38 Billion
St. Matthew 18:21-35
November 8, 2020 anno Domini
“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (Matthew 18:21, ESV) Seven is a Godly number. God created the world in seven days. The seventh day was God’s day. The book of Revelation is filled with sevens – seven churches, seven lampstands, seven angels. Seven is generous forgiveness. If your husband looked at another woman seven times during a dinner date would you forgive him? If your daughter got seven DUIs would you forgive her? If your accountant got you in trouble with the IRS seven times in seven years would you forgive her?
Jesus doesn’t think seven times is very often, because Jesus is thinking of you. Seven times wouldn’t get you to church on Sunday morning. Most families would burn through seven before they got out of bed, especially on Sunday or Monday. “Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:22, ESV)
Jesus is discouraging any bookkeeping. He doesn’t want you to have a ledger with all your family and friends listed or an Excel spreadsheet in your smartphone. Oh, Bruce, I’m sorry, you just hit 490 times. I cannot forgive you anymore. The point of Jesus is this – you think forgiving someone seven times is beyond Minnesota nice. It’s generous. Jesus says, stop counting. Seven times is nothing. 490 times is nothing. Because once you stop forgiving or refuse to forgive you have stopped believing in Christ’s forgiveness of you.
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.”
So here’s the math for you bookkeepers. This servant owed $38 billion dollars in today’s money (acc. to Pastor Josh Reber, if you trust him – inside joke). He could not pay. It’s a story, but it’s your story. One sin and you owe God everything He ever created and gave to you. That’s the debt for sin – your life, your body, the loss of everything, an eternity of torment and hell. So what should God do?
“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.” Payment would never be made. You can’t repay 38 billion dollars making license plates and picking up ditches.
“So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.”
The forgiveness of God does not come because you repent, nor does it come because you promise to do better. You cannot undo your sin. Your promises to be better and your bargains with God are lies and He knows it as surely as the master in the parable could have called his servant a liar. How are you going to pay back $38 billion dollars as a farmhand?
Forgiveness has its only source in God’s heart. God has pity on you. His heart goes out to you. For some reason known only to Him He loves you even when you’ve robbed Him blind and destroyed what He has given you. His forgiveness isn’t free. When the master forgave that servant it cost him $38 billion dollars. The books still had to balance at the end of the day – so he wrote off $38 billion to save one servant.
When God forgives you it isn’t with gold or silver, but with His flesh and blood. The Father offered up His Son for your sins. The life of God is sacrificed for the life of the world. In Jesus the justice of God and the mercy of God are bound together. God’s books also have to balance. God cannot go against His Word to Adam – when you eat of it you will die. The wages of sin is death, but God in His compassion pays the cost of your forgiveness – Jesus dies. In the hours on the cross Jesus is God’s justice to the Law and God’s mercy to you.
You are the forgiven servant. God’s forgiveness to you excessive, like a $38 billion dollar debt. He gave His Son. The priceless and holy blood of Christ was shed to cancel your debt and secure your future. You’re debt free. You’re forgiven. Completely.
If you believe God’s forgiveness you’ll forgive your neighbor. The servant in the parable did not believe it. “But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ For you bookkeepers this servant owed a mere $4611. (According to Pr. Josh Reber if you trust him.) That debt could actually be paid. If this servant read one of Dave Ramsey’s books, did a little debt snowball thing, in a year or two he could scream “I’m debt free.” When it comes to the forgiveness we need, we assume God covers it all at no cost. When it comes to the forgiveness our neighbor needs we start counting what it will cost us and we hesitate, we refuse. We don’t want to give up what is rightfully ours. We want recompense. We want to hold it over others and keep them subject to us.
Refusing to forgive will kill you. “And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” That unmerciful servant did not live under his master’s forgiveness. He took his own forgiveness for granted, but then acted like the master to his fellow servant. Not forgiving your neighbor in the Kingdom of God is making yourself King instead of subject. Master instead of slave. And God will tolerate no challengers to His throne.
I have been forgiven 38 billion sins. So when my wife or children or a member of the congregation sins against me their sins are always little – pennies compared to mine. Do I dare not forgive? Christ Jesus gave His life for my sins. He commands me to forgive. I live by His forgiveness alone. Should I not let others live under His forgiveness?
Jesus leaves us no wiggle room. If you refuse to forgive you’re not in the Kingdom. It is a stern warning, but its converse is a great promise. When you forgive it is a sign of your faith. When you don’t treat a person as his sins deserve you are a little Christ – a Christian. When you struggle to forgive it is a sign of faith. Your old Adam the bookkeeper will cling to you until you die. The new man in Christ lives side by side with that bean counter. So if you have questions about forgiveness, if you struggle to forgive, if you feel guilty for resurrecting sins you forgave, if you are wondering how to forgive the most hurtful sin against you, take heart, dear Christian. You are a Christian. Christ has forgiven you. He dwells in your heart by faith. If He didn’t you wouldn’t be asking questions – like Peter, Lord, how often must I forgive my neighbor? More than you can count Peter, more than you can count. In the name of Jesus. Amen.