Bible Memory Verse
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7
Matthew 18:21-35
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he 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 thousands talents (millions of dollars) 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 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 the servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii (a few dollars). 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 you 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 greatly distressed 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 turned him over to the jailors 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 from your heart.”
1. Why did the master forgive his servant?
2. Why do you think the servant didn’t forgive his fellow servant? “There was obviously something wrong with the servant’s heart…Instead of making him more loving and forgiving, the experience hardened him and injured others…He had not truly experienced forgiveness in his heart so he had nothing to share…A careful reading of verse 26 reveals that this servant lacked everything necessary for a deep experience of forgiveness…he was not really convinced that he was a sinner. He had been caught, and he was sorry that he had been caught, but he was not sorry that he had sinned. He was willing for his lord to forgive him, but he was not willing to admit that he had done wrong. There can be not deep sense of forgiveness until first there is a deep sense of sin and need…But there was something else wrong with this man. He was proud and thought he could handle the debt himself. How long do you think he would have to work to be able to pay back that much money? He was bluffing, of course, trying to talk his way out of the situation, and he went away thinking he had succeeded. ‘What a clever fellow I am,’ he said to himself, and perhaps to his family. ‘I convinced that man to cancel the debt!’ No sense of remorse or repentance was evident. He did not grasp the price the lord had to pay or the debt of compassion the lord revealed. The entire experience was self-centered. The servant left the throne-room with an inflated ego, not a humble spirit…The lesson is clear: you cannot share forgiveness unless you have received it and experienced it.” Meet Yourself in the Parables by Warren W. Wiersbe
3. When Jesus said that we should forgive our brother “seventy-seven times” he was saying times without number. Why should we forgive someone no matter how many times they offend us?
4. Romans 12:17-21
“Do not repay evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. (18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge: I will repay,” says the Lord. (20 On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ (21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
a. Who is supposed to avenge people?
b. What are we supposed to do?
c. What do you think it means by “heal burning coals on his head?”
d. How can we “overcome evil with good”?
e. What will happen if we don’t “overcome evil with good”?
5. What did the master do to the servant when he found out he had not forgiven his fellow servants?
6. Matthew 5:21-26
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder,’ and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. (22 But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
(23 Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, (24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. (25 Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. (26 I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
a. The Law in the Old Testament said that anyone who murdered someone else was subject to judgment. Who is Jesus saying is subject to judgment?
b. If we are thrown into prison, we will not get out until we have paid the last penny. This is similar to the parable of the unmerciful servant where it says: “In anger his master turned him over to the jailer to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.” Matthew 18:34
“An unforgiving heart always experiences torment. The lord delivered the servant to the tormentors. This word carries the idea of inner mental torment as much as physical torture.” Meet Yourself in the Parables by Warren W. Wiersbe Some say this means that demons will bother us until we forgive. Do you think this is a possible interpretation? Why or why not?
7. Matthew 18:15-17
“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. (16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ (17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to tell it even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”
What are you supposed to do when you know that your brother has something against you? (The way we are supposed to act toward someone that has offended us is found just before this parable. The goal should be reconciliation. This passage is the context in which the parable of the unmerciful servant was told.)
8. Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. (15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
a. What happens if we forgive men their sins?
b. What does it say will happen if we don’t forgive men their sins? “He cannot answer our prayers when we have an unforgiving spirit. (See Mark 11:25 and Psalm 66:18).” Meet Yourself in the Parables by Warren W. Wiersbe
Mark 11:25
“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Psalm 66:18
“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;”
9. 1 John 3:14-17
“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.”
What is a sin that we have to choose to give up if we want to follow Jesus? (Like any sin, Jesus gives us time to repent and the ability to repent if we ask, but if we don’t give it up, it will destroy us.)
10. Does the sin of unforgiveness have anything to do with salvation?
(“To understand the parable, we need to remember three things:
1. Christ was talking about forgiveness, not salvation. The king in the story is not a picture of God, for God does not forgive one day and condemn the next. Salvation is a once-for-all experience that does not change, even though the enjoyment of it may change from day to day.
2. He was talking about brothers, not outsiders. Peter asked about forgiving his brother and Jesus emphasized forgiving a brother (v. 35). This parable does not discuss God’s forgiveness of the lost sinner, but the importance of brother forgiving brother in the family of God. Salvation is eternal, not temporary. We do not need to suffer torture to gain God’s forgiveness.
3. This judgment is here and now, not in the future. Every problem that we face with another person is an opportunity for growth or judgment. If we obey God, we will grow. If we disobey, we will be judged.” Meet Yourself in the Parables by Warren W. Wiersbe)