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Page 1 of 8 A new perspective on forgiveness
Modern Day Parables 4.0
Matthew 18:21-35
by Eric Stillman
July 15th, 2007
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Take a trip with me back in time to 1987. Ronald Reagan was leading the US in the Cold War against Russia, George Michael was tearing up the charts, and a skinny 11 year-old with a frightening mound of brown curls named Eric Stillman headed off to the Vernon Everybody Wins soccer camp. Eric was an average soccer player – nothing special, a little afraid of contact, and, of course, slowed down by that massive head of hair. And by the end of the week at soccer camp, little 11 year-old Eric had become the target of the jokes of some of the Rockville kids. As little Eric walked into the locker room, one of the kids yelled out, “Hey Curly, where’s Larry and Moe?” while his cronies laughed it up. Poor Eric never forgot the harassment he received that week. Soon after that, he decided it was time to take control of his hair, and he asked the barber to cut it short, and part it in the middle. And as young Eric grew in his soccer abilities, he looked forward to every game against the rival Rockville soccer team, dreaming that one day he would take the pass, bowl over the people who had made fun of him on his way to a spectacular goal, and then turn around and say “who’s curly now? Huh?”
Okay, so that’s a silly example, but the point remains – for some reason, many of us have a great memory for all of the hurts we’ve endured over our lifetime. The kind words don’t always stay, but the people who have hurt us, abused us, called us names, treated us unfairly – those are the ones that are seared into our memory, so much so that we may be living our lives for revenge, only to find out that the other person has no recollection of ever hurting us and can’t believe we’ve been harboring a grudge for so long. Today we’re going to look at a story that Jesus told that brings up this very issue, the question of whether or not to forgive someone who has hurt us, and how to forgive. For those of us who have experienced hurt, abuse, and pain at the hands of another person, what does it look like to forgive them, and why is forgiveness so important?
If you have a Bible, please open to Matthew 18:21-35.
Matthew 18:21-35 When Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. 29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' 30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
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