Fifteenth
Sunday after Pentecost
September
17, 2017
Matthew
18:21–35
Forgiving
Our Debt with His Payment
In
the name of the Father and of the ☩
Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
At
the heart of this parable is the difference between justice and
mercy. Justice is getting exactly what you deserve; mercy is getting
the opposite of what you deserve. The servant stands before the king
and which one does he ask for? Does he ask for mercy or justice?
24As
he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was
brought to him. 25Since 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. 26The servant fell on his knees
before him. He begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay back
everything.’
MATTHEW
18:24-26 NIV
This
servant shows that he didn’t
believe that he needed to be forgiven because he didn’t
ask for forgiveness. He asked for patience. He thinks that the king
has simply done him a favor that he might have done on his own, if
only he were given enough time. So he is not repentant. He doesn't
really think that the king has forgiven him, because he doesn't think
he really had something wrong with him. He probably would have said
that the king was a nice guy, but his freedom and his righteousness
were his own, and that he would have gotten free eventually on his
own.
This
is a warning to us. By faith we will be generous and merciful to
other people, but that we also see our place in God's kingdom: we are
beggars. We cannot dig ourselves out of this hole. We sins are too
much for us. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. So
we need His mercy, not more time
to dig ourselves deeper into debt.
In
short, we need Jesus. We need Him to forgive our debt, our
trespasses, our sin. It is too much for us, but Jesus has forgiven it
all.
27The
servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him
go.
MATTHEW
18:27 NIV
So,
dear beggars and now also servants of the true everlasting King,
Christ hasn’t give you justice,
but mercy. He has given you the opposite of what you deserve: instead
of prison, He has given you a place in His kingdom.
For
even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
and
to give His life as a ransom for many.
Mark
10:45
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