How often should I forgive? How often should I forgive my spouse and children – my fellow church members and pastor – my classmates and coworkers – my friends and my enemies if I feel that they have sinned against me? How often should I forgive them and not hold their sins against them? Is there a limit to this forgiveness?

This is an important question to have an answer to because you’re surrounded by sinners. No one around you is perfect. It is important because, believe it or not, you and I also sin against others by words and deeds, intentionally or not, whether we are aware of it or not. How do we respond to those who sin against us and how do we expect others to treat us, if we have sinned against them? Or don’t you care? You should as our sin and our forgiveness have a deep relation to God’s forgiveness. If we are not able to forgive others their sins against us. If we do not care when we have sinned against others. Why shouldn’t God hold our sins against us? That brings us to the Gospel text for today.

During the time of Jesus, Jewish tradition taught that one could forgive up to three times for the same sin. However, Peter, in our Gospel for this day, more than doubles this, no doubt believing that he was being very generous. “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Peter knew Jesus valued mercy highly, and so he more than doubles the legal requirement. Yet, as generous as Peter thinks he’s being with forgiveness, he’s still placing a limit on it.

To Peter, Jesus responds, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times'” Jesus isn’t teaching Peter higher math, or that there is literally a limit of 77 or 490 times of forgiving. No! Jesus is teaching His church to forgive without counting – without limit. Jesus proceeded to tell a parable to His disciples, and also to us, in order that we may understand the importance of forgiving.

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants” (Matt. 18:23). Settling accounts means calling in debtors and demanding repayment. It was a time of judgment.

“When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents”. As a single talent was worth about twenty years’ wages for a laborer, ten thousand talents means this man owed roughly 200,000 years worth of debt to the king. It couldn’t be paid off in one’s lifetime. What did he deserve? “since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made”

The heavily indebted servant begged for mercy, for the king’s patience hoping to pay the king back which with his great debt he never would be able.

“And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt” The king forgives the debt. Yet, debts don’t just disappear do they? Someone has to pay the debt. In this parable, the king transferred responsibility for making up the loss from the man to himself. The servant, however, doesn’t have to worry about it. He, along with his wife and children, have been set free from the extraordinary debt that was owed. And having been set free, you would think that he would be so overjoyed by the king’s generosity that he would go and show the same mercy to others.

“But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.'” A single talent was about twenty years’ worth of wages for a laborer, but a denarius was a single day’s wage. A hundred denarii would equate to a hundred days worth of work, roughly a third of a year. While a significant debt, it’s nothing compared to what the first servant owed.

“So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you'”. Notice, this servant speaks the exact same words that the first servant said to the king. At this point the first should think, “What am I doing? Why am I holding this measly amount against my brother when the king canceled so much more for me? Dear brother, I will cancel the debt with the same mercy that the king showed me.”

But he didn’t. “He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt”. The punishment the first servant rightly deserved but avoided, he now brings upon another. This reveals he didn’t fear the king’s judgment after the king’s extravagant forgiveness for his life. He was unchanged in his heart, but ungrateful and unmerciful.

“This got reported to the king. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt”.

Jesus teaches us in this parable the defining gift of the church: “the forgiveness of sins” from God and from each other. Your sin, your debt to God which includes your sin against your neighbor, is entered on the ledger the moment you’re conceived in your mother’s womb. Your sin, your debt to God is so great that it’s impossible to ever repay.

At the judgement God will settle accounts.

You must pay what you owe to him… but you can’t. You can’t pay for your sin. Unable to pay off this debt, the tortuous imprisonment in this parable which you deserve is the eternal punishment of hell. It is the just punishment for your sin against God.

The temptation for us is to believe our sin isn’t that bad, that we can pay it off by trying harder or that our debt doesn’t matter at all. Instead our cry should be the words from our introit, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!”

Over and against the massive debt that you owe to God, God offers to forgive you all of your sins. This isn’t on account of how sorry you are or on account of some payment plan for you to repay the debt over a long period of time. God forgives your massive sinful debt freely without requiring of you any payment for all your sins. This isn’t because no payment must be made. It’s because He has already paid the debt you owe. The price is the holy precious blood and the innocent suffering and death of His Son on the cross. Jesus bought your forgiveness with His own perfect obedience and suffering. God freely gives forgiveness for the sake of Christ and you receive it by faith.

Having been forgiven of the massive debt and the eternal punishment it brings, you’re set free to forgive your neighbor. We forgive because we’ve been forgiven.

But do you? Our sinful flesh objects to this and comes up with a number of arguments against our Lord’s clear teaching. “But, he doesn’t deserve forgiveness.” “But, what she did is too sinful to be forgiven.” “But, they aren’t really sorry.”

Refusing to forgive others is one of the clearest pieces of evidence of an imaginary faith. Such a vengeful heart is not receiving in faith God’s forgiving love. The damning results of that unforgiving last forever. “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart”.

Jesus calls you to forgive the repentant sinner without hesitation and without condition – real people who really offend you. It’s people in your family circle. It’s people in this church. It’s wherever. How can you forgive, but what source or power? It’s the power of the Lord’s forgiveness that flows out of you toward your erring brother and sister. It’s why Jesus teaches you to pray every day, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Jesus teaches us to forgive those who do us wrong, not once or twice, but as often as they need our forgiveness. He doesn’t teach us to approve of the wrong they do. To forgive someone is not to approve of his sin. Forgiveness isn’t approval. Forgiveness means to send away. All sins are forgiven on Calvary where Jesus died for the sin of the world. Jesus died for all sinners. He didn’t die just for you or only for those who believe in Him. He died for all.  When we forgive those who sin against us, we’re confessing this truth in Christ.

  While we don’t have the power to change the hearts of those who have done us wrong, we have the power to forgive and let go. While we can’t work repentance in our neighbor’s heart, we have the power to forgive by God’s strength so that those sins against us do not make us bitter and then we are tempted to sin ourselves. Jesus taught His church to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” 

Fellow redeemed, you have the power to forgive, and forgiveness is freedom. With a refusal to forgive and without God’s forgiveness you’re in spiritual slavery. You may think you’re free, but you’re bound by your sin. Death looms as divine judgment against you. But with God’s forgiveness you’re free. You have no debt to pay.  You have no fear of death. You feel no need to vindicate yourself, defend yourself, or make the guy who hurt you suffer. You’re free from all that in Christ Jesus. You have repented, you have been forgiven, and You can forgive, and as a result, you can set others free for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

Pr. Aaron Kangas