Tell the Story
Who Is the Greatest?
18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,1 it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Temptations to Sin
7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin!2 For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell3 of fire.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.4 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my5 Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
If Your Brother Sins Against You
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed6 in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.7 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.8 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant9 fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii,10 and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,11 until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Footnotes
[1] 18:6
[2] 18:7
[3] 18:9
[4] 18:10
[5] 18:14
[6] 18:18
[7] 18:23
[8] 18:24
[9] 18:26
[10] 18:28
[11] 18:34
Have you ever had someone call you a mean name? Or steal your toys? Or break a promise? Or tell a lie about you?
Those are sins. They break God’s commandments. They can also break our hearts. Or at least hurt our feelings. It’s no fun to be sinned against. It really stinks (even more than broccoli stinks!).
One time, Peter came up to Jesus and asked him a question. “What if someone sins against me and keeps sinning against me; how many times do I need to forgive him? If he sins against me seven times, do I still need to forgive him?”
Jesus said, “No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times!”
Whoa! That’s a lot of forgiving. How can Jesus expect us to forgive people who treat us so poorly? That’s not fair, is it?
Jesus told a story to explain himself.
Suppose there was a king with many servants, and one of the servants
owed the king ten billion dollars. When the servant couldn’t pay up, the king ordered the man and his wife and children to be sold into slavery to pay off his debt. But the servant begged the king to be patient with him as he tried to get the money. The king decided he would do more than be patient. He would be gracious. He released the man from all his debts. The man owed the king nothing. Imagine, a ten-billion-dollar debt gone, just like that!
Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him fifteen thousand dollars. That’s a lot less than ten billion! You would think the man wouldn’t fuss over several thousand dollars after he’d been forgiven for so much more. But he grabbed the other servant by the neck and demanded that he pay up. When the other servant begged his friend to be patient, the first servant threw him in prison.
Soon, the king heard about what his servant had done. “You wicked servant!” the king said. “I forgave you more than you could ever pay. Why didn’t you have mercy on your friend, like I had mercy on you?” So the king threw the wicked servant into prison.
“That’s what God will do to you,” Jesus said, “if you don’t forgive others from your heart.”
Sin is serious business. God doesn’t like it when we are sinned against. But he doesn’t like it when we sin against him. And yet, he cancels all our debts when we believe in Jesus. If God has mercy on us and our millions and billions of sins, shouldn’t we forgive those who have much smaller sins against us? Once we know God’s mercy, we will want to be merciful too.
