28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
Matthew continues (vv 21-27) by contrasting God’s forgiveness with the duplicity of the unforgiving servant (vv 28-35).
18:28
“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants [fellow believers] who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
The story here takes a right-about-face turn. The servant had a fellow servant who owed him a minimal amount of money but would not forgive that debt. One denarius was about 16 cents.
18:29
So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
As the first servant pled for time to pay the enormous 10,000 talents, the servant’s servant also pled for forgiveness for a few hundred dollars. He asked for the same thing as the first servant—“patience.”
18:30
And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
The first servant would not give his servant time to pay the debt. He did not give what he got.
18:31
So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
A larger group became outraged at the first servant’s duplicity and conveyed the situation to the king.
18:32
Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
The king called the servant “wicked” because he would not give the forgiveness that he received.
18:33
Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’
If a person has received mercy, he should give mercy.
18:34
And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
The king withdrew his forgiveness and sent the servant to prison. The analogy here is to divine discipline of a believer.
18:35
“So [likewise] My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
In this analogy, the Father is the king. God disciplines duplicity among believers.
PRINCIPLE:
God disciplines those who do not forgive.
APPLICATION:
If we refuse to forgive the wrong others perpetrate against us, then God puts us under divine discipline. There are consequences to not forgiving a fellow believer. God deals with presumption and hardness of heart.
There is duplicity in all of us. We want forgiveness for ourselves but we are not willing to forgive others. We should carefully watch for duplicity in ourselves. For Christians to be belligerent and non-forgiving while they accept God’s forgiveness is bizarre just as in the actions of the person forgiven an insurmountable debt. God always deals with callousness of heart among believers.
Eph 4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Christian forgiveness does not necessarily imply forgetting the wrong. That is almost impossible in some situations. Forgiveness is the willingness not to punish the other person for the wrong or dwell on the wrong.
