The Freedom of Forgiveness

Have you had people in your life that you have a hard time forgiving? Most of us can think of a few! Our human reaction to people who have hurt us or wronged us is to feel like, “I can never forgive that person.”

Jesus told a story about forgiveness that addresses this very real and valid human emotion. It is found in Matthew’s gospel. As Jesus turned to teaching in parables in order to keep those who had rejected Him from being more accountable for rejecting more truth, He responded to Peter’s question of how many times we should forgive someone. Peter thought he was being generous by saying, “up to seven times?” The Lord increased the number to “seventy-seven times.” In the original language, this response could be translated “seventy time seven,” or 490 times. Jesus’ point was that we who have been loved and forgiven by God are empowered to not keep a list of wrongs but freely forgive.

That’s a hard one, isn’t it? How does one forgive someone who has taken the life of a loved one? How does a person not want revenge upon someone who absconded one’s life savings? Jesus tells a story to illustrate how we who have been forgiven a debt we could never repay can live in the freedom of forgiveness.

Somehow a servant of the King in this story owed the King 10,000 talents. A talent of gold in the New Testament time ranged from 75 pounds (A Hebrew talent) down to 71 pounds (A Roman talent. Using our current price of gold per ounce today of $2656, it would have taken this servant around 190,000 years to pay his debt back at the daily wage of 1 denarii (approximately $50 per day). Since the King knew that he could not possibly pay what he owed, the King graciously forgave his servant’s debt. As that servant walked out of the palace forgiven a debt he could never repay, he met a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii or about 3 months wages in the New Testament time. Instead of forgiving him, he put him in debtor’s prison—where he could not possibly repay a debt he could have with a little grace and patience.

Word got back to the King, and he justly put the servant in prison for not forgiving his fellow servant. Jesus applied the story by saying “so also my heavenly father will do to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:21-35 ESV). There is a soul prison—a soul bondage—that we bring on ourselves when we choose to carry the burden of resentment or live in the shackles of unforgiveness.

Our Lord’s sacrifice on the cross provides forgiveness of a sin for all who believe—a sin debt that would take eternity for us to retire! God alone is the forgiver of all our sins, so not forgiving others only keeps us in soul prison. Our forgiveness frees us from being in bondage to another’s wrong. Let’s entrust those that wrong us to the only One who is just and release their wrongdoing to Him rather than being shackled by the bondage of resentment and revenge. There is soul freedom in forgiving others as we keep looking up to the Savior who forgave us a debt we could never repay!

Dr. David Ley is the President of Alaska Bible College and Pastor of Family Care, ChangePoint Mat-Su.