FORGIVENESS Forgiving Others: A Tale of Two Prisons Forgiving Others: A Tale of Two Prisons

FORGIVENESSFORGIVENESSForgiving Others:A Tale of Two PrisonsForgiving Others:A Tale of Two Prisons

FORGIVENESSForgiving Others:A Tale of Two Prisons

We just heard a story of

forgiveness, now for one of

unforgiveness and its dire warning!


A Story of Unforgiveness

Matthew 18:21-35


Matthew 18:21-35

21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often

shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”22 Jesus said to him, “I do

not…


…say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy

times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is

like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And

when he had begun to settle accounts…


…one was brought to him who owed him ten

thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that

he had, and that payment be made.


26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have

patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the

master of that servant was moved with compassion,

released him, and forgave him…


…the debt. 28 “But that servant went out and

found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he

laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying,

‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow…


…servant fell down at his feet and begged him,

saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should

pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow…


…servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told

their master all that had been done. 32 Then his

master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You

wicked servant! I forgave you all that…


…debt because you begged me. 33 Should you

not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity

on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until

he should pay…


…all that was due to him. 35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each

of you, from his heart, does not forgive his

brother his trespasses.”


The talent in this parable was worth

about 6,000 denarii, so that one debt is

600,000 times as large as the other.


More significantly, 10,000 (a myriad) was

the highest Greek numeral, and a talent

the largest unit of currency, so that 10,000 talents was the largest easily described debt.


For comparison, the combined annual tribute of

Judea, Samaria, and Idumea around this time was only 600 talents and one denarius was a day’s

wages, so that 10,000 talents would be about 200,000 years’ wages



Jesus Asks Two Questions



Has Anyone Ever DoneAnything to Hurt You?



Have You Ever DoneAnything that has Hurt

Another?


“He that cannot forgive others breaks the

bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to

be forgiven.”Thomas Fuller



Unforgiveness may be the very sin that keeps

morefrom Heaven than any

other!


Two Prisons

Unforgiveness CreatesTwo Prisons


Two Prisons

#1 The Place We Put Those

Who Trespass Against Us!

A Debtors Prison


Two Prisons

#1 The Place We Put Those

Who Trespass Against Us!

A Place of Separation!


Two Prisons

#2 The Place We Put Ourselves!

The Tormentors!


Two Prisons

The Tormentors

“I will forgive,but not forget!”


Two Prisons

The Tormentors

“I have a right to be mad!”


Two Prisons

The Tormentors

“Things will never bethe same!”


“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated.

We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tired into a

single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one

destiny, affects all indirectly.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.


A Warning & A Promise

It is a Sin that bringsits Own Punishment

A Self-Inflicted Wound!


“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and

beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness,

humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and

forgiving one another, if anyone…


…has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

Colossians 3:12-13


A Warning & A Promise

A Grace that is Greaterthan All My Sin

A Greater Redemption!


“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the

prisoner was you.”Lewis B. Smedes


“As my sufferings mounted I soon realized

that there were two ways in which I could

respond to my situation -- either to react with

bitterness…


…or seek to transform the suffering into a

creative force. I decided to follow the latter

course.”Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.


So….

…once again Godputs us in a

place of Choice


So….

...the Tormentorsor

…a Greater Redemption!


Which Shall It Be?

FORGIVENESSFORGIVENESSForgiving Others:A Tale of Two PrisonsForgiving Others:A Tale of Two Prisons

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FORGIVENESS Forgiving Others: A Tale of Two Prisons Forgiving Others: A Tale of Two Prisons