01.26.2016 New Testament: Matt 18.34

To read the Bible in a year, read Matthew 18.21–35 on January 26, In the year of our Lord 2016

By Don Ruhl

Peter asked how many times did he have to forgive his brother. Jesus declared that we should forgive an unlimited amount of times, and then illustrated His teaching of a man who owed more money than he could ever repay to the king. When the man begged for patience from the king, the king forgave the man freely. Then the man went and found a fellow-servant who owed the first man much less than he did to the king.

However, the first man showed no mercy and had his fellow-servant thrown into jail. Others heard about it and told the king, who then rebuked the first man, and finally Jesus said what the king did to the first man,

“And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him” (Matt 18.34). 

Now the first man would pay what he owed, and it would be a long time before he paid up the debt, if he ever paid it up. In the meantime, he suffered horribly.

The point of the story is that our sin against God far outweighs our fellow-man’s sin against us, but God expects that if He forgives us, we should forgive others.