In Matthew 18, Jesus tells a familiar parable of grace and forgiveness. The parable has three characters: a king, a servant, and a fellow servant. Most of us have heard this wonderful parable so many times, we can recite it by heart.
In this parable, the king calls a servant forward who owes him 10,000 talents. One talent equaled about twenty years of wages. When you do the math, you realize this servant owed the king 200,000 years of wages. This was a staggering amount so monstrous we can hardly comprehend the debt the man was in. The simple truth was that there was no realistic way the servant could pay back this debt in many lifetimes. Yet the servant falls to his knees and begs the king for patience, even though they both knew there was no hope for repayment.
“So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” (Matthew 18:26 ESV).
Yet the king, in a moment that teaches us about real grace, is moved with compassion. He looks past the servant’s failure, shame, and brokenness and makes an unexpected decision that will reverberate through the halls of mercy. In a moment, he forgives the debt in full. In that moment, the excruciating weight is lifted and the impossible burden is removed. The servant who had no hope now stands free and clear.
“And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.” (Matthew 18:27 ESV).
Can you imagine the songs of praise that must have been gushing from the servant’s heart as he greeted the day with newfound freedom and release? Have you been there? Has something so overwhelmingly positive happened to you that nothing could contain your joy?
Well, it wouldn’t take long for the servant to forget his joy. Soon, a fellow servant approached him who owed him a debt. It wasn’t a small debt, but it was a grain of sand compared to the mountain the king just forgave him. One hundred denarii was his, but his fellow servant could not repay it.
In a rage, the servant seized his fellow servant by the throat with the demand, “Pay me what you owe me!” Though his fellow servant pleaded with the same words for mercy he himself had just used before the king, the servant was unyielding and cast his fellow servant into prison.
When the king learns of this, his righteous anger flares. He calls the forgiven servant back and questions, “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” With that, the king reverses his previous mercy and hands the man over to the jailers until he can pay his massive, unpayable debt in full.
Jesus gave this parable to us for a specific reason. Few will be called to forgive unspeakable debts, but we all have small debts that others owe us. When faced with these small debts, how tightly do we hold on to what is ours? This parable is a window into our hearts.
It’s easy to shake our heads at the hypocrisy of the unforgiving servant and forget that we, too, can easily fall into the same trap. Those who bend the knee to King Jesus have received unfathomable grace from God. We have been forgiven a debt we could never repay in many lifetimes. Yet, how tightly do we hold those small debts due to us?
What about petty disputes that seem to plague us; a friend who has a harsh word or a family member who failed to invite us to a gathering? What about a colleague at work who takes credit for our idea or a driver who takes our parking spot? How quickly do we say in our heart, “Pay me what you owe me,” even if we never utter the words aloud?
In the moment, these small offenses can seem monumental, can’t they? We replay the offense over and over in our minds and nurture the hurt feelings so much that they cement into bitterness. But look at these offenses through the lens of this parable. How do they compare to the grievous eternal offenses God has forgiven us?
Consider this for a moment: A husband and wife argue over something that starts as a small disagreement. Who was supposed to pick up the kids from school? Before you know it, each has armed themselves with a list of past wrongs. The husband points out that she never listens while the wife reminds him how forgetful he is.
The argument that started as a small offense swells into a demand for justice. This may sound silly as we consider it, but haven’t we all had similar experiences? Soon, each is saying in their heart, “Pay me what you owe me!” In the heat of the moment, both forget the massive debt God has forgiven them. Their selfishness, pride, and failures were all washed away when they first submitted to King Jesus.
What about the workplace disagreement where someone fails to meet a deadline we were counting on? We let frustration linger and bubble up as we replay their offense over and over in our head and we grow angrier and angrier, especially when we are negatively impacted by their lack of follow-through.
“If they just kept their word, none of this would have happened. If they were the people they should be, they’d step up and make it right!” Yet, how many missed promises have we made to God and still received His compassion toward us?
What about a friendship strained over a forgotten birthday, an unreturned favor, or a poorly timed word? How often do we nurse the hurt, take these offenses by the throat and demand, “Pay me what you owe me!”
We need to understand that when we insist on making others pay what they owe us, it imprisons us as much as it does them. Bitterness and unforgiveness are the chains that bind our souls and erode the peace we find in Jesus. We remain locked in a cell of our own making, unable to find the freedom that comes from releasing our right to collect what we believe is owed.
Why is it that we struggle with grace so much? Perhaps it is our pride that whispers in our heart, “You deserve better.” Perhaps it is our fear of releasing the debt and losing the power that we hold over people. Whatever the reason, when we hold people hostage to their offenses, it keeps us chained to a life far removed from the one that Jesus calls us to live.
How much would our lives change if we practiced the radical grace the king in the parable modeled? How different would we be if we practiced the same overwhelming grace that God gave us? Instead of tightening our grip on the wrongs others did to us, what if we released them? If a friend spoke harsh words, what if we offered release instead of resentment? If our spouse made a mistake, what if we chose understanding over conflict? If our coworker failed us, what if we offered empathy instead of silent condemnation?
We’re not saying we don’t need boundaries or that hurtful actions never need to be addressed. God’s grace isn’t about pretending wrongs don’t exist. It’s about choosing mercy even when justice gives us the right to hold on to a debt. Grace means releasing the right to collect payment because we remember that our own impossible debt has already been canceled.
Forgiveness is often a hard choice, but it is a choice none-the-less. It is a choice that frees us to live in peace and joy. When we choose to extend the grace we see in the parable, we step into the likeness of God who has lavished us with forgiveness far beyond what we can imagine. We mirror the heart of King Jesus when we choose grace over grievance, mercy over judgment, and love over resentment.
The next time you find yourself holding on to an offense with your hands wrapped around someone’s throat saying, “Pay me what you owe me!” remember the incalculable debt that God has forgiven on our behalf. Let this soften our heart and loosen our grip. Remember that grace is most powerfully given when it is least deserved. In the moments when we choose to show the kind of mercy that has been shown to us, we truly reflect the character of the King who first forgave us.
Isn’t it amazing that we can ask the Creator of the universe anything, and it’s within His power to grant us our request?
Seriously.
This is amazing.
I am in the book of Mark in my daily Bible reading. In chapter 9, we read about the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain.
Peter, James, and John witness our Savior’s transfiguration as He appears with Moses and Elijah. Dr. Luke tells us that Jesus was talking with them about His trip to Jerusalem to be offered as a sacrifice.
The three men who witnessed this were terrified, and Peter blurted out that they should build three tents of worship, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
“And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” (Mark 9:7 ESV).
Listen to Him!
Perhaps of all the verses that speak to the preeminence of Jesus, none do it as succinctly and plainly as the voice of the Ancient of Days this day on the mount.
The voice of the Father does not explain why Jesus is preeminent as the Hebrews writer does. Nor does He introduce the preeminence of Jesus as John does in His Gospel.
In a simple imperative, the Father utters words to be followed with no discussion needed.
If the Father of all directs our attention to Jesus as the preeminent One worthy of listening to, who are we to subjugate Jesus to any other authority?
Later, the Father puts a fine point on His simple imperative.
“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,” (Philippians 2:9-10 ESV).
For the unbeliever, this world is the closest thing to Heaven they will experience.
For the believer, this world is the closest thing to hell they will experience.
Never, ever, ever, ever…
Look at the evil past you have lived,
Dwell on the sins you have committed,
Think about just how bad you have been,
Worry so much about that one terrible thing you have done…
And think that it’s too much for Jesus to forgive.
There is nothing we have done that God is not able to undo with His blood.
God’s power to save is far greater than our power to sin.
When we realize this truth, we are on the road to beginning to understand His grace.
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18 ESV).
This is my mind-blowing thought for today. Think about this. At some point in the past, it pleased God to create me, to make me a living soul, to create me in His image.
I exist, not as an animal or molecules making up a star or some other part of creation. God created me as His child, the one who He lavished His love upon.
When I consider my reason, my self-awareness, my ability to choose my destiny, I am separated from the rest of creation because I won the greatest lottery of life. God endowed me with the destiny of eternal life with Him.
Why would I walk away from that? Why would I choose to refuse to live up to the potential God has put in me?
I exist with the promise and purpose from the Creator to live and reign with Him for all of eternity simply because He brought me into existence for that purpose. It was nothing that I attained to or evolved into.
This is my birthright because one day in the past, God decided to make Tony Eldridge in His image and destine me for eternal glory with Him.
And when I messed it up with my sin, my Creator Himself paved the way for my redemption with His precious blood.
What is it about me, Tony Eldridge, that deserves this mind-blowing existence, promise, and potential? I simply do not know. I cannot see the answer in me when I examine all the choices I have made against my Creator.
But that does not change anything. God sees something in me. He did the day He made me in His image. And so I accept this mind-blowing reality of being made for something wonderful.
My heart is His. My faith is in Him. My allegiance is to my King. Because of what He made me to be, I will embrace it with all my might and bend my knee to the King until I do so on that great day when He will present me to His Father as His precious sheep.
What an amazing thing to realize I have been made in my Creator’s image and destined for glory I cannot yet fathom.
I am in the book of Exodus in my daily Bible reading. When you read the exodus story, you have to walk away with the understanding that God’s ways are not our ways.
It took God ten plagues to effect the freedom and exodus of Israel from Egypt. Not because God tried over and over, failing with each plague until He got it right.
No, the ten plagues were in God’s plans for a specific purpose. On the day God spoke to Moses on the mountain, He said this:
“But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.
So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.” (Exodus 3:19-20 ESV).
All the wonders and plagues were always part of God’s plan. But God’s way made it tough for Moses and the people, didn’t it? Instead of gaining their freedom right away, Pharaoh became angry with Moses and the people and punished them for demanding their freedom. How did the Israelites respond to Moses?
“and they said to them, “The LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
Then Moses turned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me?
For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” (Exodus 5:21-23 ESV).
The road through the ten plagues was not easy on the Israelites as God set up this amazing display of sovereignty and power that would burn into the memory of nations all over the world for centuries to come.
In the end, God delivered His people in a way they remembered for thousands of years. The momentary affliction gave way to thankfulness and salvation that pivoted on the great Passover of the Lord.
Sometimes, we focus on the light, momentary affliction and lose sight of the great things the Lord may be doing in our lives. This is where our faith comes in.
We may not always see the Lord’s leading and His deliverance in the moment, but it’s not because He tries over and over, failing each time until He gets it right. When we walk hand-in-hand with Jesus through any affliction, He is always there and will lead us through it in His time and in His way.
Spiritual hindsight is a marvelous thing. It’s where we can see how God was with us all along, even during the times we may not see it in the moment.