18:23-35 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king...
―(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. (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. (28) 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. (31) So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry,
and came and told unto their lord all that was done. (32) Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto
him, 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. (35) So likewise shall my
heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.‖
We are called by YHWH to:
forgive others;
ask forgiveness of others (Matt 5:23-24), and;
be certain not to have unrighteous anger in our hearts (Matt 5:22).
Willful failure in any of these areas places someone in jeopardy with YHWH. The "free gift" of salvation
includes obedience to YHWH – not just "believing" in certain facts.
In Matthew 18, Y‘shua had a lot to say about our relationships with each other. The Jewish practice of going
to someone who has offended you is fully supported by our Saviour:
―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.‖ (Matt 18:15)
―(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.‖ (Matt 18:21-22)
Following this encounter with Peter, Y‘shua teaches His disciples the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. It is
the story of the man who owed the king an enormous sum of money. He was arrested and brought before
the king. The man pleaded for mercy and was forgiven his debt. Then this same man promptly went out and
found a poor man who owed him a little bit of money. The poor man could not pay, so the man who had
been forgiven of the large debt had the poor man thrown in prison. Then the king heard about the matter:
―(34) 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.‖ (Matt 18:34-35)
As believers, it is imperative that we learn how to properly forgive. Just because we ask YHWH to forgive us
of a sin, it does not follow that He will automatically forgive it:
―(15) For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: (16) But if ye forgive
not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.‘‘ (Matt 6:14-15)
This adds a whole new dimension to the meaning of the word ̳forgiveness‘. Not only must we seek
forgiveness from YHWH; we must also seek forgiveness from those people we have offended. For some
reason, that seems to be a much more difficult thing to do. We get used to talking with YHWH in prayer and
we know He already knows all of our sins, faults and weaknesses anyway; so it is fairly easy to admit sin to
Him (unless we are blinded to a sin) and to ask forgiveness. It is much more difficult to admit to another
human being that we have been anything less than the perfect ̳Believer‘ we want to be.
Even if we are able to get around this problem to admit and ask forgiveness of those people we have
offended or against whom we have sinned, now we have another difficult task. If someone has sinned
against us or offended us, we must go to them and tell them we were offended in order that we can offer
forgiveness and be reconciled. Then we must never bring that offense or sin up to that person again. Very