From The Heart

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

FROM THE HEART

Matt 18:23-35

23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. 29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' 30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." 

NIV

This is the continuation of what Jesus said about forgiving seventy times seven in answer to Peter's question about how many times should we forgive. Without regurgitating everything Jesus tells Peter and us about forgiveness through this parable about the servant and his master and the servant and his fellow servant and the result, we can conclude there is hell to pay if we hold a grudge, never forgiving someone who offends us. The most important aspect of what Jesus is saying here is that when we forgive it must be from our heart. That is to say, we cannot simply use words, which might look good, and appear as though we have forgiven someone, but if we are still holding on to the hurt deep within us, in our heart, then we really have not forgiven them and then we are in danger from being treated the same by God. That would mean that God would not forgive us our sin and thus we would not be declared blameless and holy in his sight which would lead to us not being able to enter the kingdom but would be cast out into the darkness. That is harsh, but what did Jesus mean when the wicked servant did not forgive his fellow servants’ debt and the master cast him into jail. What does the jail represent and how can any man pay the debt for sin? We cannot pay that debt and thus unforgiveness leads to being put in jail, or hell, until we can pay our debt, and that we cannot ever do, for Jesus is the only one who paid that debt for our sin. If we hold onto that offense in any way, not forgiving from our heart, we nullify the act of Jesus on that cross for us. Through Jesus, our master, our debt has been canceled and so then as we go through life, meeting anyone who owes us, or sins against us, we must forgive from our heart, truly forgiving, canceling their sin against us, setting them free if we want to enter the kingdom of God.