The text today is taken from The Watchtower of 2016, January, and the theme Be Compelled by God s Indescribable Free Gift. Well, this Memorial season really does move us to contemplate what Jehovah has done for us, and we should be compelled. The Insight volume has a very interesting article on this matter of forgiveness. And in one of the statements it mentions that the Hebrew verb sa lachʹ [for] (forgive) is used only with regard to [Jehovah s] pardoning a sinner. It s never used in connection with a human forgiving a human. So the extent of and reasons for Jehovah s forgiveness really are unmatchable. So, what should we be compelled to do? Well, let s reflect on the illustration that Jesus gave in Matthew chapter 18, and if you turn there you ll recall that in verse 21 Peter had asked: Lord, how many times am I to forgive my brother if he sins against me? Up to seven times? Now, what was wrong with that question? Well, Peter had been influenced by a hard-hearted spirit that was prevalent in those days, and in some instances even today. Well, what do we mean? Well, Peter measured forgiveness, and that was common among the Pharisees. Jesus went on to say what in verse 22? We know it very well: I say to you, not up to seven times, but up to 77 times. And then, in connection with divine forgiveness he Jesus responds in a way that helps us to see the contrast in the human understanding of forgiveness and God s. Notice what he says in verse 23: That is why the Kingdom of the heavens may be likened to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. Now notice, the king wanted to settle accounts. It wasn t the slaves. The slaves had built up a debt with the king, and justice called for the king to handle matters balance the books, as it were. Page 1 of 5
But then, he found one slave who owed him 10,000 talents 40 million dollars. That s a lot of money. Jehovah if we think about that illustration is telling us something. He has given those that are his slaves us a lot of leeway. He has forgiven us thousands of times, so often that we are not aware, really, of the many sins we commit against Jehovah. Now, going back to the illustration, verse 26. This slave begs because he can t afford to pay, and he says to the master: Be patient with me, and I ll pay everything I owe you. Well, how in the world could he do that? He was a slave. How could he pay back 40 million dollars? And the master knew that there was no way he could pay this back. Well now, putting the illustration in today s terms, the average yearly wage for the United States I googled this in 2014 was almost 52,000 dollars. That s just averaging out everybody. There s a lot of people who don t make that much, and many who make more than that, but the average was 52,000 dollars. Now, if the 10,000 talents equaled 40 million dollars, it would take a man 770 years to pay off that debt if he gave everything that he made to pay off the debt. Page 2 of 5
So the master knew, This slave, he can t he can t pay me. So verse 27 says: Moved with pity at this, the master of that slave let him off and canceled his debt. Oh, boy, what a relief that would be. But the slave should have recognized something. He could never be in the same position as the master. He didn t have the resources. Nor could anyone possibly owe him what he owed the master. Now, if he had captured the spirit of forgiveness shown to him, there would hardly be any debt owed to him that he couldn t tolerate or even forget. But in verse 28, look at his attitude: That slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves, [on the same plane as him] who owed him 100 denarii [70 dollars]. Now notice, he went out and found that slave. So rather than looking to overlook the debts of those who were indebted to him, he was looking for those who owed him. Now, we re going to read verses 29, 30, 32, 33, and 35. Notice: So his fellow slave fell down and began to beg him, saying, Be patient with me, and I will pay you back. However, he was not willing. Now, let s stop there. Is it possible that this slave that owed him could pay him back? Yes, it was possible he could work it out within his resources 70 dollars. But then, what was the reaction? The account says: He went and had him thrown into prison until he could pay back what he owed. Boy, how petty. Verse 32: Then [the] master summoned him and said to him: Wicked slave, I canceled all that debt for you when you pleaded with me [that debt that you could never have paid off]. Should you not also have shown mercy to Page 3 of 5
your fellow slave [that slave who possibly could have paid it off the same] as I showed mercy to you? And then the clincher, verse 35, Jesus point: My heavenly Father will also deal with you [that s me, and that s you] in the same way if each of you does not forgive your brother. Not by rote, not by formula, but from our heart. Now the king, as we said, forgave the debt of 40 million dollars. That slave was unwilling to forgive his fellow slave for the amount of 70 dollars. Jehovah is a big Forgiver, and we thank him for that. Last evening helped us to see how big. Really, grasping the depth of our indebtedness to Jehovah and the depth of his forgiveness should compel us to constantly work at having a forgiving spirit. The Insight volume says that in the Bible the Hebrew word na saʼʹ may denote the pardon, or forgiveness, extended by God or by humans. But as we stated originally, sa lachʹ is used exclusively [for] God s forgiveness, the act by which [a] sinner is restored to divine favor. Now remember, our forgiveness can t begin to match Jehovah s. So there s nothing that any human can do to us that matches what we born in sin, alienated from God, inclined to do wrong have done to offend Jehovah. And yet as we discussed yesterday, last evening, and we re reminded of God recommends his own love to us, and that while we were yet sinners he had his Son die for us. I d like to quote to you The Watchtower of October 15, 1999, page 13 October 15, 1999. The article is Forgive From Your Heart. It says this: You should see in God s willingness to forgive a pattern as to how you ought to treat other humans. Page 4 of 5
Paul focused on this, writing: Become kind to one another, tenderly compassionate, freely forgiving. Not like an accountant keeping track, but freely forgiving one another just as God also by Christ freely forgave you. Then The Watchtower says this: Do you see the link? Jehovah God forgave you, [that s me] so Paul forcefully reasons you need to imitate [God] Him and be tenderly compassionate, freely forgiving of others. And then The Watchtower asked some penetrating questions. It said: Ask yourself, Am I [really] doing that? If it is not [in] my nature, am I working in that direction, really striving to imitate God in being forgiving? Now, we might say: Well, I m forgiving. I forgive a lot of people. Proof? Proverbs 17:9: Whoever forgives a transgression seeks love, but the one who keeps harping on a matter separates close friends. If we keep talking about what somebody has done to us, we haven t forgiven in the heart. Jehovah doesn t do that. So forgiving others for personal offenses, regardless of the number of times involved, is a Christian requirement. God s forgiveness is not extended toward those who refuse to forgive. Remember what Jesus said: Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And what a beautiful God we have. His action and that of his Son compels us to be freely forgiving. Page 5 of 5