Matthew 18:23-27 -- On Forgiveness

"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
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.
The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt."
Matthew 18:23-27


This is the beginning of the parable of the unforgiving servant (or unmerciful servant).  This first part symbolizes God as the king, and us as his servants... the debt is sin.  And ten thousand talents is astronomical.  Pretty much a debt that you're never going to be able to pay under normal conditions.  And yet, God forgives us the debt.

This is talking about the atonement and God's mercy towards us in accepting much less than justice demanded of him, and allowing us time to meet the requirements of heaven rather than sacrificing that chance because we don't measure up right now.

The first part of the parable here helps us to understand the second part, which goes on to tell how the servant that was forgiven such an immense debt went on to torture another servant who owed him almost nothing, and because he didn't pass on the mercy that was shown to him, the king withdrew it.

I think the main message in the overall parable is that if we want to be forgiven, we need to forgive.  This is much the same as being willing to love others and to treat them the way we would prefer to be treated.  The first part of the parable helps us to understand the humility of our own situation.  We aren't kings, granting or withholding our largess as we see fit.  God is in that position.  He is rich, being without sin.  We are in debt to him already, and rather than pridefully refusing to forgive those who have wronged us, if we understand our own sins/debt... perhaps we will be able to have compassion enough to forgive the shortcomings of others as well.  It's certainly not easy... either to repent or forgive, but today, let's work on it, and live in thanks that God is willing to lift that burden from all of us.