WEBVTT 00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:12.220 Tonight's episode takes us into one of Jesus' 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:16.000 most unsettling, liberating lessons, the parable 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:19.640 of the unforgiving servant. It's a story that 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:23.140 doesn't just expose our grudges, it holds them 00:00:23.140 --> 00:00:25.859 up to the light and asks why we're still carrying 00:00:25.859 --> 00:00:29.839 the weight. Jesus doesn't answer Peter's question 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:33.640 with math. He answers with mercy. Mercy always 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:38.219 asks something of us. It asks us to breathe again. 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:42.679 Now, settle in with me. It's Wednesday night 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:45.619 in the Fellowship Hall. The crockpots have cooled, 00:00:45.700 --> 00:00:47.280 the kids are allowed somewhere down the hall, 00:00:47.399 --> 00:00:50.079 and the lights hum that soft, fluorescent hymn. 00:00:50.359 --> 00:00:52.619 Folks shuffle in with their Bibles, burdens, 00:00:52.759 --> 00:00:54.520 and whatever bitterness they've been dragging 00:00:54.520 --> 00:00:57.500 behind them all week. Spirit's moving between 00:00:57.500 --> 00:01:00.679 the tables like she always does. Quiet as a whisper, 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:06.480 sharp as a mirror. Let's take a breath. I'll 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:13.859 see you on the other side. So now that we've 00:01:13.859 --> 00:01:16.439 cleared the decks, Wayne, Wayne's thumbs up. 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:19.920 So tonight we are, this is actually our last 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:21.799 parable we're going to look at. And we're going 00:01:21.799 --> 00:01:26.430 to find it in Matthew 18 tonight. Just to kind 00:01:26.430 --> 00:01:29.430 of set the scene in the story before the parable 00:01:29.430 --> 00:01:33.310 we're looking at in Matthew 18, Jesus has just 00:01:33.310 --> 00:01:36.989 taught about life in the upside -down kingdom. 00:01:37.069 --> 00:01:40.750 The book of Matthew is all about Jesus showing 00:01:40.750 --> 00:01:43.310 you what the kingdom of God looks like. But when 00:01:43.310 --> 00:01:46.349 you compare it to the kingdoms of the world, 00:01:46.430 --> 00:01:50.950 it looks upside -down, right? And he's trying 00:01:50.950 --> 00:01:54.569 to show this to people who are listening to him. 00:01:55.040 --> 00:01:58.379 so that they could possibly begin to see what 00:01:58.379 --> 00:02:00.959 he's talking about when he's talking about God's 00:02:00.959 --> 00:02:04.040 kingdom. So he tells these parables to try to 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:06.599 explain it. Right here where we're at, he's just 00:02:06.599 --> 00:02:10.560 talked about the lost sheep, how to confront 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:14.939 sin gently, how heaven backs the work of reconciliation, 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:18.759 how two or three gathered in his name can shake 00:02:18.759 --> 00:02:23.379 the gates of hell. And then Peter, God love him, 00:02:23.719 --> 00:02:28.719 steps forward. And I give Peter a hard time. 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:30.520 So if you've been around for a while, you know 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:33.500 that Peter's the kind kid in class who raises 00:02:33.500 --> 00:02:36.219 his hand when everybody else is staring down 00:02:36.219 --> 00:02:41.000 at the floor. He's the one who says things we 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:46.500 often think, but we're afraid to say. He's not 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:50.360 trying to be difficult. He's trying to be practical 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:56.900 because Peter's been listening. He heard Jesus 00:02:56.900 --> 00:03:01.400 talk about seeking the lost sheep, about confronting 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:05.819 a brother who sins. He heard all that kingdom 00:03:05.819 --> 00:03:10.159 math about reconciliation and restoration and 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:15.759 something in Peter's chest tightened. Because 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:20.159 one thing Peter does start to understand is reconciliation. 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:27.240 It's hard work. Restoration costs something. 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:34.139 And Peter, like every single one of us, wants 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:40.919 to know where the finish line is. So Peter asks 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:44.199 the question nobody else wants to say out loud. 00:03:45.580 --> 00:03:49.199 Lord, how many times do I have to forgive my 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:56.439 brother? Seven times? Now, before we judge Peter 00:03:56.439 --> 00:03:59.039 too harshly, we need to understand that seven 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:03.259 times would have been generous by rabbinical 00:04:03.259 --> 00:04:07.659 standards. The prevailing teaching at the time 00:04:07.659 --> 00:04:11.879 said three times. Three strikes, you're done. 00:04:12.460 --> 00:04:18.120 Some rabbis taught that God himself only forgives 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:22.920 a person three times. After that, judgment falls. 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:28.500 So Peter doubles it and adds one for good measure. 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:35.800 Offers what to him seems like radical grace. 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:42.720 He's not asking here about generosity. He's actually 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:49.420 asking about limits. He wants a number. a boundary, 00:04:49.579 --> 00:04:57.519 a spiritual cap on mercy. He wants to know when 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:02.720 does he get to stop. When he closes the ledger, 00:05:02.860 --> 00:05:07.420 he could say, I can walk away with a clear conscience 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:16.680 because I did my part. And right there, on that 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:20.810 dusty road, When the disciples are leaning in 00:05:20.810 --> 00:05:25.129 and the Galilean sun is burning down, Jesus decides 00:05:25.129 --> 00:05:29.850 to tell a story. Because Jesus doesn't answer 00:05:29.850 --> 00:05:34.069 questions with math. He answers them with parables. 00:05:35.209 --> 00:05:40.870 And he doesn't give Peter a higher number. He 00:05:40.870 --> 00:05:46.680 gives him a totally different economy. Forgiveness 00:05:46.680 --> 00:05:53.339 isn't math. It's mercy. It's memory. It's the 00:05:53.339 --> 00:05:56.060 place where heaven's accounting does something 00:05:56.060 --> 00:06:03.600 wild and unreasonable and holy. In God's kingdom, 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:08.819 nobody keeps a ledger. Nobody runs a tab. Nobody 00:06:08.819 --> 00:06:12.000 says, that's strike seven, one more and you're 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:20.870 done. Because... Grace doesn't count sins. Grace 00:06:20.870 --> 00:06:26.009 cancels them. And that's why Jesus tells the 00:06:26.009 --> 00:06:29.949 story about a king, a ledger so full that it 00:06:29.949 --> 00:06:35.750 could crush a man, and a mercy so fierce it ought 00:06:35.750 --> 00:06:40.149 to change the way we breathe. This parable isn't 00:06:40.149 --> 00:06:46.600 about morality. It's about mimicry. It's about 00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:51.860 whether we become what we have received. See, 00:06:51.939 --> 00:06:54.519 the kingdom of heaven operates on an economy 00:06:54.519 --> 00:06:58.399 Peter doesn't fully understand yet. An economy 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:02.040 where the first is the last. Where the greatest 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:06.139 is the servant. Where losing your life means 00:07:06.139 --> 00:07:10.439 finding it. Where a seed has to die before it 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:16.129 bears fruit. And in that economy, Forgiveness 00:07:16.129 --> 00:07:23.209 isn't a transaction. It's transformation. You 00:07:23.209 --> 00:07:27.430 don't forgive to settle a score. You forgive 00:07:27.430 --> 00:07:34.310 because you are living on canceled debt. And 00:07:34.310 --> 00:07:38.829 if you forget that, if you lose sight of the 00:07:38.829 --> 00:07:44.889 mercy that has set you free, You become the very 00:07:44.889 --> 00:07:51.329 thing grace saved you from. Friends, the reading 00:07:51.329 --> 00:07:54.389 of Holy Scripture, the gospel account according 00:07:54.389 --> 00:07:57.850 to Matthew in his 18th chapter, beginning with 00:07:57.850 --> 00:08:03.629 verse 21. Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, 00:08:03.670 --> 00:08:05.470 how many times shall I forgive my brother or 00:08:05.470 --> 00:08:07.930 sister who sins against me? Up to seven times? 00:08:08.730 --> 00:08:11.250 Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times. 00:08:12.110 --> 00:08:16.889 but 77 times. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven 00:08:16.889 --> 00:08:19.550 is like a king who wanted to settle accounts 00:08:19.550 --> 00:08:23.189 with his servants. As he began the settlement, 00:08:23.269 --> 00:08:32.409 a man who owed him 10 ,000 pags of gold was brought 00:08:32.409 --> 00:08:38.460 to him. Since he was unable to pay, The master 00:08:38.460 --> 00:08:41.980 ordered that he and his wife and his children 00:08:41.980 --> 00:08:46.799 and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 00:08:47.940 --> 00:08:52.220 At this, the servant fell on his knees before 00:08:52.220 --> 00:08:57.740 him. Be patient with me, he begged, and I will 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:02.860 pay back everything. The servant's master took 00:09:02.860 --> 00:09:07.629 pity on him, canceled the debt, and let him go. 00:09:09.129 --> 00:09:13.929 But when that servant went out, he found one 00:09:13.929 --> 00:09:17.129 of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred 00:09:17.129 --> 00:09:23.429 silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke 00:09:23.429 --> 00:09:30.190 him. Pay back what you owe, he demanded. His 00:09:30.190 --> 00:09:33.509 fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 00:09:33.649 --> 00:09:40.070 be patient with me. I will pay it back. But he 00:09:40.070 --> 00:09:44.769 refused. Instead, he went off and had the man 00:09:44.769 --> 00:09:47.570 thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 00:09:49.090 --> 00:09:51.990 When the other servants saw what had happened, 00:09:52.049 --> 00:09:54.769 they were outraged and went and told their master 00:09:54.769 --> 00:09:58.409 everything that had happened. Then the master 00:09:58.409 --> 00:10:02.049 called the servant in. You wicked servant, he 00:10:02.049 --> 00:10:06.460 said. I canceled all that debt of yours because 00:10:06.460 --> 00:10:12.460 you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy 00:10:12.460 --> 00:10:17.480 on your fellow servant just as I had to you? 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:24.299 In anger, his master handed him over to the jailers 00:10:24.299 --> 00:10:28.879 to be tortured until he should pay back all that 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:34.200 he owed. This, Jesus says. It's how my heavenly 00:10:34.200 --> 00:10:39.279 father will treat each of you unless you forgive 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:42.840 your brother or your sister from your own heart. 00:10:43.740 --> 00:10:50.220 Friends, the reading of the word. Jesus isn't 00:10:50.220 --> 00:10:55.820 giving a threat. He's giving an x -ray. He's 00:10:55.820 --> 00:11:00.600 showing us what unforgiveness looks like on the 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:05.860 inside. unforgiveness is the torture chamber, 00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:12.000 resentment is the jailer, bitterness, the iron 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:17.259 across the door. And here is the thing that nobody 00:11:17.259 --> 00:11:22.519 tells you about holding a grudge. You think you're 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:26.240 punishing the other person, but you're the one 00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:30.360 in chains. You think you're protecting yourself. 00:11:31.690 --> 00:11:35.490 You're building your very own prison. You think 00:11:35.490 --> 00:11:38.970 you're keeping score, but the ledger is wrapped 00:11:38.970 --> 00:11:43.929 around your throat. When we refuse to forgive, 00:11:44.029 --> 00:11:50.070 we reenact the violence done to us. We choke 00:11:50.070 --> 00:11:53.990 others with the same hands that once begged for 00:11:53.990 --> 00:12:04.539 mercy. We forget that grace set us free. Forgiveness, 00:12:04.539 --> 00:12:10.059 beloved, is not the reward of the worthy. It's 00:12:10.059 --> 00:12:14.220 the overflow of the forgiven. And if the overflow 00:12:14.220 --> 00:12:24.299 stops, the well runs dry. Now, you already know 00:12:24.299 --> 00:12:30.899 this. Forgiveness is the one spiritual discipline. 00:12:31.370 --> 00:12:37.230 We all want exceptions for. We don't ask, how 00:12:37.230 --> 00:12:42.110 many times must I pray? We don't ask, how many 00:12:42.110 --> 00:12:45.889 times must I love my neighbor? But forgiveness? 00:12:47.590 --> 00:12:53.129 That one feels expensive. Where's the line, Jesus? 00:12:54.529 --> 00:13:01.080 Where do I get to stop forgetting? When? Do I 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:07.860 get to say enough is enough? Because every single 00:13:07.860 --> 00:13:14.419 one of us in this room has a list, a face, a 00:13:14.419 --> 00:13:20.320 memory, a taste that is still bitter to our tongue. 00:13:23.199 --> 00:13:26.080 Maybe, maybe at this time of year, right? Maybe 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:28.159 it's the family member who said something at 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:32.139 Thanksgiving that cut so deep to the bone and 00:13:32.139 --> 00:13:36.200 then never apologized. They smiled across the 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:39.899 table the next year like nothing was wrong. Every 00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:43.620 time you see them, that wound opens back up. 00:13:44.779 --> 00:13:47.159 Maybe it's the friend who betrayed your trust, 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:51.759 told your secret, threw you under the bus. And 00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:55.600 they said they were sorry, but they did it again 00:13:55.600 --> 00:14:01.639 and again. Maybe it's the church member who spread 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:04.879 gossip about you, who questioned your faith, 00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:09.360 your motives, your character, and smiled you 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:14.179 in the face next Sunday. And you're supposed 00:14:14.179 --> 00:14:18.879 to worship next to them. You're supposed to take 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:23.000 communion with them. You're supposed to call 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:28.460 them brother, sister. Maybe it's the ex -spouse 00:14:28.460 --> 00:14:31.059 who walked out, who broke promises, who left 00:14:31.059 --> 00:14:33.659 you with the wreckage and then moved on like 00:14:33.659 --> 00:14:38.259 nothing happened. And you, you find yourself 00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:43.470 still picking up the pieces years later. Maybe 00:14:43.470 --> 00:14:45.629 it's the person who hurt your child, who bullied 00:14:45.629 --> 00:14:48.269 them, who abused them, who damaged them. And 00:14:48.269 --> 00:14:50.789 you have been carrying that rage like a stone 00:14:50.789 --> 00:14:57.649 in your chest ever since. Peter's question is 00:14:57.649 --> 00:15:04.029 our question. How many times, Jesus, just give 00:15:04.029 --> 00:15:09.549 me a number. Give me a boundary. Tell me when 00:15:09.549 --> 00:15:17.080 I get to be done. Jesus knows the human heart 00:15:17.080 --> 00:15:21.259 better than we even know ourselves, doesn't give 00:15:21.259 --> 00:15:27.440 Peter a higher number. Instead, he breaks the 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:32.279 calculator. Jesus tells this parable because 00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:38.340 Peter's question reveals a heart condition. The 00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:41.720 unforgiving servant wasn't cruel because he was 00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:48.970 evil. He was cruel because he had forgot. He 00:15:48.970 --> 00:15:55.950 had forgot the weight of his own debt. He forgot 00:15:55.950 --> 00:16:03.730 that mercy let him walk out the door. Now, I 00:16:03.730 --> 00:16:09.009 love context. So, let's talk for a moment about 00:16:09.009 --> 00:16:12.460 the debt. This is the part that maybe sometimes 00:16:12.460 --> 00:16:14.799 you've read this parable, you know the parable 00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:17.279 I'm talking about, but because you missed this 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:20.360 piece of context, there's a whole other part 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:22.720 of the story you've missed. So let me see if 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:28.639 I can illuminate it, okay? The text says 10 ,000 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:31.799 talents. Now I read from the NIV tonight, it 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:35.340 says 10 ,000 bags of gold to make it more accessible. 00:16:37.070 --> 00:16:42.370 That usage in the NIV actually undersells the 00:16:42.370 --> 00:16:46.710 absurdity of what Jesus is actually saying. We've 00:16:46.710 --> 00:16:51.250 talked about this before. A talent wasn't just 00:16:51.250 --> 00:16:56.330 a coin, it was a unit of weight. One talent of 00:16:56.330 --> 00:17:01.570 silver was roughly 6 ,000 denarii, a denarii 00:17:01.570 --> 00:17:12.069 being a day's work. 10 ,000 talents equals 60 00:17:12.069 --> 00:17:20.809 million days of work. If you worked every single 00:17:20.809 --> 00:17:26.849 day, no Sabbath, no rest, no vacation, it would 00:17:26.849 --> 00:17:33.869 take you 164 ,000 years to pay off that debt. 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:40.200 This isn't a mortgage. This isn't credit card 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:46.359 debt. This is the GDP of a small nation. The 00:17:46.359 --> 00:17:52.380 entire annual tax revenue of Judea, Idumea, and 00:17:52.380 --> 00:17:58.420 Samaria combined to only 800 talents. The servant 00:17:58.420 --> 00:18:04.430 in this story owes. more than 12 years of tax 00:18:04.430 --> 00:18:10.529 revenue from the three provinces combined. It's 00:18:10.529 --> 00:18:18.589 an impossible number. And that's the point. Because 00:18:18.589 --> 00:18:23.130 Jesus is painting a picture of debt so vast, 00:18:23.470 --> 00:18:28.849 so crushing, so unpayable, that the only reasonable 00:18:28.849 --> 00:18:34.740 response is despair. The servant just doesn't 00:18:34.740 --> 00:18:40.299 owe money. He owes everything. And the servant 00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:46.660 falls to his knees and begs, be patient with 00:18:46.660 --> 00:18:53.180 me and I will pay back everything. But here's 00:18:53.180 --> 00:18:57.819 the thing. He can't. It would be impossible. 00:18:58.899 --> 00:19:06.859 Not in this lifetime, not in ten lifetimes. He's 00:19:06.859 --> 00:19:11.019 making a promise he cannot keep because he is 00:19:11.019 --> 00:19:17.500 desperate. And he knows his life is over. This 00:19:17.500 --> 00:19:22.019 is a prayer of a drowning man. And the king, 00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:27.529 listen to this, the king takes pity on him. Love 00:19:27.529 --> 00:19:31.730 this kind of stuff, the Greek word there. Splagneozomohi. 00:19:33.930 --> 00:19:37.190 Splagneozomohi. And it is really hard to say. 00:19:37.549 --> 00:19:41.150 But I like using this one because of the visual 00:19:41.150 --> 00:19:44.970 that this word means. It means to be moved in 00:19:44.970 --> 00:19:51.990 your gut. To feel compassion so deep that it's 00:19:51.990 --> 00:19:57.029 visceral in you. And it's also the same word 00:19:57.029 --> 00:20:00.809 used when Jesus sees the crowd like a sheep without 00:20:00.809 --> 00:20:05.089 a shepherd. It's the same word used when the 00:20:05.089 --> 00:20:09.049 father sees the prodigal son and he goes running 00:20:09.049 --> 00:20:15.529 out to meet him. It's gut level mercy. Not obligation, 00:20:15.690 --> 00:20:20.950 not policy, not calculation, pure, unreasonable, 00:20:21.450 --> 00:20:26.650 visceral compassion. And the king doesn't just 00:20:26.650 --> 00:20:29.589 give him more time. He doesn't set up some payment 00:20:29.589 --> 00:20:33.369 plan. He cancels the whole thing. Again, the 00:20:33.369 --> 00:20:37.690 Greek word there, and it means to send away, 00:20:37.910 --> 00:20:47.049 to release, to let go completely. Same word used 00:20:47.049 --> 00:20:53.170 for forgiving sins. It means to dismiss something 00:20:53.170 --> 00:21:00.890 entirely. to act as if it never existed. The 00:21:00.890 --> 00:21:06.509 debt is gone, the ledger is blank, and the servant 00:21:06.509 --> 00:21:18.470 walks free. And, imagine that moment. Imagine 00:21:18.470 --> 00:21:24.849 walking into the throne room, knowing with certainty, 00:21:25.450 --> 00:21:32.670 Your life is over. And then you walk out free. 00:21:34.390 --> 00:21:40.809 Not on probation. Not on a payment plan. Free. 00:21:42.289 --> 00:21:48.089 The debt that should have crushed you is gone. 00:21:50.230 --> 00:21:55.029 That should change you. That should shatter you 00:21:55.029 --> 00:22:00.009 and remake you. That should become the central 00:22:00.009 --> 00:22:04.609 facet of your existence. And here's where the 00:22:04.609 --> 00:22:09.289 parable turns. That servant who just received 00:22:09.289 --> 00:22:13.150 a mercy so staggering that it should have undone 00:22:13.150 --> 00:22:18.460 him. walks out of the door and finds a fellow 00:22:18.460 --> 00:22:22.940 servant who owes him 100 denarii. 100 denarii, 00:22:22.940 --> 00:22:27.019 that's 100 days wages, right? About four months 00:22:27.019 --> 00:22:32.339 work. It's real money. I'm not saying it's nothing, 00:22:32.420 --> 00:22:37.980 but compared to what he had just canceled, the 00:22:37.980 --> 00:22:45.859 ratio is absurd. 60 million to 100. 600 ,000 00:22:45.859 --> 00:22:51.039 to one. It's like someone forgiving a trillion 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:54.240 dollar debt and then you turning around and choking 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:59.880 someone out over 20 bucks. And that's exactly 00:22:59.880 --> 00:23:04.940 what he does. He grabs him by the throat. Tech 00:23:04.940 --> 00:23:08.579 says he began to choke him. Violent, physical, 00:23:08.880 --> 00:23:13.940 personal. He has his hands around this man's 00:23:13.940 --> 00:23:17.039 neck, cutting off his hair. Pay back what you 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:22.640 owe me. And the fellow servant falls to his knees, 00:23:23.019 --> 00:23:27.859 using the exact same words the first servant 00:23:27.859 --> 00:23:30.720 used before the king. Be patient with me, and 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:34.920 I will pay it back. Same plea, same posture, 00:23:35.160 --> 00:23:41.059 same desperation. But the unforgiving servant 00:23:41.059 --> 00:23:48.099 refuses. He doesn't remember. He doesn't connect. 00:23:49.220 --> 00:23:54.099 He doesn't see the mirror. He throws the man 00:23:54.099 --> 00:23:58.920 in prison until his debt is paid. Unforgiveness 00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:04.319 is spiritual amnesia. It's what happens when 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:08.680 we forget the weight of our own debts. When we 00:24:08.680 --> 00:24:13.480 forget the miracle of our own release. When we 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:17.859 choke others with the very hands grace set free. 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:24.579 So when Jesus says not seven times, but 77 times, 00:24:24.740 --> 00:24:30.299 he's not expanding Peter's limit. He's abolishing 00:24:30.299 --> 00:24:36.559 it. Some translations say 70 times seven or 490 00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:42.130 times. That's still missing the point. Jesus 00:24:42.130 --> 00:24:46.109 isn't giving a bigger number. He's giving an 00:24:46.109 --> 00:24:51.529 impossible one. And for all of you Hebrew Bible 00:24:51.529 --> 00:24:55.930 nerds, he's also echoing Lamech's boast in Genesis 00:24:55.930 --> 00:25:00.490 4 and 24. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then 00:25:00.490 --> 00:25:05.849 Lamech 77 -fold. Lamech was bragging about... 00:25:06.009 --> 00:25:10.450 unlimited vengeance. Jesus uses the exact same 00:25:10.450 --> 00:25:14.470 words and flips it over and makes it unlimited 00:25:14.470 --> 00:25:20.089 forgiveness. Where Lamech multiplied violence, 00:25:20.390 --> 00:25:26.089 Jesus multiplies mercy. And he said, you don't 00:25:26.089 --> 00:25:29.690 forgive because they've earned it. You don't 00:25:29.690 --> 00:25:33.509 forgive because they deserve it. You forgive 00:25:33.509 --> 00:25:39.180 because you. are living on canceled debt. Here's 00:25:39.180 --> 00:25:43.500 the kingdom economy Jesus is teaching. God cancels 00:25:43.500 --> 00:25:47.140 our unpayable debt, and we cancel each other's 00:25:47.140 --> 00:25:51.420 smaller ones. Nobody keeps score. Nobody runs 00:25:51.420 --> 00:25:57.099 a tab. Forgiveness becomes the very air we breathe. 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:02.880 The word ephemihe shows up twice in this parable. 00:26:03.859 --> 00:26:07.480 once when the king cancels the servant's debt 00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:11.579 in verse 27, and once in verse 35 when Jesus 00:26:11.579 --> 00:26:15.480 commands us to forgive our brothers and our sisters. 00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:18.480 It's the same word, the same action, and the 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:25.579 same release. What God did for you, you do for 00:26:25.579 --> 00:26:32.220 others. The mercy you received, you extend. This 00:26:32.220 --> 00:26:36.880 is not complicated theology. It's just mimicry. 00:26:37.380 --> 00:26:42.559 You become what you've been given. Now, at the 00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:45.359 same time, I think it's pastorally responsible 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:48.180 to take a moment to talk about what forgiveness 00:26:48.180 --> 00:26:52.839 is and what forgiveness is not. Forgiveness is 00:26:52.839 --> 00:26:56.599 not pretending the hurt didn't happen. It's refusing 00:26:56.599 --> 00:27:00.640 to make the hurt the master of your soul. Forgiveness 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:03.880 is not reconciliation. Reconciliation actually 00:27:03.880 --> 00:27:07.700 takes two people. Forgiveness only takes one. 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:14.099 Because you can forgive someone who never apologizes. 00:27:14.740 --> 00:27:19.720 You can forgive someone who's dead. Forgiveness 00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:25.279 is not trust. Trust is earned over time. Forgiveness 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:29.309 is given because you've been forgiven. And you 00:27:29.309 --> 00:27:32.349 can forgive someone and still have very healthy 00:27:32.349 --> 00:27:37.029 boundaries. And forgiveness is not forgetting. 00:27:38.450 --> 00:27:41.390 Forgiveness is remembering without the venom. 00:27:42.210 --> 00:27:45.450 It's being able to recall what happened without 00:27:45.450 --> 00:27:51.049 being controlled by it. Forgiveness is not saying 00:27:51.049 --> 00:27:56.410 it's okay. Some things are not okay. Forgiveness 00:27:56.410 --> 00:27:59.119 is saying it's not okay, but I'm... releasing 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:04.119 my right to make you pay for it. And here is 00:28:04.119 --> 00:28:10.160 the hard truth Jesus is teaching. If we refuse 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:16.700 to forgive, we prove that we never understood 00:28:16.700 --> 00:28:21.740 the forgiveness that we received. The unforgiving 00:28:21.740 --> 00:28:26.140 servant didn't just fail a character test. He 00:28:26.140 --> 00:28:29.539 revealed the king's mercy. never actually penetrated 00:28:29.539 --> 00:28:34.019 his heart. He walked out with a canceled debt, 00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:39.799 but an unchanged soul. And that's the torture 00:28:39.799 --> 00:28:42.839 Jesus is talking about in verse 34. The king 00:28:42.839 --> 00:28:45.259 hands him over to the jailers until he should 00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:49.220 pay back all that he owed. But remember, he can't 00:28:49.220 --> 00:28:54.200 pay it back. It's impossible. Torture isn't a 00:28:54.200 --> 00:28:56.740 finite sentence. It is a permanent condition. 00:28:58.220 --> 00:29:01.059 And then in verse 35, this is how my heavenly 00:29:01.059 --> 00:29:04.559 father will treat each of you unless you forgive 00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:08.900 your brother or sister from your heart. The Greek 00:29:08.900 --> 00:29:11.960 there from the heart means from the core, means 00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:17.319 from the center of who you are. Not out of obligation, 00:29:17.640 --> 00:29:22.779 not from guilt, not from fear. but from that 00:29:22.779 --> 00:29:26.559 same gut -level mercy that moved the king, from 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:30.599 the same place where you remember your own unpaid 00:29:30.599 --> 00:29:35.000 debt. Friend, forgiveness is not about excusing 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:38.059 what happened. It's not about pretending it didn't 00:29:38.059 --> 00:29:41.980 hurt. It's not about letting toxic people back 00:29:41.980 --> 00:29:45.940 into your life without boundaries. It's not about 00:29:45.940 --> 00:29:48.980 being a doormat. It's not about enabling abuse. 00:29:50.659 --> 00:29:55.880 Forgiveness is about refusing to live your life 00:29:55.880 --> 00:29:58.680 with your hands around somebody else's throat. 00:30:00.259 --> 00:30:03.819 Because here's what nobody tells you about this. 00:30:05.140 --> 00:30:08.259 When you refuse to forgive, you're not punishing 00:30:08.259 --> 00:30:12.440 them. You're torturing yourself. You're the one 00:30:12.440 --> 00:30:16.279 in the cell. You're the one replaying the offense. 00:30:16.519 --> 00:30:19.589 You're the one losing sleep. You're building 00:30:19.589 --> 00:30:25.410 a prison and locking yourself inside. Peter wanted 00:30:25.410 --> 00:30:36.269 a limit. Jesus offers liberation. He says, essentially, 00:30:36.589 --> 00:30:42.190 forgive as many times as it takes to keep your 00:30:42.190 --> 00:30:49.420 own soul free. And I know that's hard. And I 00:30:49.420 --> 00:30:51.220 know some of you are sitting here tonight with 00:30:51.220 --> 00:30:53.799 wounds so deep they have become a part of your 00:30:53.799 --> 00:30:57.619 identity. I know some of you have been sinned 00:30:57.619 --> 00:31:01.240 against in ways that defy language. And you're 00:31:01.240 --> 00:31:05.920 right. I don't know what they did. But Jesus 00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:10.440 does. And he's not asking you to do something 00:31:10.440 --> 00:31:14.599 that he hasn't already done himself. Jesus didn't 00:31:14.599 --> 00:31:18.299 forgive from a safe distance. He forgave from 00:31:18.299 --> 00:31:23.920 the cross. He didn't wait for an apology. He 00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:27.500 forgave while they were still mocking him. He 00:31:27.500 --> 00:31:30.160 said, Father, forgive them for they know not 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:33.900 what they do. That's the pattern. That's the 00:31:33.900 --> 00:31:38.119 kingdom. That is the air we forgiven people breathe. 00:31:39.660 --> 00:31:46.220 So let me ask you, who are you choking? Whose 00:31:46.220 --> 00:31:49.420 name makes your jaw clench when you hear it? 00:31:50.740 --> 00:31:53.480 Whose face shows up in your mind when you can't 00:31:53.480 --> 00:31:57.880 sleep at night? What debt are you demanding repayment 00:31:57.880 --> 00:32:05.519 of? God's already canceled in you. And? What 00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:08.880 if you let that go? Not because they deserve 00:32:08.880 --> 00:32:13.450 it. Not because they've earned it. but because 00:32:13.450 --> 00:32:16.849 you have been forgiven of an unpayable debt. 00:32:19.269 --> 00:32:24.250 What if forgiveness isn't something you do for 00:32:24.250 --> 00:32:30.630 them, but you actually do for yourself? What 00:32:30.630 --> 00:32:32.950 if the torture chamber Jesus is talking about 00:32:32.950 --> 00:32:36.890 isn't some future judgment, but the bitterness 00:32:36.890 --> 00:32:42.359 you're living in this very second? What if the 00:32:42.359 --> 00:32:46.359 jailer isn't God, but resentment? What if the 00:32:46.359 --> 00:32:50.180 chains aren't divine punishment? They're your 00:32:50.180 --> 00:32:55.299 own refusal to let go. You don't have to walk 00:32:55.299 --> 00:32:57.140 forward tonight. You don't have to raise your 00:32:57.140 --> 00:32:59.460 hand. You don't have to make a public confession. 00:33:00.299 --> 00:33:04.220 Come back next week. Let grace work on the knot 00:33:04.220 --> 00:33:07.900 inside your chest. Let mercy loosen your grip. 00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:11.460 Let the Spirit remind you. The debt you couldn't 00:33:11.460 --> 00:33:16.420 pay. Because when you remember what you've been 00:33:16.420 --> 00:33:20.500 forgiven of, when you remember it, when it gets 00:33:20.500 --> 00:33:23.680 down in your bones and it changes the way you 00:33:23.680 --> 00:33:28.299 breathe, forgiving others stops being a burden. 00:33:29.299 --> 00:33:33.740 Starts being the overflow. So stop counting. 00:33:33.920 --> 00:33:37.220 Stop keeping score. Just release it the same 00:33:37.220 --> 00:33:41.500 way it has released you. Not because you're strong 00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:44.759 enough, but because you've been forgiven enough. 00:33:46.019 --> 00:33:50.200 Not because the hurt doesn't matter, but because 00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:55.640 the mercy you have received matters more. Not 00:33:55.640 --> 00:34:00.200 because justice doesn't count, but because you 00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:03.480 live in a kingdom where grace rewrites the ledger. 00:34:04.850 --> 00:34:07.650 Maybe tonight, right here in this fellowship 00:34:07.650 --> 00:34:09.849 hall, you can take one step towards freedom. 00:34:09.909 --> 00:34:14.590 You can whisper that name to God. You can say 00:34:14.590 --> 00:34:17.690 something like, I don't know how to forgive them, 00:34:17.789 --> 00:34:21.949 but I don't want to be the jailer anymore. You 00:34:21.949 --> 00:34:24.730 can ask Jesus to give you that same gut -level 00:34:24.730 --> 00:34:27.570 mercy the king had, and you can release your 00:34:27.570 --> 00:34:31.949 grip just a little. See if you can breathe again. 00:34:33.389 --> 00:34:36.409 Because tonight, in this room, we're not just 00:34:36.409 --> 00:34:40.030 hearing a parable. We're being invited into a 00:34:40.030 --> 00:34:43.030 kingdom where nobody keeps score. Where grace 00:34:43.030 --> 00:34:46.269 cancels what we cannot pay. Where forgiveness 00:34:46.269 --> 00:34:50.369 becomes the only response that makes sense. Not 00:34:50.369 --> 00:34:55.650 seven times. Not 77 times. Until the calculator 00:34:55.650 --> 00:35:00.829 breaks. Until the mercy is all that's left. Until 00:35:00.829 --> 00:35:06.219 you can walk away free. Amen? Amen. Thanks, guys. 00:35:09.420 --> 00:35:17.780 If this parable is pressed onto a tender place 00:35:17.780 --> 00:35:20.960 tonight, you're not alone. Forgiveness always 00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:24.960 does. It's easy to talk about it in theory. Man, 00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:27.539 it is harder than bone in real life. But hear 00:35:27.539 --> 00:35:31.340 me. Jesus never names the wound to shame you. 00:35:32.039 --> 00:35:35.280 He names it to free you. Whatever bitterness 00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:37.699 you've carried into this little digital sanctuary, 00:35:37.800 --> 00:35:42.159 whatever name tightened your chest, may the Spirit 00:35:42.159 --> 00:35:45.619 loosen your grip tonight. You don't have to rush 00:35:45.619 --> 00:35:49.639 it. You don't have to fake it. Just take one 00:35:49.639 --> 00:35:52.599 small step towards the mercy that's already chasing 00:35:52.599 --> 00:35:56.320 you down. You've been forgiven more than you'll 00:35:56.320 --> 00:35:59.519 ever know. Let that mercy hold you while you 00:35:59.519 --> 00:36:03.409 learn to release what's been choking you. And 00:36:03.409 --> 00:36:07.010 before we go, let me give you the invitation 00:36:07.010 --> 00:36:09.530 we always give around here. If what we do at 00:36:09.530 --> 00:36:12.429 this little digital church stirs something true 00:36:12.429 --> 00:36:15.610 in you, if it helps you breathe a little deeper, 00:36:15.750 --> 00:36:19.349 feels like grace found you somewhere in the static, 00:36:19.429 --> 00:36:23.050 then throw that like in the offering plate. Not 00:36:23.050 --> 00:36:25.210 a donation, treat it like a declaration that 00:36:25.210 --> 00:36:26.889 you're out there listening, still walking the 00:36:26.889 --> 00:36:30.119 road with us. And if you want to know when we're 00:36:30.119 --> 00:36:32.659 having church again, go on and tithe your subscribe. 00:36:33.300 --> 00:36:36.360 It costs you nothing, but it tells me and the 00:36:36.360 --> 00:36:38.519 rest of this little scattered congregation that 00:36:38.519 --> 00:36:40.420 you're still a part of the story we're telling. 00:36:41.159 --> 00:36:55.820 As always, be blessed. It's late. The static's 00:36:55.820 --> 00:36:59.039 humming. And if you ain't going to send your 00:36:59.039 --> 00:37:02.599 money to me, then just whisper that like into 00:37:02.599 --> 00:37:06.360 the plate. Every click's a candle in the dark 00:37:06.360 --> 00:37:10.059 telling heaven we're still here, still listening. 00:37:11.159 --> 00:37:16.219 So before you turn that dial, throw it in the 00:37:16.219 --> 00:37:17.039 plate.