In his sermon on the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant from Matthew 18, Robert Bosley examines Jesus' teaching on forgiveness within the broader context of the 'kingdom of God.' The sermon highlights that the parables of Jesus are not merely illustrative stories but hold deeper doctrinal significance related to the virtues of the kingdom of God. Through the parable, Bosley emphasizes the incalculable debt humanity owes to God, symbolized by the servant's unpayable debt to the king. The sermon explains that forgiveness is limitless and critical within Christian life, contrasting the forgiven servant's lack of compassion with the mercy shown by the king. Bosley links the parable to church discipline, underscoring the importance of forgiveness in resolving disputes among believers. The parable serves as a warning against unforgiveness, highlighting the severe consequences it carries, both in terms of divine judgment and personal spiritual health. Bosley concludes by urging believers to genuinely forgive from the heart, following the example of divine grace extended through Christ.

The Gospel according to Matthew chapter 18, and we are going to be continuing the series that I've been going through for a while now on the parables that our Lord Jesus taught while he was engaged in his earthly ministry. And today we're going to look at a parable at the end of chapter 18. The parable begins in verse 23, but we'll begin reading verse 21 through the end of the chapter, and this is commonly known as the parable of the unforgiving servant. And first let's pray, and then we will consider this parable that the Lord gave his disciples and gave us. So let's pray.

Our Father, we come before you so thankful for your kindness toward us, thankful Lord for giving us your word. God, you could have left us in darkness and rebellion. You would have been just to simply condemn us, but you've come and shown a light to those who have lived in darkness. And you've given us your word and you've preserved it through the ages and you've entrusted it to us and Lord I pray that you would open up our hearts and our minds to understand it today. Help us Lord to behold wonderful things in your law and May we by what we read and what we study this afternoon may we grow in the image of Christ.

In his name we pray amen. So as A reminder, when we consider the parables taught by the Lord, we come to the parables understanding that they are a unique genre, a unique category of teaching, of literature. The parables are more than mere illustrations. They're not simply intended to illustrate a point of a sermon. And the parables are these extended metaphors, these stories that typically have one central point that is usually bound up in a virtue or a doctrine that is a facet or a essential part of what it means to be a part of the kingdom of God.

Not every part of a parable corresponds to reality. There are certain things that exist in a parable just for the parable's own coherence that don't necessarily reflect anything in reality. And the parables have, as I said, one primary point. And these are all related to what it means to be a part of the kingdom of God. That's why almost all the parables, particularly the parables presented in the Gospel of Matthew, begins with the kingdom of heaven is like this, as we have here in this passage today.

Now there's much debate about what exactly is meant by the phrase, the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God. I, again, to review what I've gone over in the past, I believe when Jesus refers to the kingdom of heaven, he's not merely referring to God's providential rule over this world, that kingdom has always existed. God has always been the great king of all the universe. We're also not talking about some far off in the future kingdom that we don't see or have any correspondence with yet. This is not merely eschatology.

It's not totally disconnected from us, because the scriptures say that the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven was among them. It was coming near in the incarnation and ministry of Jesus. It is something that Jesus brought into the world in his first coming and is continuing to grow and will expand and fill the earth until he comes again. So I understand the kingdom of God to mean the present rule of God through Jesus Christ in his people on the earth. I believe that is what is meant by the phrase the kingdom of God.

And the purpose of the parables is to, on the one hand, yes somewhat of an illustration to teach an element of what it means to be part of this kingdom, but on the other hand they are also intended to confuse and frustrate the unbeliever. We see this very clearly. Jesus said earlier in Matthew chapter 13 that he taught them in parables so that their hearts would be hard and their eyes blind. But he gives truth through the parables to his disciples. And this parable, because it is taught specifically to his disciples, is one of the few that we have an authoritative conclusion, an authoritative interpretation you could say at the end of the parable in verse 35.

Because this parable was spoken to the disciples as we see in 18.1, not to the multitudes. Now I'm going to read this section 21 through 35 and we'll jump in there. So look again at Matthew 18 beginning in verse 21. Then Peter came to him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants, And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold with his wife and children, and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him saying, Master have patience with me and I will pay you all. Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him and forgave him the debt. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.

And he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me what you owe. So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all. And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what he had done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, You wicked servant!

I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you, and his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So my heavenly father will also do to you if each of you from his heart does not forgive his brother his trespasses. And when we think of Matthew 18, somebody mentions that chapter or it comes up in a discussion, we immediately, most of us would think of church discipline. This follows on the discussion of church discipline, of how the pattern that the Lord gives us of the steps that ought to be taken in a dispute among believers in a church, culminating, if necessary, in excommunication.

And this parable is connected to this idea, this passage on church discipline. Because fundamentally, what's the issue with church discipline? You have believers, You have brothers or sisters in a church who are at odds with one another. And the appeal is that you go to them, tell them their faults, and if they repent, you forgive them and you bring them in. But what if they don't repent and then you have the system of church discipline?

Well this parable I believe is connected to it just as in the in the case of church discipline you have two professing Christians going before the church. The parable has two servants and a great king, which are, I believe, pictures of two Christians, or at least professing Christians, and God. Now some have taken this connection and tied it very tightly and concluded that therefore the king in this picture in the parable is not actually God it's actually the church and the parable is about church discipline. I understand where they're coming from it's easy to see that I don't take that interpretation personally though. I believe that Jesus' conclusion in verse 35 forces us to say, no, the King represents God in this parable, not the church.

So Rather than simply illustrating what church discipline is, I think the parable gives us the subjective, personal side of what unforgiveness looks like. While The instruction regarding church discipline in 15 through 20 tells us of the external, objective, institutional effects of unresolved disputes, sin, and unforgiveness. The instruction for church discipline is ultimately about an unrepentant brother and his relationship to the church. The parable is about an unforgiving brother and his relationship with God. Now Peter's question in verse 21 bridges the gap between Jesus' instruction and Jesus' parable.

Peter comes to the Lord after he talks about how to correct a brother in the church, and he gives this question, Lord, how Often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him. That was a fundamental part of church discipline. You're sinned against by a brother, you go to him. You're supposed to seek reconciliation and forgiveness. Well, Peter says, how many times?

He probably thought he was being very magnanimous here. Seven times? Do I forgive a brother seven times? And I think he probably genuinely did think he was being extraordinarily gracious. Because how many people will immediately on one offense cut off somebody.

Even more than that, the common teaching among the rabbis at that time and even to this day, and you can find it In the Talmud, which is, if you're not familiar, it's a compendium of really often blasphemous extra biblical instruction held in reverence by the Jews. In that it is said that forgiveness is to be extended to someone no more than three times. So Peter's self-perception of himself being very gracious is perfectly understandable. He is seeing the superiority of Jesus' teaching to that of the rabbi, so to that of the worldly minded. He sees the radical compassion and mercy that Jesus has and is calling his followers too.

And so in his defense, seven times is really quite gracious compared to the rabbinical teaching of only three. But The Lord responds and says, no, you've barely touched the foothills of that mountain. No, Jesus says, I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to 70 times seven. Now, you have a different translation, it may actually say 77 times. The Greek here is actually ambiguous on what number is meant.

Is it 70 times 7 or is it 77 times? But honestly, the translation of these words is not important because it is clearly intended to be symbolic. The multiplications of sevens and tens is clearly meant to symbolize a countless number of times. It is countless because as Paul instructs in 1 Corinthians 13, as Christians we are to keep no record of wrongs. In Luke 17 in another place Jesus says that if a brother sins against you seven times in a day and seven times in that same day returns to you and says, I repent, you shall forgive him.

So Jesus isn't setting a limit here, whether it's seven times a day or 77 times or 490 times in the entire course of a relationship. Rather, he's not setting limits, he's abolishing limits on forgiveness. He's teaching that his followers must be marked by radical grace and forgiveness towards one another. And Even before we get to the actual parable, we have to stop and reflect on this. This at least for me is a punch in the gut.

How easy is it to hold on to bitterness and slights against a brother? How easy is it to get offended and hold on to that? John Wesley and I disagree tremendously with most of what John Wesley said but commenting on this passage and the virtue of Christian forgiveness he said if this be Christianity, where do Christians live? The idea being, he'd never seen it. Forgiveness to this degree.

And this is true. We have this virtue put before us, this great goal of Christian forgiveness, not three times, not seven times, as many times as your brother sins against you forgive him So Wesley's question where if this is Christianity, where are the Christians it's a fair question Are we truly Christian in our love toward one another? Are we marked by this kind of grace and forgiveness? Is this what's in our hearts? Well, Jesus tells this parable and instead of focusing on the element of forgiveness per se, he focuses on the consequences of unforgiveness.

And the end, the conclusion will be that unforgiveness will lead to judgment and condemnation. And this is instructed for us, and our pastor touched a little bit on this in the morning message, that Sometimes negative consequences can be a valuable tool. Just as you should be afraid of hell, and so that should pursue you, or cause you to pursue Christ. In the same way, the punishment for unforgiveness should spur you on to forgiveness. But again, both cases ultimately, what is in the heart?

Because what does Jesus say? If you from his heart, if each of you from your heart do not forgive one another, It always goes back to the heart. Now in the parable there are really two main characters. The second servant is important, but he's briefly in the picture. So we could say there's two or three main characters of how you divide it Obviously, we have the king the indebted servant or the first servant and we have the second or fellow servant Firstly, we have the king who wants to settle accounts He's for whatever reason seeking to get what he's owed from the people that he rules and this man is brought before him and When he had begun verse 24 when he had begun to settle accounts one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents Ten thousand talents it's hard for us to even comprehend what that means.

First of all, 10, 000, this is one word in Greek, Horioi, and this is the word that we get myriad from in our English language, is the largest number in Greek that can be conveyed with a single word. Because of that, it was often used in symbolic fashion. It's almost like when we say a zillion in English. It's just an absurd number. You can't even begin to think of what it looks like in your hands.

So this is a picture of an uncountable debt. This is an insurmountable debt this man owes. If we take it literally, 10, 000 talents, it's almost impossible to really grasp what this means. A talent, one talent is worth about 6, 000 denarii in this time. A denarius is what a worker would be paid for one day's work.

So it's a day's wage. So 10, 000 talents adds up to about 200, 000 years of labor. That is what this man owed the king. An astonishing debt. And this is a picture of our debt to God.

It is insurmountable. You could not even begin to pay the least on what you owe your Creator. We have a natural obligation to give worship and love and thankfulness and obedience to God as our Creator. As his creature, we owe him this debt naturally. On top of that, we are fallen, and our sin compounds the natural obligation that we have.

Have. Our sin builds up a greater debt toward God. A debt far greater than we can imagine. We cannot begin to satisfy it in ourselves. It is a hopeless situation.

This is why every one of us and you children, every one of you, forever abolish from your mind the idea that you can be a good enough person to have a right standing before God. It is insanity, it is foolish, You cannot do it. Your sins are too great." this king is taking an account of the money he's owed and this man owes a vast, almost uncountable debt. Now whether this settling of accounts is meant to be a picture of the final judgment or of the sinner realizing his rebellion against God and by a pricked conscience in his life is not clear. But understand this, either way, There will be a day when God settles accounts, finally and fully.

And your debt toward God is like this. It's greater than this. If this man could live 200, 000 years, he could have paid off the debt. But hell is eternal. The debt is never paid.

Because even in hell, your rebellion will continue. You cannot pay off the debt of your sin. You need forgiveness. And that is what this man receives. The man falls receives.

The man falls on his face and he begs the king for time, which is really a foolish thing. There's not enough time. You can't have enough time. But he falls on his face and he asks the king for time when what he should have done is he should have begged for forgiveness. What do we do when we go to God?

Are you begging God for time for you to get your act together? Are you asking God to be patient while you try harder? It's just as foolish. It's just as foolish. Fall on your face before God and ask not for time, but for forgiveness.

The King moved with compassion, forgives the entire sum. Though the man didn't deserve it, he didn't even ask for it, the King did abundantly more than he could have asked or thought, just as our God does for us. This is a picture of the amazing love that God has toward those who come to him in repentance and sincere faith. As we heard this morning, His debt was wiped clean. And the man receives this mercy, but he doesn't extend it.

Look at verse 28. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. And he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, pay me what you owe. He finds a fellow slave who owes him. And the picture is, this happens immediately.

The man leaves the court of the king and goes immediately to find this man who owes him 100 coins. 100 denarii, Now it's a real debt. It's about three and a half months of wages. But that is a pittance compared to what he was forgiven. We would think that he would have compassion.

As the king had had mercy on him, so should he have mercy on his fellow slave. And the king rebukes him for that when it's made no down. But this contrast of the 10, 000 talents and the 100 denarii, This is a picture of the vast insignificance of what your fellow creatures owe you compared to what you owe God. Men may sin against us, you may sin against others, but our Sin is always primarily toward God. God is the one who is always most offended by any human sin.

This isn't to say that it's meaningless when you're sinned against or when you sin against someone else. It's not meaningless, it's real. This debt was real, but it's vastly smaller. It's not nothing, but it's not everything. We ought to seek reconciliation among brothers, but that is only possible when the greater obligation, our reconciliation with God has been accomplished.

And so this man attacks his fellow servant, literally he takes hold of him choking him, saying, he is ready to strangle this man over such a small debt. He abuses his fellow servant, revealing a violent, hateful heart that has ultimately been completely untouched by the king's mercy toward him. And what happens? The fellow servant repeats to him the same words that he had said to the king, Have patience with me and I will pay you all." But unlike the king, he does not feel compassion. Instead, he has the man thrown in prison until he pays The debt.

This is a picture of a man who violates this principle of the gospel of radical forgiveness, to love one another and have such a love that takes no record of wrongs. This man has not really understood what he's been forgiven. If he did, he would forgive others. The other servants hear what's happened, they tell the king, and the king calls the first servant back into his audience chamber, and he lays into him. You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you? The king condemns his hypocrisy and his wickedness. If God has forgiven us so much, if God has forgiven us our great debt of sin, how can we ever hold a grudge against another human being, particularly another redeemed sinner? How can we withhold forgiveness from our brother for what amounts to a minor slight compared to our sins against God. We can't.

We can't do it. If you've been forgiven much, you will love much. If you know what has been forgiven, if you have a sense of the love of God toward you, you will have grace and love and compassion toward your brothers." And the king imprisons the man, just as he had done to his fellow servant. Excuse me. Now interpretations differ on what this means that he was imprisoned until he was able to pay all that was due to him.

Certain people, Arminians, Roman Catholics, Pelagians, will say that this is a picture of the grace of justification being removed and the weight of sin being put back on someone who was previously saved. Obviously, this is completely at odds with the rest of scripture, all of what the rest of the parables teach, no one can pluck you out of his hand, even your own stupidity and rebellion. So I think we must reject such a facile interpretation. I'm split personally on the other two. I lean toward the third one, but we'll get there in a second.

The second most common interpretation as far as I can tell is that unforgiveness shows that the person is a false convert. Just as Simon revealed himself to be a false convert by his greed and pride in our morning message, someone who refuses to forgive a brother shows that his debt, his sin, was never really forgiven if he can't forgive someone else. Now this is possible, but I'm not entirely convinced that's what this means. The third one is that the punishment that is pictured here by being turned over and put in prison till the debt is paid is that of temporal chastisement. God bringing judgment, God bringing his justice in time to a Christian who will not forgive.

I don't believe that this imprisonment is the final judgment. I think it's most likely, I'm not gonna fight about it, but I think it's most likely temporal judgments, chastisements that we read of a father giving to his son. Regardless of which interpretation you take and what that conclusion means, the overarching message is crystal clear. It's obvious God holds unforgiveness to be a very serious sin, and it will receive punishment. So what does that mean for us?

We must freely forgive one another. We must keep no record of wrongs. We must be ready to forgive one another as God and Christ has forgiven us. We must let love cover a multitude of sins. We must receive one another and love one another, forgiving one another from the heart.

There is a reason that we're told this over and over and over again because it's really hard to do. It doesn't come naturally. We pray for God to give us hearts of compassion. We pray that God would allow us to truly forgive, not just in word, but from the heart. It's easy to mouth words, but as A.T.

Robertson, the great Greek scholar, commented on this verse, cherished resentment is not forgiveness. We don't say, I forgive you, and stew on it for years. We don't say it's okay brother and then think about it every time we see that person. Forgive from the heart. Freely let it go because God has done far more in forgiving you.

So love one another, forgive one another. Do not let bitterness and resentment and grudges divide you from your brothers and sisters. Let this place and let your relationships with other Christians reflect the unity and love that Christ has toward his church. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for this passage.

We thank you, Lord, for giving us what is really a hard message to hear. Help us Lord to live up to it. To be gracious with one another, to love one another, to forgive as you have forgiven us. Help us Lord to not be hypocrites, to not be false, but to love and forgive from the heart. Thank you for not leaving us in our sin, not leaving us with this insurmountable debt.

Thank you for instructing us and teaching us in your word. Help us Lord to go from here taking these things to heart and putting them into practice as you build your kingdom and as you call us to be part of it. May you be glorified in all of it here and every day in all our homes in Christ's name amen.