The Ultimately Unforgiving and Merciless king

Matthew 18:21-35

Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times!

For this reason, the dominion of heaven is like a King who willed (h)qe/lhsen) to settle accounts with his slaves…

Why does the King will to settle his accounts?

While beginning to settle his accounts, one debtor was brought before him owing him ten thousand talents

Why would a slave be in debt to a King for so much dough?

Because he did not have it to give back, the Lord commanded that he be sold and his wife and his children and all that he had so that it could be given back.

This is fair, right?

Therefore the slave, after falling, kept bowing down and kissing him while saying, “Wait patiently on me and I will give it all back.”

Would it have been possible for the slave to have repaid the King?

The Lord, being moved with compassion (splagxnisqeiìj) for that slave set him free and forgave him the loan (da/neion).Does it make a difference for us

now to know that this was a loan? What was it for?

After going, that slave found one of his fellow slaves who kept being in debt to him 100 denarius and after taking hold of him kept choking him saying, give back what you owe!

???????How does this

make you feel?

Therefore after falling the fellow slave kept begging him saying, “Wait patiently on me and I will give it back.” Sound familiar?

But he was not willing (hÃqelen). And after leaving threw him into jail until he gave back what was being owed.

How does his will compare to the will of the King verse 23?

Therefore when his fellow slaves, after seeing this, became exceedingly distressed

they came to the Lord and made thoroughly clear all that had taken place.Why would they have become

exceedingly distressed?

Then after calling him the Lord said to him, “Wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt since you begged me!”

Forgive? Debts?

Should you not have taken pity on your fellow slave as I took pity on you?

Note that it is not splagxnisqeiìj here. What difference does that make?

And in anger the Lord handed him over to torturers until he gave back all he was owing.

What do you make of the pare/dwken au)to\n toiÍj basanistaiÍj (handed

him over to torturers?)

And in this manner my heavenly Father will do to you if each of you does not forgive your Brother from your heart.How do you like this picture of the

heavenly father?

What if?

• What if God were the King in this story?• How does the story play out?• Do we like how the King/God reacts?

What if?

• What if we place ourselves in this parable?• Who would we like to be?• Who would we rather not be?

What if?

• What if God’s kingdom is truly like this parable?• Do we want to live in God’s

kingdom?• Where is the grace?

What if?• What if instead of the words, “the

dominion of God is like” the words were “the dominion of God is compared to?”• Could this be a negative comparison?• Should we understand that God is

ultimately the only one who can show this kind of mercy and compassion?

One small problem…

• “And in this manner my heavenly Father will do to you if each of you does not forgive your Brother from your heart.”• What is God going to do to us?• Is this a graceful picture of God?

So now what?• Where does this parable leave us?• What does the dominion of God look like

according to the text?• Does God cause us to suffer if we do not

forgive?• Or does Jesus do something so powerful

on the cross that it even wipes out this understanding of God’s mercy and grace?

Ultimately, the question remains…

• http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=2252• http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=W85lrnurHVM&feature=channel_page• http://www.clclutheran.org/sswebsite/

newtestament/unforgivingservant/unforgivingservant4.pdf

• http://www.universitylutheranchurch.org/studies/midweek/archives/incontext/unforgivingservant.pdf

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