Daily Devotional For Monday, December 29, 2025
Note: In each devotional where you see only the reference to a Bible passage without the verse (ex. John 3:16), that is a direct link to that passage online. All you have to do is click on that reference and you will be taken to the verse itself. Thank you.
Good morning Southside. We are quickly approaching the New Year – 2026. This year has flown by. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew and today we come to Matthew 18:21-35. This is one long teaching by Jesus on forgiveness. Therefore, we are going to take several days to honor Jesus’ teachings. Here is the passage below:
“Then Peter came and said to Him, ‘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) For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. (24) When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. (25) But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. (26) So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ (27) And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. (28) But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ (29) So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ (30) But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. (31) So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. (32) Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. (33) Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ (34) And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. (35) My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart’” (NASB).
As I told you yesterday, since this is a long passage we are going to take several days to do it justice. This parable is only given in the Gospel of Matthew – not in Mark, Luke, or John. It stresses the commitment to unlimited forgiveness. The man in this story is brought before the king, after the king realized he had subjects with unpaid debts. In those days, anyone under a king was his subject. This man is not a slave but someone with means who owed the king payment on his debt.
Some scholars think the man may have been a tax collector, since they were crooked and could tax anyone at any rate, often keeping the difference for themselves as profit. We see this in the story of Zaccheus (see Luke 19:1-10, 8. Verse 8 shows this to us. With the huge sums of money passing through his hands, it is possible he stole or embezzled some for himself. The king, realizing that this debt or tax had not been paid, ordered the man brought before him.
10,000 talents was a huge debt. King David had given this huge amount for the construction of the Temple (See 1 Chronicles 29:4). Haman had offered this much for the destruction of the Jews in Esther’s time (see Esther 3:9). If we convert such an amount today, that comes to $20 million. That is even huge for us today. In verse 25, since the man was unable to repay such a huge debt, the king ordered him and his family be sold into slavery and all his possessions be sold to help repay some of this debt. This was very common in Jesus’ day. Many people ended up in slavery because of an unpaid debt. They would have to work as a slave until they paid it off. Even what the king got from this would be so small it would not even make a dent in the repayment of this huge debt. Such a punishment reveals the huge anger of the king.
In verses 26-27, the man humbles himself and falls on his knees before the king begging for patience and mercy to repay this debt. The point Jesus is making here is that the man had no chance or way to do this. This is why what happens next is so shocking. The disciples were probably going, “Say what? No way Jesus. Not in this life or the next one.” Then Jesus told another shocker. Instead of giving the man time to repay, he cancelled the debt entirely. The disciples were probably poking and jabbing one another saying, “I think Jesus has been out in the hot sun too long. We better get Him to some place that is cooler and with cool refreshing and revigorating water.” They knew no king would ever forgive such a debt. The king forgave and cancelled a debt owed to him personally and let the man go free.
In case you missed it, the king here stands for God and the man is us. We owe a debt to God that we can never repay. Never! A talent was the highest known denominational currency in the ancient Roman Empire. The Greek New Testament word is [μύριοι, myrioi]. This was the largest number known to man on that day. As a slave, there was no way he would ever recoup that kind of money to repay that huge debt. His family and he would be slaves for the rest of their natural lives. Can you imagine being in such a trap by your own hands for the rest of your natural life?
It says the king had pity on the man. This is an interesting Greek New Testament word. It is often used of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel (see Matt. 9:36, Matt. 14:14, Matt. 15:32 and Matt. 20:34) . It is the word [σπλαγχνίζομαι; splangchnizomai]. It is a long word which means “to be moved in one’s intestines, bowels and entrails.” It is a word that refers to powerful emotions. Today, we might say, “That kicked me in the gut.” We do not recover from such powerful emotions until we do something about it. This is the same word used by Jesus to describe the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:33.
Look at Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (NASB). So, when Peter asked Jesus this question, why doesn’t Jesus simply respond with this statement?-- “Show forgiveness to others with the same limitless mercy God has shown you.” Because one of the best ways to teach any truth, especially biblical truth, is with stories and illustrations. As we hear one, we always identify with someone in the story and thus the point of the story hits us in the gut too. Stories capture our emotions and attention and they give us something to think about later on what our response should be in the same situation.
We owe God a debt we cannot repay for our past sins, our present sins and our future sins. We owe God, but we are unable to repay this debt due to its size. Yet God, who is owed the debt is the one who pays it through the death of Jesus on the cross. Theologians call this "substitutionary atonement” how the sinless, perfect God-man paid or atoned for our debt through His sacrificial and substitutionary death for us on the cross. How was Jesus able to do this? Here is an explanation from a Christian theologian who lived between 1033-1109 AD named Anselm. You may have to read it several times to understand what he is saying:
“For God will not do it, because He has no debt to pay; and man will not do it, because he cannot. Therefore, in order that the God-man may perform this, it is necessary that the same being should be perfect God and perfect man, in order to make this atonement. For He cannot and ought not to do it, unless He be very God and very man. Since, then, it is necessary that the God-man preserve the completeness of each nature, it is no less necessary that these two natures be united entire in one person, just as a body and a reasonable soul exist together in every human being; for otherwise it is impossible that the same being should be very God and very man” (St. Anselm: Proslogium; Monologium; An Appendix in Behalf of the Fool by Gaunilon; and Cur Deus Homo, pp. 245–46).
Assignment: How often do you think about the debt Jesus had to pay to atone for your sins against God? Now compare that to how often you think about the sins others have committed against you. Which of these two dominate your thoughts more. Why? If God had not chosen to forgive you of your debt to Him through Jesus’ sacrificial and substitutionary death on the cross, where would you be today? Which will you think more about in the future?
Scripture To Meditate On: Matthew 18:27, “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, it is obvious to me that I can dwell on the sins of others against me or the people I love without thinking about my sins against You. Lord, please help me to be like You with forgiveness. I love you Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly