Matthew 18 Devotional

A Debt Too Large to Repay

“His master had compassion on him, forgave his debt, and released him.”Matthew 18:27 (BSB)

The disciples want to know who is greatest in the kingdom, and Jesus stands a little child in front of them (18:1-2). Like a shepherd who leaves the flock to search for one stray sheep, the Father does not want a single one of these little ones to be lost (18:12-14).

Peter asks if forgiving a brother seven times is enough. Jesus answers seventy-seven (18:21-22), and tells a story. A servant owes a king ten thousand talents and cannot pay. He begs for time, but the king does far more than he asks. He has compassion, cancels the whole debt, and sets him free (18:24-27). The same servant then grabs a fellow servant over a hundred denarii (18:28-30). Jesus draws the lesson himself: the Father will deal the same way with anyone who will not forgive from the heart (18:35). Forgiving others does not earn mercy. It is what mercy looks like in someone who has truly received it. Whatever someone owes you is small beside what God has cancelled for you.

To think about: Whose wrong against you feels too large to forgive, and how does the size of your own cancelled debt change how you see it?