Matthew 18:21–35 -“HOW TO Forgive From the Heart

Thumb in Colossians 2:13–15

Today we are going to offer you a tool on how to forgive and be free from the tormenting sin of unforgiveness. This is part 2 of an essential characteristic of a Christian - forgiveness. We have been forgiven and we are to forgive. Forgiveness is a choice that sets you free from bitterness, dread, and resentment towards the other person. It doesn’t erase the wrong but restores your peace and allows God’s grace to work in your heart. The opposite of this is unforgiveness, which is very difficult to see in ourselves. We will do a quick review, but the Key Point today is

…According to Jesus in the Lord’s Prayer (mt 6) and Matthew 18, if we refuse to forgive others, we don’t understand our own forgiveness, so we remain trapped in bitterness, and place ourselves outside the freedom, mercy, and grace God desires us to walk in instead we walk in torment aka depression, anxiety, self pity and bitterness.

Have you ever… been mad at God?”

“I’m not talking about a little frustration… I mean really mad. The kind of anger that sits deep in your chest. The kind that you don’t even know how to pray through anymore. The kind that makes you say, ‘God… if You’re so good, then why would You let this happen?’”

“Some of you in this room have never said it out loud. But you’ve felt it. You’ve felt that ache, that confusion. You’ve cried behind closed doors. You’ve clenched your fists in the dark. You’ve screamed in your mind the words your mouth was too afraid to speak.”

Matthew 18:21-35 - The Sin of Unforgiveness

(21) Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

(22) Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

(23) “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. (24) As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. (25) Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

(26) “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ (27) The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

(28) “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

(29) “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

(30) “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. (31) When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

(32) “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. (33) Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ (34) In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

(35) “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

DAY JOB

Throughout the Bible the word of God is focused on forgiveness and designed to bring people to faith and repentance. AND, however…

This message is for those of us who have a relationship with Jesus and know they have been forgiven of all our sin and yet we hold on to hurt and pain caused by others.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Okay we want to bring up a similar passage in Luke 15, beginning in verse 1:

“Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.
And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them.’
So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

Luke 15:4-5 Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.

You see, Matthew gives us this parable in the context of believers — little ones in the family of God who have strayed. Luke gives us the same parable in the context of sinners — those who have not responded to the call of God in salvation. Jesus came to save sinners.

And as we say often, He doesn’t leave us like that.

He gives us a new identity in Him.

Put the two together, and you get a much fuller picture of the heart of Jesus for the wanderer— whether they are lost in sin or lost in soul.

I want to give some context of this passage this morning on the wandering sheep. Let’s look at Mt 18:1-5 The disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

(Jesus' response to their question.)

We have been learning all about the parables in Matthew 13. I like how Matthew is grouping these parables on the Kingdom of heaven in one chapter. Jesus is using parables to speak to the crowd, but when the crowds disperse Jesus explains the parable of the sower and the wheat and weeds to the questioning disciples.

Some of the parables are not explained.

So Jesus asks them.

(51) “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

(52) “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old”.

The US and many nations around the globe are experiencing an identity crisis. This isn’t a sudden event but a culmination of interconnected issues like economic inequality, mental health deterioration, moral degradation, housing instability, political polarization, open borders, social ideologies, and eroding social and political trust. We are divided, untrusting, and confused. For example, I remember being in Jr. high thinking about, dreaming about that all I wanted was a wife, 2 kids, a station wagon, and a dog in my own house with a white picket fence. That used to be the American dream which became our identity until it wasn’t a reality for everyone, so the land of opportunity became a hoax and was replaced with social justice and equity issues which Christ is very concerned about BTW because we don’t know who we are, why we matter or what our identity truly is…

All that to say, our identity matters. Finding purpose matters. You matter.

Mt 13:44-52

(44) “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

(45) “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. (46) When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

(47) “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. (48) When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. (49) This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous (50) and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Spoiler Alert:

We are THE precious treasure. We are the pearl of great price.

We are on the topic of the parables of Jesus.

Today we will be talking about the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

Turn to Matthew 13:31-35 …Mark 4:30-32, and Luke 13:18-19,

In the first two parables Jesus gave an explanation to His disciples but He doesn’t explain the parables we are studying this morning.

Matthew 13:31-35 ESV this morning

(31) “He put another parable before them, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. (32) It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’

(33) He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.’

(34) All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. (35) This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: ‘I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.’” (THIS IS GOD WORD)

Biblical scholars interpret these two parables about the mustard seed and leaven (yeast), in two contrasting ways. We would like to give you both sides from experts in biblical expository research, but first let’s do some review on what we already know.

(24) “Jesus told them another parable: ’The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. (25) But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. (26) When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
(27) The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
(28) ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
(29) ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. (30) Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”