Sunday, September 13, 2026

Matthew 18:21-35 

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant 

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who 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 bags of gold 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 “At this 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 silver coins. 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 it 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 outraged 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 handed 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 or sister from your heart.”  

Sometimes we have very short memories. 

We forget the sacrifices others have made for us: parents who set aside their own needs so we could have what we needed, people who gave generously so that we could flourish, and friends who carried us through seasons when we could not carry ourselves. 

And, maybe most importantly, we forget how many times God has forgiven us when it is time for us to forgive someone else. 

Human minds and human hearts are leaky vessels. That is part of what Jesus is confronting in this parable. The servant receives mercy beyond measure, but when he has the opportunity to extend even a fraction of that mercy to someone else, he refuses. He remembers the debt owed to him, but forgets the mercy given to him. 

That kind of forgetfulness matters because it distorts the life God has freed us to live. 

I know it would be nice to imagine that Jesus never gets angry about anything—especially when it is something I do—but can you imagine a God who does not care about brokenness? Can you imagine a God who looks at resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness and simply shrugs? 

Thanks be to God that our God deals with sin directly. And thanks be to God that, in Jesus, we are not left to pay the penalty ourselves. God meets us with costly mercy. 

The good news is that Jesus has made it possible for us to live free from the crushing weight of our sin before a holy God. That freedom is not meant to stop with us. Grace received becomes grace extended. 

Part of the reason we gather for worship, spend time in devotion, and live in community with other believers is to be reminded of what is already true: we are forgiven people called to become forgiving people. I do not know who you may need to forgive right now, but imagine the life it could bring—to them and to you—to no longer carry the burden of that broken relationship. 

– Pr. Jason  

Jesus, thank you for taking my sin to the cross so that I can live in freedom. Teach me to show the same grace to the people I need to forgive. Amen.