Zach (Podcast Host) (18:31)
Boom XBoom commentators put the worth of 10,000 talents in the ballpark of $12 million to $1 billion, so the punishment that was due to Eliaf for losing such a sum of money wasn't exaggerated. A chasm of debt separated the servant and his master. It was irreconcilable, but in an absurd but Beautiful act of mercy. The Master forgives his servant. He forgives Eliaf of all of his debt. What an insane gesture. What a dumbfounding and unprecedented act of forgiveness. I want you to imagine this happening today. You owe someone a billion dollars which is just then wiped away. You're clean. You're free to go. No repercussions, not even a mark on your credit score. This enormous amount of debt that was forgiven is a metaphor for the mercy God shows us. The sins we have committed against God and others have earned us a death sentence. Our sins have made us destined for death. But Jesus, who is rich in mercy and steadfast in love, forgave us. We have been offered redemption through the blood of Christ. He paid the penalty. We are owned. You know that's what it means to be redeemed, right? The penalty that we had to pay for our sins was death. But Jesus paid that penalty on our behalf. Our debt has been paid in full by the blood of Jesus. This parable communicates to us the incredible debt we've been forgiven. But this parable is also a warning. Eliev is understandably relieved that he's been forgiven. He goes home. But instead of letting his newfound freedom change his heart, he decides to go after a man who owes him money. We called this man, Joran djoran owed Eliev 100 denarii, which wasn't nothing. It was a considerable amount of money for a servant, around 100 days worth of wages. But think about what 100 denarii is compared to 10,000 talents. To give you an exact ratio, what Joran owed eliav was about 1-600,000th of what Elia owed the king. This is where the story takes a dark turn. This servant broke through the door and began choking his fellow servant for money. He violently lashed out at Joran because of what he owed. And then he had him dragged out and arrested for his debt in front of his family. Do you see the hypocrisy there? Forgiveness may have made Elia feel better, but it clearly didn't have an effect on his heart or the way that he treated others. Here's the profound message for you and I. We have been forgiven much. Our Master has wiped our tainted slate clean and replaced it with a new identity. Through grace and mercy, we have been forgiven a mountain of debt. We have been forgiven so much in our own lives. So to withhold forgiveness, to gossip, and to continue in bitterness, it's not just bad for our hearts, but it works against the gospel of Jesus. And it proves that the forgiveness we've received has had no effect on our lives. We have been forgiven of much. The more we process that reality, the easier it becomes to forgive others. When I consider the mountain of debt that Christ has redeemed me from, how petty does my bitterness towards others seem, how small people's sins against me become. When you stack it up against the mountain and lifetime of sin that we have brought before God, all that sin that was forgiven on the cross looks way dirtier and way messier than the petty sins that have been committed against us. Forgiveness is paramount to the believer, and forgiveness is an expression of our relationship with God, and it also reveals our understanding of mercy and grace in the first place. Matthew 5:21 26 says this. You have heard that it was said of those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable for judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable for judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable for counsel. Whoever says, you fool will be liable for the hellfire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you. Leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother and then come back and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge and the judge to the guard, and then you are put into prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. In these words from Jesus, we learn three things about reconciliation and forgiveness. 1. God cares deeply about the judgment we cast on others and the words we use to describe them. He says that those who call their brother or sister a fool are in danger of hellfire. He cares about how we treat others. We, as believers are called to treat others with the same dignity, respect and grace that Jesus has bestowed upon us. That's a high standard that we're not always going to meet, but may we always be striving after that, never feeling justified in treating someone poorly just because they've treated us poorly. The second thing we learn here is that God cares more about mended relationships than he does religious pursuits. Biblically speaking, I believe God would have any unresolved bitterness be cast aside before we continue to serve him at a high level. He said that even if you're going to worship and you have something unresolved with someone, go and settle it before you even enter into the presence of God. That's how much God cares about mended relationships. That's how much he cares about people Finding Reconciliation the third thing we learn here from this passage is if we don't face people directly and swiftly, things will escalate past our ability to handle them. And not only that, but fostering unforgiveness also has a toxic effect in our hearts. Think about the people you've been bitter at for a very long time. The grudges you've kept. The forgiveness that you withheld. Has that been good for your heart or bad? Has that made your life any better? Has that made you a more joyful person? Or has it drug you down? Has it caused more hurt and harm to your life than it has thriving? Forgiveness is good for our hearts, but forgiveness is also important for salvation. Listen to these harsh, gut punching words from Jesus in Matthew 6:14, 15 for if you forgive others their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours. What if we withhold forgiveness? Choose vengeance? Gossip? Bitterness? Like Eliath, we communicate that we really don't understand the gospel at all. When we withhold forgiveness from people, that means that we don't actually have a proper understanding of grace and mercy. So when you are asking God for mercy, when you are asking God for grace, what are you actually asking for? It's clear that if we're harboring unforgiveness, bitterness, we don't understand our own sin and the enormity of debt that we've been forgiven before God. Therefore, it's appropriate to question your relationship with God. How you have truly been redeemed by Him. Have you been harboring resentment and withholding forgiveness? Remember the unbound and endless forgiveness God has given you. Think of all the sins he's washed away. And listen, I know what you might be thinking. I've had people in my life that have hurt me egregiously. I don't want to just open the door to let them have free reign over my heart again. So what does forgiveness mean? Does forgiveness mean that I just forget what people have done to me and let them have full access to my life? Not necessarily. But forgiveness means you want for them what God wants for transformation, restoration, and salvation. Forgiveness doesn't necessarily mean you forget. It means you want for them what God wants for them and that you will go to certain lengths to see that happen in their lives. Thanks for listening to the Jesus Podcast. If you want to support us and our mission to tell the story of Christ, go ahead and rate. Review and Share this podcast I can't wait to join you for this next episode. It's a famous passage about the farmer and the soils.
