THE UNMERCIFUL SERVANT
[Matthew:18:21-35 [21] Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? [22] Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. [23] Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. [24] And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. [25] But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. [26] The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. [27] Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. [28] But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. [29] And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. [30] And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. [31] So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. [32] Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: [33] Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? [34] And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. [35] So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. ]; [Luke:17:11-19 [11] And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. [12] And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: [13] And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. [14] And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. [15] And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, [16] And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. [17] And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? [18] There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. [19] And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. ].
"In every thing give thanks" (I Thessalonians 5:18).
Our Forgiving Saviour
How thankful we should be that Jesus forgives us when we are sorry that we have done anything that He would not have us do! If we ask Him to help us not to do wrong, He will surely help us.
Jesus tells us in His Word that we must forgive those who ask us to forgive them. One day a man named Peter, who loved Jesus very much came to Jesus and asked Him how many times he should forgive a person who had done him wrong. Perhaps Peter had forgiven that man several times and he was wondering just how many more times he would have to go on forgiving him. So he went to Jesus to find out. It was a good thing for Peter to go to Jesus to learn what to do. He always knows what is the right thing to tell people. Perhaps Peter thought he would be doing very well when he forgave a man seven times. Some people will not forgive even one time. But Jesus said to Peter: "I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."
When Jesus said seventy times seven we are certain He did not mean 490 times only, but meant that he should forgive as many times as the man asked him. We are glad that Jesus does not say he will forgive only a certain number of times. We know that He will forgive as long as we are really sorry for the wrong thing we have done and try with all our hearts not to do it again.
The Unthankful Servant
Then Jesus told peter about a man who owed a king much money. But he did not have that much money with which to pay. Then the king said that the man and his wife and children and all that he had would have to be sold, to get the money to pay the debt. Of course, that made the man feel very sad. Perhaps he and his wife and the children would be separated, and work as slaves, or even be carried to other countries. We have read about a little girl who was taken to another country to work in the home of a captain who was a leper.
The man who owed the money fell down at the feet of the king and said: "Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." The king must have been a kind man, for he felt sorry for the poor man and told him he did not have to pay the money at all. How glad the man must have been when the king said that!
The Cruel Act
That same man to whom the king had been so kind went out and found a man who owed him much less money than he himself had owed the king. When the man said he could not pay the money, the cruel man took him by the throat and said he would have to pay the debt. Then the poor man who owed the money did just as the cruel man had done with the king – fell at his feet and said, "Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all." The cruel man would not forgive him but put him in prison to stay until the debt was paid.
The Punishment
The king heard what the cruel man had done and he was angry about it. He called that man and said: "O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?" Then the king had the cruel man punished until he paid all that he owed the king.
True Forgiveness
From this lesson we learn that God is kind to forgive us, but He expects us to forgive others, too. Sometimes people say they forgive but in their hearts they still keep a bad feeling. Jesus said we must forgive also with our hearts. The Bible tells us that if we do not forgive others God cannot forgive us. In the beautiful prayer Jesus taught His disciples He said we should ask God to forgive us as we forgive others. We want God to forgive us and forget the wrong we have done. For that reason we must also forgive and forget the wrong things others may do to us. If we do not God will have to punish us as the king had to punish the cruel man who would not forgive the poor man. We must ask God to help us to be like Jesus and to do as Jesus would do.
1. How many times did Jesus tell Peter to forgive? [Matthew:18:22Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
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2. Did the king forgive the servant his debt? [Matthew:18:27Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
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3. What did the servant do then? [Matthew:18:28But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
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4. Was that the right thing to do? [Matthew:18:33Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
]; [Matthew:6:15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
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5. What did Jesus teach about forgiving in the Lord's Prayer? [Matthew:6:12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
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