Sunday LinkUp – 17September2023

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CALL TO WORSHIP

  • Opening Choruses

OPENING PRAYER

WELCOME and THANKS for joining us.

OPENING COMMENTS

  • The theme for this week is the power of loving acceptance.
  • As we go through this week, let us think about loving acceptance … receiving it as well as giving it … because it is one of the foundational components of the Christian life.  
  • We’re planning to have a special SHARING TIME after today’s meeting … during which time I want to share an audio message.  NOTE:  The sharing time is optional.

OPENING SONG

There is NO opening song today … due to the fact that there is an audio message to be shared in a special sharing time, after our fellowship meeting today.

 

SERMONETTE    

From the TRANSCRIPT …  

You’ve probably experienced a situation that just didn’t make sense to you. It was too good to be true, and you weren’t sure if you should believe it. Well, you’re in good company because Jesus shared a parable in Matthew 18 about God’s way of moving in the world that definitely sounds too good to be true.

The story begins with a slave in debt to a king for a lot of money, and he couldn’t pay it back. When the slave acknowledged his inability to repay and asked for more time, the king had a surprising response. Let’s read it together:

The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him, and, as he could not pay, the lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’  Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt.  
Matthew 18:23-30 (NRSVUE)

If we look at the context of this parable, we see it’s a response to Peter’s question about how many times he was required to forgive someone.

Though we don’t know why the first slave behaved as he did, we might speculate that his reaction was selfish human nature, accepting the forgiveness of his own debt, but being unwilling to do that for others.

We also could speculate that the first slave was afraid and didn’t trust the king.  The slave couldn’t believe the forgiveness was true, and so he reacted out of fear. He terrorized those who owed him money because he didn’t believe the king would treat him so graciously.

From this story, we might deduce that this slave didn’t know the king’s character, and as a result, he didn’t trust him. He wasn’t sure the king would keep his word about the forgiven debt. As a result, he transmitted his fear about his financial matters to those who owed him money, and he behaved as if his debt was not taken care of.

This parable from Jesus gives us a chance to consider how we feel about forgiveness.  Do we believe we’re forgiven for our sins and brought into a loving relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?  If we do, then that belief will inform our relationships with others.

When we grasp that we’re known and loved despite our shortcomings, we’re more willing to love and accept others despite their shortcomings. Instead of acting selfishly or transmitting fear and behaving as if we have to earn the right to be forgiven, loved, and included, we can relax into the loving arms of God.

It might seem too good to be true, but if we believe Jesus came to show us God’s heart for humanity, we know we can trust that we’re forgiven and in the right relationship with God.  And when something is that good, we have to pass it on to others.  Rather than transmitting fear, we lovingly extend grace and forgiveness to others, trusting that there are some things that aren’t too good to be true. This helps them understand that they are also under the Father’s forgiveness.

May we believe in God’s goodness and love, trusting that it’s not too good to be true, knowing we’re forgiven, and extending the same grace to others.

I’m Jeff Broadnax, Speaking of Life.

SPECIAL MUSIC

 

 

SERMON     

Forgiven … and Forgiving

Matthew 18:21-27,28-35 (NKJV)

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?”

22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 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. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

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!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down [a]at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you [b]all.’ 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother [c]his trespasses.”

 

What does the passage say to us?

  • According to our Home Office, the passage in Matthew reveals the connection between our ability to forgive and our trust and belief that we have been forgiven for our own shortcomings.

WHAT ELSE SHOULD WE TAKE AWAY?

 

Matthew 18:21-35 (NKJV) Matthew 18:21-35 (NLT)
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

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?”  

22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 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. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  

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!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down [a]at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you [b]all.’ 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  

35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother [c]his trespasses.”   

Footnotes
  1. Matthew 18:29 NU omits at his feet
  2. Matthew 18:29 NU, M omit all
  3. Matthew 18:35 NU omits his trespasses 
Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor

21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone[a] who sins against me?  Seven times?”  

22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven![b]  

23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.[c] 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned — to pay the debt.  

26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. 

28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars.[d] He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.  

35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters[e] from your heart.”    

Footnotes
  1. 18:21 Greek my brother.
  2. 18:22 Or seventy-seven times.
  3. 18:24 Greek 10,000 talents [375 tons or 340 metric tons of silver].
  4. 18:28 Greek 100 denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.
  5. 18:35 Greek your brother. 

Appendices

Appendix 1 …

On this occasion Peter thought that he was being very generous. He asked Jesus how often he ought to forgive his brother, and then answered his own question by suggesting that he should forgive seven times.

Peter was not without warrant for this suggestion. It was Rabbinic teaching that a man must forgive his brother three times. Rabbi Jose ben Hanina said, “He who begs forgiveness from his neighbour must not do so more than three times.” Rabbi Jose ben Jehuda said, “If a man commits an offence once, they forgive him; if he commits an offence a second time, they forgive him; if he commits an offence a third time, they forgive him; the fourth time they do not forgive.” The Biblical proof that this was correct was taken from Amos. In the opening chapters of Amos there is a series of condemnations on the various nations for three transgressions and for four (Am.1:3,6,9; Am.1:11,13; Am.2:1,4,6). From this it was deduced that God’s forgiveness extends to three offences and that he visits the sinner with punishment at the fourth. It was not to be thought that a man could be more gracious than God, so forgiveness was limited to three times.

Peter thought that he was going very far, for he takes the Rabbinic three times, multiplies it by two for good measure adds one, and suggests, with eager self-satisfaction, that it will be enough if he forgives seven times. Peter expected to be warmly commended; but Jesus’s answer was that the Christian must forgive seventy times seven. In other words there is no reckonable limit to forgiveness.

Appendix 2 …

The first servant owed his master 10,000 talents; a talent was the equivalent of 240 British pounds; therefore 10,000 talents is 2,400,000 British pounds. That is an incredible debt. It was more than the total budget of the ordinary province. The total revenue of the province which contained Idumaea, Judaea and Samaria was only 600 talents; the total revenue of even a wealthy province like Galilee was only 300 talents. Here was a debt which was greater than a king’s ransom. It was this that the servant was forgiven.

The debt which a fellow-servant owed him was a trifling thing; it was 100 denarii (GSN1220); a denarius (GSN1220) was worth about 4 pence in value; and therefore the total debt was less than 5 British pounds.  It was approximately one five-hundred-thousandth of his own debt.

A. R. S. Kennedy drew this vivid picture to contrast the debts. Suppose they were paid in sixpences. The 100 denarii debt could be carried in one pocket. The ten thousand talent debt would take to carry it an army of about 8,600 carriers, each carrying a sack of sixpences 60 lbs. in weight; and they would form, at a distance of a yard apart, a line five miles long!  The contrast between the debts is staggering.

  • What would those figures look like today?
    • 1 denarii = equivalent of about a day’s wage
        • Minimum wage in JM = JMD13,000.00 per week  = $2,600 per day
    • 100 denarii = Wages for 100 days = $2,600 x 100 = $260,000
    • 10,000 talents = 500,000 times 100 denarii = 500,000 x $260,000 = $130,000,000,000
  • The servant who had his debt of 130 billion dollars written off sent a fellow-servant to prison for 260 thousand dollars (1/500,000th of his own debt).

The point is that nothing men can do to us can in any way compare with what we have done to God; andif God has forgiven us the debt we owe to him, we must forgive our fellow-men the debts they owe to us.  Nothing that we have to forgive can even faintly or remotely compare with what we have been forgiven.

Appendix 3 …

Context = Disciples being prepared to BE the Church, w/ a focus on relationships

  • August 27, 2023 … Matt.16:13-20 … Jesus reveals intention to build His Church
  • September 3, 2023 … Matt.16:21-28 … Cost of Discipleship
  • September 10, 2023 … Matt.18:15-20 … Resolving Conflict, Loosing & Binding
  • September 17, 2023 … Matt.18:21-35 … Forgiving others

 

SONG OF RESPONSE     

 

CLOSING PRAYER

BENEDICTION  

 

SHARING TIME

Sermon 2 — Audio message

Biblical Forgiveness

  • This message was preached at Littleton Bible Chapel onOctober 13, 2013.
  • The preacher is David Anderson, who was raised in a solid Christian home in rural Minnesota, attended Colorado Christian University and later Denver Seminary … and currently serves as a teaching pastor at Littleton Bible Chapel in Littleton, Colorado.

 

 

 

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