The Power of Forgiveness – March 23, 2015, Third Sunday in Lent
Joel 2:10-19, Matthew 18:21-35
March 23, 2025
This chapter in Matthew is an interesting series of statements and teaching. I hope you’ll consider reading it from the beginning sometime this week. Because it’s a whole leadup to our story for today.
Briefly, it starts with Jesus’ disciples asking this question. “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” That question seems to have been important to them. They ask it a number of times! Well, Jesus answers by bringing a child before them, and saying, “Unless you become like children, you cannot even enter the kingdom.” “For whoever humbles himself like this child, he shall be the greatest.”
What a great response! And we know the principles of Jesus’ kingdom, don’t we! The last shall be first and the first shall be last. And this is right in line with that. But then, he gives them a warning. He says, “And whoever causes one of these little ones to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and be thrown into the sea.” Now, that seems like a little hyperbole there? A little exaggeration to make a point?
But whether it is or not, Jesus uses that thought to give them some advice about how to deal with a brother who has sinned. And that’s where we find this verse that we often use as a sort of call to worship. “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them.” That’s a wonderful thought about God’s presence when we worship together, but that’s not how Jesus used it originally. He was telling them about dealing with a brother who has sinned.
Our reading starts right after that. And this is where Peter has a further question, which comes from what Jesus has just been saying. And it’s a question about forgiveness. In verse 21, Peter says, “Ok Jesus, dealing with a sinful brother is good. But if he sins against me, how many times should I forgive him. As many as seven times?” And Jesus answers him. “No, Peter, not seven times, but seventy times seven.” Is that more hyperbole? Is Jesus again exaggerating to make a point.? I think so. And the answer is, “Never stop forgiving him!”
So this teaching about sin and temptation, has now turned into a teaching on forgiveness. And notice, it’s not so much about our being forgiven, but how we forgive! And as he often did, Jesus told them a parable. And this is a powerful parable! It’s this story of the man who owed this king ten thousand talents. Now, that’s a great deal of money – even by our standards!
One source said that a talent was equal to 6,000 denarii, a denarius being one day’s wages. So do the math! 10,000 talents is equal to 60 million days wages. Divide that by 312, which is the number of days in the year – since you weren’t allowed to work on the Sabbath, right? That comes out to 192,308 years’ worth of wages. Again, this is more hyperbole. And I think, when he said that number, his listeners would have gasped, or at least looked around at each other with raised eyebrows!
Well, as the story goes, the man didn’t have the cash on him, so the king ordered him to be sold, along with everything he had – including his wife and children – to pay the debt! And just as a side note, slaves in those days were often slaves because they were paying off debt! (There are a lot of people in our world today who are slaves to debt, aren’t there?)
Well, the man begs the king to have patience. “I’ll pay you everything,” he said. “Just give me time!” And the king then does the unexpected. He forgives the man this enormous debt! This would be equivalent to billions of dollars in our world. It was a lot of money! And Jesus meant it to be seen that way.
But then, as the story goes, that man left, and he soon ran into another man who owed him money – but only a hundred denarii. And I love how Jesus tells this. He seized the man by the throat, and said, “Pay up!” He’s making quite a contrast between these two men, isn’t he? Well that man says the same thing that he had said to the king. “Have patience, and I’ll pay.” But this man was less gracious. He had his debtor thrown in prison until the debt was paid off. That’s a powerful story! And by the way, doesn’t it bring new meaning to the way we Presbyterians say “The Lord’s Prayer?” We don’t say “trespasses.” We say, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
Well, the king gets word of this. And he has the man brought back before him, and he reads him the riot act! And then he throws him into prison – for the next 192 thousand years, right! And Jesus concludes with the statement that, again, is reminiscent of “The Lord’s prayer.” He says that God forgives us, the way we forgive others. “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” That’s one of the more difficult parts of that prayer, isn’t it? It’s right up there with “Thy will be done.”
We talked a couple of weeks ago about practicing “piety. Being “godly” is another word for that. We are called to be godly people. A big part of our faith is striving to be like Christ. And as we think about that, especially during Lent, we need to remember, that to be like Christ, is to be forgiving people. That’s something we all need to work on, isn’t it? And not just during Lent!
Let me say that there is great power in forgiveness! Isn’t that true? There is great power in forgiveness! Forgiveness has the power to mend relationships. It has the power to bring peace, not just between people, but also within us. A grudge can be a heavy thing to carry! One man said, “A grudge is like carrying a heavy stone in your heart. It weighs you down, exhausts your soul, and steals your joy, while the person you refuse to forgive walks free.” When we’re weighed down by grudges we hold against others, it can be very hard to get out from under that burden!
It’s interesting that the question we started with here is not just about forgiving. Peter asks about forgiving a brother. And I don’t think he’s necessarily talking about a “spiritual brother,” either. I think he could well be referring to family. But family or not, sometimes it’s hardest to forgive those closest to us. Isn’t it? And do you know why? It’s because they are closest to us. You can write off someone you don’t have to deal with all that often. But when you’re around someone all the time, and you have that burden between you, it’s harder.
That’s why sometimes people in churches have a hard time forgiving one another. It is true that “time heals all wounds.” But sometimes it takes a lot of time! And unfortunately, sometimes that’s true in a church! Sometimes the wounds in churches hang on for years. I’ve seen it! And it can be very sad. And it’s sad for two reasons. One is that it can affect people’s relationships. But the second reason is that it can affect our image.
Remember what I’ve been saying recently, that people out there in the world have a bad image of the Church. Well, this is one of the big reasons! They see this tension between people who are unforgiving of each other. Friends, we, of all people, should be forgiving. We should be that example. And when we are, that also makes a powerful image for others to see! There is great power in forgiveness! Isn’t there!
Lent is a good time to ask ourselves, “Who do we need to forgive?” It could be someone close to us. It could be someone who’s no longer in our lives. But we can still carry those burdens in our hearts, even after they’re gone, can’t we! We will have true peace when we forgive our brothers “from our hearts,” as Jesus concluded here.
That forgiveness can also be something that we need to be forgiven for. And we can’t leave that kind of thing weighing us down either. We need to ask for forgiveness. That’s powerful, too! In fact, that’s so important that Jesus said, “If you are presenting your gift to God at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there! Go and be reconciled to your brother first! Then you can give your gift to God!”
That’s not an easy thing, is it? I’m not saying here that forgiveness is easy. It’s not! But it is powerful! And it is Jesus’ vision for the church, a vision that Paul gave us so beautifully in Ephesians. And I’ll close with these words.
He said, “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and builds itself up in love.”
Prayer (With The Lord’s Prayer)
Eternal God, we thank you for your grace and your forgiveness. And we ask for the strength we need to be forgiving of others. Help us to promote peace, and to upbuild one another in love, as you have called us to do. For this we pray in Jesus’ name, who taught us to pray together saying…
The Lord’s Prayer