Everyone is bankrupt, just in different ways
by Pastor Noel Due
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt (Matthew 18:27).
The parable of the two indebted servants answers the spirit of Peter’s question about forgiveness: ‘how many times should I forgive?’ (Matthew 18:21). Jesus’ answer – ‘not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times’– was not meant to be a greater numerical response to a meagre ‘seven’, but it illustrates a completely different spirit.
Peter’s question was legalistic. Jesus’ answer is sheer grace. It’s a parable of ‘the kingdom of heaven’, whose operative principles are entirely alien to us. Its economy and coinage are nothing like ours.
The parable hinges on the fact that neither servant could repay his debt. An irremediable debt is irretrievable, no matter the size. In the case of the unforgiving servant, that debt was extreme. A Roman ‘talent’ was a measure of weight, which translates to about 32 kilograms, most likely (in this instance) 32 kilograms of silver. And the servant owed 10,000 times that! To put that into perspective, it would take a typical worker (on a silver denarius for a day) 15 years to earn one talents’ worth, which equates to 150,000 years to repay the amount.
His plea, ‘have patience, and I will repay you everything’ (Matthew 18:26), was confabulation on the grandest scale. It was an impossible commitment in the face of an immeasurable debt; the promise was as empty as his purse.
Though receiving immeasurable mercy for an impossible debt, he seized another servant who owed him only 100 denarii ‘by the throat’ (Matthew 18:28). When he pled for mercy, the unforgiving servant refused and (in an act as irrational as his own confabulation) threw him into prison ‘until he could pay’ (Matthew 18:30).
Jesus is saying that Peter’s legalistic approach was of the same spirit. If Peter (and we) understood the utter impossibility of the debt we owe and the incalculability of the mercy we’ve received, we wouldn’t withhold the forgiveness we are asked to extend. Neither we – nor those who sin against us – can pay anything. The mercy of God is the motive and power by which we extend mercy to one another.
Dear Father, thank you for your mercy, which is boundless, rich and free Thank you for not treating us how the unforgiving servant treated his fellow servant. Deliver us from any legalistic spirit. May we forgive one another as you have forgiven us. Amen.
- Click here to read previous devotions.
- We are also posting them on LCA Facebook, making it easy for you to share them with family and friends.
- Sign up to receive Daily Devotion in your inbox every morning. If you’re already doing that, please encourage others to sign up. Click here for the link.
