then put them into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. The Bible says:

(2 Chronicles 36:19-21 LSB) {The Babylonians} burned the house of God and tore down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. [20] And those who had escaped from the sword {the King of Babylon} took away into exile to Babylon; and they were slaves to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, [21] to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, UNTIL THE LAND HAD MADE UP FOR ITS SABBATHS. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath UNTIL 70 YEARS WERE FULFILLED.

How long should I forgive my brother? Just 7 times? Jesus said, “Remember how long GOD HIMSELF forgave Israel before He punished them? 70X7, for 490 years!”

The Parable Of The Unmerciful Servant

So let’s look at the parable that Jesus spoke to Simon Peter, and see it’s application to us.

(Matthew 18:23-27 KJV) Therefore is THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKENED unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. [24] And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him TEN THOUSAND TALENTS. [25] But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. [26] The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. [27] Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

Jesus said, “THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKENED”. How does one enter into the Kingdom of Heaven? We must come to God with empty hands. In the parable a “Certain King” is God, and the servant owes the King “TEN THOUSAND TALENTS”. A “TALENT” is equivalent to 6000 days wages. This man owes 10,000 talents, or 60 MILLION days wages. Do you know how old you’d have to be to earn 60 million days wages? You would have to be over 180,000 years old if you started working at age 18! This man owed an impossible amount of money. There was no earthly way he could pay it.

What is true of that man is true of every person on the face of the earth. The Bible tells us that we were created by an infinite, perfect, sinless and wonderful God Who loves us. But our forefather Adam sinned, and brought sin into our lineage. The Bible tells us:

Romans 3:23 ALL HAVE SINNED and fall short of the glory of God

We cannot make ourselves right before God. The Law of God shows us this, for only One Person in all of human history kept the Law of God perfectly. That One Person is Jesus Christ. The Bible says:

1 John 3:5 {Jesus} appeared so that He might TAKE AWAY OUR SINS. And in Jesus IS NO SIN

1 Peter 2:22 {Jesus} COMMITTED NO SIN, and no deceit was found in His mouth …

We all fall short. We all stand deficit before God. We owe a debt we cannot pay. So how do we pay off our Creditor. We REPENT. Jesus preached “REPENT, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17), and “UNLESS YOU REPENT, you ALL WILL PERISH” (Luke 13:3). We throw ourselves on the mercy of God. We receive what Jesus did for us on the Cross, “calling on the Name of the Lord”. We receive Jesus Christ as our Messiah, as our Lord and Savior.

(John 3:16-18 KJV) For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. [17] For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. [18] He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

In the parable the servant, representing the saved believer in Christ:

The servant therefore fell down, and WORSHIPED HIM, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I WILL PAY THEE ALL.

The day the Christian is saved, we surrender our lives to the Lord. We worship Him. We pledge to love and serve Him. This will not pay for our forgiveness, no matter how hard we work. Our forgiveness is based on the compassion, the love and mercy of God our Father.

Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and FORGAVE HIM THE DEBT.

We cannot pay God what we owe Him. If we poured out our very blood, it would not be enough! Once saved, we serve Him, but not to pay Him back. We serve Him out of love for His mercy.

(Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV) For BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED THROUGH FAITH, and THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES; [it is] the gift of God, [9] not of works, lest anyone should boast. [10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus FOR GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Being forgiven completely, when that servant left the presence of the King, he himself should have been generous to whoever he met. But how did he behave?

(Matthew 18:28-30 KJV) But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred PENCE {dēnarion}: and he laid hands on him, and took [him] by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. [29] And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. [30] And he would not: but went and CAST HIM INTO PRISON, TILL HE SHOULD PAY THE DEBT.

The Servant that was forgiven a debt that would have taken him 180,000 years to pay went out and brutalized a man who owed him 100 dēnarion, or 100 days wages. The man he brutalized could have paid this debt off had he been patient with him. But the forgiven Servant “CAST HIM INTO PRISON, TILL HE SHOULD PAY THE DEBT”. You can’t pay a debt from prison. You need to be out working in order to pay the debt. So the forgiven Servant put the fellow servant into a position when he couldn’t repay the debt. Neither he nor the fellow servant got anything out of that arrangement!

But what goes around comes around!

(Matthew 18:31-33 KJV) So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. [32] Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou WICKED SERVANT, I FORGAVE THEE ALL THAT DEBT, because thou desiredst me: [33] Shouldest not thou also HAVE HAD COMPASSION on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

When the King heard what happened, He called the wicked servant to task. He was forgiven an impossible amount. That servant should have forgiven the possible amount. Jesus said that the King sentenced the wicked servant, saying:

(Matthew 18:34 KJV) And his lord was wroth, and DELIVERED HIM TO THE TORMENTORS, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

Who are the “TORMENTORS” in the parable? These were prison officials who, in those days, would torture prisoners until they got confessions. When we as Christians fail to forgive unconditionally as we were forgiven, then God the Holy Spirit turns us over to “TORMENTORS”:

Bitterness
Loneliness
Guilt
Anger
Fear
Paranoia
Separation from God’s Presence

Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15 (NKJV) For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. [15] But if YOU DO NOT FORGIVE men their trespasses, NEITHER WILL YOUR FATHER FORGIVE YOUR TRESPASSES.

You cannot walk in light with unforgiveness in your heart.

(Ephesians 4:32 NKJV) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, FORGIVING ONE ANOTHER, EVEN AS GOD IN CHRIST FORGAVE YOU.

Forgiveness is not optional, but a Kingdom principle, one that we must follow. As “Christ forgave you, SO YOU MUST ALSO DO”. Jesus ends with this:

(Matthew 18:35 KJV) So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye FROM YOUR HEARTS FORGIVE not every one his brother their trespasses.

We are to forgive from our hearts. Whether the other person deserves it or not, regardless as to who is right or wrong, we are to forgive.