In Matthew 18, Jesus is asked by Peter how often he should forgive his brother if he sins against him. Peter asks if seven times is enough. The teaching at that time was that the person should be forgiven three times, so Peter thought he was being generous. He wasn’t really ready for Jesus reply which was 77 times.
Jesus goes on to tell a parable about a king who had a servant who owed him ten thousand talents. The whole story is in Matthew 18:21-35. It doesn't say how this slave came to owe such an unusual high amount of money nor is it the point of the parable. The servant finds himself in a tough spot because the king says that he is to be sold along with all his family and repayment to be made. Even if this had happened, the average slave in Jesus day would have cost less than a talent of silver, so this would not have come close to repaying this loan.
I think you would have heard laughter when Jesus tells us that the servant fell down before the king vs.26 and asked the king for patience and that he would repay this debt. This is what the law was designed to teach us. That is it our tutor to teach us our need for Christ and that we cannot earn salvation on our own Gal 3:24. There is no way that the slave would have been able to repay the debt if he had lived four lifetimes. His situation was absolutely abundantly in default. This is the condition which we find ourselves without Christ. Romans 5:6 uses the word helpless to describe our sinful condition without Christ. Yet, it says,
“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
There is a story that Chuck Swindoll tells in his book titled "Jesus: The Greatest Life of All" where a woman comes into court and the judge pronounces sentence on her and she says that she cannot pay. After the guy imposes the fine he takes off his robe and comes down and hands the woman the money to pay the fine. Then he puts his robe back on and says that it appears someone has paid the fine for you and you are free to go. In a sense this is what this king does. He steps in and removes the debt by forgiving it. The Bible uses several terms to describe what happened here, but I like the one in Colossians 1:13 where it says that Jesus delivered us. Colossians 1:13-14 says
“For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
But, then a remarkable and sad thing happens in our parable in Matthew 18. The forgiveness of the king makes no impact on this slaves mentality and he goes out and finds a slave who owes him a hundred denarii (or 3.5 months wages) and begins to choke the man demanding repayment. When this man does the same thing and begs for patience he is unwilling but throws the man into prison. I think this tells me that it is important for us to live and work remembering how much God has forgiven us in Christ. This is a picture of a person who is forgiven by God but then does not forgive his brother. And there is a warning to us that is also stated in the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:14-15
“For if you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But, if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”
But, I think what this really reflects is that those who truly understand how much they are forgiveness and love will forgive in return. If you don’t get it and think that somehow you deserve to go to heaven or you deserve God’s forgiveness you might take it lightly. But, if you truly realize the morally bankrupt, helpless situation you were in then you will not find it so hard to forgive others. He paid a debt that I could not come close to repaying. Jesus went through unspeakable suffering on the cross and even before to redeem you. It was not free nor was it easy for him. The scourging alone that he took killed some people. This is why Paul ends Ephesians 4 with these words in verse 32
“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
There is another story about a woman in Luke 7 about forgiveness related to this. In this event, Jesus is at the table eating with a man named Simon and his dinner guests. A woman enters the room and finds Jesus and takes an alabaster vial of perfume Lk 7:37 and wets his feet with her hair and kisses his feet and anoints him with perfume. Jesus goes on to say that the one who has been forgiven little loves little and the one who loves much has been forgiven much. So, while her sins were many they were forgiven for she had gratitude. I think this is the attitude that we should all have and live with gratitude for all that Jesus has done for us.
