Sermon for Pentecost 15: "We Forgive because Christ Forgave" (Matthew 18:21-35)

 

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Intro]

Peter came up and said to Jesus, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

Jesus said to Peter, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-35)

Offering forgiveness to a person who has done you wrong is difficult, especially when both sides have sinned against each other. After all, our sinful self would like to respond to that person with personal pride by withholding forgiveness and holding a grudge against that person.

But, our Lord Jesus Christ says that forgiveness is to have no limits. There is no end to forgiveness.

In 1982 John Hinckley shot President Ronald Reagan. President Reagan soon underwent surgery and later recovered from his injuries, and through the entire ordeal Reagan’s daughter Patti Davis saw God at work. She wrote:

“I give endless prayers of thanks to whatever angels circled my father, because a Devastator bullet, which miraculously had not exploded, was found a quarter inch from his heart. The following day my father said he knew his physical healing was directly dependent on his ability to forgive John Hinckley. By showing me that forgiveness is the key to everything, including physical health and healing, he gave me an example of Christ-like thinking.”[1]

In 2015 Dylann Roof was welcomed into Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. While worshipping, Roof opened fire on the parishioners and he murdered nine people. Now, what happened days later at Roof’s bond hearing may have shocked some people.

“I forgive you,” said one parishioner. “You took something very precious from me. But I forgive you.”[2]

Another parishioner said, “I acknowledge that I am very angry. But, we have no room for hating, so we have to forgive. I pray God on your soul.”

[Unforgiving Servant]

In today’s gospel lesson, our Lord Jesus Christ tells His disciples a parable about how the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king and his two servants.

Now, the king wished to settle the accounts of his servants.

The first servant owed the king ten thousand talents. This debt would require a day laborer 60-million days to pay off this debt, or 164,000 years. So, needless to say, this servant has no way – other than winning today’s Powerball jackpot over and over and over again – that he could ever pay off his debt in his lifetime.

I don’t know what this servant did to get so far into debt, but he was not responsible at all.

Since he could not pay his debt, the king ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all of his possessions, so payment could be made. When the servant heard this, he fell on his knees and begged his king: “Have patience with me, I will pay you everything.” (Matthew 18:26)

Out of pity, the king forgave him of all of his debt.

As that servant left the king’s quarters, he ran into a fellow servant who owed him some money. So, what does he do? After being forgiven of his debt, the servant then demands the other servant pay him what he owes. He even chokes him to let him know that he is serious. He commands him, “Pay what you owe!” (Matthew 18:28b)

This second servant’s debt was only a hundred denarii, which is about four months of work. This is chump change compared to what the first servant owed the king. This can easily be paid off.

Like earlier, the one who owed money pleads, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” (Matthew 18:29b)

But the first servant does not show mercy to the second servant, like the king did for the first servant.

He immediately sends his fellow servant to debtors’ prison.

Now, when the king is aware at what had taken place, he is angered. The king then summoned the first servant and said to him, “You wicked servant! 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?” (Matthew 18:32-33)

The king then delivered him to the jailers until he could pay off his debt, which would be several lifetimes.

Jesus concludes, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:35)

Wow! How could Jesus say that? You may say, “That sounds a little harsh.”

This parable of Jesus serves as a warning and a teaching to everyone hearing it spoken. Forgive. Forgive. Forgive.

Now, this parable’s teaching is nothing new for the disciples. In fact, they heard this same teaching when He taught them the Lord’s Prayer. Christ said, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” or “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” (Matthew 6:9-13)

And yet, Peter is asking Jesus how often should we forgive our brother’s sin.

Sometimes, we don’t get it. We feel that there should be some limit on forgiveness.

That first servant saw it that way. But, the king did not.

[Debt Forgiveness]

Now, we often see television commercials offering debt forgiveness.

“If you owe more than $10,000, you could be forgiven of your debt,” they say.

Today, Americans owe a lot of money. In fact, our National Debt is now at $20.17 trillion, an increase of $200 billion from last week. The amount that is on each taxpayer is $167,299, an increase of $2,000 from last week. Then you add personal debt from credit cards and student loans. That is a lot of debt.

All we can do is to live within our means and cut unnecessary expenses. All we can hope is that the federal government can also do that.

In reality, the only way we can have our debt forgiven is through Jesus Christ. Now to be frank, this debt is not monetary debt, but spiritual debts – our sins against God and our neighbor.

We can only be forgiven of our debts through Christ’s death upon the cross and His rising to life on Easter Sunday.

Jesus Christ paid for the debts of the entire world, even for those who despise Him. For Christ offers salvation free for all, by grace through faith. We are free to take this grace, or turn away from it. This is our free will. We have the choice of everlasting life, or everlasting death.

As Christians – the peculiar people who follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior – we forgive, because Christ first forgave us.

You see, our Triune God always takes the initiative, in Christ Jesus. The parable is told by Jesus to his disciples; he has called them, and on the strength of His Word they are already following Him. The first scene comes first. God’s forgiveness is always first and foundational. It is never earned or merited or the result of anything in us or done by us.

To forgive is to release someone else from retribution and retaliation.

This is what Christ has done for us when he forgave our sins upon the cross. This is what Christ proved to the entire world when He rose from the dead.

In settling His accounts with us, our Lord acts not with anger, but with compassion. He does not imprison us as we deserve, but He forgives all our debts and releases us (Matt. 18:23–27).

Therefore, our Lord bids each of us to have “mercy on your fellow servant” and “forgive your brother from your heart” (Matt. 18:33, 35). By the Lord’s forgiveness of our sins, we are free to forgive those who sin against us, because He has been handed over to the jailers in our stead and He has paid our entire debt with His lifeblood.

We receive Christ’s forgiveness of sins when we gather at each Sunday Divine Service to hear God’s Word proclaimed in truth. We receive Christ’s forgiveness of sins when we were baptized into the one true Christian faith and when we partake of His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.

Through Christ’s forgiveness of us, He has opened up paradise for all who believe and trust in Him.

Now, sometimes offering forgiveness can be hard. Just ask the Reagan family and the parishioners at Emanuel AME Church.

Even when we forgive, the emotions do not always go away. We may very well release that person from debt, but our emotions can take a lot longer to get on board with that choice.

But in the end, the Reagans and those parishioners forgave.

We too, are to forgive as Christ has forgiven us. By forgiving your fellow brother, sister or neighbor, you are releasing them from the debt of their sin. You are showing mercy as the king displayed in the parable.

So, “forgive our sins as we forgive,” You taught us, Lord, to pray; But You alone can grant us grace To live the words we say. Amen. (LSB 843, v. 1)

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds steadfast in the one true faith in Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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[1] Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations, Teachers, and Writers (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007), 182.

[2] “I forgive you.” Relatives of Charleston church shootings victims address Dylann Roof, The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/06/19/i-forgive-you-relatives-of-charleston-church-victims-address-dylann-roof/?utm_term=.5b6fedd6486c

Sermon for Pentecost 13: "Take Up Your Cross" (Matthew 16:21-28)

 

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Bonhoeffer]

“In the almost thirty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”

This quote was said after the execution of a war criminal against the state.

You see, this criminal defied the state during wartime and was found guilty of treason.

So, what did he do?

He openly defied the state by organizing an illegal learning institution.

So, what was this illegal learning institution? Well, to give you some context, when the ruling political party took over the government, they absorbed the state church into being run by that political party.

Christ was no longer the cornerstone of the church; the cornerstone was now that political party.

Everything had to have approval by that political party in order to be taught. The state church was forced to follow the government’s mandates.

Because of this enforcement, this man helped to form an illegal seminary where it would teach its students a Christ-centered theology, instead of following government mandates.

Is this worth an execution? Well, there is more to this man.

He also defied the state by becoming involved in the underground movement to plot to assassinate his country’s leader. After his involvement in the underground was suspected, he was arrested and imprisoned by his country’s federal police.

Some of you may know who I am talking about. Others here today may not.

This criminal was Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Bonhoeffer organized the illegal Lutheran seminary in Nazi Germany, because his German people did not have the freedom to worship the one true God in purity.

He later became involved in the underground movement to take over Germany by assassinating Hitler and installing a new leader. For this, Bonhoeffer was arrested by the Gestapo. He later sat in a German prison for nearly two years, before facing a late-night court martial, which was immediately followed by his death by hanging.

After he died, that doctor said, “In the almost thirty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”

Even more recently, the Islamic State has rounded up Christians in north Africa and the Middle East who would not denounce their Christian faith. For that, these Christians faced torture and death.

[Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus]

So, why am I telling you this?

This has everything to do with Jesus telling his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)

Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran Christian pastor, was following Christ’s command to take up your cross and follow me. You see, he would not waver from Christ.

Those Christians murdered by the Islamic State followed Christ’s command to take up your cross and follow me. They too, would not waver from Christ.

To take up your cross and follow Jesus is a tough teaching.

To take up your cross is being willing to face death, because the cross represented death. It was common for Romans in the First Century to crucify criminals. Jesus expected His followers to be willing to die, if necessary, rather than to give up their commitment to Him.

The Apostles Peter and Paul also took up their crosses and refused to waver from Christ.

Now, Bonhoeffer knew that by speaking out against the government regime, he could face persecution and likely death. He could not stand while Christ’s Church was being destroyed. So, he decided to stand with Christ and against the state.

Now, thankfully, we live in the United States of America and not in Nazi Germany or lands ruled by the Islamic State. But, how many of us would take up our cross and follow Jesus if we ever found ourselves in a life or death situation? Would you denounce your Christian faith if you were told you would live?

It is so easy to do nothing. It is easy to remain quiet in the face of religious oppression. It is easier to just get along with the culture.

We often think the way the world wants us to think, rather than how God wishes us to think.

The Apostle Peter was caught in this lie. As we heard last week, Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, but now he is thinking in the way of man, instead of God.

Jesus told his disciples that he must suffer and be killed, but He would rise to life on the third day. But, all Peter could hear was that his friend and Lord would die. He couldn’t comprehend that. That seemed so wrong.

“Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” Peter said. (Matthew 16:22)

So, Jesus rebukes Peter saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:23)

[Mind on God, or Man?]

Are you setting your mind on the things of God, or on the things of man? Are you thinking about what God would like for you to do when you make a decision in your daily life?

The Apostle Paul reminds us in today’s Epistle on the marks of a Christian. He writes to us through inspiration, “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold on fast to what is good…Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (Romans 12:9, 12)

In other words, Christians are to be examples of genuine love, not being a hypocrite; Christians are to despise evil, sin and the devil; Christians are to cling to the Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Christians are to rejoice in the hope of Christ; Christians are to be patient and not rush to judgment when trials arise; Christians are to talk with the true God about every need of body and soul.

As Christians, we are to look out for each other and live peaceably with all. We are a peculiar people. We are different. We live in this world, but we are not of this world. We are to be concerned when we and other Christians sin. In our concern for ourselves, we repent and ask God for forgiveness.  In our concern for other Christians, we inform them of their sin in brotherly affection.

[Christ’s Cross Brings Life and Salvation]

Like Bonhoeffer, we should be prepared to take our cross and follow Jesus. We are to remain steadfast in the one true faith.

Thankfully, when we take our cross, we do not face death in vain, because through Christ’s death and ultimate resurrection, we have everlasting life and salvation.

We are reminded of what Christ has done for us when we witness a Christian being baptized with the water and the Word. We are reminded of what Christ has done for us each time we eat and drink His body and His blood under the bread and wine at the Lord’s Supper.

By Christ’s cross, Jesus has redeemed the world, and in His resurrection, He has vindicated all who trust in Him. Thus, the Christian life is a discipleship of self-sacrificing love. Since Christ has reconciled us to God, we “live peaceably with all.” By the certainty of His cross and resurrection, “we rejoice in hope,” and we are “patient in tribulation” and “constant in prayer.”

So, Lord keep us steadfast in your Word; curb those who by deceit or sword / would wrest the kingdom from Your Son / and bring to naught all He has done. Amen. (LSB 655, verse 1)

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.