Outrageous Mercy of the King and the Logic of Works in Forgiveness

Then Peter came to Him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all. Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. Matthew 18: 21-27 NIV

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! So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all. And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 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. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you? And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses. #Matthew 18: 21-27 NIV

The Outrageous Mercy of the King And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, Grant me justice against my adversary (Luke 18:3). The forgiveness of the master is rooted in his compassion. He looks upon this servant and has mercy on him. He is not compelled to in any kind of way. And yet he chooses to have mercy on this undeserving servant. This servant has got himself into debt. The fair thing in this case would be that the servant repay the debt. And yet the master shows outrageous mercy. I want us to notice something. This forgiveness is costly. This is millions of pounds that we are talking about. He will have to absorb this debt himself. It will cost his business and yet he takes on this cost himself so that the servant can go absolutely free. He doesn t half it or come up with a reasonable payment plan. He deletes the debt entirely.

The Logic of Works Listen to what the unjest judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night (Luke 18:6-7a)? He somehow thinks he can pay it. He thinks he can work his way out of it. Rather than realising that he is hopeless and that he is utterly dependent upon the mercy of his master, he thinks with more time that he will be able to sort it out. He could work The attempt of Unforgiveness is rooted in a failure to realize just how desperate we are. The man still thinks he can somehow be okay with his master if he works hard enough.

Forgive One Another However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)? This I believe is one of the scariest warnings in all of the Bible. If we do not forgive other. Unforgiveness is the sure sign that we do not understand and believe the Gospel. It is impossible to truly grasp the depth of our sin and the height of God s mercy and yet still hold sin against our brother or sister. The key to forgiveness, particularly when the sin is grievous, is a meditation on how God has forgiven us in the Gospel. People s sin against us is costly (), and yet it is insignificant in comparison to the ways that we have sinned against the God who made us and sustains our very life. A church community marked by the Gospel is beautiful because they are no grudges and factions. Anything else shows a basic disbelief in the Gospel.