“Forgive Your Brother From Your Heart”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen. Today’s Gospel Reading begins: “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked,
‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?’” In the verses right before this, Jesus has just finished teaching what
we should do when someone sins against us: “If your brother sins against
you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” But, Peter just can’t
accept that we should forgive over and over and over again, so he tries to put a
limit on the number of times we are to forgive. “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against
me? Up to seven times?” Peter thought he was being very generous.
The Jewish rule of thumb was to forgive up to three times but no more.
Peter doubles that, and adds one for good measure. “Up to seven times?” “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times
seven.’” “Seventy times seven” is the traditional translation of the King
James Version, a better translation than some modern versions, which have
“seventy-seven times.” “Seventy times seven” equals 490, a very
considerable number of times to forgive. But, the words “seventy times
seven” have much more than a mathematical meaning. Why is it that some high-rise buildings skip from the 12th to the 14th
floor and do not have a 13th floor? In the world of the Bible, many
numbers had special significance, just as in our culture the number 13 means bad
luck. In the Bible, the numbers seven and ten both symbolize completeness
and wholeness, as in the seven days of the week, in which God completed
creation, and the Ten Commandments, the whole Law of God. It’s no
coincidence that “seventy times seven” is one number of completeness, seven,
times another number of completeness, ten, times seven again. “Seventy times seven” is very much like the figure eight on its side
which we use in mathematics as the symbol for infinity. That’s what
“seventy times seven” really means, a symbolic way of saying a complete, total,
unlimited, infinite number—that’s how many times you must forgive your brother
who sins against you. Peter thinks he is being very generous when he offers to forgive “up to
seven times.” “No,” Jesus says, “not up to seven times. Take that
times ten and then times seven again.” Just as we naturally understand why
some buildings don’t have a 13th floor, Peter and the other disciples would have
understood the symbolic meaning of “seventy times seven:” total, complete,
unlimited forgiveness. To drive home this point, Jesus tells the Parable of the Unmerciful
Servant: “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle
accounts with his servants.” The servants in this parable are actually
rulers themselves, governors, administrators, sub-rulers appointed by the king
over different parts of his kingdom. Their main responsibility is to
collect taxes on behalf of the king and then forward the receipts to the royal
treasury. The king is now calling due what he is owed. “As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents
was brought to him.” It seems one of the governors has been keeping the
tax receipts for himself, perhaps wasting it all on luxurious living. It’s
estimated that the former dictator of the Philippines embezzled 10 billion
dollars from his country’s treasury, and most of it was just wasted away with
nothing left to show for it. A talent is a unit of weight equal to 130 pounds. At the current
price of over $1,200 per ounce, 10,000 talents of gold would be worth 25 billion
dollars, a fantastic debt that could never be repaid. But like “seventy
times seven,” the number 10,000 also has a symbolic significance. “Ten” is
a number of completeness, as in the Ten Commandments. Three is a number of
perfection, as in the three Persons of the Trinity. Ten thousand is ten
times ten times ten, ten to the 3rd power, completeness times perfection,
symbolizing an unlimited, infinite debt, really a debt beyond calculation. That is the key to understanding the meaning of this parable for you.
The unmerciful servant owed his master an infinite, incalculable debt he could
never possibly repay. That debt represents our sins, an infinite,
incalculable spiritual debt that we could never possibly repay. Imagine
you have a spiritual credit card, and each time you sin, a charge is added to
your account. Like the servant in the parable who owed his king a
fantastic debt he could never repay, you owe God the spiritual equivalent of
billions of dollars, and he demands payment! “Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife
and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.” The
proceeds would not even begin to make a dent in a 25 billion dollar debt.
The purpose of selling the man and his family and property was not so much to
pay the debt but as a punishment. In the same way, we deserve punishment because
of our sin. “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he
begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’” There is no way in the world
that servant could ever repay what he owes. In the same way, all our good
works could never pay our spiritual debt. Isaiah actually says that in the
eyes of God “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” The Good News
is, because we could never pay off the debt of our sin and earn our own
salvation, God sent his Son to pay our debt and earn salvation for us. As
Paul says in 1st Timothy, “There is one God and one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.” “The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him
go.” That is exactly what God has done for you. Because his Son paid
the price for you, God has canceled your spiritual debt and set you free.
Paul says in Ephesians, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins.” Peter says in Acts, “Everyone who believes in him
receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” The Lord says in Jeremiah,
“I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Micah asks, “Who is a God like you, who par—s sin and forgives transgression?”
The Book of Revelation says, “He loves us and has freed us from our sins by his
blood.” “The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let
him go.” That is exactly what God has done for you. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back
what you owe me!’ he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged
him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused.
Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the
debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly
distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I
canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you
have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his
master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back
all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless
you forgive your brother from your heart.” This is the application of the parable to your everyday life.
This is the application of God’s forgiveness of your sins to your relationships
with others. How does Jesus say it in the familiar words of the Lord’s
Prayer? “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass
against us,” or “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Over and
over again, Scripture says we will be merciful and forgiving to others because
God has been merciful and forgiving to us: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each
other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive
as the Lord forgave you.” “’Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge.” “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another
in love.” “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just
as in Christ God forgave you.” “Love is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who
loves is born of God and knows God. He that loves not knows not God, for
God is love. This is how God showed his love for us: He sent his only
begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. This is love:
not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love
one another.” “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on
you? . . . forgive your brother from your heart.” Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
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