Matthew 18:21-27: a reflection

21Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven. 23Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24When he had begun to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26The servant therefore fell down and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’ 27The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt.

When Peter asks how many times he must forgive, Jesus answers with a parable that first shows the enormous debt God has forgiven us. A servant owed his king ten thousand talents, an unpayable sum, a debt beyond any hope of repaying; and when he begged for patience, the king, moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the whole debt. The debt was immense, impossible to pay; yet the king forgave it entirely, out of compassion. This is a picture of what God has done for us: forgiven an immense, unpayable debt of sin, canceled it entirely out of compassion, released us from what we could never have repaid.

Notice the immensity of the debt, and the completeness of the forgiveness. The servant owed ten thousand talents, a sum he could never repay; his debt was beyond any hope of payment. Yet the king, moved with compassion, did not merely reduce it or give more time; he forgave the whole debt, canceled it entirely, released the servant from all of it. This is the measure of God's forgiveness of us: an immense, unpayable debt of sin, forgiven completely, canceled entirely, out of compassion. We owed what we could never pay; and God, moved with compassion, forgave it all. The immensity of the debt and the completeness of its forgiveness show the greatness of what God has done for us in forgiving our sins.

That is worth resting in, for God has forgiven us an immense, unpayable debt of sin, canceling it entirely out of compassion. We can feel the weight of a debt of sin we could never repay, and wonder whether it can be forgiven; but the parable shows a king who forgave an unpayable debt entirely, out of compassion, and this is what God has done for us. Our immense debt of sin, which we could never pay, God has forgiven completely, out of compassion. When you feel the weight of a debt of sin too great to pay, remember that God has forgiven such a debt entirely, out of compassion, as the king forgave the servant. Rest in the truth that God has forgiven you an immense, unpayable debt of sin, canceling it entirely out of compassion, as the king forgave the servant who owed ten thousand talents; for we owed what we could never repay, and God, moved with compassion, has forgiven it all, releasing us from the whole debt of our sin.

Lord Jesus, when Peter asks how many times he must forgive, you answer with a parable that first shows the enormous debt God has forgiven us. A servant owed his king ten thousand talents, an unpayable sum, a debt beyond any hope of repaying; and when he begged for patience, the king, moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the whole debt. The debt was immense, impossible to pay; yet the king forgave it entirely, out of compassion. This is a picture of what God has done for us: forgiven an immense, unpayable debt of sin. Show me the immensity of the debt, and the completeness of the forgiveness. The servant owed ten thousand talents, a sum he could never repay. Yet the king, moved with compassion, did not merely reduce it or give more time; he forgave the whole debt, canceled it entirely. This is the measure of God's forgiveness of us: an immense, unpayable debt of sin, forgiven completely, out of compassion. We owed what we could never pay; and God, moved with compassion, forgave it all. Let me rest in that, for God has forgiven me an immense, unpayable debt of sin, canceling it entirely out of compassion. I can feel the weight of a debt of sin I could never repay, and wonder whether it can be forgiven; but the parable shows a king who forgave an unpayable debt entirely, out of compassion, and this is what God has done for me. When I feel the weight of a debt of sin too great to pay, help me remember that you have forgiven such a debt entirely, out of compassion, Lord, as the king forgave the servant. Help me rest in the truth that you have forgiven me an immense, unpayable debt of sin, canceling it entirely out of compassion.