Forgiving and Forgiveness
Jesus often taught in parables. These are stories that contain instruction. Often we have difficulty understanding these parables. This should not be surprising. We expect that parables should clarify things, but in many cases that was not His intent.
Look what we find in Matthew 13:10–13 (KJV 1900) “10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
This shows us that it was not always His intention to make things understandable. He was talking about spiritual things, and such things can only be understood spiritually as we read in 1 Corinthians 2:14 (KJV 1900) “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Let’s jump into one such parable. It is found in Matthew 18:21–35 (KJV 1900)
“21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”
Reading this passage evokes for me another similar passage. Matthew 6:14–15 (KJV 1900) “14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
This is from a passage that is often referred to as The Lord’s Prayer, or in the Roman tradition, The Our Father. It is part of the teaching of Jesus that we refer to as The Sermon on the Mount. Luke 11 also records this prayer. There it is recounted as the answer Jesus gave His disciples when they asked Him to teach them to pray as John the Baptist taught his disciples.
That they asked Him to teach them as John the Baptist taught is a point that is easily missed. John was teaching the Law of Moses, not the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Likewise, it is very important to remember that much of what Jesus taught was to those who were under the Law of Moses. When He taught them about that, as He did in much of the Sermon on the Mount, He taught them the true meaning of the Law. Not just the letter of the Law, but the spirit of it. That included things like plucking out eyes, cutting off hands, not even thinking anything evil, and being perfect as God is perfect.
The central message of this parable is that if anyone wants to make themselves acceptable to and compatible with God (righteous) they must be as He is. Forgiveness is the example given in this parable. God (the lord of the servant) forgave the servant a great deal. More than the servant could hope to repay. Nevertheless, the servant was unforgiving toward another who owed him only a little.
This said to those under the Law that the requirement was unachievable. It told them that their only hope lay in the grace and mercy of God. This was hard for them to see because they had been raised in the tradition of the Law and taught that they needed to strive for moral perfection.
Verse 23 of our passage in Matthew 18 says, “the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.” This will occur at the judgement.
Verses 24 and 25 tell us that the servant was found to owe more than he could hope to pay. They go on to remind us of what the Law dictated. In the parable, the servant, his wife and children, and all that he had would be sold and the proceeds given to the lord. The wages of sin is death.
In verses 26 through 30 we find that being without hope the servant threw himself on the mercy of the lord and forgiveness was provided. Even so, the servant did not appreciate what had been done for him and failed to forgive another.
From this and verses 32-35 we understand that the servant’s heart was not changed. Jesus points out the importance of this in Luke 7:47 (KJV 1900) where we read, “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”
Unconditional forgiveness under the Law is not possible. Hebrews 10:4 (KJV 1900) makes this clear in saying that, “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” Under the Law, forgiveness by God is conditioned upon one’s forgiveness of others. That’s the letter of the Law. The spirit of the Law is forgiveness by God is conditioned upon spotless righteousness. That righteousness cannot be achieved by anyone. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, as we read in Romans 3:23. Righteousness acceptable to God must be given by Jesus and accepted as a gift through belief.
Jesus did not always teach the Law. Sometimes He taught the disciples about the way things would be under grace. For example, in John 13:34 (KJV 1900) He said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” Then in John 15:12 (KJV 1900) He reiterated, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” When he was asked in John 6:28–29 “What are we to do, so that we may accomplish the works of God?” Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
The finished work of Christ changed things. After the cross, we never again find teaching that tells us that we must forgive to be forgiven.
Instead, we read things like Ephesians 4:32 (KJV 1900) “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” And Colossians 3:13 (KJV 1900) “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”
In the end it all comes down to love. We love because Father loved us first. (1 John 4:19) We love because His love is poured all over our soft loving new hearts. (Romans 5:5)
Romans 13:8–10 (KJV 1900) tells us that love fulfills the law. It reads, “8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
This is true because as Romans 8:3–4 (KJV 1900) tells us, “…what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Because the Spirit of God lives in us and because we live and move and have our being in Jesus Christ, the requirement of the law is fulfilled in us. We have been given righteousness, as we read in Romans 5:17–21 (KJV 1900), “17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV 1900) is unequivocal as well. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Jesus gave us the very righteousness of God. In truth, there is no other righteousness.
The parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18 finds its true fulfillment in the grace of God received by faith in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter links obedience and righteousness in 1 Peter 1:18–23 (KJV 1900). It reads, “18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation [pointless way of life] received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
It is not our forgiveness of others or any other thing that we can do that redeems us and settles our debt with the Lord. Our redemption, our forgiveness, was given to us as a gift because of the blood of the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
He did this for we who put all our faith and hope in God through Jesus Christ, trusting Him for righteousness and forgiveness. Peter says that we who have trusted in God, “have purified [our] souls” by obeying the truth. Purified souls are righteous. Believing God is the “obedience of faith” that it was Paul’s stated mission to bring about. (Romans 1:5). Peter goes on to say that through the Spirit, God has produced in us genuine heartfelt love for the children of God.
The parable we have studied was needed introductory teaching that laid the groundwork for walking by faith and life in the Spirit that Jesus was to institute through His death and resurrection.
Forgiveness and new life are available to everyone who will obey God by believing what He says about what it takes to make us righteous and compatible to Him. For everyone who has believed Him, forgiveness is a done deal.
