Matthew 18:23-35 Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor

This parable comes in response to Peter’s question about how many times should we forgive our brother. Jesus answers by showing that the kingdom of heaven is about forgiveness. Some people know they have much that needs to be forgiven. When standing before God, they recognize they have a greater debt to pay than they can ever pay back. The law shows us the enormity of our debt, and that we deserve punishment. Since you can’t earn much money in prison, there’s no way you can pay it back. Such is the case with sin. The little that we can do on our own efforts won’t make a dent in the amount of harm we have done by our actions. All one can do is to plead for mercy.

God is gracious and loving, forgiving not only the debt but the punishment as well. Justice involves payment for debt. Mercy can only be given to someone who cannot pay the debt. So is God just or is God merciful? I get the impression most Christians want a just God. They want to see punishment meted out for the crime. And justice excludes mercy. An interesting dilemma.

Quotes by Martin Luther: “The Gospel, or the kingdom of God, is nothing else than a state in which there is nothing but the forgiveness of sin. Wherever there is no forgiveness, there is no kingdom of God.” Civil law and rights are not abolished with the forgiveness of sin, for civil government is found in the kingdom of the world, which must administer its laws and punishments to keep people in line. Whereas forgiveness is in the spiritual world.

The story continues when the man who couldn’t pay his own debt, pleaded for and received mercy, was unwilling to show mercy to someone who owed a small debt. The kingdom of God exists only when forgiveness flows through us and we let go of the debt someone is unable to pay us. When we can’t forgive, we are tormented, i.e., tortured by the jailers. Unforgiveness is a self-inflicted gift that keeps on giving to the one who holds it.

Forgiveness is not given in lip-service only. True forgiveness means a letting go of the debt and the punishment we would like to see the other person experience. Can anyone ever live in the kingdom of God? Narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it (Matt. 7:14) Forgiveness is one of the keys.

Blessings,
PWM