Daily Devotional For Wednesday, December 31, 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. Today is the last day of 2025. Tomorrow will begin our new year of 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 have been telling you, since this is a much longer passage we are taking our time to work through Jesus’ teaching here on forgiveness. We have looked at the king’s reaction to a man who owed a debt that was so huge he could never repay it. What did the king do? Forgive the man and let him go free rather than seizing and selling all his possessions and seizing him and his family selling them as slaves. Then Jesus adds a repeat of this story with now the forgiven and freed man coming upon someone who owed him.
This man owed the forgiven and freed man 100 denarii, which was 100 day’s wages. What a comparison here to 10,000 to 100 by Jesus. He chokes and shakes this man demanding repayment. This man pleads for mercy with almost the exact words as the first man did before the king. The first servant’s response was totally the opposite of the king’s response to him. Instead of passing on grace, forgiveness and freedom to this second servant, he threw the man into prison until he could repay the debt. The point is this: being in prison there was no way for this second servant to repay the first servant. Prisons in those days were for punishment, not having an opportunity to work and earn some income for the future.
Jesus says the first servant was “unwilling” to treat the second servant the same way he had been treated. “Unwilling” is the Greek New Testament word [θέλω; thelō]. It means “to harden one’s heart.” So, instead of being grateful to the king for forgiving him of his debt, he doubled-down and went after those who owed him. Jesus’ point in this story is that Christians forgive because God has forgiven them. Peter’s basic question to Jesus is this: “When it comes to forgiveness, does it have a limit? Jesus, if someone keeps sinning against you or someone you love, does God expect a believer to keep forgiving them?”
There are believers and Christians who read these words of Jesus and think Jesus is being unfair, unrealistic and even harsh. Documents found from this time indicate that the total amount of taxes Rome collected from Idumea, Judea, Samaria and Galilee was around 900 talents . Based on 10,000 talents, that comes to nearly 11 years of taxes from four provinces. Then we come to scene 3 in this story. Scene 1 is the servant begging the king for mercy and receiving it. Scene 2 is that same servant finding a servant who owed him and refusing to forgive him. Scene 3 is how the first servant is then brought before the king.
The king upon hearing how the servant he forgave treated another servant is enraged. He has this man thrown into prison until he could pay back the debt. The point is this was a life sentence since the man has no way to earn money in prison. This story is Jesus teaching us some lessons about the Kingdom of heaven. From this story we see 3 themes surface:
- God’s boundless grace
- The absurdity of spurning God’s grace
- The frightful fate awaiting those who refuse to forgive.
Jesus sees no conflict with God our Father who forgives bountifully and endlessly who punished believers who do not model His forgiveness. Because God is a God of compassion and forgiveness, He will not tolerate believers who refuse to forgive others. To be thrown into prison until he could repay and be tortured is not a reference to purgatory as Roman Catholics claim. It is a reference to hell. The warning here from Jesus is no true saved disciple would act as this servant did towards another servant. Those who do so prove they have never received God’s forgiveness. Meaning – they are saved or redeemed by Christ. What a dangerous warning to all of us.
It is possible that Jesus is teaching that God offers forgiveness only to those who are willing to give it to others. We see this in the Sermon On The Mount in Matthew 6:14-15. Later Jesus builds on this by making it clear that those who are lost were never previously saved in Matthew 7:21-23. Jesus makes it very clear. If you and I refuse to forgive us, we stand in God’s judgement, punishing and torture. Christian counselors tell us that someone who refuses to forgive is a person who has deep in their heart all kinds of personal problems they have never personally dealt with in life. We see this in the king’s question to this unforgiving servant, “Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?”
What we also see is that other servants who observed how this first servant treated another servant are appalled. This is why they report this to the king. The point is our unwillingness to forgive damages the Gospel and God’s reputation. It causes others to stumble, which Jesus warned us about in Matthew 18:1-11. When we refuse to forgive others, God executes judgment and punishment against us. Christian author Ray Stedman puts it this way:
“This is a marvelously expressive phrase to describe what happens to us when we do not forgive another. It is an accurate description of gnawing resentment and bitterness, the awful gall of hate or envy. It is a terrible feeling. We cannot get away from it, we cannot escape it. We find ourselves powerless to avoid it. We strongly feel this separation from another, and, every time we think of them, we feel within the acid of resentment and hate eating away at our peace and calmness. This is the torturing that our Lord says will take place” (Source: Ray Stedman, Breaking The Resentment Barrier).
One of the saddest things about those God imprisons in the cell of their unforgiveness is they hold the key to get out. All they have to do is forgive. With the help of the Holy Spirit, you can forgive and get freed from that cell. The question is: do you want freedom or forfeiture of God’s forgiveness to you?
Assignment: Who is it you need to forgive? A family member? A boss? Another believer? A neighbor? An employee? A coach? A former pastor or your current pastor? A mentor? A teacher? Who needs to be given mercy and forgiveness that only you can give to them right now? When you bring that issue to the Lord and forgive them, that releases the power of that hurt from you. Choose to be like Jesus and extend forgiveness to those who have crucified you or someone you love (see Luke 23:34.
Scripture To Meditate On: Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, there are people I hold a grudge against. I have all my reasons that I believe justify and rationalize my anger against them. I need Your continued forgiveness in my life. I do not want you to imprison me in the cell of bitterness and resentment to be tortured. Please help me to forgive them. I love you Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly