A parable well known but little understood tool of learning. The forgiveness of a certain man’s debt of such large proportions that he had no hope of ever repaying it in full and his seeking the forgiveness and then denying that same thing to one that owed him an infinitesimal fraction of what he himself had owed which had been forgiven and freed him from such burden and responsibility.

The Parable lays before us the mercilessness and total rejection of any forgiveness for the debt owed by another to him. In Matthew 18:22 we read the reply of Jesus after Peter asked him how many times are we to forgive a person, which Peter had calculated to be seven times. …Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” One of the lessons here is that we must forgive to be forgiven. Jesus said ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy’ (Matthew 5:7). We can acknowledge that man is capable of evil and it is in the nature of man to seek revenge. In these verses Jesus presents the alternative to the evil desire for revenge. Justice and mercy can only come about through forgiveness. We must strive to learn that we are all God’s own servants; and the day is at hand in which our Master will settle accounts, inquire about our work, and pay us our wages. Romans 6:23 ‘for the wages of sin is death’….  Or you could say two wrongs don’t make it right. How did this man present himself to his master? First he fell down to exhibit his humility. He asked for more time to pay his debt, he promised to pay it all. We know his master was moved to pity him and forgave his debt in full. There is a valid comparison here as to those who come to Christ seeking forgiveness. How should we come before the judgement seat? 

  1. Deep humiliation of heart – on our knees
  2. Fervent prayer.
  3. Confidence in the mercy of God  
  4. A firm purpose to devote our soul and body to your Maker

To bring this altogether consider the following. The master’s judgement against the man for not extending mercy to another who owed him money was harsh…again we are confronted with the truth that we must forgive others as God has forgiven us, or we can hope to find no mercy. We must always strive to make our hearts a place of love, peace and mercy. Some of this blog may seem extremely repetitive but the other truth is we can’t really say it enough. To Be Forgiven …We Must Learn To Forgive.  

Life is Good

jk