Jesus: Creator, Saviour, Lord and King #40 Jesus and Forgiveness - Matthew 18

 

Jesus: Creator, Saviour, Lord and King #40
Jesus and Forgiveness - Matthew 18

Saved By His “Worse Enemy”

During the Revolutionary War there lived in Pennsylvania a pastor by the name of Peter Miller. Although Miller was greatly loved by everyone in the community, there was one man who lived near the church who hated him and had earned an unenviable reputation for his abuse of the minister. This man hated pastor, hated the lord and it turned out, he hated the new nation of the United States. When the Revolutionary War began, he betrayed the new nation.  He was captured, convicted of treason and then sentenced to death.

The trial was conducted in Philadelphia, and when Pastor Miller heard that this vile hater wa sentenced to death, he set out on foot to find General Washington and interceded for the man’s life. Washington told him, “I’m sorry that I cannot grant your request for your friend.”

“Friend!” Miller cried. “Why, that man is the worst enemy I have in the world!”

“What?” the general exclaimed in surprise. “Have you walked sixty miles to save the life of an enemy? That, in my judgement, puts the matter in a different light. I will grant him a pardon for your sake.”

The pardon was made out and signed by General Washington, and Miller proceeded at once on foot to a place fifteen miles distant where the execution was scheduled to take place that afternoon. He arrived just as the man was being carried to the scaffold, and when he saw Miller hurrying toward the place, remarked, “There is old Peter Miller. He has walked all the way from Ephrata to have his revenge gratified today by seeing me hung.” But scarcely had he spoken the words when Miller pushed his way through to the condemned man and handed him the pardon that saved his life. - Bible School Journal - Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations: Signs of the Times, (WORDsearch, 2004).

Forgiveness is the core and crux of Christianity, we gladly accept the Lord’s forgiveness of our sin but contrarywise we find it hard to forgive others, especially those who are the closest when they hurt or betray us. And yet one of the greatest blessing you will find and one of the greatest means of growing as a Christian is learning and practicing forgiveness.

In Matthew chapter 18 Jesus dedicates one of his longest discourses on forgiveness. Let’s turn there and listen to one of the Lord’s most important lessons.

Context

In our last sermon we walked the heights and depths with the Lord, from the Mount of Transfiguration to the Valley of Failure. Some of those events may have led to what Jesus teaches the disciples and us today in Matthew 18.

Peter, James and John are singled out by the Lord to walk with him up the mount and the other disciples are left behind. This is not the first time that these three, the sometime referred to “inner circle” are allowed a closer look at what the Lord was doing. It also happened when Jesus raised Jairus daughter back to life. Only Peter, James and John were allowed to see that miracle.

It may be that these apostles were feeling special or perhaps that the other apostles were feeling jealous, but Matthew 18 opens with contention between the apostles and it prompts the Lord’s teaching on forgiveness.

Forgiveness: The Prompt - Matthew 18:1-5

1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

Forgiveness Needed

From the other Gospels we gain some further detail about this dispute. Matthew gets right to the point, but Mark adds some details in…

In  Mark 9:33-36 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. 36 And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them,

Jesus deals with this potentially fatal to the early church problem by picking up a small child and Luke tells us, he put the child in his lap.  I read this and thought One day when we are in heaven there will probably be a person walking around telling everyone, “You know that child that sat on Jesus lap? Yeah that was me!” I wouldn’t blame them a bit.”

Jesus doesn’t even deal with their question, and it won’t be the last time it comes up. Mark tells us He starts by giving this precept, “If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” This is a core tenant of Christianity and taught many times over both in the Gospels and in the epistles,

“The first shall be last and the last shall be first.

Humble yourself in the sight of God and He shall lift you up.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

With this child on his lap He tells them how to be great in God's sight. “vs. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.”

That first part of the lesson, humble yourself as this little child, is directly connected to this dispute, but Jesus has a greater precept to instill into the apostles. Not only should the apostles and us be humble but also be aware. Humble to be like Christ and aware that we do not cause offense.

Jesus teaches on avoiding offense more than he did on being humble in this passage. Look at verse 6

Forgiveness: The Peril - Matthew 18:6-14

6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Forgiveness Perennial

We are familiar with this passage especially in our time when abortion is legal in our nation. Whoso shall offend one of these little one, it were better if a millstone were hung about their neck and they should be drowned in the depth of the sea. A very graphic warning. And yes, without doubt, Jesus will deal with those who harm children in and out of the womb, if they do not repent.

But here the Lord is not really talking about physical harm like abortion. This was something that was so abhorrent in their culture that it would never have been brought up by Jesus. Just like homosexuality is not warned against or even talked about by Jesus, because in this culture those things were unthinkable, unimaginable. Even the demon possessed of Jesus time did not do these things.

Specifically, Jesus is using this child to warn the apostles about offending, hurting, or causing to stumble in their faith a new believer. He is using a young child sitting on His lap but He is talking about any new believer. Just as He gold Nicodemus, You must be born again to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Listen to His warning again it is graphic, “vs. 7 Woe unto the world because of offences! (σκάνδαλον skandalon;) scandal, from a word that originally meant the trigger on a trap, a stumblingblock.) for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

The words Jesus uses here are meant to get the attention of the apostles and warn them about the danger they could be to new believers. Jesus was not advocating drowning people with millstones. He was getting their attention. Nor was He advocating cutting off hands and feet. He was warning them of how important it was not to cause new believers to stumble or even worse those who might come to salvation be driven away due to the arrogance, pride and vainglory of the apostles, or ours.

He says God has angels that are assigned to new believers and they stand before God. Now we get the idea of guardian angels from this verse and indeed the Lord has at special times sent an angel to care or protect believers, but that is not a guarantee, nor is this statement enough for us to draw any conclusion other than, don’t offend or hurt new believers. They are so important that the Father has angels that are assigned for them.

He also tell them don’t you understand that your prideful attitude is hindering the very reason I am on the earth? “Vs. 11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."  I came to save but you are in danger of driving  away those I came to save.

When Jesus speaks of the ninety and nine and one that is lost, in this context He is talking about a lost sheep that belonged to Him, a believer. Look at vs. 12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? 13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

That is a church member coming back into the fold of the Lord’s house. Yes, we can apply it to winning souls, but Jesus is talking about believers and especially young, immature believers. He says the shepherd, which is the apostles then and today pastors, will leave the 99 and go out and seek the one that wen astray because someone in the 99 caused an offense. Hey, It may even be the pastor. It would not be the first time.

Jesus finishes by emphasizing the will of the Heavenly Father, in vs.  14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. That word perish is ἀπόλλυμι apollymi; and it means to destroy, to die, to lose, to mar, or to perish. Apall you, the destroyer.

He is not talking about losing salvation, he is talking about losing a believer, a child of God from the flock of the church, about marring their faith, or their perishing in the sense of no longer growing in faith and fellowship.  The Father is not willing that any of His children should be lost from the protection, love and care of the Lord’s church.

Tripping the Trap

I have been in the Lord’s work for almost 50 years, and I can honestly say that offenses are the best way that Satan uses to destroying a church. Offenses and hurts become anger and bitterness and before you know it the whole church is engulfed in a unresolvable conflict. Sometimes churches don’t survive, often times believers are lost from the fold.

If you ask most people who used to go to church and who now no longer attend, why they quit, it won’t be because they don’t believe in God. It will probably be because they were hurt, offended by a fellow church member. The trap was set by Satan using our pride, our prejudice or even a misunderstanding. That trap is tripped and someone stumbles right out of the Lord’s church and the fellowship of the Saints. Who is hurt by that? All of us. The church is hurt because they lose the talents, gifts and fellowship of that believer. And that believer is hurt because they lose all the church was meant to be for them.

Jesus says beware, be careful that you are not the reason for that child of God stumbling.  Offenses will always come, but Jesus says you must go out of your way not to be the one who causes that offense.

But Jesus said, “Offense will come. They will cause woe and they will come.” So what do we do when the trap is tripped and we or another stumbles in our faith? Jesus give us the procedure in vs. 15-20

Forgiveness: The Procedure - Matthew 18:15-20

15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. 18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Forgiveness Practiced

Jesus’ instruction are very clear.

First, Go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

We don’t gossip, we don’t try and get people on our side. When we realize that there is a problem, then you go. You go. You don’t wait for an apology. If you know there is a problem then you go to that person and your goal is to regain the fellowship of you fellow believer, or family member or friend. Go, like the shepherd and seek the one that is lost to you.

This is the procedure whether you offended someone or even if they offended you. Remember the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus was talking about a judgmental attitude? He gives this command, Matthew 5:23-24 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

It does not matter who caused the offense, be it you or the other. Jesus says all that matters is, “You go!” and regain your brother, sister, church member, family member or friend. Go.

What happens if they won’t listen. Then Jesus says, “But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.”

Now he is not saying go and figure out who was wrong and needs to apologize. That is the next trap that Satan uses to make things worse. No, you go not to figure out who is right but to make it right.  And to make sure you and they do that then bring others with you, preferable people who are not seen as being on one side or the other. It should not be about sides at all.

If this is a church matter then you bring church members with you to regain that lost sheep for that is the purpose.

Finally, if that person won’t hear, won’t be reconciled then if it is a church member or a public sin by a church member, then you bring it before the church. If they are not a member of the church, then you take it to the Lord, knowing that you have done all that you could do and you leave it in His care and keeping. Let Him begin to work in ways that you cannot.

The hardest part of this process is the first step, Go and regain your brother or sister. The vast majority of offended and offenders in the church will never take that step. And I’ll be honest with you, Just as you can never be a real disciple of Jesus without following Him in baptism, you can’t continue in your growth as a Christian if you refuse to Go and deal with the offenses that will inevitably come.

If you refuse to follow the Lord’s commands to go and seek or give forgiveness, then the very foundation of your faith is being denied by you, and you cannot build a Christian life upon that foundation.

I can’t imagine one day standing in heaven as we are judged by the Lord for our works and being confronted with the statement, “You didn’t even get baptized!?!” or perhaps worse, “You couldn't forgive, you didn’t bother to go and regain that lost one?!?

This isn’t just tough for us, it was tough for Peter. Look at vs. 21

Forgiveness: The Principle and Parable – Matthew 18:21-35

Forgiveness Parable

21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

Peter ask the Lord, Lord, how oft? Seven times and the idea here is in the day. Seven times? Rabbinic teaching, based on Amos 1:3; Job 33:29, 30, said just three times. Peter is exceeding that number and must have felt pretty good about it. After all, 7 is the number of perfection.

Jesus, however, wasn’t looking at numbers. I’m so glad math isn’t required to be a preacher or even a believer. It’s not about a specific number, Jesus says 70 x 7. The idea is complete forgiveness without any limit.

To illustrate this Jesus, gave the Parable of Forgiveness, that is a who forgiveness should be practiced and understood in the Kingdom of Heaven.

When the books were reckoned, balanced it was discovered that this man owed the 10,000 talents. It seems he had been embezzling from the King and it was discovered when there was an accounting. The man is brought before the King to answer for his theft. 10,000 talents is an enormous amount of money, equivalent to 10s of millions today. Justice demands that the man, his family and all that he had be sold.

The man can’t pay it back and begs forgiveness. Vs. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

The King had compassion and forgave the crime and the debt! That is meant to shock the listening apostles. 10s of millions, forgiven a criminal.

The same man, now a forgiven criminal, then goes out and decides he needs to settle some debts himself.

Matthew 18:28-30 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

Once again notice how shocking the behavior of this man is mean to be. First, he won’t forgive a much, much smaller debt, 100s of dollar in comparison to millions. Secondly, he lays hands on the one who owes him and when he begs forgiveness, the one who was forgiven refuses and throws the man into debtor’s prison.

Finally, when the King finds out, He calls for the man to come back. Matthew 18:32-34 O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

Again, let me remind you, the point of the parable is not salvation, it is the reason for forgiving of others. Jesus is not teaching you can lose your salvation, but He is saying when you don’t forgive others, you act like one who was never been forgiven yourself.

Jesus never used a parable to teach doctrine but only to illustrate it. Nor should you use a parable to teach a doctrine but only to better understand the doctrine already given.

The subject of the parable comes from Peter’s question, How many times should I forgive? Jesus answer is forgive others as your Father has forgiven you. If God’s forgiveness in not limited, then yours must not be either. It is His forgiveness of you that fuels your forgiveness of others. That is the answer and that is the lesson of this parable nothing else. Don’t make it walk on all fours. Parable teach only one lesson. Here is that lesson in...

Psalms 103:10-12 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

There is your standard, there is your measuring rod. Forgiveness to us was and is unlimited and without boundary and so must our forgiveness be as well.

In Micah 7:19 thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Corrie ten Boom said that when God casts someone’s sins into the depths of the sea, He places a sign nearby, “No Fishing.”

When Richard Nixon resigned from office the new President, Gerald Ford granted “a free, full and absolute pardon” for any criminal conduct during his presidency.  Nixon responded with a statement of remorse at “my mistakes over Watergate.”

Announcing the pardon at a surprise appearance before newsmen and photographers, Ford said, “My conscience tells me clearly and certainly that I cannot prolong the bad dreams that continue to reopen a chapter that is closed. My conscience tells me that only I, as President, have the constitutional power to firmly shut and seal this book.” - Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations: Signs of the Times,

That is how God forgives and that is how we must forgive.  Ephesians 4:32 “And be you kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you”

Colossians 3:13 “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do you.”

Conclusion

Jesus concludes the parable with another shocking statement.

Matthew 18:34-35 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

The parable isn’t about salvation, and this statement is not about the torments of hell. It simple reinforces what the parable is telling us, “Forgive others because God had forgiven you.” There is no condition or circumstance that should prevent you from seeking or giving forgiveness.

But if not, here is your judgment, not hell, but yes, a kind of torment. If you are a forgiven child of God but you won’t forgive others, then yes, you will be in torment. Torment because you have disobeyed the Word of God. Torment because you are out of the will of God. Torment because God will chasten His disobedient children to bring them back to His will and love.

Being out of fellowship with another is also a torment, but being out of fellowship with God is a great torment to the heart and soul of a believer. Don’t bring yourself to that torment, it will be worse than you imagine for God knows exactly how do deal with you where it will most get your attention.

It is so much better to avoid the offense in the first place but if it happens then be willing to forgive and to seek forgiveness. It is hard but it is one of the best ways the Bible tells us we can be most like Jesus who forgave us.