September 13, 2026

Matthew 18: 21-35

“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

The man owed a whole lotta money, I mean a whole lotta money. 10,000 talents. That was exorbitant amount. 1 talent =6,000 denarii. 1 denarius was a day’s wage. And if you do the math, (10,000×6,000=60,000,000 days wages divided by 365 days= 165,000 years x $50,000/yr=$8.25 billion) 10,000 talents = 165,000 years of labor to pay back that debt! IOW, that man owed a whole lot. So I am sure he wasn’t surprised to be summoned to the inner chambers of the king. He left the house, reached the steps to the palace, went up the steps, passed by the guards, escorted right through the double doors, to the inner chamber and there he bows before the king as was custom. The ledger was opened to where this man’s name was printed, the king looks down and says “servant, it says here you owe me a whole lotta money.” Yes sir. “you owe me… 10,000 talents.” Yes sir. “I want my money.” Yes sir. “I want my money now.” Yes sir. I mean no sir. I don’t have 10,000 talents. Then the aid and the king start a negotiation on selling this particular man and selling his wife and selling his children so that maybe he can get a little bit of that huge debt. The king turns around and sees the servant down on his knees, “Sir have mercy on me, have mercy on me and I will pay it all back. Give me a little time.” How silly, isn’t that? A little time, 165,000 years! I don’t think you are gonna live that long. The king chuckled and perhaps smiled and took that ledger and ripped that page up and he turns to that servant and says, “I forgive you. I forgive you the debt. You are free and clear. Go in peace.”

Can you imagine the unbelievable happiness of the servant. The relief. The tears must’ve been all over his face and when he got up and he’s off to freedom. At least we hope that’s the case. But that’s not how the story goes. He apparently gets to the street and finds another servant who owes him just 100 denarii, just over 3 months wages. What’s that three months wages in contrast to 165,000 years of wages? But this man, who had just been forgiven billions of dollars grabs the man by the throat for just a few bucks. And says “pay what you owe!” Notice what Jesus says the man did, he gets down on his hands and knees just like the first man had done, “just give me a little more time, have mercy on me, I’ll pay it all back.” But wouldn’t you know it, the guy refused. He didn’t give him more time, he didn’t give him anything, he called the police. “This man owes me money and he’s not paying me back! Take him to jail.” That crowed gathered didn’t like what they saw and they didn’t like what they heard. So they went to the king and said you would not believe what that servant did that you just forgave. The king said “well the two of us need to have another conversation don’t we?”

So the king summoned the servant back into his presence and up he went those steps again, passed by the guards, escorted through the double doors, to the inner chamber and there he bowed before the king as was custom. And the king asked, “weren’t you here a little while ago?” yes sir. “If I remember correctly, I had the ledger book open to the page which your name appeared and on the bottom line it said you owed me 10,000 talents, is that right?” yes sir. “Well, if I remember correctly, I had told you that I wanted my money, right now.” Yes sir. “And you got down on your knees and begged for mercy. Do you remember what I did for you?” “I ripped the ledger sheet and told you to go in peace. Now what’s this I hear about you when you left this place? When you got down those steps and you seized a man, just after I had forgiven you. Did you throw him in jail for a few bucks? Is that correct?” yes. “Well, I have news for you. Do you know that jail cell where he is, you are gonna take his place and you will stay there until you pay back everything you owe me.”

We read that and say ya know that’s fair. He got what was coming, he’s not a very nice guy and we are not very sorry about the fate of that unmerciful servant. Ya know, I’ve been troubled by this story. The hero of this tale is the king and the king forgives the servant but then 10 minutes later he takes it all back. That’s not what I’ve been told about forgiveness. Is that what you’ve been told? You can’t forgive me and then later in the day say, “I’ve changed my mind. I’m taking my forgiveness back.” What’s up with the king who forgives and takes the forgiveness back??

The more I realize it, this is not about a king who forgives and takes it all back?  This is a story about a king who invited the servant to live in the kingdom where debts are forgiven. He owed so very much! So much that there was no possible way that debt could be paid back. Amazingly, that king invited that servant to live in a kingdom where debts are forgiven.

And when the servant left the king, he went and lived in a completely different world. The servant goes and lives in the world where you pay what you owe. We know this because he finds a guy who owes him something and he strangles him and throws him in jail until he can pay him back. He’s living in this world where you pay what you owe. So the king brings him back, he is not taking away his forgiveness, he’s just saying do you really want to live is a world where you pay what you owe? …..ok then, you are gonna be in prison until you pay what you owe.

Imagine you run into a friend, that friend says, “I forgot my wallet, would you loan me a $20 bill, I’ll drop by later today and pay you back.” So you give him a 20. So it’s Monday morning and he didn’t bring back the $20 bill. At 8 in the morning you get a call from a lawyer and he says “you have received an inheritance from a long lost relative and you’ve been given millions of dollars. No scam, we will be sending it certified mail.” Imagine that feeling about that news? You’d be ecstatic, right. Now is it possible for you to remember that person who borrowed $20 yesterday, and he didn’t bring it back to you? Are you gonna call that guy quick and say, “don’t forget you owe me $20.” I don’t think so. Not after you got that call from the lawyer. In fact, you’d say just keep it, I got some great news today! The man in the parable could not live that way. He could not live in a world where debts are forgiven. He lived in a world where you pay what you owe. Perhaps he learned that lesson that a lot of us learned from early on. The lesson that says never take anything from anybody, everybody’s got to pull their own weight, you pay what you owe. We learned that lesson very well and so did he.  He couldn’t take a gift like that. But really that’s what forgiveness is all about. That’s how God’s forgiveness comes. It is freely given to underserving people. It is freely given to you and to me. In fact, we could place ourselves in that servant’s shoes. We are summoned to the king, we go up the steps, pass the guards, right through the double doors and ushered into that inner chamber of the king. The king plops down that huge ledger on the table and opens it up to your name on the top, and my name on the top. And the king looks down on the bottom line of that ledger and He says, it says that you owe Me an awful lot. Is that figure right? It says that you are indebted many, many, many billions, is that correct? Every last one of us has to answer this morning, I am heavily in debt, even 165,000 years of work would not be enough to pay the debt. Well, do you know what the king does? He takes that sheet, that sheet with your name, that sheet with my name He rips it out of the book and rips it to shreds. He looks down at us and says I forgive you. I forgive you the debt because of what My Son did for you. I forgive you the debt, because Jesus died on a cross in your place. I forgive you the debt, because He took your sins upon Himself. I forgive you the debt. You are free and clear. Your debt is forgiven…..go in peace.

And, finally we get to Peter’s question at the very beginning of this text. Do you remember that question, how many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Do you see, Jesus says, how God forgives? Over and over and over again, never stopping…like a giant flood of forgiveness. That’s how we forgive, Peter. Forgive like your God forgives.

Dan Pavlov, wrote a book on the Lord’s Prayer called Our way home.  He speaks about that flood of God’s forgiveness and how then we forgive others. He writes, In June 1997 our house flooded. A week’s worth of rain was capped off with 6” overnight.  Our street was overwhelmed. Soon water was pooling around several houses including ours. The water covered the yard and came up to the bottom of the basement windows, our house became one of the many islands in the neighborhood. There was a foot of water in the basement and the level was rising. In the middle of all this the three of us neighbors just stood in the street, we were in water above our knees. I have never been in the midst of so much water. It was pushing its way into every crack of our lives. We could pump it out of our homes, out of our basement but it seemed to come back even more. Now Dan says, imagine if in the middle of that scene, one of the neighbors who’s property was a little bit higher and had not been flooded and had come to him and said, “Hey, could you spare some of that water? I wouldn’t take all of it, could you just spare some?” What would he say? Would he say “Ah no I think I’d better hold onto it” or “sorry I don’t have much to spare.” Are you kidding me?!? If a man had actually come to him asking for water, Dan certainly wouldn’t ask any questions. “Water? You want some water, you can have water, we’re going under, take all that you want. I’ve got water and I can give it to you.”

We receive God’s flood of forgiveness. Forgiveness just pours out on us, beyond measure. It is a perfect flood of love and of grace and it just covers us, it inundates us, it infiltrates our lives, it overwhelms us. It covers over us in such an abundance, that our neighbors can have as much as they can get from us, can’t they? And in receiving that flood of forgiveness and then pouring it out on our neighbor, we become not that unmerciful servant, that we see in Jesus’ story, but a grateful servant who has received from his Lord the blessing of forgiveness. A grateful servant who has been invited to live in a kingdom where debts are forgiven. And we watch the Christ come into the world for us. And we watch the Christ suffer and die and rise for us. And we receive His forgiveness with a thankful and with a joyful heart. But we also hear the Saviors call… Love, as I have loved you. Give, as I have given to you. Serve, as I have served you. Forgive, as I have forgiven you. And the grateful servant, you and I, go on our way, loving, giving, serving, forgiving. That’s what being Christ’s disciple is all about! We have received a flood of forgiveness and we pour it out on all those around us. Amen.

And now may the peace of God, which surpasses all our understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.