The King We Believe In
Text: Matt. 18:21-35
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Large Catechism, Luther begins his discussion of the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods,” by saying: “I have often said that the confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol. If your faith and trust is right, then your god is also true. On the other hand, if your trust is false and wrong, then you do not have the true God.” This is echoed throughout Scripture. Faith is key. When you believe in the merciful, forgiving God revealed to us throughout His Word, that’s the God you receive. But if you believe in an exacting, cruel god who demands that you pay for your own sins and win his favor, that’s the idol you’ll serve—and that unforgiving god is the one you’ll get.
We have an example of this in the parable before us today. In it we see a servant who’s racked up a debt of ten thousand talents. Remember from previous parables that one talent is roughly twenty years’ worth of wages for a common worker during the time of the New Testament. This means that this one servant has a debt of 200,000 years of wages. This is the kind of debt that empires owe each other. But when the king calls him in so that he can settle accounts, the servant begs for mercy, saying that he’ll pay it back if the king is patient with him. But instead of demanding repayment, the king has pity and completely forgives the debt, clearing it, swallowing the loss, and letting the servant go on his way, freed from that crushing burden.
If the parable ended there, it would be a very happy ending. But now watch what the servant does next. “When that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii”—that’s about the cost of used car—“and seizing him, he began to choke him saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him”—using the exact same words that first servant had used with the king, saying, “‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.” Notice that this first servant didn’t just happen upon his fellow servant. It says that going out, he found that other servant who owed him money. He sought him out in order to physically assault him and demand repayment.
Why would he do this? The first servant went out of his way to collect on the debt owed to him, just in case the king wasn’t being completely honest about forgiving the debt. He didn’t believe that anyone could actually forgive that kind of debt, so that first servant better have a down payment on hand for when the king changed his mind and un-forgave the debt. He didn’t believe that his king would actually forgive him all that debt with no strings attached.
Isn’t that how we operate? Think of all the sayings we have in this department. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You get what you pay for. The other shoe always drops. We easily fall into the trap of thinking there must be something we have to do to make it up to God, to get back into His good graces. There’s no way that He could just forgive everything if we don’t at least have a backup down payment stashed. “Be patient with me,” we say, “and I’ll pay you everything—I’ll do this or that, I’ll stop doing that other thing. I’ll make it right myself; just give me time and I’ll dig myself out of this hole.”
Or we decide to keep some secret ammo ourselves against the other servants in the king’s household. We hoard the debts they owe us, keeping a quiet mental list of the wrongs and grievances we have against them that we can pull out when we need to. At least I’ve never done what he’s done. I’m not perfect, but she’s much worse. I’d be a lot better if they weren’t making it so hard for me to be good. We demand what we call “justice” for what others have done, when we know full well that we’ve done the same or worse to others.
There is danger in that. The servant in the parable held his grudges and debts, demanding repayment when he had been forgiven. He believed in a king who secretly kept a list of debts, and so the servant did the same. And when it all came to light about how he had treated his fellow servant, the king he believed in was the king he got. “You wicked servant!” he decreed from his throne, “I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” And then the servant got what he believed the king actually wanted to do to him, and he was delivered over to the jailers until he should pay back all the debt of 200,000 years’ worth of labor. Jesus explains that this is the danger we walk in when we do the same.
You, my fellow believers, have been forgiven. And in case you missed that good news, here it is again: as an ambassador sent by our eternal King, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Let that forgiveness flow through you. Let it sink in that your debt is forgiven, no matter how great it is, no matter how bad or deep it runs, no matter how many years you’ve been adding to it. You’re forgiven. Let that forgiveness fill you so that it overflows. And then as it overflows, let it go to those around you, those who surround you in your life—the people you share a home with, your neighbors, your coworkers, your community, the strangers you encounter each day. The King has forgiven you all that debt, and it really is forgiven. There’s no reason to keep a running tally of how much others owe you. There’s no need to compare your debt to theirs. There’s no reason to keep a secret list in case you need to cash in on it. Your Lord keeps no secret ammo against you. All of it was fired at Jesus when He hung on the tree in your place, as He paid the debt you owed. The entire account of wrongs was nailed to the cross and died when Jesus did. And while Jesus rose from the dead, that debt stayed in the tomb, still dead and gone, still buried, still forgiven and forgotten by your gracious King.
Believe in the God who makes Himself known most clearly in the saving death of His Son Jesus. Hear His words, “Father, forgive them,” even while they sin against Him and crucify Him. Let His prayer become your prayer too. Father, forgive them. Help me forgive them as deeply as you’ve forgiven me. Your King is merciful. He forgives you fully. Nothing you do can make Him love you more. Look always to this King and know that your debt is paid. You are free. In the name of Jesus, who paid our debt completely. Amen.
