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THE FORGIVING KING
THURSDAY, APRIL 23
Matthew 18:21-35

Memory verse: Matthew 18:27

 

“Then the lord of that servant

was moved with compassion…”

 

THE FORGIVING KING
 
The parable of the Unforgiving Servant is also a Kingdom of Heaven parable. The king is God or the Lord Jesus Christ. The servants refer to all professing believers. The context is an account taken by the king of one particular servant who is the focus of this parable. He owed the king an amount listed as “ten thousand talents” (Matt 18:24). One talent equals six thousand pence. An average worker is paid six pence a week. Based on this amount, a ten-thousand-talent debt requires the same worker to work 2,747 lifetimes (assuming one worked seventy years in one lifetime) to pay the debt. The servant owed the king an amount impossible for him to pay. The judgment of the king was, “…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” (Matt 18:25).
 
The servant and his family (for the next few generations) had to become slaves for the rest of their lives until the full amount was paid. Voluntary slavery for families to pay off a debt was common in the time of Christ. The servant fell down and worshipped the king and pleaded for “patience” (Matt 18:29, i.e. to be long-suffering), and he would pay all. The king knew that the servant could never pay the whole amount. The only way to clear his impossibly enormous debt was for the king to forgive him the debt out of compassion. The king did precisely that. By forgiving him, the king suffered the loss of the ten thousand talents!
 
The divine justice of God demands payment. Forgiveness always results in someone bearing the cost of the sinner’s iniquities. If I forgive someone who borrowed $100, I suffer the loss of $100. God the Father sent the Lord Jesus Christ to bear the sins of the world. Christ Jesus, born of the virgin Mary, lived a perfect life according to the Scriptures, suffered and died on the cross to redeem sinners of their sins. God raised Him from the dead for the sinner’s justification. The sinners receive God’s mercy, and Christ will forgive all their sins! The King forgives for Jesus’ sake.
 
THOUGHT: Have I experienced forgiveness from the King?

PRAYER: Forgive me, O Father, for all my sins, for Jesus’ sake. Amen,

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