Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

July 1, 2018 Background Scripture: Matthew 18:21 – 35 Lesson Passage: Matthew 18:21 – 35 In our next series of lessons, Jesus teaches about justice from God’s perspective. This is important at a time when many consider most moral and ethical decisions to be relative, or situational. God communicates in absolutes in the areas of morality and ethics. Some principles should be applied unaltered in spite of the situation or the person(s) involved. Today’s lesson examines Jesus’ parable about an unjust servant. Like all of Jesus’ parables, the set-up is simple yet powerful. It is not very difficult for an honest listener to find himself in the parable—even if it were at a different point in the person’s life or spiritual journey. The parable was prompted by a question that was raised by Peter concerning the frequency of forgiving a person who offends him. Jesus had just talked about the steps to be taken that could involve a local church in settling a disagreement or trespass among brethren. When it comes to being offended and having to forgive, the burden is on the one who has been offended. It really seems unfair and so it is difficult to wholeheartedly forgive someone who has offended you. But Jesus provided a method to use and it prompted Peter’s question about how many times should one put himself through this. In my estimation, Peter was being very liberal when he suggested that he forgive the person seven times for offending him. That is a lot when you consider that we are talking about the same person repeatedly behaving in a manner that harms us in some fashion. Our adage is: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” We even legalized it as the “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law. From a human perspective, two or three times should be sufficient. I thought those examples might be necessary for those who saw my comments about forgiving seven times as being liberal. We sometimes have a tendency to write people off fairly quickly. Forgiveness is not a virtue that develops naturally within us. Jesus’ parable reminds us of this. The parable also teaches that forgiveness should not be just a response to having been hurt—which feels impossible. But forgiveness should be a reaction because one has been forgiven by God. In that context, there is no limit to forgiveness if it is based on the forgiveness that I have received from God. At the time that I accepted Jesus’ death on Calvary’s cross as the just penalty for my sins, God forgave me for all my sins—even the ones I did not know I would commit. At that time, I received justification from God. This removed the penalty of eternal damnation. We still suffer consequences for sins we commit, but the eternal penalty has been erased which results in the assurance of eternal life. There is absolutely nothing I could ever do throughout eternity to repay God for such a gesture. However, the parable reminds me that I am expected to do something in this finite physical life as a token of appreciation and to acknowledge that I have received some of the vastness of God’s forgiveness. I am admonished to show compassion to others without exception and without limit. My finite actions are offered as an appreciation for God’s infinite forgiveness. I don’t want to be an unforgiving servant. Robert C. Hudson May 30, 2018