Forgiven the Unforgivable
What is the debt you owe God? What debt do you owe others? Could you live long enough, make enough resources, and have enough time to pay off all your debts?
We all have been forgiven an unforgivable debt by God. We owe God everything and we could never repay him for all he has given us.
We have also sinned against God and our neighbor to an extent that we could never repay what we owe, or restore all that we have lost. We could never pay full restitution for the transgressions we have committed in this life.
Before telling the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Peter came up and said to Jesus, “‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.’” (Matthew 18:21-22, ESV).
Because God has forgiven us countless times over, we are also to forgive those who sin against us—again and again.
As Jesus says in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, “Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’” (Matthew 18:32-33, ESV).
In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Jesus wants to make the point that we are the ones who owe an unforgivable debt. Because we have been forgiven so much and have been shown such mercy, we should also forgive others and show mercy, or face the judgement of God.
As people who have been forgiven an unforgivable debt, may we experience the joy of God and freedom from our sin, and may we forgive others when they sin agains us.
The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, (Proper 19): “O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, 2019).
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