Matthew - Week 58

Seventy Times Seven 

READ 

Matthew 18:21-22 

21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!” 

The previous verses dealt with one believer offending another one. Now Peter wants to know how often he should forgive such a person. Some translations indicate Jesus’ answer not as 70 times 7 but as 77 times. There is a large difference between 490 times and 77 times. It is likely Jesus was stressing there was no limit to the times one should forgive, based on how much he had been forgiven. This seems to be the point of the parable He told that follows this verse. 

REFLECT 

Have you had to forgive someone and found it difficult to forgive again for the same offense? 

RESPOND 

Talk with a fellow believer about the matter of forgiving others. Express to each other why you sometimes find it so hard. 

Settling Accounts 

READ 

Matthew 18:23-25 

23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.” 

Jesus then told a parable to His disciples. It presented a debtor who owed a tremendous amount to the king. The king ordered that the debtor, his family, and everything he owned be sold to pay the debt. Listening to the parable, the disciples surely wondered what this poor debtor would do.  

REFLECT 

Have you faced a serious debt and could sympathize with the debtor in this story? Others you know likely have.  

RESPOND 

With a friend talk about the enormous debt some can owe because of gambling. Some have lost their families and all they own because of not knowing when to stop this addictive habit.  

No Lesson Learned 

READ 

Matthew 18:26-28 

26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. 28 But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.” 

The debtor begged for forgiveness and promised to pay his debt. The king had pity on him and accepted his plea. Then this same debtor found someone owing him less than he had owed the king and he had no pity on him. Not only did he demand payment, he demanded “instant payment.”  

REFLECT 

Have you experienced someone owing you something? Have you had pity on the person and shown understanding? 

RESPOND 

Discuss with a friend about how unreasonable this man was who had been forgiven so much but would not forgive someone who owed him less.  

Thrown in Jail 

READ 

Matthew 18:29-30 

29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.” 

Just as the debtor had pleaded with the king to forgive his debt, this man’s debtor pleaded the same and promised to pay it. Having no mercy the creditor had the man arrested and imprisoned until the debt was paid in full. Nothing is said about how he could repay the debt if he was in prison. Every point in a parable does not have to have a direct meaning. A parable is like an illustration that has a main point. In this instance the main point was about forgiveness. 

REFLECT 

As you read the parables Jesus told, do you search for the main point He made without trying to make every detail relate to something significant? 

RESPOND 

With a fellow believer, read the parables in Luke 15 about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. What do you think is the main point in these stories? 

The Evil Servant 

READ 

Matthew 18:31-35 

31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 35 That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” 

Other servants knew about the different treatment this debtor had received from the king and how he mistreated his own debtor. When the king was made aware of this, he rebuked his debtor who had no mercy on someone who owed him far less money. The main point of the parable is seen in verse 35 as Jesus said, “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” 

REFLECT 

Think of the impact Jesus’ statement in verse 35 had on the disciples. What kind of impact does it have on you? 

RESPOND 

Examine the words of Ephesians 4:31-32. As a believer in Jesus are you living by these statements? Determine to honor the Lord in your life in everything you do.