Opening Prayer
Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions (Psa 51:1).
Text: Matthew 18:23–35
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ‘Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
Devotion
God forgives every penitent sinner, even the most sinful. But only those who are willing to forgive others can keep God’s grace.
1. With the 10,000 talents we see our whole great debt before God. When you are counting and get to 10, you have to go back to 1 to keep going. 10 designates fullness and completeness, but 10,000 is 10 times 10 times 10 times 10, and a “talent” is worth many thousands of dollars. What an accurate description of our debt! So our Lord Jesus teaches us, if we recognize the truth in it! Then when He said that the servant “was not able to pay,” He shows that we have nothing good at all with which to stand before God. You owe ten thousand talents, but you have nothing, nothing with which to pay. That’s really how it is.
Now justice requires that this must be paid. Otherwise you will receive the punishment you deserve, and “your spouse and children” also. But the servant humbles himself, and then the Lord’s grace comes forth. Do you realize that God rightly ought to and could condemn you? Indeed, unless your sin is paid for, He must do it. But if your heart prays for mercy, then He “is moved with compassion, releases you, and forgives you the debt.”
The servant says that “he will pay it all.” Sometimes you hear preaching that says that whoever wants to receive grace must have completely turned away from self-righteousness and not think about paying any of his guilt himself. If that were true, then it would be all but impossible for any sinner to enter the state of grace. But Jesus does not present such a comfortless doctrine. The Spirit in the believers counts everything as worthlessness compared to Christ, but self-righteousness is still there and always hinders the confidence of faith. For it is not humility, but self-righteousness that makes our faith weak. When the sinner does not want to recognize his guilt, then that is his self-righteousness, that excludes him from grace, for then one does not ask for mercy. But when you recognize your debt and humble yourself before God’s righteous judgment, then God forgives you everything, even if you still want to pay it yourself. Isn’t this clearly written in our Gospel? And doesn’t David teach the same? “I acknowledged my sin to You … And You forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psa 32:5). Likewise John says: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1Jo 1:9). But the Holy Spirit also teaches us the same, and makes it ever clearer that forgiveness of sins is pure grace so that we leave behind the “forbearance” and “longsuffering” of the Old Testament and enter into the perfect “forgiveness” of the New Testament that has its living, conquering root in the righteousness of Christ. Listen now, dear soul, to what Jesus wants to tell you here: all your sins are annihilated, when you honestly acknowledge your debt, no matter how far you still may fall short in understanding justification.
But forgive your fellow servant! If you don’t, then you fall back under the judgment of God’s wrath. With a gentle spirit you should help your neighbor to acknowledge his sin. He cannot enjoy the comfort of forgiveness without confessing his sin. But don’t be angry, and don’t take revenge on him. You should forgive in your heart whatever he does to you. Then you can bless him, pray for him, have loving concern for his unfortunate condition and hope that he may repent, so that you both can be united in heaven. If your debtor asks for patience, then as you have had such a great debt forgiven, gladly forgive the little one! What is 100 denarii compared to 10,000 talents?
But there must be a deep pit of evil in our heart, since Jesus presents this servant as a picture of us. And it must be an incredibly important thing to forgive our debtors, since He has taught us to say it every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer. Whenever someone who is unforgiving prays the Fifth Petition, he calls down God’s judgment on himself. He does not want to forgive and prays that God should do the same to him. Christ’s kingdom is a kingdom of forgiveness. Mercy is seated there on the throne and extends its scepter over all the people. Grace in His blood, God’s eternal love in Christ for us lost creatures, is the sun that rises and warms the whole city of Zion. Whoever cannot submit to this principle and does not want to breathe this air cannot live or stay in this kingdom.
Closing Prayer
O God, teach us to know our sin with heartfelt remorse, and forgive us all our guilt for the sake of Jesus’ blood. But teach us also to believe Your grace in Christ and give us kind and forgiving hearts, so that we gladly forgive each other as before You, yes, really “from our heart to forgive our brother his trespasses.” Amen.
Hymn
God, when I give my accounting
Of whatever I have done,
Then, my ev’ry deed recounting,
Debts are found in ev’ry one;
Guilt and shame and sin’s transgression –
Weighing many thousand pounds –
How then dare I ask admission
When the hour of judgment sounds?
Low before Thy throne I bow me
Deep in sad humility,
Pray and cry and call upon Thee:
Lord, have patience still with me.
Jesus, come with all Thy merit;
Pay my woeful debt for me.
From damnation save my spirit;
Let me still Thy heaven see.
Landstad: Gud, naar du til Regnskab kalder L 561 tr. DeGarmeaux;
tune: O Durchbrecher (ELH 484); alternate hymn: Come, follow Me ELH 422 or Wilt Thou forgive ELH 498