Matthew 18:21-35
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Reflection
When Jesus died on the cross for us, He paid the debt we owed for sin. There was no way that we could have paid that debt ourselves, so God had mercy and sent His Son to do it for us. When we accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts, sin no longer kept us apart from Him. Since our Heavenly Father loved us so much to save us through His one and only Son, shouldn’t we forgive others for debts they have against us? Imagine that someone did something to you that you felt you could never forgive. If you did that exact same sin, wouldn’t you want your Heavenly Father to forgive you? Is there a trespass bu someone in your life too great against you that you have been unable to forgive? If you have them, will you ask God to help you to forgive their trespasses?
Please share your comments below. We’d love to hear how God moves in your life!
