Whose heart do you have? (Mt. 18:22ff., Ex. 34:5-7)

The debt unmerciful servants carry. Matthew 18:22-34 
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Transcript

"Whose heart doy you have?" Parable of Unmerciful Servant. Rick Walker, M.Div., Vinekeeper Bible Podcast.

Luke 6:36-38 Be merciful (οικτίρμονές), just as your Father is merciful (οικτιρμών). (37) Do not judge and you will not be judged. (38) Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.  

Jesus is teaching his disciples about mercy and forgiveness. Be merciful to men the way your Father is merciful to you. Forgive men the way your Father forgives you. 
 
Our Father in heaven is merciful to his children. Are his children merciful to one another?  

Forgive how many times?  (Mt. 18:22) [1:15]

In Matt. 18:22 Peter asked Jesus a question about forgiveness. "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Should I forgive him up to seven times?"

Peter had been influenced by the teaching of the rabbis. The rabbis taught that God would forgive a sin once. He will forgive it twice. He will forgive it three times. But he will not forgive the fourth time. The rabbis were wrong, but that is what they taught. (a Baraita on Amos 2:6,  Yoma 86B).

Peter thinks he is being very gracious. The rabbis said a man must forgive three times. I will go far beyond what the rabbis teach! "Jesus, should we forgive seven times?"

No Peter! Not seven times. But seventy-seven times. (some trans. seven times seventy). The rabbis were wrong and Peter was wrong. Three times is not enough for Jesus. Seven times is not enough for Jesus. Jesus says seventy-seven times. A symbolic number meaning without limit. 

The Merciful King (Mt. 18:23-35) [3:18]

Then Jesus told a parable. (v. 23) (paraphrased) The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. One man was brought before the king. He owed the king ten-thousand talents of gold. But he was not able to pay it.

Ten-thousand talents of gold was an astronomical amount of money. In 53 B.C. the Roman general Crassus was passing through Judea. He needed money to take his army to Parthia—in Persia, modern day Iran.  And so, he entered the temple in Jerusalem and took the temple treasury. (korbanas, Mt. 27:6) He took all the money from the treasury. He took all the gold. He took eight-thousand talents of gold to fund his army. Hundreds of millions of dollars. (he also took 2,000 talents of silver, Jos. Ant. 14.7.1).

The king's servant owes 10,000 talents of gold. He owed more gold than was in the temple treasury. To repay that much debt a common laborer would have to work every day for 200,000 years. That is hopeless.

(25) So, the king ordered his servants: Sell his wife. Sell his children. Sell everything he owns. 

The servant fell on his knees. He begged the king: "Be patient with me! I will pay everything!" But there was no way he could pay that debt. 

But the king had a good heart. He was merciful. He cancelled the debt. He set him free. He let him go. The servant returned home to his wife and children. That is a great story. But sadly, it is not the end of the story. 

The Unmerciful Servant (18:28-32) [6:48]

(28) Then the servant remembered. He remembered that one of his fellow servants owed him one-hundred silver coins. 100 denarii. He grabbed him by the neck. He choked him. He demanded: "Pay me my silver coins! One hundred coins!" 

(29) But the servant fell on his knees. He begged: "Be patient with me. I will pay it back!" 

Such a small debt. To earn one-hundred silver coins a man would need to work for one-hundred days. About three months of common labor. (see Matt. 20:2)

But the wicked servant would not wait. And he would not cancel the debt. (30) He had him thrown into prison until he could pay his debt. 

The King's Rebuke.  [8:12]

Well, both of these men were the king's servants. The king found out how the wicked servant had the other servant cast into prison. He had him brought to him. (32): "You wicked servant! I cancelled all of your debt. You begged me on your knees. Shouldn't you have mercy on this man just as I had mercy on you?" 

Think about that. The king forgave the servant's debt which was equal to 200,000 years of work. But the servant would not forgive a debt equal to one-hundred days.  

And so, the king rebuked his servant. "Wicked servant!" He is evil. Important word here: πονηρός. There are two words for wicked, or evil. One word (κακός) means a person is wicked. He does evil things. 

But πονηρός (pon-ay-ros) is more than a person who does wicked things. He also deliberately harms others. Maybe he corrupts the innocent. For example, a woman who seduces an innocent young boy or a married man.  

Or, πονηρός (pon-ay-ros) brings suffering on another person. Like the servant in our parable. The king calls his servant "Δούλε Πονηρέ." (do-lay pon-ay-ray) Wicked servant. Satan is called Ο Πονηρός (ho pon-ay-ros) The Wicked One. (1 John 5:18) The wicked servant has the heart of the Wicked One. He has him thrown into prison. He makes him suffer. And for such a small debt. 

That is not the heart of our Father in heaven. The king has the heart of God. The servant has the heart of Ο Πονηρός: the Wicked One. 

The Heart of the Father  [11:51]

What does the heart of our Father look like?  Moses taught it like this: The heart of the Father is compassionate and gracious. It is slow to anger. Ι forgive wickedness. I forgive rebellion. I forgive sin. (Ex. 34:6,7). 

Not three times like the rabbis. Not seven times like Peter. But seventy-seven times like the Father. Yahweh, Yahweh. Merciful and gracious. (Ex. 34:6)

But the wicked man has no mercy. He takes him by the neck. He chokes him. He throws him into prison.

What does the heart of our Father look like?  King David said it like this. Ps. 103:9-12 
He will not always accuse. He will not be angry forever. He does not treat us as our sins deserve. He does not repay us according to our iniquities. As far as east is from west, has he removed our transgressions from us. 

Listen to what the king said to the wicked servant. (18:32): I cancelled all of your debt… (33) Shouldn't you have mercy on this man just as I had mercy on you?" 

Yes. We should show mercy the way the Lord shows mercy. Forgive others the way God has forgiven us. He does not always accuse. He does not treat us as our sins deserve. He has put our sins as far away as east is from west.  

The King's Judgment [14:42]

Well, in our parable the king was very angry with the wicked servant. (34) In anger he handed him over to the jailers to be tortured. Until he should pay back all that he owed. 

How will he be tortured? I don't know. But I would be tortured knowing that I am paying for a debt that had been cancelled. If I had cancelled this small debt, I would still be free. If only I had! But I did not!  

Jesus finishes with this ominous warning. (35) This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from the heart. 

Which side are you on? Whose heart do you have? The heart of the Father? Or the heart of the Evil One? 

The Heart of God's Children. [16:20]

Luke 6:36-38 Be merciful (οικτιρμών), just as your Father is merciful.

There are two words for mercy. One word (οικτιρμών) is about the heart of mercy. A merciful outlook. A merciful disposition. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful. That is about the heart. Have a heart of mercy just as your Father has a heart of mercy. (37) Do not judge... (38) Do not condemn... Forgive (απολύω) and you will be forgiven.
 
The other word for mercy (έλεος) is about deeds that we do. Mt. 5:7: Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. That is about the deeds.

Which side are we on? Whose heart do we have? Whose deeds do we do? 

Does our Father in heaven have merciful children? 

The Father forgives his children from the heart. 
Do we forgive one another? Do we forgive from the heart?

Col. 2:14 (paraphrased) God…forgave us all our sins. He cancelled our debts. He has taken it away. He has nailed it to the cross.  

He has cancelled our debt. He has set us free. He has given us life. 

Matt. 6:14, 15 Jesus said: If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

First hear the promise: If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Father will also forgive you.

Now hear his warning: if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Eph. 4:32 Paul said: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Which side are you on? Whose heart do you have?