Daily Dose of Hope

June 27, 2025

Scripture – Matthew 18:21-35

Prayer: Holy God, Thank you for your incredible mercy. Your compassion is never-ending and your love is powerful. We are overflowing with gratitude. Help us demonstrate this same compassion and love toward others. May we become people of grace and see people through your eyes. In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts. I just want to remind you all of our amazing worship night tonight at 7:30pm AND our special guest on Sunday. Dr. David Wilkinson is giving the message in the English-speaking service. He is a PhD in both astrophysics and theology and his life’s work has centered on the intersection between the Christian faith and science. After the 9:30 service, he has also agreed to a Q&A in the social hall, where a pancake and sausage brunch will be available by donation. All donations will go to the Residing Hope Children’s Home.

Today is part two of Matthew 18. Here we have this very uncomfortable parable on forgiveness. Peter wants to know how far should forgiveness be extended. I mean, Jesus had just offered this conflict mediation model for churches to ensure that justice is upheld. But what about mercy? Jesus’ answer is really fascinating. He basically is saying, “Stop keeping count!”

Let’s talk a bit about the parable itself. A servant owes his master a huge sum of money, something like 10,000 bags of gold. The servant was facing both imprisonment and the sale of his family to compensate for the debt. He goes to the master and asks for mercy. The readers are totally surprised – the master shows tremendous compassion and mercy. He totally forgives the huge debt. Unheard of and an act of extravagant compassion.

That same servant then goes demanding payment of a debt that a fellow servant owes him. This isn’t a big debt, but something smaller and more manageable. When the fellow servant asks for more time, the forgiven servant refuses, denies compassion, and has the poor guy thrown in prison.

Seeing the injustice of all of this, there are whistleblowers that see what happens and let the master know. The master is enraged and reinstates the man’s debt. How could he fail to show compassion after such great compassion was shown to him. He is imprisoned and tortured.

While the ending is really horrific, Jesus is once again making a point. Forgiveness is critical and yet it is very hard. If we look at the whole of Matthew 18, we see the need of both holding people accountable and offering extravagant compassion and forgiveness. How do we even begin to reconcile this as a church? Upon doing research on this topic, one scholar suggested that the most powerful and instructive model is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in post-apartheid South Africa, guided by Bishop Desmond Tutu. Reconciliation entails both the offer of forgiveness and the naming and acceptance of responsibility for wrongful, wounding conduct. This approach to mercy and justice is congruent with Jesus’ call in Matthew 18 as a whole: while the faith community prioritizes grace and mercy, it also holds its members accountable for what they do to others.

But what else might Jesus be saying in this parable? Pay compassion forward. God has been extraordinarily compassionate toward us. He gave his Son for us, so we might live abundantly now and in the future. Our sins are forgiven, our slate has been wiped clean. We owe Him a debt of gratitude. And yet, here we see what that looks like in a practical way. Show mercy, demonstrate compassion, love well, and forgive.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki