Reaping a Harvest of Mercy Through Forgiveness

Matthew 18 relates a very significant teaching session on forgiveness that Peter initiated when he asked Jesus, “How many times do I have to forgive my brother?” Pay close attention to how Jesus responded to that question, for if you’re anything like me, you’ve asked a similar question at one time or another in your life!

Jesus’ response to Peter’s question was definitely not an answer that caters to our flesh; nevertheless, His words contain a vital key to our ultimate freedom and success in life:

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21,22

Jesus wasn’t giving Peter a specific number of times he needed to forgive his brother. Jesus was actually saying, “Never stop forgiving until I come again!”

 ‘How Many Times Do I Have To Forgive?’

Growing up in Miami, Oklahoma, I loved God as much as I could love Him. I was raised in a denominational church that didn’t believe in the baptism in the Holy Spirit, so I just kept rededicating my life and told God I was willing to be a missionary. That was as spiritual as I thought I could get, and I was trying hard!

 As a teenager in high school, I continued to live the best I knew how for Jesus. I didn’t drink; I didn’t smoke; and I kept my virginity until marriage. But because I made these kinds of decisions for my life, I didn’t have many friends.

 There was another girl at the school who also didn’t have any friends, so she and I formed a friendship of sorts and hung out together. She and I went through high school and junior college together, and since we were both involved in music as singers, we attended many of the same classes.

This girl didn’t drink or smoke either; however, she also didn’t treat me well at all! I’ll give you just one small example. She was more organized than I was, so sometimes when I came to choir, she’d have her music and I wouldn’t. But as we stood next to each other singing, she’d deliberately move her music so it was hidden from my view. Because she claimed to be my friend, it was a great put-down when she did things like this to me. I really felt as if these things were designed to make me feel like I wasn’t as good as she was.

Today as I look back, I realize that I had a lot of character defects in my own personality at that time and that this girl was a beautiful, talented person who was probably as lonely as I was. I’m sure now that our friendship would have been totally different if I had felt better about myself; however, I was walking in all the revelation I had at the time, and so was she. But let’s get back to my story.

No matter how ugly the girl acted toward me, I’d just take it and forgive her. After all, it wasn’t as if I had a lot of other friends to replace her with!

 This went on for five years — all the way through high school and junior college. Then God told me to go to the University of Oklahoma. Going to OU would have been fine with me, except that I knew she was going there too. Since we were both majoring in music, I realized that we’d be in all the same classes, and the bad treatment would start all over again.

I had already suffered under this person’s persecution for years, and I didn’t want to do it any longer. I didn’t want to forgive her anymore. I reasoned that if she went to one university and I went somewhere else, I wouldn’t have to forgive her because she’d be out of my life.

So I went to Oklahoma Baptist University instead — where I spent the most miserable year of my life because I had disobeyed God’s plan. At some point in that school year, I repented of my disobedience and determined to get back in God’s will. The next fall, I was admitted to the University of Oklahoma.

Just as I expected, my “friend” was in all my classes, and she still treated me the same way. I thought to myself, I can’t believe it. This isn’t high school anymore. I’m in my twenties, and she still treats me the same rotten way!

So I went to someone whom I considered to be more spiritual than I and told him about my predicament. I asked him, “Do I have to just keep on forgiving her?” I bet you can guess what his response was.

 “Yes, you must forgive.”

Now, I already knew that I had to forgive this girl, but I was just like Peter. I was asking, “But how many times do I have to forgive her?”

 When Jesus told Peter that he needed to forgive someone “seventy times seven,” Peter probably thought, Seventy times seven is A LOT to forgive! I knew exactly how Peter must have felt, because Jesus was actually saying, “Just keep on forgiving and forgiving and forgiving and forgiving forever.”

To make a long story short, I finally got my heart right and forgave this precious young woman unconditionally. Gradually she started treating me better. Later she even sent Rick and me a wedding present when we got married!

I learned that my precious friend wasn’t my problem — it was my own attitude of unforgiveness. It certainly is a human trait to ask, “How long do I have to forgive?” But Jesus will never change His answer: “Until I come again.”

Redeemed From Satan’s Slave Market

 In Matthew 18:23-35, Jesus continued teaching His disciples on the subject of forgiveness with a parable we can all relate to. The parable began with a profound act of mercy:

 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. Matthew 18:23-27

 Verse 24 says that this servant owed the king 10,000 talents. Today that is the equivalent of about 290 million dollars — an enormous debt that the man could never hope to pay back!

 Let’s apply this servant’s plight to our own lives. What is the one thing we can’t buy, no matter how rich we are? It is impossible for us to buy a gift, because a gift is free. Well, that is exactly what our salvation is — a free gift. Like the servant, we had a debt of sin we could not pay. There was absolutely nothing we could do to pay it. And just as this servant received mercy from the king, the Lord paid our debt when we asked Him for mercy: “Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt” (v. 27).

Matthew 18:25 tells us that the servant and his entire family escaped slavery because of his master’s forgiveness: “But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.” That’s what happened with us as well. God was moved with compassion to save us from spiritual slavery by sending His Son Jesus to pay the debt of sin we couldn’t pay. In fact, the word “redeemed” actually means to buy from slavery.

I want to describe to you what a slave market in biblical times was like. First, of course, there were the slaves. Then there were those who came to buy the slaves. Finally, there was the slaveowner.

The slave would have to just stand there with all the other slaves while the buyers examined him in any way they saw fit. For instance, a buyer might kick, slap, or beat him in an effort to get the slave to react. If the slave withstood the beating without reacting, he would be considered a good slave who could take a lot of abuse, and his price would go up. The buyer might also look inside the slave’s mouth to see if he had gold teeth. After all, the buyer was looking to get the most for his money!

 There was another kind of person who sometimes came to the slave markets of that day: the person who wanted to buy slaves out of slavery.

 That’s what Jesus did for us. We stood in chains in the devil’s slave market. Dirty and tortured, we lived in sin, death, and fear, trapped by an evil slaveowner who continually tried to use us, abuse us, and see what he could do to us. In fact, our slaveowner did everything he could to get as much torment, anger, depression, oppression, and sickness out of us as he could.

But before the devil could totally destroy us, Jesus came to pay our debt and set us free! The Holy Spirit convicted us, and we cried out to God for mercy. At that moment, Jesus said, “Devil, you can’t have them! They’re Mine! I paid for them with My blood. You have no right to them anymore. I have the keys to death, hell, and the grave, so you get your filthy hands off them. They are Mine!” Instantly Jesus paid our debt with His blood, redeeming us from slavery and setting us free from Satan’s slave market forever!

‘Pay Me What You Owe Me!’

By forgiving this servant’s enormous debt, the king had rescued him and his family from a hellish lifetime of slavery and torment. And how did the servant repay the king’s great kindness to him? Matthew 18:28-30 tells us:

 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

After having his huge debt forgiven, the servant went out looking for one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 pence (the equivalent of 20 dollars!). When the servant found the man, he took him by the throat and snarled, “Pay me all that you owe me!” The servant refused to forgive this little debt after being forgiven of so much. Instead, he cast his debtor into prison.

 However, we shouldn’t judge this servant too quickly because we have done the same thing. Consider this familiar scenario: We come out of a glorious worship service feeling spiritually clean and refreshed. We get in our car and start to drive out of the church parking lot. Suddenly someone pulls out in front of us and makes us slam on the brakes. Or maybe we flash back in our minds to a moment earlier in the day when someone did something to offend us.

 At that moment, we’re ready to throttle that offender — not with our hands, but with our emotions and thoughts — and say, “Pay me all that you owe me! Pay me now! If you don’t, I’m not going to forgive you. You’re going to prison because you owe me, and you’re going to stay there until you pay! You wronged me!”

Have you ever experienced a moment like that? After being so gloriously forgiven by God from such a great debt of sin, were you still determined to make the person pay who wronged you?

There’s only one problem with that response to offense — even though the offender owes you a debt, he cannot pay! Just as you couldn’t pay your debt of sin to get out of the devil’s slave market, your offender can’t pay his debt of sin toward you. The only way he can get out of prison is if you forgive his debt. You must release him from that debt, just as Jesus released you from your debt.

Unforgiveness Brings on the Tormentors

 Let’s go on to read the rest of the parable and find out the consequences that the servant suffered for refusing to forgive his fellow servant’s small debt:

So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses. Matthew 18:31-35

When I was younger and would read this passage, I’d wonder, Who are the tormentors mentioned in that parable? I stopped wondering when I contracted a case of unforgiveness and bitterness in my own heart!

 I continued to seek God during this time, but there was so much unforgiveness in my soul that it was difficult for me to hear Him. There was so much in my flesh that didn’t want to forgive, that wanted to keep my offenders in prison. I listened to the devil’s lies that I was right; that the other individuals were wrong; and that I didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. I don’t know how many times I heard those lies in my head. I just knew I was right!

 You see, the Bible says that sin is deceptive, and when I had unforgiveness, I was committing sin. Therefore, I could only see others’ faults while remaining completely blinded to my own.

Then just like verse 34 says, the tormentors came. As I allowed unforgiveness to grow and fester in my soul, I discovered the identity of those tormenters, such as sleepless nights, fear, worry, anxiety, critical attitudes, bitterness, weakness, and sickness.

 Even though we are children of God, all those tormentors can cause turmoil in our lives when we refuse to forgive. That’s why Paul said, “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,” and then went on to say in the very next verse, “Don’t give a foothold to the devil” (see Ephesians 4:26,27). Unforgiveness opens a huge door for the devil to come and bring great sorrow to our lives.

 When I wouldn’t let go of unforgiveness and bitterness, I provided a wide-open door for the devil to come in and wreak havoc in my life. I gave the enemy a foothold to bring in the tormentors because I wasn’t willing to forgive. As a result, not only were my offenders in prison, but I was held captive in prison as well.

 Meanwhile, I was still crying out to God to change those individuals! But they did not change, and I just more and more miserable. I did not understand yet that they couldn’t change, for “whosesoever sins I remit, they are remitted, and whosesoever sins I retain, they are retained.”

My offenders were in prison. They could not pay their debt! The only way they could get out of prison was through my decision to let them out. I was the one who had the key to the door.

As long as I kept them there, they would stay there. But when I finally decided to use my key of forgiveness to release them, they were set free! What a glorious day for me and for them when I finally let them go!

God doesn’t want us to live in torment and defeat. He wants our hearts to be free; that’s why He has given us His Word to deliver us. As Jesus said, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

 Reaping a Harvest of Mercy Through Forgiveness

Look at the last verse of this parable one more time: “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses” (Matthew 18:35). God commands us to forgive everyone of his or her trespasses against us. In fact, Jesus said if we don’t forgive, God won’t forgive us. Now, that’s a scary prospect!

The Bible also says that what we sow, we will also reap (Galatians 6:7). Thus, when we sow unforgiveness toward someone, we are also sowing seeds of judgment, criticism, and rejection — and that is exactly the kind of harvest we will reap back into our lives! On the other hand, when we freely forgive, we will reap a harvest of forgiveness, grace, love, and acceptance for ourselves and others. In other words, the mercy we give is the mercy we will receive.

This is so important to understand, for unforgiveness that isn’t dealt with sinks deep down inside a person and becomes a root of bitterness — and bitterness is truly a horrible thing. Like a malignant tree, its evil roots spread out and dig their way deeper and deeper and deeper into a person’s soul. Every day that an offense is retained and bitterness is allowed to grow and fester on the inside, the clock keeps ticking and those roots just keep going down deeper. Meanwhile, bitterness keeps on producing its terrible harvest of fear, judgmental attitudes, sickness, lack of peace, anger, envy, and jealousy.

 But thank God, there is a Deliverer, a Forgiver, a Savior whom we can call on to set us free from bitterness and all of its tormentors! I know this from personal experience, because Jesus came to deliver me as I called out to Him day and night. He went deep into my soul, where no human could touch, and pulled out every root and trace of bitterness and unforgiveness that had been growing inside me.

I couldn’t be sharing this message of forgiveness with you if that hadn’t happened. God wouldn’t have been able to trust me. If I had continued to live with the poisonous root of bitterness on the inside of me, I would have been too dangerous for God to entrust me to minister to His precious Body of Christ.

You see, as one called to stand and minister the Word, I have an awesome responsibility. I am accountable to God for what I deliver unto His people. Therefore, I couldn’t teach this message of forgiveness if I had not repented of my selfish, unforgiving attitude and if Jesus had not delivered me from every remnant of unforgiveness and its horrible companion, bitterness.

But, thank God, Jesus is my Deliverer! I can help you get delivered from unforgiveness because I, too, was once a captive of its tormentors — yet today I am completely free!