Lord Jesus loves you all very much, so today I want to share a short story with you to explain why we should forgive each other and how important it is for our lives. What do we learn from the Bible? Jesus Christ teaches us through the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35) why we should forgive. And if we do not forgive, what consequences it may have on our lives.
In the Bible, in the book of Matthew, chapter 18, from verse 21 to verse 35, Lord Jesus Christ tells his disciples a story. When Peter, a disciple of Jesus Christ, comes to Jesus and asks, ‘Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother if he sins against me? Should I forgive him up to seven times?’ The Lord says, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’
Contents
Here Jesus teaches us the importance of forgiveness.
The Lord teaches us that we should be compassionate, forgiving each other from our hearts, and being compassionate towards those who ask for forgiveness. Therefore, Jesus Christ gives an example. Jesus Christ says that the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wants to settle accounts with his servants. When the accounts were brought to him, there was a servant who was such a big debtor to his master or that king that he could not repay the debt. It is written in the Bible that he was a debtor of 10,000 talents, and when he was found, he had nothing to repay that debt with. To repay that debt of 10,000 talents, or to return it, he had nothing. He was found empty-handed!
So his master ordered that everything he had, his wife, his children, and everything he had, should be sold, and my debt should be paid off. When this order was given to his master, he fell at his master’s feet, paid him homage, and begged him, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you everything.’ Then his master felt compassion, mercy came to him, and he forgave his servant, forgave him, and also forgave his entire debt, which he could never repay. Today, in today’s times, if we see a debt of 10,000 talents, it is counted in billions, and his master forgave him completely because his master was compassionate and merciful, so he forgave his servant!
Because his master was compassionate and merciful, he forgave him! Because he begged and pleaded before him and asked for forgiveness, and his master forgave him! And friends, the story doesn’t end here. It goes like this: When that servant came out from his master’s chamber, he met another fellow servant who was just like him, also a servant, and this servant was a small debtor, a small borrower, as well. It is written in the Bible that he was a debtor of 100 denarii. And when this servant came out from his master’s chamber and met his fellow servant, who was his debtor, he grabbed his fellow servant and said, ‘Pay me what you owe me!’ And he choked him, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe me!’ Then the fellow servant fell down at the servant’s feet and began to beg him, pleading with him, and started begging for some time. But this servant did not show mercy to his fellow servant, did not forgive him, did not show compassion to him, did not have pity on him, did not have mercy on him, and did not have compassion on him. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay the debt.
What happened as a consequence of not forgiving ?
Then you know what happened, friends, afterward when people around saw that he had fallen at his master’s feet and begged, and his master had forgiven him, but when he met his fellow servant and did not forgive his fellow servant, instead threw him into prison and choked him, then people were very disappointed.
They couldn’t digest this fact. They were greatly disappointed to see this servant, how he had treated his fellow servant unjustly. Just now, he had fallen at his master’s feet and begged and asked for forgiveness, and his master had forgiven him and also forgiven his debt. But this person could not forgive him! What was the result of this?
Well, when these people saw all this, they were greatly disappointed and upset. They went and informed his master about what this servant had done. They said to his master, “This servant did such and such, the same servant whom you forgave, he did not forgive his fellow servant, but instead threw him into prison.” At this, the master became angry and sent for the servant. When the servant arrived, his master said to him, “You wicked servant! Shouldn’t you have also shown mercy just as I showed mercy to you? Just as I forgave you and even forgave your debt, shouldn’t you also have forgiven your fellow servant? Shouldn’t you also have shown him mercy? Didn’t he ask for forgiveness from you? Didn’t he plead before you? Didn’t you tremble before me? I showed you mercy, I had compassion on you, I had pity on you, but you did not forgive him, you did not show him mercy! And in his anger, the master handed the servant over to the tormentors until he could pay all his debt. Then it is written in the scripture, ‘In the same way, your heavenly Father will also treat you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart, just as my master did to his servant,’ because our heavenly Father forgives us, and if we do not forgive our brother from our heart, then the same will happen to us as it happened to that servant.
And friends, it is not this servant’s fault that he could not repay the debt because he had nothing to pay with! When his master said to sell everything he had, including his wife, children, and belongings, because he had nothing else, only then did this servant fall at his master’s feet, plead with his master, and ask for some time, asking for a chance to repay! And his master showed mercy to him, but he could not show mercy to his fellow servant!
Therefore, what happened was that the master, in his anger, handed over his servant to the tormentors, gave him into the hands of those who would punish him until he could repay his entire debt.
How can one avoid facing punishment?
Therefore, my dear friends, I want to tell you all that the Lord loves us, our heavenly Father forgives us, and He has loved us so much that He sent His only Son, the Lord Jesus (John 3:16), into this world so that the Lord Jesus Christ could sacrifice Himself for our sins, and the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross for us, and He was killed, buried, and on the third day He rose again and alive. Lord Jesus showed Himself alive on earth for 40-50 days to His disciples and many others, then Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, Lord Jesus forgave us, forgave our sins, just as the master forgave his servant, forgave all his debts, his master also forgave his servant’s debt, completely which he could never repay, and in the same way, my dear friends, we cannot pay the price of our sins. The punishment we were supposed to receive, Lord Jesus took it upon Himself on the cross, shed His blood for our sins because the price of sins is blood, and He shed His blood by giving His Life.
Today, my dear ones, Lord Jesus forgives us and our heavenly Father invites us to come to Him, saying, “Come to me, I will give you peace, I will give you life, I will give you eternal life, I will give you joy, blessings, and my dear ones, today we need to come to the Lord Jesus, we need to accept the Lord Jesus, we need to believe that the Lord has paid the price of our sins, Lord Jesus took the punishment we were supposed to receive, Lord Jesus has forgiven us, our heavenly Father has forgiven us.
Today, Lord Jesus wants to tell us that just as our heavenly Father forgave us, we should also forgive our brothers, we should forgive from our hearts because if we do not forgive from our hearts, then our heavenly Father will not forgive us! Just as the master forgave his servant, but that servant did not forgive his fellow servant, even though that servant was a minor debtor, it is written in the Bible that he was a debtor of 100 denarii, and according to today’s standards, if 100 denarii are considered, it could be 10 thousand or 20 thousand or even more than a lakh rupees, but that servant was a debtor of millions to his master which he could never repay! But his master forgave him, but that servant could not forgive his fellow servant, instead, he was thrown into prison, and his master, in anger, handed his servant over to those who would punish him until he repaid his entire debt.
My dear friends, today, we cannot pay the price of our sins! And our fault is not that we could pay the price of our sins! Therefore, the price of our sins has been paid by the Lord Jesus by giving His sacrifice, just as the master forgave his servant and also forgave his entire debt! In the same way, the Lord Jesus has paid the price of our sins and has forgiven us, and He has set us free. He has set us free so that we may come to Him, trust in Him, believe that the Lord has given His sacrifice for our sins, and the Lord Jesus has forgiven us. No matter how big our sins are, the Lord forgives us and shows mercy.
How to accept your sins?
If you come before the Lord and say, “Lord, forgive me, I have sinned against you, whatever wrong I have done till today, I accept it all,” and the Lord wants us to come to Him and ask for forgiveness for our sins. The Lord is ready to forgive us; the Lord invites us, “When my son or daughter comes to me and asks for forgiveness, I forgive them, just as the servant did to his master when his family’s situation arose when he had to sell his wife and children, then he went to his master, fell at his feet, asked for forgiveness, and his master showed mercy, felt compassion, and forgave him, forgave his debts, and in the same way, the Lord Jesus has also forgiven our sins! (John 1:9) (Romans 10:8-11)
When we receive punishment or we face consequences, what do we do? We call upon the Lord, we say, “Lord, save me, so that it doesn’t happen like this,” so the Lord gives us time and shows us grace because the Lord loves us and wants to save us, so my friends, come to your Lord and say, “Lord, whatever sins or wrongs I have committed till today, I accept them, and from today, I give my life to you, have mercy on me, forgive me, and from today, I will not sin, Lord, forgive me, and just as you forgive me, I will also forgive others and forgive from my heart. My dear friends, if you accept the Lord today and give your life to the Lord, then the Lord also wants you to forgive others and forgive all those with whom you have wrong relationships and whom you hate and cannot forgive, forgive them all from your heart forever, then see how the Lord Jesus brings peace into your life!
Why are many families broken in the world today.?
Many families today are broken, scattered, not living together, they hate each other, their hearts are filled with bitterness, today there is no communication between father and son, son does not talk to father, instead, they live separately, husband and wife do not talk to each other, friends, that’s why those people are not happy in their lives, they are troubled, unhappy, they are broken because they cannot forgive each other and cannot ask for forgiveness. That’s why their families are broken. But the Lord wants us to forgive just as the Lord forgives us. Forgive our brothers, talk to those with whom we don’t talk, forgive from the heart those we don’t like, and those we cannot forgive, apologize to them because the Lord loves us and wants us all to live in love and harmony. Lord Jesus teaches us to love.
The teachings of Jesus Christ emphasize love and forgiveness.
The Lord does not teach us to retaliate; rather, the Lord Jesus says to pray for your enemies or for your adversaries.
Taking revenge is not your job, taking revenge is my job, that’s why the Lord says that we must learn to forgive, no matter how many incidents or adversities someone creates against us or whatever plans they make against us, we must learn to forgive. We should be prayerful because prayer gives us strength, and the Holy Spirit teaches us how we can forgive others. Pray for all those things that are against us (Romans 12:19-21) (Luke 6:27-28).
The Lord Himself will change their minds and their hearts; the Lord Jesus loves us, so dear friends, if you want the Lord to forgive me, our heavenly Father forgive us, then you also learn to forgive others, forgive each other, and those with whom my relationship is not right, I forgive them, talk to them, those whom I do not talk to, those with whom I have done wrong, I go and ask for forgiveness from them, then only you can be happy in your family, then only you can live a correct life in your family, and you can find peace in your mind, then only the Lord will forgive us, then only the Lord will bless us, and then only we will be saved from our sins!
Conclusion:
Do you forgive others today? Do you ask forgiveness from others today? Do you want to be like that servant who did not forgive his fellow servant, so he was handed over to the tormentors to be punished? Or do you want to be like that master who first forgave his servant and forgave all his debts? Everything is in your hands!
My dear friends, today I thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity to share these things with you, and I pray that the Lord blesses all of you and from today, you will also learn to forgive each other and learn to live in the Lord!